Intercultural Theology, Volume One

Christianity is not only a global but also an intercultural phenomenon. The diversity of world Christianity is evident not merely outside our borders but even within our own neighborhoods.M

Over the past half century theologians and missiologists have addressed this reality by developing local and contextual theologies and by exploring issues like contextualization, inculturation, and translation. In recent years these various trajectories have coalesced into a new field called intercultural theology. Bringing together missiology, religious studies, social science research, and Christian theology, the field of intercultural theology is a fresh attempt to rethink the discipline of theology in light of the diversity and pluriformity of Christianity today.

Henning Wrogemann, one of the leading missiologists and scholars of religion in Europe, has written the most comprehensive textbook on the subject of Christianity and culture today. In three volumes his Intercultural Theology provides an exhaustive account of the history, theory, and practice of Christian mission. Volume one introduces the concepts of culture and context, volume two surveys theologies of mission both past and present, and volume three explores theologies of religion and interreligious relationships.

In this first volume on intercultural hermeneutics, Wrogemann introduces the term "intercultural theology" and investigates what it means to understand another cultural context. In addition to surveying different hermeneutical theories and concepts of culture, he assesses how intercultural understanding has taken place throughout the history of Christian mission. Wrogemann also provides an extensive discussion of contextual theologies with a special focus on African theologies.

Intercultural Theology is an indispensable resource for all people—especially students, pastors, and scholars—that explores the defining issues of Christian identity and practice in the context of an increasingly intercultural and interreligious world.

Missiological Engagements charts interdisciplinary and innovative trajectories in the history, theology, and practice of Christian mission, featuring contributions by leading thinkers from both the Euro-American West and the majority world whose missiological scholarship bridges church, academy, and society.



Henning Wrogemann (DTheol, DHabil, Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg) is a world-renowned missiologist and scholar of religion. He holds the chair for mission studies, comparative religion, and ecumenics at the Protestant University Wuppertal/Bethel in Germany, where he also heads the Institute for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies. He is the chairman of the German Society of Missiology.Previously, Wrogemann served as a pastor in northern Germany, as the senior lecturer for missiology and comparative religion at the Mission Seminary Hermannsburg, and as a member of the mission board of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower-Saxony, Germany.

Preface to the English Edition (2016)


Preface to the German Edition (2011)
Part I: Intercultural Theology: What Does This Mean?


1. The Gospel of Life in the Midst of Cultures: An African Case Study


2. Intercultural Theology: A Primer
Part II: Intercultural Hermeneutics and the Concept of Culture


3. Intercultural Hermeneutics: Introduction


4. The History of Hermeneutics in the West and Interculturality: An Overview


5. Globalization and Interculturality: Is "Foreignness" Dying Out?


6. Is Inculturation Permissible? Concerning Symbolic Forms and Their Use


7. On Scientific Discourses and Power: What Is Culture?


8. Cultural Semiotics, Discourse Theory and Intercultural Hermeneutics
Part III: On the Plurality of Contextual Theologies: The Example of Africa


9. Contextual Theologies Worldwide: Some Preliminary Remarks


10. The Development of Contextual Theologies in Africa: An Overview


11. African Theologies: Jesus Christ as (Proto-)Ancestor, Master of Initiation, and Healer


12. Jesus Christ and an African Women's Theology


13. The Contextual Theologies of African Evangelical Theologians


14. African Theologians and the Reality of the Congregation


15. On the Contextuality of Contextual Theologies: An Interim Appraisal
Part IV: Christian Missions and Foreign Cultures: Historical Perspectives


16. The Replacement Model and Covert Resistance in the New World


17. The Indifference Model: The Example of the Herrnhuter Mission


18. The Ennoblement Model


19. The Indigenization Model: The Example of Bruno Gutmann


20. The Appropriation Model: The Example of "Intuitive" Inculturations
Part V: Theology and Interculturality: Systematic Perspectives


21. Inculturation


22. Syncretism: What Is That?


23. The "Postcolonial Turn"—and Then What?: On the Newer Terminology


24. So Much for Ecumenism!: Appreciating Christianity as a Global Formation


25. Contexts: Contextual Theologies and Their Cultural Impregnation


26. Theology and Interculturality: Walking the Path Together


Bibliography


Name Index


Subject Index