The central thesis of this study is that Newbigin‟s thought and writing can contribute to understanding the church as an integral part of Indian society, in terms of both her identity and role. Newbigin‟s writing, subsequent to his return to the West after more than three decades in India, often sought to address what he saw as the Western church‟s loss of confidence in its role and position in a post-enlightenment, post-Christendom society. This study tries to work with this material, as well as what was written during his time in India. The second chapter and the third chapter give consideration to the two central elements in Newbigin‟s understanding of the church‟s mission and identity: the eschatological renewal of the whole earth that will occur at the return of Christ and the connection of this end to Christ‟s death on the cross. As the third chapter will consider, while he locates the focus of the church‟s mission in relation to the end, the death of Christ indicates the way in which this mission will be carried out. The remainder of the third chapter will consider the implication of this for the church‟s mission in relation to the presence of poverty and marginalisation in Indian society and its movement towards a consumer economy. The fourth chapter will consider the place of the church in relation to India‟s long and rich culture, suggesting ways in which the church is to become an incultured community. The fifth chapter will address the issue of the relationship of the church to the followers of other faiths. Through interaction with some Indian theologians it will be shown how Newbigin gave attention to the church as both open to the movement of the Spirit beyond the boundaries of the church, while also emphasizing the church as central to our knowing Christ. The sixth chapter will draw out the ways in which Newbigin was consciously engaging with the post colonial context of the church, particularly in his interpretation of the relationship between the Spirit and the church. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Au cours de l’entre-deux-guerres, certains textes pontificaux, tels Maximum Illud (1919) de Benoît XV et Rerum Ecclesiae (1926) de Pie XI, ont marqué un tournant très important dans la réflexion missiologique, donnant non seulement une nouvelle impulsion aux missions elles-mêmes mais encore suscitant une nouvelle pratique de l’art chrétien dans les pays de mission. Après avoir été foncièrement européocentrique, la politique iconographique des missionnaires s’efforça désormais d’aboutir à la création d’un art sacré mieux adapté à l’imaginaire, aux langages d’images et aux sensibilités diverses des pays de mission. Forts de ces orientations et surtout encouragés par la prédisposition de l’art local à offrir à la pensée chrétienne de nobles formes d’expression, les missionnaires de la Société des Missions Africaines œuvrèrent activement pour l’émergence de l’art chrétien au Bénin. Les caractéristiques particulières que présente, dans ce pays, l’émergence de l’art chrétien et la richesse des collections d’objets de facture chrétienne par rapport à celles des autres pays d’Afrique méritaient qu’on leur consacre une recherche approfondie. Outre la constitution d’un corpus iconographique, la thèse propose la contextualisation des œuvres, l’examen de leurs diverses fonctions et l’analyse des paradigmes successifs répondant à la nouvelle perspective missiologique : l’inculturation. / Papal texts such as Maximum Illud (1919) by Benedict XV or Rerum Ecclesiae (1926) by Pius XI show that the interwar period represented a watershed in missiological thought which gave a new impetus to missions. Hence a new strategy concerning Christian art in “mission countries” was adopted. Because it had beforehand been centred on Europe, the missionaries’ iconographical policy then consisted in creating a form of sacred art which fitted the various cultural characteristics of “mission countries” better. Armed with these tendencies and above all encouraged by the fact that local art could give noble expressions to Christian thought, the missionaries of “La Société des Missions Africaines” worked for the emergence of Christian art in Benin. Christian art in Benin is highly distinctive and the collections of this country boast a significant number of objects of Christian craftsmanship which deserve a thorough research work. Thus, as well as putting an iconographical corpus together, this thesis will describe the background of the works, examine their various functions, and analyse their successive paradigms which correspond to the new missiological perspective: inculturation.

[pt] O feminismo, como movimento político e cultural de emancipação e libertação das mulheres, na sua pluralidade de realizações, emerge como lugar de nova inculturação. A experiência salvífica, interpretada na perspectiva cultural do feminismo, provoca mudanças em todas as dimensões da prática e da linguagem da fé. A Teologia Feminista, como uma expressão dessa inculturação, não só critica o passado e o presente da Igreja patriarcal, como também colabora para recuperar hoje os mananciais de vida plena da tradição cristã, influindo para o desenvolvimento de uma nova configuração histórica do cristianismo. Os caminhos bíblicos da Sabedoria, reapropriados numa perspectiva feminista, são marcos teológicos referenciais de uma vida cristã mais integradora, centrada em relações mais igualitárias e recíprocas. Também se tornam fonte de nova linguagem religiosa e teológica. Inspiram o uso de imagens femininas de Deus de forma equivalente, em relação às imagens masculinas, partindo de uma nova visão da experiência humana das mulheres. O novo paradigma lingüístico se torna uma mediação histórica necessária para uma compreensão menos inadequada da presença salvífica de Deus, que suscita e afirma caminhos de plena humanização de mulheres e homens, e de um mundo mais igualitário. No atual contexto de reforço de uma instituição eclesial centrada no clero masculino hierárquico, o processo de inculturação no contexto do feminismo colabora para manter na Igreja uma experiência da fé, que visibilize Cristo entre nós gerando comunidades cristãs e sociedades mais inclusivas. / [en] Feminism as a political and cultural movement of emancipation and women freedom emerges as a place of new inculturation. The salvific experience, when interpreted on cultural perspective, evokes changes in all dimension of faith practice and language. As an expression of this inculturation the feminist theology not only criticizes the past and of the patriarchal church. It also cooperates to recover the source of full life of Christian tradition influencing on the development of a new historical configuration of christianism. The wisdom set forth by the biblical message from a feminist perspective, suggests theological concepts that promote a Christian life that is centered on relationships that are bases on mutual respect and equality. This message becomes a way to communicate religious and theological new language. It inspires feminine images of God that represent the counterpart of the male images of God, but that are based on the experience of the women. This new linguistic paradigm becomes a historic mediation to increase the understanding of God`s salvifc experience that causes and confirms ways of complete humanization of men and women and of a more equalitarian world. In this present religious context where church hierarchy is centered on a male hierarchy, the inculturation process on the feminism context cooperates to expand the experience of faith within the church and generates Christian communities that are including as they present Christ to the world.

Ancestor worship is conceived by some to be an outdated primitive custom with no relevance to modern society. However, this study shows that ancestor worship is still alive and well in numerous cultures and countries around the globe and that it is still practised in different forms today. This study focuses on the phenomenon of ancestor worship in Africa, Japan and Korea and specifically deals with the challenges it has posed to Christian missionaries in these contexts. Furthermore, this study examines the strategies which the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and Independent Churches have adopted to deal with this problem and the apparent mismatch with Christian theology. Therefore, the analysis of the phenomenon of ancestor worship is situated in the socio-cultural and religious paradigms of each of these countries and is examined in theological, missiological and Biblical terms. Most notably, the thesis attempts to determine whether or not ancestor worship can be considered to be a purely social and cultural phenomenon which carries certain ethical responsibilities in these cultures and whether or not it is congruent with Christian theology. This study has attempted to prove that in spite of the socio-cultural dimensions of ancestor worship and its rituals (with their ensuing ethical responsibilities in the cosmologies of these nations) it is still essentially worship. It is contended that ancestor worship is fundamentally a form of idolatry and contrary to the teachings of the Bible and is therefore does not articulate with Christian theology. The fundamental premise underlying the study is the ultimate authority of the Bible as the inspired word of God. This is a qualitative study which attempts to explore the phenomenon and rituals of ancestor worship on numerous levels. In each case the theological contributions of scholars in the field are evaluated and explored and ultimately benchmarked against the Biblical evidence. In the African context it is necessary therefore to look at African Christology and the attempts of scholars to contextualise the gospel in African terms. As such the continuity and discontinuity between traditional religion and the Bible is explored and the dangers of syncretism are addressed. The ultimate goal was to suggest a suitable approach for the Church to deal with the challenges which ancestor worship poses in these specific contexts. The study will motivate and argue for contextualisation as an appropriate mission principle in this regard. This takes into consideration the social responsibility which missionaries have towards the people to whom they introduce the gospel. The reason is that the close bond which exists between identity, culture and religion is acknowledged. If the religion or cultural practises are rejected because it does not comply with the Gospel’s requirements, then missionaries need to be sensitive to the void which they may create in the identity of the people and take appropriate steps to ameliorate the problem and avoid syncretism. / Thesis (PhD (Science of Religion and Missiology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

Early Christian missionaries alienated Shona people from their culture and traditional religion. Essential elements of Shona religion were rejected because they were thought to be entertaining paganism, fetishism and idolatry. More than a century of Christianity in Zimbabwe has passed and some Shona still hold on tenaciously to their ancestral religion. The missionaries did not understand Shona language and may have been ignorant of the significance of the Shona religion to the Shona people. However, with the transfer of power from colonial masters to black rule, one would have expected parallel changes concerning creative integration of indigenous cultural values with the Gospel. But today, forty years after independence, not a single Church denomination in Zimbabwe (Mainline Churches, Evangelical Churches and Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches) seems to have made any ‘meaningful adaption’ of the Shona views on death and afterlife, in the light of the Bible, and in particular, the Gospel. Several elements in Shona traditional beliefs on death and afterlife have been proposed for inculturation. In spite of the proposals put forward by various scholars, even the indigenous Church leaders in Zimbabwe seem to have failed to fully adapt the Shona views into the Christian Gospel message, despite the fact that they fully understand and appreciate the Shona culture and values. A literature review will help to extract information from current and past studies underlying this field. The principles followed on comprehending and solving problems, and the methods and methodology employed in the study, will be made explicit. A detailed examination of the Shona views on death and afterlife which the Zimbabwean Church is expected to possibly incorporate into their worship, and the precepts on the eschatological perspective of Christianity on death, resurrection and afterlife, will be conducted. Definition and analysis of the terms ‘dialogue’ and ‘inculturation’, and the progress achieved on dialogue and inculturation, by the Church in Zimbabwe, will follow. The challenges confronting the Church in Zimbabwe, and the Shona Christians, will be investigated, while theological arguments will be employed to identify gaps in knowledge in the previous literature. The study will suggest possible proposals on the way forward. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / PhD. (Systematic Theology)

[pt] Neste momento que a humanidade atravessa uma mudança de época, diagnosticada de formas diferentes e até antagônicas, com diferentes cosmovisões que advogam sua verdade muitas vezes de forma absoluta, não raras vezes fundamentalista, as Igrejas Cristãs precisam responder ao desafio de falar de Deus, entendido esse falar de Deus , como anunciar o Deus revelado por Jesus Cristo, para o ser humano que vive em contexto urbano. A Pastoral Urbana é desafiadora na medida em que os agentes pastorais enfrentam uma diversidade cultural aguda. O confuso processo de globalização que procura produzir uma sociedade culturalmente homogênea, contraditoriamente tem produzido identidades múltiplas, com matrizes multiculturais. O horizonte cultural dos receptores da Palavra de Deus em ambiente urbano é cada vez mais complexo, afetado por um multiculturalismo agudo. Neste contexto urbano os agentes pastorais defrontam-se na contemporaneidade com pessoas vinculadas às tribos urbanas de rosto underground. O horizonte cultural destes receptores é a cultura underground. Anunciar a Boa Nova de Jesus Cristo para essas pessoas vinculadas às tribos urbanas de rosto underground implica que os agentes evangelizadores saibam distinguir claramente entre Fé e Cultura buscando discernir entre o que efetivamente pertence ao núcleo da Revelação e o que é marca histórico cultural. Sendo assim a questão de fundo desta tese está relacionada à sua proposta de construção de uma matriz evangelizadora de linha inculturada e a partir da mesma a construção de um projeto evangelístico-missionário para que as Igrejas Cristãs apresentem a Boa Nova de Jesus para a Cultura Underground. É fundamental que as Igrejas Cristãs abandonem a matriz evangelizadora de dominação e exclusão construída ao longo da história do Cristianismo. A organização da tese estruturou-se a partir de três capítulos. O primeiro capítulo, que corresponde ao enfoque sociocultural, propõe uma análise dos referenciais socioculturais com o auxílio multidisciplinar das Ciências Sociais. O segundo capítulo, correspondente ao enfoque teológico, analisa os referenciais teológicos em busca de uma elaboração dos conceitos de evangelização, missão e inculturação voltados para a construção de uma matriz evangelizadora inculturada. O terceiro capítulo refere-se ao enfoque pastoral. Propõe um projeto evangelístico-missionário junto às tribos urbanas de rosto underground. / [en] At the moment that humanity is going through a change of time, diagnosed in different ways and even antagonistic, with different worldviews that advocate its truth often absolutely, not rarely fundamentalist, Christian churches must respond to the challenge of presenting God, revealed by Jesus Christ, to the human being who lives in the urban context. Urban Ministry is challenging because the pastoral workers face an acute cultural diversity. The confusing process of globalization that seeks to produce a culturally homogenous society, paradoxically has produced multiple identities, with multicultural aspects. The cultural horizon of receivers of the Word of God in the urban environment is increasingly complex, affected by a sharp multiculturalism. In this urban context the pastoral workers face in contemporary times with people linked to underground urban tribes. The cultural horizon of these receptors is the underground culture. Announce the Good News of Jesus Christ to those people linked to underground urban tribes implies that pastoral agents know how to distinguish clearly between Faith and Culture seeking to discern between what actually belongs to the core of the Revelation and it s historical cultural brand. So the bottom line of this thesis is related to its propose to construct a inculturated evangelistic matrix and based in this matrix offer an evangelistic project that enable Christian Churches to present the Good News of Jesus to the Underground Culture. It is essential that the Christian churches leave the evangelistic matrix of domination and exclusion built throughout the history of Christianity. The thesis organisation was built around three chapters. The first chapter, nominated as the social-cultural approach, proposes an analysis of the socio-cultural references with the aid of multidisciplinary social sciences. The second chapter, corresponding to the theological approach, analyses the theological references in search of an elaboration of the concepts of evangelism, mission and inculturation meant for the construction of an evangelistic inculturated matrix. The third chapter refers to the pastoral approach. Proposes an evangelistic-missionary project in underground urban environments.

Dans ce mémoire, j’ai voulu répondre à la question suivante: Une nouvelle évangélisation haïtienne peut-elle s’inspirer de l’histoire? Et si oui, de quelle histoire? «L’histoire de l’évangélisation en Haïti», doit-on tout d’abord répondre. Mais, ne pourrait-on pas remonter bien avant, avant 1492, date de l’arrivée de l’Évangile en Haïti pour retourner «aux origines du christianisme africain», par exemple? C’est ce que nous découvrirons tout au long de ce mémoire. Saint Augustin surtout, que l’on a appelé le «père» du christianisme africain nous indiquera des pistes nous permettant de relever quelques défis pastoraux de taille qui s’offrent encore à nous en Haïti. Un pas dans l’immense tâche d’inculturation qui nous revient aujourd’hui pourrait ainsi, à mon avis, être fait.

En Afrique, comme partout dans le monde, les moments de passage dans la vie sont célébrés de façon particulière. Le christianisme, par la nouveauté de l’Évangile apporté par les missionnaires occidentaux et forcément teinté de leur propre culture, a été perçu par les Africains comme apportant une proposition de nouvelles manières de célébrer les passages. Pour avoir la paix avec ces hommes qui avaient avec eux «l'argent et l'arme à feu», les peuples ont adopté ces «nouveautés», mais en privé ils n'ont pas moins continué à pratiquer selon leurs propres traditions. Le mouvement d'émancipation politique et culturelle aura aussi des répercussions religieuses avec la revendication d'une expression chrétienne africaine. Ce travail entend contribuer à cette expression africaine du christianisme dans la célébration des grands moments de la vie. Pour l'Africain, vivre c'est célébrer les joies et les peines de l'existence. Pour le christianisme en Afrique, une liturgie inculturée sera le meilleur moyen pour montrer au peuple que la foi n’est pas une étrangère sur le continent.

L’inculturation de l’Évangile est un fait indispensable et important pour l’Église. Elle permet aux peuples de vivre fidèlement et pleinement la foi en Jésus-Christ et à l’Église de s’enraciner profondément au cœur des cultures des peuples. Nous étudions ici l’incarnation de la doctrine et de la pastorale de l’inculturation du mariage chrétien dans l’âme de notre peuple africain. Nous entreprenons une sorte de pèlerinage aux sources de l’institution matrimoniale coutumière chez les Yambassa, tribu intégrante de la grande famille bantu. Cette étude est conçue comme une recherche pour une pastorisation africaine de l’évangélisation et de l’inculturation du sacrement de mariage. Elle part de la description phénoménologique du mariage traditionnel yambassa et nous fait découvrir les valeurs et symboles caractéristiques de cette alliance coutumière. L’itinéraire de cette institution est jalonné d’interrogations chrétiennes qui font ressortir la problématique du vernissage du mariage religieux. Ce qui nous dispose évidemment à proposer une rencontre dynamique et une symbiose plus pénétrante des deux alliances et des perspectives de réalisation chrétienne du mariage coutumier yambassa et d’une pastorale liturgique du mariage inculturé dans les Églises locales d’Afrique et de Madagascar en vue d’une évangélisation en profondeur à visage africain pour l’enrichissement de l’Église universelle.

Pour des raisons de limitation, cette thèse analyse le thème de la réconciliation à partir des pratiques traditionnelles des Baluba du Katanga; elle concerne et s'applique également aux autres ethnies bantu en Afrique Centrale où ces pratiques sont similaires. / La détérioration des relations et la fragilité de la cohésion entre certains groupes sociaux en RD Congo remontent à 1958, peu avant l’indépendance du pays en 1960. Depuis ce temps, les conflits socio-politiques affectent profondément les groupes ethniques et les conditions économiques sont de plus en plus mauvaises. Depuis son indépendance, le pays a traversé de nombreuses périodes de conflits, sans aucune accalmie durable. De 1960 à 1964, les fréquentes guerres de sécessions, des rébellions et des guerres interethniques ont déstabilisé toute la structure sociale du pays. Les tentatives de réconciliation ont eu des résultats mitigés et parfois des solutions de courte durée. Le coup d’État de 1965, a plongé davantage le pays dans la violence : le pouvoir a été confisqué par les membres du parti unique et la gestion des biens publics a été confiée à quelques groupes ethniques privilégiés. Les frustrations et les injustices suscitèrent des insurrections et des soulèvements populaires, souvent réprimés dans le sang. Les efforts de démocratisation de 1990 n’ont pas rétabli l’équilibre des pouvoirs. Plusieurs groupes ethniques lésés se sont radicalisés et ont étayé leurs revendications par des actions violentes et meurtrières. La situation ne s’est guère améliorée depuis la fin de la dictature et perdure encore de nos jours. Pourtant, l’histoire montre qu’en RD Congo, les ethnies avaient un système traditionnel de résolution des conflits de diverses natures. Grâce à un enquête de terrain, nous avons reconstitué ce processus qui conduisait à une réconciliation durable parce qu’elle résultait d’une concertation communautaire sous l’arbre-à-palabre. Selon nos interlocuteurs, ces pratiques traditionnelles de réconciliation ont fait leurs preuves. Dans une perspective d’inculturation de l’Évangile, elles peuvent être interprétées et adaptées, puis intégrées à la vie de l’Église et à sa mission de réconciliation en RD Congo. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons un modèle chrétien et inculturé de réconciliation, élaboré à partir des pratiques et des rites traditionnels des Baluba. Pour constituer ses composantes essentielles, nous avons fait une sélection critique de ces éléments traditionnels, qui ont des potentialités de paix. Nous les avons ensuite mis en corrélation avec ceux retenus d’une analyse du récit de la réconciliation entre Jacob et Ésaü (Gn 32–33) et de son appropriation chrétienne à partir des enseignements de Jésus (Mt 5. 21-26) et de Paul (2 Co 5. 11-21). Ce modèle chrétien inculturé est proposé à l’Église et ses partenaires pour être mis en œuvre auprès de la communauté chrétienne, dont les Baluba, et dans l’ensemble de la société congolaise. La première étape de cette mise en œuvre sera un travail de conscientisation et de concertation débouchant sur des expériences pratiques et concrètes de la réconciliation dans des communautés locales, qui pourront servir d’inspiration à d’autres niveaux. La démarche réalisée ici invite aussi à poursuivre des réflexions interdisciplinaires sur la réconciliation durable à partir des pratiques de la culture africaine traditionnelle. / The deterioration of relations and the fragility of cohesion between several social groups in the DR Congo date back to 1958, shortly before the country’s independence in 1960. Since then, socio-political conflicts have profoundly affected ethnic relations and economic conditions have even worsened. Since its independence, the country has gone through many periods of conflict, without any lasting peace. From 1960 to 1964, frequent secession wars, rebellions and inter-ethnic conflicts have destabilized the entire social structure of the country. Attempts for reconciliation have had mixed results and sometimes short-lived solutions. The 1965 coup plunged the country further into violence: power ended up in the hands of members of the sole ruling party and the management of public assets got entrusted to select members of influential ethnic groups. Frustrations and lack of distributive justice engendered insurrections and popular uprisings, which were often quelled by bloody repression. Attempts to democratization since 1990 have not restored the balance of powers. Several ethnic groups, feeling unfavourably treated, have become radicalized and have used deadly violence in support of their claims. The situation has hardly improved since the end of dictatorship and persists even these days. Yet, history shows that in the DR Congo, ethnic groups had a traditional system of resolving various kinds of conflicts. Through a field survey, we have reconstructed the process which usually brought about lasting reconciliation, since it was grounded in community consultations under a palaver tree. Accounts by participants in our survey suggest that such traditional practices of reconciliation have demonstrated their efficiency. From the theological perspective of an inculturation of the Gospel, they can be reinterpreted and adapted, then integrated into the life of the Church and into its mission of reconciliation in the DR Congo. In this dissertation, we propose a Christian and contextualized model of reconciliation, grounded in the traditional practices and rites of the Baluba. To constitute its essential components, we have critically selected traditional elements which have shown their potential for peace. We have then correlated them with elements from a narrative analysis of the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau (Gen. 32–33) and its Christian reinterpretation through the teachings of Jesus (Mt 5. 21-26) and Paul (2 Co 5. 11-21). This contextualized Christian model is being proposed to the Church and its partners for implementation within the Christian community, including the Baluba, and within the entire Congolese society. The first step of this implementation process will consist of the raising of awareness and of consultations, thus leading to practical and actual experiences of reconciliation in local communities, which, in turn, will serve as a source of inspiration at further levels. The approach taken here also invites continued interdisciplinary reflections on lasting reconciliation grounded in traditional African cultural practices.