THE PROCESS OF INCULTURATION, RIGHTS, NEW STYLES OF LIFE, ECONOMIC  ETHICS.


We are going to do some exploration of chapter six from the view point cultural translation as part and parcel of incarnational process whereby Christianity is embraced and nurtured.

The process of inculturation has do a lot with the undressing of foreign ideologies and mindsets through the redressing community experiences in a mere familiarized way in the culture of openness and in the spirit of intercultural dialogue.

As far as issues of rights, new style of life, economic ethics are concerned, man also is daily changing his attitude of global approach, global ethics, global economy and global governance, and above all in the field of environmental protection and conservation.

This therefore is going to call for a new approach in new system thinking, and paradigm shifts in the field of Christianism and interculturality.

Prof. Dotolo puts great emphasis on translation as being one of the very important and complex but necessary if we must engage in this process of inculturation.

It’s a great venture into the future of Christianity especially in the local universities and local churches making using their lived experiences and realities, where they don’t only speak but also translate what they are talking and above all to know what type of translation we will need to work on and in which method of approach.

This calls for creative entrance into the reality of the culture of inculturation.

Culture is about the way we celebrate life and eucharistic celebrations, a lived spirituality.

Being faithful to the Spirit of Christian teaching authentic lived spiritual experiences.
These cultures and processes ought to be based on pedagogical approach that is well prepared, well formed into the people’s basic understanding of their lives, languages, cultures that corresponds to the religious belief.

This is all have to be tied to the Jesus of Nazareth, the essentials that are articulated, reconstructed, as a cornerstone, firmly based on a free man called Jesus and on the hierarchical truths that have to be adhered to.

Inculturation is a vivid presence of Christian life with its true message to a  particular cultural context, in such a way that this experiences not only find expressions through proper elements to culture in question, but become principles that animates in  making, encouraging Christ’s missionary protagonists of  interculturality something  to keep learning from.

All the Gospels bear witness to the fact that Jesus was born in a specific time and place, into a particular culture and that he lived, was nurtured, worked, ministered, and died as a human being.

God became a human to redeem all humankind from the destructive power of sin ad reconcile and transforming the whole of creation. God assumed a human form of being human and divine.

The belief in incarnation raises profound questions about the nature of God in Jesus Christ. Through incarnation Jesus assumes a form of saving mankind from the power of sin through being in solidarity with man.

Prof. Dotolo quotes Hans Küng  a well-polished theologian in his research in economics and politics, whereby he stated that if economics and politics have no ethical backbone it will crawl and disastrous to many, this may take a shape of global trends, crisscrossing peoples, cultures, countries and religions.

From the statistical figures presented so far it looks very worrying because the gap differences are daily widening, where the poor are becoming poorer as the rich are becoming richer due to unchecked global market forces and bottleneck competition.

There are basic tenets, tools, quality assessment scales that should help in knowing what is truth and how it can be reached and if there is justice what is it quality assessment to know that its practiced fairly and justly? Hans Küng explains truth as unacceptability propaganda style statements of political leaders, people simply are tired of lies.

While Justice is an end to arbitrary arrests, equal and impartial law enforcement and abolition of privileges and prerogatives of the elite.

 Hans Küng’s further expands on that trajectory in a mind shift in thought by stating the moral appeal without political will the action has little value, hence useless, it has no space on the global platform.

There should be a reinforcement and confidence in the young men and women to pressurize politicians on checks and balances of governance, and global financial checks and balances of governance and accountability.

There are five pillars Hans Kung proposes: human rights and responsibility, democracy, protection of minorities, peaceful resolutions of conflict and equal treatment of different generations. Amidst all these, religion plays a big role in the life of man.

Religion has to help man arrive to global ethics accepted by all. Hans Küng states that the golden rule is clearly stated “You have to treat your fellow human being as you would like in turn to be treated.”

This is tenets are found in Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, the information about religions other than Christianity is very limited.  He explains this in detail in his book entitled HANS KÜNG., Global Responsibility, in Search of New Global ethics, with a close understanding the beliefs and practical conviction using the language of the other.

Prof. Dotolo digs into inculturation in such a way that it is on itself at a point of departure and understanding in the way in which it has developed, evolved and matured trough its theological journey of self-discovery, more so in the post conciliar revival. It’s all about accompaniment of the whole ecclesial community walking together, conscious by viewing the bigger picture to be that is encompassed in the great picture of salvation.

This will call for adaptability of some strategies towards cultural movements.

The good parts of culture can be embraced, the bad ones discarded and those not sure of further research into them but above all being keenly in reading the signs of the times that often reveal their true essence and potentiality.

This will call for a disciplined approach above all liberty of persons to live fully their commitment amidst anti systems that they confront every day.
The significance of theology has to be profound towards the interpretation of Christianism in an authentic and dignified way of living in Christ.

A theology that doesn’t open up itself to the actual reality lived is a dead theology and doesn’t deserve to be called theology.

Man has to rethink about the relevancy of religion that carries alongside it rich spiritual experiences.

The basic question should be, why does man do what he does? what is his purpose of living? Does his spirituality create oneness in God? These are fundamental questions to be asked in this process of inculturation.

The interpretation has to put in perspective the growth of community and the maturity of the community needing to be translated, the process should gear into the growth processes which eventually should produce in the long run an emancipation ad independence of thought.

The theology announces the great message of Christ in a given community. This calls for deep comprehensive understanding of the reality in all its perspective: social, cultural, scientific. Interpreting the world in the right perspective.

This process is not a one time exercise, but a long time venture and investment if the process of inculturation has to be successful. The community experiences will be the yard sticks of cultural interpretation. 

This will eventually lead to a theology of hope in actual realization of liberation projects in man and for man.

The theologians ought to keep on purifying the understanding of incarnation, the process is not to ignore the religious experience, for there is where the real incarnation of Christianity begins, where the lived life is translated into practical Christian believe and authentic religious discernment.

Building a culture comes along with the capacity of liberty, tolerance and dignity of a person. The Nazi gas chambers popped up as man’s lowest moments in history.

Man lowered himself too low in lack of hospitality and dignity against his fellow being.

The Strategy of Auschwitz/Rwanda genocide episodes are those moments man must avoid because they are not Christian values and they cannot lead us to liberation except servitude and devilish acts.

This understanding is what needs to usher us into liberation theology so as to exorcise all the evils against human dignity and liberty.

This salvation is expressed in the Paschal mystery, when we are able to speak for the voiceless in our communities and countries, getting ethical visions that result in the spirit of solidarity with the other, recognizing the marginalized amidst political and economic uncertainties.

The spirit of discernment is about quality of inculturation, that drives all participants into dialogue mode of process of inculturation appreciating the differences of individual cultures and avoiding the undermining or under looking any culture.

There should be no fear of the other but through the other we are come to know ourselves, hence, even coming up with terminologies like “fertilization” and “contamination” where fertilization gives into something new but positive, while contamination produces negative vibes, rejection of the other, the state of indifference and not recognizing the value of difference among us .

This is an approach Bongiovanni presents in his discourse on pedagogy of interreligious dialogue where acquisition of difference relating to identity that has to be equally valued.

This can be actualized in the capacity of clear insitutes with great respect of human flow and interaction.

Today, the society is in dare need for a culture of effective respect of differences in the society.

This diversity of cultural experiences produces new system think tanks. We are living in the times of serious globalization, “glocally” founded to the reality lived. This comes with multicultural operation in sense of diversity, in the construction of freedom and personal life, cultural legitimacy on issues of equality and liberty for everyone.

There should be a search into communion of fraternity as alternative options for interculturality.

In every moment of belonging there should be a culture that effectively constructs a space of rich interculturality, an infusion of cultures.

Man becomes a multiple factors of the same culture, a culture of human dignity, that leads to the eco-system within the globe, the bio-politics, connectography where everything else is  linear centred to produce a fertilization of the global ethics,  governance and Christ centred thoughts, learning to work in line with the universality of cultures with open handedness and hearts to embrace the big culture to belong to an international family that is cultured, for the good of community.

 We should not be afraid of others in a community with different people and cultures, we learn to share at the level of the universal ethics, it’s all about relearning how to share and building up the spirit of listening.

This should lead us to the culture of solidarity and fraternity. The true fundamentals of Christianity will be evaluated and assessed in the way Christianity has been planted in the understanding of the other.

Each person is responsible as a carrier of rights and fullness of liberty, solidarity should be seen in the way we receive the other in the moment of need.

The theology that frees man is that of liberation, that ability to be willing to see the point of view other without conditions.

The method and contents of fraternity should be something lived, something practical, more so that which deals with values and constitution of the land.
As we enter deep into interculturality and transculturality, we can’t avoid the issue of environmental responsibility as part and parcel of the spirituality of man.

Today, many people may not belong to a specific main stream religion but certainly they practice some spirituality, part of that spirituality should centre itself to an environment what has come to be commonly known as la casa comun (common home).

The economy of salvation calls for solidarity with the creator, for the care of the planet as proper need of dialogue with proper experience that begins with proper culture incarnated, coming up with local solutions of care of nature and involving the people into dialogue of life based on a spirituality without borders.

The process of interculturation has nothing else of emphasis on except looking into the human suffering and trying to get practical solutions of solving the challenges and not living in the yogurt culture where everything seems to be well smoothened out and nothing else to do.

There should be pride of living together as a family, with zero percentage to discrimination due to race or colour, building up a culture of beyond love, taking care of the environment, securing of true development without exploiting anyone, new force of working together, making a true resolution to work as a family of God, a world where all can call a home.