The Theology of Indigenization

INDIGENIZATION

Introduction

The mission of Christ on earth was to reconcile all people to God. The church continues this mission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”(Mk-16: 15). Christ entrusted this mission to His church and it is a universal mission. It assumes that the gospel must be taken to all people on earth irrespective of color, race and culture. Thus the church is multicultural. She should feel at home and accept the culture of any place or nation where she finds herself.

It is the process of indigenisation through which one can make the gospel natural and known to the particular culture and region by making the gospel relevant to them, as we shall see in definitions of indigenisation. The term indigenisation is from the term indigenous, which means innate, inborn that is originating in the locality and it, is not imported. The term indigenization has been used to refer to a situation where the Christian faith will be natural to a particular cultural context. African and Asian Bishops to express the cultural growth of their local churches first proposed this particular term.

However, it should be brought in to notice that this term arose as a consequence of the resentment among African theologians towards the European culture with which Christianity is clothed. They argue that one finds western form of Christianity in Africa and that is not indigenous to Africa. Christianity brought to Africa through some missionaries who considered western culture superior than African culture and they simply transplanted western Christianity in the African soil, having no respect for African culture and tradition. Thus at that time some theologians and Bishops felt the need to de-westernize the Christianity by taking...

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...e of all jatis (Mt. 28: 18-20).

Works Cited

Conn, Harvie M. “Indigenization”, Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions.

Ed. by A. Scott Morian. Michigan: Baker Books, 2000.

Das, R.C. Evangelical Prophet For Contextual Christianity. Delhi: ISPCK, 1995.

Hargreaves, Cecil. Asian Christian Thinkers. Delhi: ISPCK, 1979.

Martin, Paul. The Missionary of the Indian Road. Bangalore: TBT, 1996.

Moses, D.G. “Indigenization”. In Renewal for Mission. Ed. by David Lyon and

Albert Manuel. Madras: CSL, 1967.

Nyoyoko, Vincent G. “The Biblical and Theological foundations for Inculturation”. Mission Today. 6/3 (July- Sept., 2004).

Sumithra, Sunand. Doing Theology in Context. Bangalore: TBT, 1992.

Taylor, William D. ed. Global Missiology for 21st Century. Michigan: Baker Academics, 2000.