The Theology of Indigenization Essay examples - 1823 Words

INDIGENIZATION Introduction The mission of Christ on earth was to reconcile all people to God. The church continues this mission: â€Å"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations†(Mk-16: 15). Christ entrusted this mission to His church and it is a universal mission. It assumes that the gospel must be taken to all people on earth irrespective of color, race and culture. Thus the church is multicultural. She should feel at home and accept the culture of any place or nation where she finds herself. It is the process of indigenisation through which one can make the gospel natural and known to the particular culture and region by making the gospel relevant to them, as we shall see in definitions of indigenisation. The term indigenisation is†¦show more content†¦A precise definition of being indigenous was given by the Willingen Conference of the international missionary council in its discussion on the meaning of an indigenous church in 1952 as rooted in Christ and related to soil. After reading and reflecting on above definitions we can concisely say that the term indigenization means the planting of the church through evangelistic efforts, which are native to the land, according to the local socio-economic and cultural context of the people. The activity of indigenization is not of 21st century or of the recent centuries but it has been in the practice throughout the history of Christianity from its beginning, though this particular term was not specially used. It was indigenization who gave the freedom for the Greek translators of the Hebrew Old Testament (Septuagint) to take a word like ï â€˜Ã¯  ¥Ã¯  ¯Ã¯ â€" ï€  Ã¯â‚¬  from the idolatrous world of polytheism and use it to describe the only Creator of heaven and earth, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was indigenization, which enabled first century Christian Jewish Gentiles, populated Antioch to cross a massive culture barrier and begin preaching to the Greeks. And it is the same process of indigenization, which allowed for the emerging churches of the world to wrestle with infusing traditional, cultural and social practicesShow MoreRelatedAnalysis : Moral And Spiritual Regeneration 985 Words   |  4 PagesKorea’s capital. The cathedrals gospel slogan is the three fold blessing of Christ,† which focuses on â€Å"health, prosperity [and] salvation. Head Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel, Paul Yonggi Cho, and many other pastors, have preached the â€Å"theolog y of prosperity.† Such theology interpreted and spread the idea that the â€Å"acceptance of the Holy Spirit† translates to â€Å"being blessed with salvation in the next life,† and that one can be â€Å"graced with health and material succession in this world. Due to these effortsRead MoreEssay about Cultural Studies 1st Exam1573 Words   |  7 Pagesgrammatical errors of a spoken language within a community ___15. Using the practices of your own â€Å"people† as a yardstick to measure how well the customs of other different people measure up is called a. Ethnocentrism b. Enculturation c. Indigenization d. Cultural relativism ___16. Which statement best represents the believers of the Sapir Whorf Hypothesis? a. Customs and thought patterns of people are strongly influenced by their economic status. b. Customs and thought patterns of people areRead MoreCulture and Religion8004 Words   |  33 Pagesbring out the life-giving aspects of these values. GLOSSARY: Acculturation—the process of adapting oneself to a new way or different culture. It refers to a rather superficial adjustment. On the other hand, the terms of inculturation, indigenization, and contextualization are used for a process of in-depth dialogue in which a particular cultural expression, for example of a religion (Western Christianity), get totally transformed by entering into another culture. Culture—(Willowbank Report—1978)