Cultural Integration And The Gospel In Vietnamese Mission Theology
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Cultural Integration and the Gospel in Vietnamese Mission Theology
Postcolonial Vietnam has an urgent need for contextualized theology of mission, God, Christ, and the church that is rooted in indigenous cultural traditions and the dual Vietnamese spirit of resistance and assimilation. Dr KimSon Nguyen navigates the religio-cultural dimensions of Vietnamese spirituality and Daoism that have hindered the assimilation of the Christian faith in the Vietnamese context and explores a fresh approach to missiology in Vietnam. Dr Nguyen draws upon his deep knowledge of Vietnamese evangelical history to analyze contextualization and mission theology in Vietnam. He proposes an evangelical theology of God as Ðạo (way / 道), the centrality of the Vietnamese home as the “house of the Lord,” and ancestor veneration as a theological framework for an indigenous theology of the family. Narrowing the gap between culturally removed evangelical missionary practice and widespread syncretistic spirituality in Vietnam, Nguyen calls for a paradigm shift in Vietnamese mission theology that is both robustly evangelical and authentically Vietnamese.
Cultural Integration and the Gospel in Vietnamese Mission Theology
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.
Missions in Southeast Asia
As the boundaries between cultures and religions blur in an increasingly globalized world, the church finds itself in need of new approaches to understanding and embracing otherness – both inside and outside of its established communities. Southeast Asia has long been one of the world’s most diverse regions, with over a hundred ethnicities represented and members of every major religion living as neighbors. In this rich and complex environment, the church has an equally rich and complex history, at times flourishing, at times floundering, but inexorably taking root. In this collection of essays, contributors from throughout the region reflect on the history and future of Christianity in Southeast Asia, providing an overview of missions in the region, and exploring how local churches are defining a uniquely Southeast Asian approach to interreligious engagement. Combining missiological research with contextual theology, this volume offers profound insight into the challenges accompanying missions in a multireligious environment. From ethnic and religious conflict resolution to navigating hybrid identities, this collection of essays makes an excellent contribution to global conversations surrounding the future of missions in a globalized world.