Undergraduate Projects/Long Essays

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"He Dwelt Among His People" John 1:14. Inculturation And Incarnation
(Tangaza University College, 2004) Gyamfi, Kwadwo Joseph
In this paper I wish to discuss the concepts Inculturation and Incarnation as the medium through which the Gospel message reaches people within a given context. The main emphasis on the part of Inculturation will be on the Son of God becoming man and living among people. On this, the prologue of St. John will much in focus; "He dwelt among his people" (Jn. 1: 14). Understanding the thought of this text will be a great help to the Church and her Pastoral agents to apply the Gospel message in a given cultural context. In this way, the people will live authentic Christian life in their own culture setting. Inculturation being the issue at hand in the Church, I will begin with the first chapter reflecting on the historical background of inculturation. Special attention will be focused on the various descriptive definitions of inculturation in order to arrive at the basic thought of the word. In order to have a successful trend of incarnation, I will analyse the Old Testament's attempt of God to come among his chosen people, the Israelites. "He dwelt among his people" (Jn. 1:14). This is what the paper will consider as the core of Inculturation. The mystery of the second person of the Trinity becoming man and live among people. Here the concern is the understanding of what it means for the Son of God to live among people. This is the heart of the second chapter. The last chapter looks at the pastoral implication of inculturation as way forward for the Church's Inculturation. On this part incarnation will not be limited to the unique sense it takes when it is applied to the Word and fresh. Incarnation will be used in a broader sense as God's encounter with people in the world and into human lives as it was revealed to the Jews at that time. The emphasis will be the need for people to meet God in their own cultural settings as Jesus himself lived and proclaimed the Gospel message in his Jewish cultural setting. I intend to limit myself to the Biblical text, in which I believe when it is understood can be applied to any area of the Church's inculturation. I shall conclude this reflection with few recommendations, which can be of help pastoral agents to communicate God to humanity in their own cultural settings.
The African Concept Of Marriage And The Inculturation Process
(Tangaza University College, 2003) Muichavali, Benedict
Culture is a set of meanings and values that organize human life and a world view In the life of each individual and especial!) the faithful. there are particular significant and decisive moments for discerning Gods call and embracing the mission entrusted M Him. Inculturation enables the local church to li e the best of the tradition oi her people in a w a\ that full integrates them within the life and message of Jesus Christ.
The Concept of Death in Macua Community: Challenge of Inculturation
(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) Raul, Andre
The Macua look at the reality of death with certain "ambiguity" in the sense that they see it as a necessary step towards ancestorship. It is an essential, indispensable and definitive passage from the visible state of life (earthly) to the invisible. Death is not total destruction or annihilation of a person but through death one goes owani (home) or returns to Mount Namult. According to Macua understanding, death does not break the vital circle because a dead person still belongs to the family or clan. lie/she lives a full and real life, for with death the person acquires "supernatural" power and becomes an intermediary between Alvin/cu (God) and the living people. However, death constitutes a moment of great crisis in the family and in the society at large. And whenever death strikes in the family, people grieve, wail and mourn desperately. For this reason death is feared and fought against in order to safeguard life, which is the highest and most precious gift from God. Death creates disharmony and panic in the society. At the same time, the Macua are unanimous about the universality of death, that is to say that death is a universal phenomenon whereby it does not choose some and leave others. Some proverbs will help us to understand the mind and conviction of the Macua concerning the universality of death. Nakhwa nithavi na Muluku khuvo onihaleta which means death is (like) a hunting net of God, there is nobody who can escape it. In spite of this conviction that death is a universal phenomenon, the Macua still see it as something that occurs unexpectedly and without warning, as this proverb shows: Nakhwa khunleya, Dna mob) nawiye that is to say death is (like) a thief, it comes unexpectedly. This ambiguity created in me some interest that led me to research on this topic so as to try to grasp this mystery and seemingly contradictory attitudes. The questions that arise are, how can we as Christians explain the Christian understanding of death as a passage from this world (earth) to the heavenly kingdom of God? I low can the paschal mystery be relevant in the daily life of the Macua? How can we make a connection between the Macua understanding of hereafter and the Christian doctrine of resurrection?
Lasallian Formation and The Bilen Marriage Covenant: A Case for Inculturation
(Tangaza University College, 2002-03) Iyob, Aron
The main purpose of this paper is to enrich the Lasallian formation program in Eritrea by incorporating into it some elements from the Blin marriage tradition. Therefore, Chapter I deals with Lassallian religious formation, the Lasallian charism, Lassallian spirituality and the identity of the De La Salle Christian Brother. The second chapter deals with Blin marriage. It explains who the Blin people are, their concept of marriage, the way they intermarry, and how they handle engagement and marriage. The third chapter deals with how the elements of Blin marriage can be incorporated into Lassallian religious formation in Eritrea. As for the methodology followed for this research, the author has mainly used books written regarding Blin people, and others which have similarities in cultural concepts, and conducted interviews with few Blin people who have deep knowledge regarding Blin marriage.
Inculturation of The Rites Of Passage Among the Ewe of Togo Case Study: Twins, Pastoral Quest
(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) G. Vignidah, Aristide
Working for reconciliation is one of the biggest challenges of the Church in her mission to the world, especially to Africa where wars, ethnic clashes and hatred have divided the continent and the peoples among themselves. It is a great task particularly for the Church of Cote d'Ivoire, which is facing the biggest treat of its existence since its independence in 1960. For forty years, Cote d'Ivoire enjoyed a stability that envied all the other countries of the west-African sub-region, faced with war and coups. Its economic success attracted people from neighbouring countries, and its main city Abidjan nicknamed, "la perle des lagunes „t because of its strong development, far ahead of all other capitals in the region, was the pride of the continent. However, since September 2002, after a foiled coup attempt, Cote d'Ivoire is divided between a rebel held North predominantly Moslem and a Government held South, predominantly Christian and animist. The causes of this war arc numerous, but the main point now is to know how to reach a lasting peace and reconcile the Ivorians with themselves. This is the big task of the Church today in that country. Being ourselves from Cote d'Ivoire, we know how much this war has affected the people of the country, who were used to peace and stability; we know the level of anger and frustration in the hearts of all, being Moslems or Christians. In fact, the Church is held between the anger of her Christians in their accusations, justified or not, towards Moslems of supporting the rebels, and her mission to proclaim Christ's teaching of love and of forgiveness towards the neighbour and even the enemy. She is also facing the anger of the Moslems in their accusations, justified or not, towards Christians of discriminating them. She has the duty to preach and work for justice. So our objective in choosing this topic is to bring out some suggestions that can help the country in its process of reconciliation. For we believe that a true reconciliation can be effective if it is done through forgiveness and love. And this we know, it is not something easy to achieve. So we will start by presenting the actual situation of the country. Presenting the socio-religious situation might help understand the political situation which follows, where after two years of war, the country is still divided into two. Presenting all these will help understand the dilemma of the Church. The second chapter, which is the biblical understanding of reconciliation, is an analysis of especially the New Testament references for reconciliation, forgiveness and love. We will refer to the teachings of Jesus and of Saint Paul that might help the Christians in their difficult mission of reconciliation. The last part, mission of reconciliation in Christ, is where we want to give our suggestions, adding them to what the local Magisterium is already trying to do. These are the pastoral challenges of the lvorian Church, and even though they are not easy, in Christ, the Church will succeed in her mission of reconciliation.
Inculturation of Marriage Among the Bemba People of Zambia
(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) Misengo, Theophan
One of the deepest aspirations and desires that the Bemba have and long to see fulfilled is marriage. When we have some knowledge about their marriage encounter, it will help us to understand on the way they respond to their Christian faith. This understanding is important for our pastoral work as ministers of the Word of God. A good number of marriages, among the Bemba, are traditional ones. Some of these Christians prefer traditional marriage to ratified marriage in the church. Among the Bemba, there are polygamous families and polygamy is accepted. Within their marriage practice, there are some elements that do not conform to Christian values. At the same time, the Bemba are in favour of Christianity. The Christian and traditional point of view have to meet and embrace each other somewhere. In Africa today, inculturation continues to be an urgent issue. The Bemba should experience the Good News of the Gospel in their cultural situation. Traditional marriage practices should be enriched by the Gospel message and vice-versa. Christianity has to grow in an African environment where each Christian will feel at home. The issue of traditional marriage has persisted since the early missionaries. The early missionaries addressed this matter with less success. The search for better understanding of traditional marriage continues. The church should look for suitable ways by which to accept traditional marriage. In the process of reinterpretation of the Bemba traditional marriage, the Bemba community and the church should be faithful to each other.
Inculturation as Means of Communication for Evangelization
(Tangaza University College, 2006) Aazine, Nibetol Nicholas
The Church down through her line of history has often encouraged the effective use of Mass Media to facilitate the spread of the Good News, Nevertheless, on the other hand, she has not ceased to emphasis Inculturation as another perfect model of communication in doing evangelization. Today, the most highlighted models or channels of communication used are radio, TV., Internet, newspaper, magazine, and phones. Very little emphasis is made in the use of Inculturation. Modern channels of communication would be voted by anyone as the best and fastest way of doing Evangelisation but the little defect one can quickly point out is the fact that it does not really touch the core of the human person. It only stays hanging but does not touch the real lives of the people. Needless to add that this piece of work is not in condemnation of modern models used in spreading the Good News. This paper is to point out this other effective model or channel, which has been abandon in the closet for some time now. Inculturation may sound arcane but believe it or not it one of the effective means through which Evangelisation is done. As it is often emphasized these days, evangelization is not virtually by preaching with word of mouth, listening to the radio, watching TV., but also preaching with one's life. Inculturation comes as means by which this aspect of the Good News is communicated. Inculturation actually reaches or touches the core of people's life visa vis the Gospel. This means of doing evangelization could only make sense to us if we all join in or accept it effectiveness. We all need to bring the Gospel message into our lives through our daily activities, cultures, and language so as to find a new Christ communicated to us. As already mentioned, other means of communication are not to be under estimated but to find a true Christ born and living with us. We need also to give a stronger look at inculturation, which is a more practical means of communicating a Christ who is fiilly alive among us. It is good to see the importance of these modern tools, which have so successfully wave their way through the modern mode of living, affecting and influencing our Christian lives. It is also the aspiration of everyone now to acquaint oneself with these modern means of communication. However, we should not loose sight of how to assimilate all these into the lives of people so that the Gospel message might make sense in the lives of the people. The church may be accused of being slow in pushing forward this way (Inculturation) of doing evangelization, perhaps because of the risk of loosing the message in another sense. The few areas this means has been employed effectively, tremendous impact has been made in the lives of the people. Inculturation is slowly booming and a very old word in the churches history. Much has been written about it but very little has been done about it. Believe it or not it is one of the best ways and of course the best means of communication for everyone for the gospel values to be understood properly among the people, it must find place among them. This means that the gospel values must be rooted in the lives and culture of the people.
The Challenges Facing Modern African Christian Families in Respect to Human Dignity and Remedial Approaches with Particular Reference to Kenyan Situation
(Tangaza University College, 2009) Muiruri, Edwin, Gichaga
Nowadays there are thousands and thousands of consecrated religious people living in different communities in different parts of the world. Are they all leading a harmonious and meaningful life in their communities? Are they all happy with their community members? The answer may not be a positive one always, because there are conflicts and misunderstandings in our religious communities. One of the contributing factors present in the great majority of religious communities is multicultural nature of the local community. This we can state is a mark of modem consecrated community life. This reality call for an awareness on the part of all and concrete steps towards an inculturation of the Gospel in these settings
Veneration of Ancestors as a Vital Element of African Tradition Religion And The Possibilities of Its Inculturation In The Catholic Church in Africa.
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02-07) Dominik, Waclaw
In 1842, at the end of his retreat, before leaving for India, Marion Brasillac, the future founder of the Society of African Missions wrote several ideas that were to be his guidelines for mission. In his diary he noted: "Here are the special resolutions I made at the end of the retreat: I. To be a missionary with all my heart. 2. To neglect nothing for the advancement of God's work. 3. To seize every opportunity of preaching God's word. 4. To use every means I have - all my strength, all my study and effort - to contribute towards the formation of a native clergy". These words have been a point of reference for hundreds of SMA missionaries who following the example of our Founder, gave their lives in the service of people of African origin. Today, almost 144 years after the foundation of our Society, I want to engage myself definitively in the service of the African Church, as a missionary, especially among those who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ. The political, social, economic situation of contemporary Africa is a complicated one. It is within this context that I want to go to proclaim the Good News of salvation of Jesus Christ. My 9 years of formation helped me to find my own answer to the question 'Why do I want to spread the Gospel in Africa'. However, as good as this answer may be, lam convinced that it is not enough to be relevant to people among whom I am going to work. The basic question I have to find answer to, in line with the charism of SMA and my personal gifts. is 'How', by what means. I am to do so as to be relevant to people having their wn, highly structured culture'. This work is an attempt to give answer to this question. It is also an attempt to present a particular way in which the second and the third resolution of Marion Brasillac, mentioned above are understood by me in the present situation of Africa. To proclaim the Gospel among those who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ and have their own culture and religion, it is necessary to know the position of the Catholic Church concerning other religions and their relationship to Christ. For this reason, the first chapter deals with this issue. Further in the first chapter, after having looked at the position of the Church towards world religions with a special attention to African Traditional Religion, we will present the process of inculturation as the most appropriate way of proclaiming Jesus Christ in the contemporary Africa. People in Africa have very rich cultures, with their particular religious background. This culture is very different from my native Polish culture. It is distinct to such an extend that I find it indispensable to be well acquainted with this culture before starting my ministry. That is the reason for choosing such an approach in the second chapter. It would be impossible to look at all elements of African culture and religion. That is why I have chosen to look at the notion of ancestors in African Traditional Religion. There are basically two reasons for this choice: ancestors play a very important role in Africa and they have a special place in the pyramid of life. Because of this special place, some other elements of African Traditional Religion are going to be mentioned. The process of inculturation is not an easy one and usually requires a deep theological knowledge of Christianity and of local customs. These are the reasons for looking at the ways in which others considered the process of inculturat on of ancestor veneration. The second part of the third chapter deals with my personal proposals how to use this veneration in the practical situation of the proclamation of the Gospel in Africa at the beginning of the XXI century. The Christian approach to African Traditional Religion as presented above, seems to be well grounded in the Gospel and in the contemporary teaching of the Church. It is, basically, an approach of openness, of respect and of humility. We are aware that we do not 'bring God' from outside, but we try to discover his presence in African religious beliefs. This approach helps to achieve two things. First, we carry on the process of evangelisation as Jesus Christ asked us to do (cf , Mt 28: 19-20). Secondly, it allows us to deepen our own faith and understanding of God's action in the world. Looking at the mysterious ways in which God is to be found in ancestor veneration of African people, we can only stand in awe and repeat the words of the psalmist:
Toward A Model for an Igbo Christian Spirituality
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Nwachuicvvu, Peter
As many scholars have noted, there has been an increasing interest in spirituality since Vatican Id Council. This has been evidenced by the number of people who enroll in spirituality courses each year, many writings on spirituality, number of workshops on spirituality designed to foster the lived experience of the spiritual life. People wonder why there is this increasing interest in spirituality. This should not be surprising because the church since Vatican II has focused on the importance of inculturation of the gospel values in the different cultures. Perhaps, the most effective way of doing this is through an understanding of local spiritualities. Spirituality being a lived experience, the progressive, conscious striving toward personal integration through self- transcendence within and toward the horizon of ultimate concern,' could be a good perspective from which to assess and appreciate the cultural context of the gospel values. Spirituality deals with day to day striving towards one's life goal. When we come to Africa, we may ask ourselves, what is that that an African strives for and how is he or she living out this life project? According to John Mbiti, Africans are notoriously religious. Religion penetrates all the aspects of life so fully that it is not easy to isolate it.2 This means that the principle which controls an African's day to day striving lies in his or her religion. Similarly, the principle which governs the life of an Igbo person in Nigeria, is his or her religion. This implies that in all their life activities, religious beliefs is a guiding force. But when we examine the attitudes of the Igbo Christians today, we are forced to ask, how far has Christian values penetrated their life and their daily activities? Thus one wonders, is Christianity making any impact among the Igbos who are committed to religion and whose religious values guides all their activities? According to an English saying, "there is no smoke without fire." When I look at many Igbo Christians, I wonder what actually is the force behind what I can call a "double lifestyle" and their inconsistent adherence to the gospel message. Contemporary Igbo Christians manifest elements of "double religious consciousness" and are not completely faithful to the gospel message. "Double lifestyle or religious consciousness," is the situation where, one is a Christian and at the same time an adherent of traditional religion. One may attend Christian worship in the morning, and in the evening go to the traditional priest's shrine or participate fully in the traditional worship practices. My experience of this "double lifestyle" and unfaithfulness to the gospel message during my 1999 long vacation (May to August 1999) which I spent in some Igbo Christian communities raised many questions in me. First, what is the force that makes Igbo people to live as both Christians and believers in traditional religion simultaneously? Second, how rooted is Christianity among the Igbos, and how meaningful is Christianity to them? Lastly, how far has Christianity been incarnated in the Igbo culture? This essay, therefore, aims at examining the root cause or the force behind this "double religious consciousness," and will attempt to show how Christianity can solve this problem. This search for the cause of the "double religious consciousness"is examined from the perspective of spirituality. Spirituality in this essay is considered to be the underlying principle behind any human behaviour. This principle is considered to be the root of all human actions and the core of any human existence. In order to achieve the aim of this project, we shall divided the work into three chapters: Chapter one examines the concept of spirituality. It analyses the Christian and African Indigenous spiritualities. Chapter two focuses on aspects of African spirituality as they are found and lived in the Igbo traditional community. Then, chapter three is dedicated to establishing a model for an Igbo Christian Spirituality. In this case, the need for inculturation, the process of and approaches to inculturation of the gospel message in the Igbo culture are identified and analysed. This is followed by a general summary and conclusion of the work. This essay is based on an evaluation of existing literature relevant to the topic of study. The literature analysed include both Christian and African theologians' texts. Furthermore, particular attention is paid to the daily life of the Igbos, that is, their experiences and their nomenclatures. This enables us to explain more fully the inner feelings of the people based on their own experience and their expressions. Also, the essay is based on discussion with some Igbos and interview with some missionaries who have worked among the people. In selection of the key informants interviewed, consideration was given to those with pastoral experience among the Igbos. Ten informants were interviewed,' but out of this ten people, Fr. Declean was chosen as the Chief informant for more indepth interview. Rev. Fr. Declean has worked among the Igbos both as Parish Priest and also a lecturer in a Major Seminary for over twenty years. Also, coming from outside Igbo land and Nigeria, he was considered to be more appropriate to give an outsider's evaluation of indigenous Igbo Christians. The bible quotations in this essay are from The African Bible.' See

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