Cultural Anthropology : Christian Perspective (Reprinted)

This volume on cultural anthropology by Stephen Grunlan and Marvin Mayers presents precisely what its subtitle indicates, namely, “a Christian perspective.” Stephen Grunlan, who formerly taught at Moody Bible Institute and at St. Paul Bible College, is now senior pastor at the Appleton Alliance Church, Appleton, Wisconsin. He first studied anthropology under Dr. Marvin Mayers at Wheaton College and later was engaged in work among Chicanos in California and the Chicago area. Dr. Mayers engaged sponsorship of the Wycliffe Bible Translators before teaching for nine years at Wheaton College, during which time he also had some field experience in the Philippines. He was director of the program for the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Dallas, Texas, and professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Arlington for many years. He is currently dean at the School of Intercultural Studies at Biola University. Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective is addressed primarily to Bible school students of conservative evangelical backgrounds, with the hope that a sympathetic approach to the problems of cultural diversity thoughout the world will help young people overcome typical North American cultural biases and make them more able to understand and appreciate the diversitites of behavior and thought that exist in a culturally heterogeneous world. Grunlan and Mayers take the position of “functional creationism”; and though they discuss some of the problems implied in traditional interpretations of the age of the world and especially of the creation of the human race, they do not attempt to deal with either physical anthropology or the origins of man. They do, however, attempt to deal meaningfully with the problems posed by biblical absolutism and cultural relativism, and their practice of concluding chapters with a series of thought-provoking questions should prove to be of real help to the nonprofessional teacher of anthropology, who has been specifically in mind as they prepared this text.