Tag: culture
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Malaysian English – A Case of Inculturation
This clip is not only hilarious it should also serve as good material for studies of inculturation. ‘Get down’ of a car is a proper Chinese expression (下车), as in Chinese one does not get ‘out’ of a car but get ‘down’ from it. In fact the word ‘car’ means a whole range of vehicles…
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Inculturation Explained
The standard explanation for the meaning of inculturation is from the REDEMPTORIS MISSIO: Incarnating the Gospel in Peoples’ Culture 52. As she carries out missionary activity among the nations, the Church encounters different cultures and becomes involved in the process of inculturation. The need for such involvement has marked the Church’s pilgrimage throughout her history,…
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Is ‘Allah’ a Translation?
I have finally come to understand why some Muslim in Malaysia are so against the use of ‘Allah’ by other religions, especially the Christians. One of the reasons, of course, has to do with theology. The Islamic faith has no notion of incarnation and hence, no idea of contextualisation or inculturation. The expansion of the…
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Why are the “Modern” Churches Declining in the Postmodern age?
Excerpt from my MA dissertation: [Today,] the culture has changed so much that while the world in general has abandoned or reacted toward over-rationalised ways of thinking and lifestyle, the highly rationalised church, which Drane considers an example of being successfully contextualised to the previously dominant rationalised worldview, is left behind and finds it…
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China and the Christian Impact
Excerpt from ‘A Conflict of Cultures’, the Review of: China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures Jacques Gernet – Cambridge University Press, 1985, by J.S. Cummins: Translating and closely analysing contemporary Chinese material, Gernet show that it was not merely clerical squabbles, doctrines, rituals or customs which separated missionary and potential convert. The…
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19 Types of Christians – Which one is you?
From: Online Christian Colleges How many of the above are culturally influenced? Should there be some Asian variants of this?
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Christmas Traditions
I have always wondered how some of the Christmas traditions came into being. Hence I was pleasantly surprise to find a good piece of article in the in-flight magazine of AirAsia which explains the origin of some of the Christmas practices. The following is a selected list of answers I get from the article: The Christmas Wreath:…
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Review of ‘Pagan Christianity’ at Amazon
I have finally written a short review for Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices at Amazon. It is published in full below: Good Summary but needs to Look Deeper and Wider! This book is a good resource for anyone who wonders why and how some of the current practices in the church…
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Speak like a Christian – the Christian subculture?
Do Christians have their own culture? Well we can begin with language:
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Institutional Church = Pagan Christianity?
Ben Witherington shared Howard Snyder’s review on Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola here. I find Snyder’s review helpful . He pointed out that there are three approaches to church history: 1. the “traditional orthodox” approach, 2.the “secret history of the faithful remnant” theory and 3. the “renewal movement view.” Snyder…
Faith and Culture Today 