Toward Inculturated Preaching
How do we understand the relationship between preaching and culture? This question is as old as Christianity, even though “culture” in its anthropological sense is a relatively recent development. As every preacher knows, both preacher and listener are shaped by certain pre-understandings and values...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/1/30 |
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| Summary: | How do we understand the relationship between preaching and culture? This question is as old as Christianity, even though “culture” in its anthropological sense is a relatively recent development. As every preacher knows, both preacher and listener are shaped by certain pre-understandings and values as they approach the interactive moment of proclamation. Culture shapes the imagination and thought patterns of the preacher, no less than the listener. If preaching is to be considered dialogically—a bidirectional conversation between the preacher and the listeners, in service of a conversation between God and God’s people—then it behooves both human conversation partners to become ever more aware of the cultural milieu(x) in which they are immersed. Every preaching event is the work of constructing an authentic local theology, a theological understanding suited to the particular people, historical moment, and cultural context in which it takes place. This essay seeks to shed light on that question through an engagement with a contemporary approach to the theology of inculturation (or contextualization). The starting point is a theology of preaching and its purpose as a Christian practice. We then turn to a theology of inculturation as it has been developing in recent decades, a theology that frames the interaction of the Christian message with culture in terms of both adaptation and liberation. Drawing upon the work of Robert Schreiter and others in understanding the formation of local theologies, the essay advances some methodological considerations in order for the church to move toward the possibility of authentically inculturated preaching. It concludes with some concrete suggestions for preachers, and an examination of one attempt to think through what it means to preach in a postmodern cultural context. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |