Culture can be defined in many ways. A celebrated definition, given by Edward Taylor, is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” Culture is not only about behavior but also about ideas which a group subscribes to, communicates, perpetuates and develops. Moreover, human societies not only possess a culture but are distinguished by it from other human societies.
Inculturation, on the other hand, is the insertion of a set of beliefs into a culture. In a narrower sense and as often used by theologians, it is the integration of the Christian faith into a culture where Christians were not previously present. A necessary condition of inculturation is acculturation, an encounter between one culture and another. The intercommunication of ideas and forms of behavior eventually results in a change of ideas and the reception of new ideas. In the primal sense, God’s act of revelation is inculturation or acculturation. In speaking to men and women, God makes His word “short.” God uses human language and conforms Himself to the limitedness of the human mind.
CULTURAL INTERACTION
God revealed Himself within the culture of Israel at different moments of its history, as the Israelites reflected on the meaning of the events in their history and life. But Israelite culture is not the only component of this inculturation. The “fertile crescent” of the Middle East was a veritable crossroads of cultures, and the Israelite culture was the product of varied cultural interaction as well as a contributor to the ongoing intercultural process.
Abraham entered Canaan from Mesopotamia, and later the patriarchs and their descendants settled in Egypt. Undoubtedly, the ancestors of the Israelites were part of the cultural ebb and flow of these regions, and the stories told about them were often the common patrimony of several ancient cultures. The book of Genesis is not comprehensible without reference to the ancient creation myths, epic legends, family stories, and covenant codes of Mesopotamia. When Israel settled in the promised land, it had to contend with the various forms of the Canaanite culture. While the worship of the Canaanite gods and goddesses was condemned, themes of Canaanite myths were inculturated and applied to Yahweh. Psalm 29 which celebrates the royalty of God seems to have been patterned from a Canaanite hymn to Baal.
THE GREEK BIBLE
In much later history, biblical faith had to confront the inroads of Hellenistic culture, with its language, ideas, religious values, sports, and theatres. Part of the Jewish people adopted Greek customs, while others rejected them. But flight from Hellenistic culture was impossible, and inculturation was a strict necessity. Inculturation had at least two major effects: the rise of Wisdom literature (some written in Greek), and the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek − the Septuagint (LXX). The Greek Bible greatly assisted the Jews of the Diaspora (those living outside of Palestine) in their fidelity to the faith.
The coming of Jesus is not just a prolongation of inculturation/acculturation. It is God’s final and devastating “intrusion” into the Jewish culture and into humanity as a whole. It has a distinct name for itself: incarnation. It is God incarnated and inculturated into the ways of men and women. Vatican II puts it succinctly: “By His incarnation the Son of God united Himself in some sense with every man. He labored with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted with a human will, and loved with a human heart. Born of Mary the Virgin, he truly became one of us and, sin apart, was like us in every way” (Gaudium et Spes, 22).
UNIVERSAL KINGSHIP
“The Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14). This may as well be translated as, “And the Word became a Jew.” In His appearance, ways, and ideas, Jesus was a Jew. He was inculturated in the culturally heterogeneous Galilee, which was also “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Mt 4:15).
As an adult, Jesus challenged certain aspects of the culture He had inherited. He inveighed against the establishment order, defied the law on several occasions, mingled with outcasts and sinners, and “purified” the Temple by driving out the merchants and money-lenders. He also claimed to have a very special relationship with God, claiming to be “God’s Son.” In the process, He earned the hatred and hostility of the religious authorities which inevitably led to His passion and death.
The story of Jesus did not end at Calvary. His disciples claimed that He rose from the dead. His resurrection was His vindication by God. His followers claimed and preached that He was the Messiah, the one appointed as the Savior of the world. He is Lord of the whole world; His kingship is universal. It follows that faith in Him should be proclaimed to the ends of the world.
The Apostles preached first to the Jews and slowly opened the faith to the Gentiles. Stories of Jesus and about Jesus were told, translated, and embellished to suit the audience from among Jews and Gentiles. Years later, these were arranged in an orderly way and committed to writing. The result was the four canonical Gospels.
FROM EAST TO WEST
The spread of the faith from the narrow confines of Palestine to the vast expanse of the Roman Empire is mostly attributed to the Apostle Paul, the former persecutor of the faith. He actively sought the Gentiles and preached a law-free Gospel. He brought the faith from East to West: Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, Achaia, and up to Illyricum. He planned to go to Spain.
Paul also journeyed culturally. Brought up in the Diaspora (Tarsus), he was exposed to the intellectual milieu of the Greek and Roman culture. Preaching to the Gentiles, he had to interpret the Gospel message to them, in ways they could understand and accept. His message was centered on the saving cross of Jesus. Some would accuse Paul of preaching his own “gospel” rather than that of Jesus, the rabbi of Nazareth. He “theologized” Jesus and began the process of Christology. Paul inculturated not only the Gospel but also himself: “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law − though I myself am not under the law − to win over those under the law. To those outside the law, I became like one outside the law – though I am not outside God’s law but within the law of Christ − to win over those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel so that I, too, may have a share in it” (1 Cor 9:19-23).
Paul had detractors in his lifetime and even until now. But it is beyond question that Pauline Christianity greatly shaped the history of Christianity from its early period. His inculturation of the gospel of Christ helped turn the Jesus movement into a universal religion.
