Contemplating the Inculturation of the Christian Gospel among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria
One of the ongoing issues confronting Christian denominations is how to relate the Christian gospel to diverse cultures. The importance of culture in the missiological process cannot be overstated, because culture is the social framework wherein an individual or group interprets the information or e...
| Published in: | Missiology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2012
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| In: |
Missiology
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | One of the ongoing issues confronting Christian denominations is how to relate the Christian gospel to diverse cultures. The importance of culture in the missiological process cannot be overstated, because culture is the social framework wherein an individual or group interprets the information or events of one's experiences. As a social framework, collectively created patterns of meaning form a basis for understanding why an individual or group behaves or reacts in one manner or another. Consequently, Christian experience or “Christianity” as a religion, like any other religion (be it indigenous or foreign), must be realized within a given culture if it is to be relevant and meaningful in any way. In order to demonstrate this process, this paper presents a modern account of Christian inculturation among the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria and offers it to demonstrate the difficult yet determined effort of some to embrace the gospel message within their own unique cultural context. I have selected the Igbo because of the number of Igbo scholars who have published works documenting the ongoing efforts of many Igbo Christians to develop their own, distinct Christian experience despite the lingering effects of colonialism, culturally insensitive missionary techniques, and civil war. The Igbo have managed to incorporate divergent social, economic, political, and religious structures while sustaining their own core distinctiveness—a property that, I argue, is characteristic of the Christian gospel as well. |
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| ISSN: | 2051-3623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Missiology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/009182961204000404 |