Examples Of Jesus Inculturation

There are two different understandings of Jesus. One way to understand him is to think of him in terms of inculturation: This means to adapt an idea, image, or story to a specific culture. The second way to understand Jesus is to think of him in terms of incarnation, or God becoming flesh. Inculturation is a highly malleable process which opens up Jesus to many interpretations, while incarnation is a much more objective way of thinking. In this essay, I will point out how and why inculturation and incarnation are different via examples of three different culture’s adoption of personalized images of Jesus. When reading the Bible, or any text for that matter, we connect the text to our personal experiences and familiar circumstances. We always have a movie reel rolling in our mind’s eye. This allows a connection between the reader

This is exactly what inculturation does. For example, even though Jesus lived in first century Palestine, he is most famously depicted as a white/European man. The reason for this is because inculturation makes Jesus feel more relatable to Western culture. Another example of how the image of Jesus matters in creating a connection with a group of people is well depicted in Lodwar, Africa. They make a point to diverge from the traditional image of the white Jesus, and instead began painting him as well as Bible stories in the context of African culture. They call it “an urgent priority in the life of particular Churches, for the firm rooting of the Gospel in Africa” (Dr. Fogg 3/30/16). In other words, they see inculturation as a necessity in attracting more people to Christianity and creating a feeling of solidarity within it. Emmanuel Garibay is a Filipino man who also uses imagery to connect with Jesus. In his painting called “Emmaus,” he depicts