Christianity has an inherent capability to assume, as its novel mode of expression, the local idioms, customs, and thought forms of a new cultural frontier that it encounters. As a result, Christianity has become multicultural and multilingual. What is the role of theology in the imagination and articulation of Christianity's inherent multiculturalism and multi-vernacularity? Victor Ezigbo examines this question by exploring the nature and practice of contextual theology. To accomplish this task, this book engages the main genres of contextual theology, explores echoes of contextual theological thinking in some of Jesus's sayings, and discusses insights into contextual theology that can be discerned in the discourses on theology and caste relations (Dalit theology), theology and primal cultures (African theology), and theology and poverty (Latin American liberation theology).
In the 1970s theologians in Asia and Africa showed an interest in the way different cultural contexts influenced the interpretation of Christian belief. Manifestations of contextual theologies have since appeared in many parts of the world; animated international discussion about expressions, methods and theories for contextual theology have continued with the spread of contextual theology from the South to the North.. The object of these theologies is to shed new light on the concept of incarnation. How does the incarnated God act in a liberating way? Contextual theology explores awareness of the interrelatedness of God and culture. This book surveys important concepts, positions and problems of contextual theology, dealing with different criteria for the interpretation of 'context' and providing explanations of different theoretical models for contextual theology. Particular topics discussed include: the importance of place for the experience of God; a dynamic, correlative and communicative view of tradition; the approach to knowledge in contextualism and the greater right of the poor to aesthetic knowledge; human ecological formation of theology, and the contributions of pictorial art and architecture to contextual theology. Clearly explaining the importance of contextual theology for all theology, this book offers an invaluable text for students and others exploring theology in context.
Christian theology, like all forms of knowledge, thinking and practice, arises from and is influenced by the context in which it is done. In Doing Contextual Theology, Angie Pears demonstrates the radically contextual nature of Christian theology by focusing on five forms of liberation theology: Latin American Liberation Theologies; Black Theologies; Feminist Informed Theologies; Sexual Theologies; Body Theologies. Pears analyses how each of these asserts a clear and persistent link to the Christian tradition through The Bible and Christology and discusses the implications of contextual and local theologies for understanding Christianity as a religion. Moreover, she considers whether fears are justified that a radically contextual reading of Christian theologies leads to a relativist understanding of the religion, or whether these theologies share some form of common identity both despite and because of their contextual nature. Doing Contextual Theology offers students a clear and up-to-date survey of the field of contemporary liberation theology and provides them with a sound understanding of how contextual theology works in practice.
Aims to demonstrate how people can use theology to deal with real life problems, using the author's own experiences whilst working with adults and examining their experiences using the gospel. The author has also written "Power to the Powerless.">
Christianity has an inherent capability to assume, as its novel mode of expression, the local idioms, customs, and thought forms of a new cultural frontier that it encounters. As a result, Christianity has become multicultural and multilingual. What is the role of theology in the imagination and articulation of Christianity’s inherent multiculturalism and multi-vernacularity? Victor Ezigbo examines this question by exploring the nature and practice of contextual theology. To accomplish this task, this book engages the main genres of contextual theology, explores echoes of contextual theological thinking in some of Jesus’s sayings, and discusses insights into contextual theology that can be discerned in the discourses on theology and caste relations (Dalit theology), theology and primal cultures (African theology), and theology and poverty (Latin American liberation theology).
More Christians live in the Majority World than in Europe and North America. Yet most theological literature does not reflect the rising tide of Christian reflection coming from these regions. Bringing together theological resources from past and present, East and West, this work engages conversations with leading global scholars on theology, faith, and mission for the enrichment of the entire church.
Jeffrey P. Greenman and Gene L. Green edit this collection of essays from the proceedings of the 2011 Wheaton Theology Conference. The essays explore the past, present and future shape of biblical interpretation and theological engagement in the Majority World. Leading scholars from around the world interact with the key theological issues being discussed in their regions. In addition, some theological voices from minority communities in North America address issues particular to their context and which often overlap with those central in Majority World theology. Contributors include Vince Bacote, Samuel Escobar, Ken Gnanakan, James Kombo, Mark Labberton, Terry LeBlanc, Juan Martínez, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Lamin Sanneh, Andrew Walls, K. K. Yeo and Amos Yong.
Written late in his life, J. S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue has long been admired—in some quarters revered—as one of his masterworks. Its last movement, Contrapunctus 14, went unfinished, and the enigma of its incompleteness still preoccupies scholars and musical conductors alike. In 1881, Gustav Nottebohm discovered that the three subjects of the movement could be supplemented by a fourth. In 1993, Zoltán Göncz revealed that Bach had planned the passage that would join the four subjects in an entirely unique way. This section has not survived, but, as Göncz notes, it must have been ready in the earliest phase of composition since Bach had created the expositions of the first three subjects from its “disjointed” parts. Göncz then boldly took on the task of reconstructing the original “template” by putting together the once separate pieces. In Bach’s Testament: On the Philosophical and Theological Background of The Art of Fugue, Göncz probes the philosophic-theological background of The Art of Fugue, revealing the special structures that supported the 1993 reconstruction. Bach’s Testament investigates the reconstruction’s metaphysical dimensions, focusing on the quadruple fugue. As a summary of Zoltán Göncz’s extensive research over many years, which resulted in the completion of the fugue, this work explores the complex combinatorial, philosophical and theological considerations that inform its structure. Bach’s Testament is ideally suited not only to Bach scholars and musicologists but also intellectual historians with particular interests in 18th-century religious and philosophical ideas.
This book advances that history by exploring stories, images and discourses across a worldwide range of geographical, cultural and confessional contexts. Its twelve authors not only enrich our understanding of the significance of the contextual method, but also produce a new range of original ways of doing theology in contemporary situations. The authors discuss some prioritised thematic perspectives with an emphasis on liberating paths, and expand the ongoing discussion on the methodology of theology into new areas. Themes such as interreligious plurality, global capitalism, ecumenical liberation theology, eco-anxiety and the anthropocene, postcolonialism, gender, neo-pentecostalism, world theology, and reconciliation are examined in situated depth. Additionally, voices from Indigenous lands, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe and North America enter into a dialogue on what it means to contextualise theology in an increasingly globalised and ever-changing world. Such a comprehensive discussion of new ways of thinking about and doing contextual theology will be of great use to scholars in Theology, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies, Political Science, Gender Studies, Environmental Humanities, and Global Studies.
Christian theologians in the Pacific Islands see culture as the grounds on which one understands God. In this pathbreaking book, Matt Tomlinson engages in an anthropological conversation with the work of “contextual theologians,” exploring how the combination of Pacific Islands culture and Christianity shapes theological dialogues. Employing both scholarly research and ethnographic fieldwork, the author addresses a range of topics: from radical criticisms of biblical stories as inappropriate for Pacific audiences to celebrations of traditional gods such as Tagaloa as inherently Christian figures. This book presents a symphony of voices—engaged, critical, prophetic—from the contemporary Pacific’s leading religious thinkers and suggests how their work articulates with broad social transformations in the region. Each chapter in this book focuses on a distinct type of culturally driven theological dialogue. One type is between readers and texts, in which biblical scholars suggest new ways of reading, and even rewriting, the Bible so it becomes more meaningful in local terms. A second kind concerns the state of the church and society. For example, feminist theologians and those calling for “prophetic” action on social problems propose new conversations about how people in Oceania should navigate difficult times. A third kind of discussion revolves around identity, emphasizing what makes Oceania unique and culturally coherent. A fourth addresses the problems of climate change and environmental degradation to sacred lands by encouraging “eco-theological” awareness and interconnection. Finally, many contextual theologians engage with the work of other disciplines— prominently, anthropology—as they develop new discourse on God, people, and the future of Oceania. Contextual theology allows people in Oceania to speak with God and fellow humans through the idiom of culture in a distinctly Pacific way. Tomlinson concludes, however, that the most fruitful topic of dialogue might not be culture, but rather the nature of dialogue itself. Written in an accessible, engaging style and presenting innovative findings, this book will interest students and scholars of anthropology, world religion, theology, globalization, and Pacific studies.
