Secret Church 16 – Session 4: What Do Animists Believe?

About this sermon

In this session of Secret Church 16, Pastor David Platt teaches Christians how to think about Animism in light of the gospel. Although many people think of animists as uneducated tribal peoples in remote villages, animism is influential across the world. Often animism exists in syncretistic forms where it mixes with a variety of other religions. Animists believe that God is too remote to be known, and yet the physical world is subject to impersonal spiritual forces and personal spiritual beings. While animism lacks certain characteristics of a formal religion—like sacred written texts—and has a variety of different expressions, there are some common beliefs that many animists share. For instance, ancestor worship is common, as is an emphasis on everyday needs as opposed to ultimate truth. For animists, views on God, sin, and the afterlife, are shaped by the belief in spiritual forces and spiritual beings that must be appeased, assuaged, and/or avoided. In this session, David Platt offers suggestions for sharing the gospel with animists, including questions to ask in order to transition into a gospel conversation. For more information visit https://radical.net/?session=session-4-animism Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 0:38 - Debunking Myths about Animists 1:37 - Who Are Animists? 4:00 - What Do Animists Believe? 8:52 - Do Animists Believe in the Concept of Sin? 10:54 - Belief about Communication with the Spirits 12:47 - How Do We Share the Gospel With Animists? 14:21 - Show Sensitivity 15:27 - Demonstrate Christian Community 16:00 - Communicate the Gospel Clearly 18:00 - Start with the Similarities 19:48 - Then Share the Differences 25:07 - Reframe the Overall Story 26:19 - Tell Individual Stories 29:13 - Call Animists to a Decision

Topics

• Faith
• Church & Fellowship
• The Church