Toward A Theology Of Inculturation

'Inculturation' is a word come only recently into theological language, having its origin and impetus in a revolution in the perception of Christian mission--even of Christian identity. 'Toward a Theology of Inculturation' is the first book to bring together the many strands of current and historical Catholic thought on what might be called a theology of a multicultural church. Inculturation, Shorter argues, is the recognition that faith must in effect become culture to be fully received and lived. In the course of a wide-ranging discussion, the author explores the intimate relationship between inculturation and theology, focusing in particular on scripture, the history of Òmissions (especially in Africa), and contemporary Catholic thought. Shorter concludes with an exploration of the future of the church--a multicultural church. 'Toward a Theology of Inculturation' offers a substantive explication of what inculturation is, what it is not, how and when it occurs, and what its limits are or should be.

This volume of essays is dedicated to Frank De Graeve, s.j., Professor Emeritus of Missiology and the Comparative Study of Religions at the K.U. Leuven. Throughout a long teaching career in the United States and Belgium, his two main concerns have been the inculturation of Christianity in the Various continents and particular contexts, and the theological reflection on religious pluralism. The contributions to this collection are therefore centered around these two topics. Valeer Neckebrouck and Catherine Cornille are Frank De Graeve's successors in the fields of Missiology and the Comparative Study of Religions, respectively. Valeer Neckebrouck is the author of "La Tierce Eglise devant le probleme de la culture" among numerous other works, and Catherine Cornille's "The Guru in Indian Catholicism" has already appeared in this series.

The split between the Gospel and culture is without doubt the drama of our time," wrote Paul VI in 1975. Since that time there has been an increasingly urgent awareness that inculturation is an indispensable task of the church. But inculturation, the dialogue between church and cultures, demands first of all that we who would enter into the dialogue understand what "culture" itself means and what dialogue entails. To that end, cultural anthropologist Father Gerald Arbuckle gives us this important volume. He traces the history of the development of the concept of culture, and the too-often negative, rarely positive effects of encounters between church and culture. He explores how Jesus Christ approached the cultures of his time, and outlines the current treatment of culture and inculturation in church documents and in Catholic theology. He shows that modest progress in understanding has recently staled, and there are even forces working to turn that progress into regress. He concludes with a description of inculturation as it needs to happen 'and a sharp critique of those who resist. With a sense of prophetic hope, Arbuckle seeks to help us bridge the lamentable split between Gospel and culture, the drama that continues to unfold in our time.

Perhaps nothing is as important to the future of the Church as continuing to make the liturgy meaningful to those who celebrate it. Inculturation, the dynamic translation of the typical editions into the cultures of local Churches, is the key. Inculturation as a branch of liturgical study has a dauntingly wide scope. It covers the areas of history and theology, liturgical and cultural principles, process and methods, sacraments and sacramentals, Liturgy of the Hours, liturgical year, liturgical music, liturgical arts and furnishings, and such related topics as popular religiosity and catechesis. So where does the average pastor, liturgist, or student begin? With this volume the reader is introduced to the different technical terms expressing the relationship between liturgy and culture (indigenization, incarnation, contextualization, adaptation, acculturation ... ). The subsequent discussion on the question of sacramentals, popular religiosity, and liturgical catechesis explains how these disparate topics share the same basic concern of inculturation. Throughout the book the focus is on method. Method encompasses both how one may remain true to the liturgy while also considering what culture offers the liturgy or requires of it. The question of how creativity relates to inculturation is also answered. For the serious student of the liturgy, whether or not you serve a culturally diverse community, this work provides foundations, principles, and methods for creating a liturgy of the people and for the people.

Offering a theology of migration, Cruz reflects on the Christian vision of 'one bread, one body, one people' in view of the gifts and challenges of contemporary migration to Christian spirituality, mission, and inculturation and the need for reform of migration policies based on the experience of refugees, migrant women, and others.

Are you a seminarian/scholar who wants to go further from your school’s Barthian tradition? The purpose of this book is to connect cutting-edge post-Barthian trinitarian theological movements all around the world: postliberal theology (Yale school) in the US, radical orthodoxy (Cambridge school) in the UK, German radical hermeneutic theology (Zürich school in the German-speaking world), and the theology of inculturation (Korean Methodist school) in Asia. Although each theological movement had a tremendous impact on the entire area of theology, there has been no work done to connect those twenty-first-century theological trends. The strength of this book is that it connects different theological movements with the author’s own unique view as a Korean theologian. Comparing different Trinitarian theological movements, the author argues for the necessity of a God-focused theology to embrace different human understandings in a world where Christianity is not dominant. The book claims that Christians can pursue a genuine dialectics of differentiation and interdependence when they understand the global phenomenon of Christianity’s inculturation as the work of the Trinity who relates Godself to different worldly cultures.

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to World Christianity presents a collection of essays that explore a range of topics relating to the rise, spread, and influence of Christianity throughout the world. Features contributions from renowned scholars of history and religion from around the world Addresses the origins and global expansion of Christianity over the course of two millennia Covers a wide range of themes relating to Christianity, including women, worship, sacraments, music, visual arts, architecture, and many more Explores the development of Christian traditions over the past two centuries across several continents and the rise in secularization