Krishna Plastics

Cultural Integration and the Gospel in Vietnamese Mission Theology

Author : Nguyen Kim Son
Publisher :
Release Date : 2017
ISBN 10 : OCLC:992981546
Pages : 650 pages
Rating : 4./5 ( downloads)

Download Cultural Integration and the Gospel in Vietnamese Mission Theology PDF Format Full Free by Nguyen Kim Son and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study argues that it is necessary to present the Christian faith in such a way that it allows the Vietnamese to follow Christ and yet remain within their Vietnamese culture. To do so, the study resonates theologically with what has already been done, and offers some relevant contributions to the Vietnamese contextualization efforts by proposing a paradigm shift in the development of a Vietnamese mission theology that requires it to be both evangelical and Vietnamese. The proposed paradigm shift seeks to narrow the gap between the way evangelical mission theology has been practiced and the Vietnamese syncretistic spirituality. Within the larger context of East Asia, the study has navigated the religio-cultural dimensions of Vietnamese spirituality that have hindered the Christian faith being assimilated into the Vietnamese spirituality. The failure of the Christian missionaries to identify the simultaneous "resisting" and "assimilating" forces characteristic of Vietnamese spirituality became the reason why Christian contextualization efforts failed. At the same time, however, it seems promising that contextualization efforts could be possible once the dual force nature of Vietnamese spirituality is recognized, that is, identifying what needs to be resisted and what are the crucial religio-cultural elements or concepts that need to be assimilated. This nature would serve as the lens through which the contextualization processes would review the essential elements of Vietnamese spirituality which can be redeemed for evangelical Christian beliefs and practices, for instance, the concept of God the Dao (the Way) and the Vietnamese extended family perspective for both the Trinitarian relationship and the Vietnamese Christian community of both the living people and the ancestors. A Vietnamese mission theology must begin with the Vietnamese concept of God the Dao. Acknowledging that the Dao is Christ, the Incarnate God, is the key to unlocking the problem of believing in a God who is alien and strange to the Vietnamese. Any attempt at Christian contextualization in Vietnam, therefore, cannot overlook the dual forces of "resisting and assimilating," and the nature of the Dao of Vietnamese spirituality.