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When we speak of reaching out to our culture through the gospel, we must be reminded that the gospel is also a culture.  This is only one of the problems with the attempt to “translate” the gospel into the language of the culture.  As we often say, “Something is lost in translation.”  We are learning that you have not said “salvation” when you say “self-esteem.”  To have “a positive self-image” is not at all what Christians mean when we say “redemption.”  “The American Way” is not equivalent to “the kingdom of God.”

Leadership, Winter 1997, page 30