Intercultural Theology Approaches And Themes

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 35 (2013) 87-156

Mark J. Cartledge and David Cheetham, eds. Intercultural Theology: Approaches and Themes (London: SCM Press, 2011). xi + 193 pp., $44.44 paperback.

This collection of essays, based on a series of seminars conducted at the University of Bir- mingham between 2007 and 2008, serve to illustrate the diversity and depth present in the developing field of intercultural theology through a range of theoretical and practical inter- rogations. Walter Hollenweger, a pioneering scholar and professor of global Pentecostalism at the University of Birmingham, was an early proponent of the discipline of intercultural theology. Fittingly, a number of essays in the work explore the topic in relation to various aspects of Pentecostal Theology.

The opening essay by Werner Ustorf questions the universality and global relevance of intercultural theology as a distinct theological program on the basis of the western Euro- pean origins of the discipline. He observers that the field of study was originally conceived as a way for western academic theologians to move away from transmission-centered approaches to missiology. The method ensured that no particular culture was given “episte- mological privilege” over the other in communication. Such an agenda, Ustorf argues, must be recognized as a culturally conditioned critique of the Western Church that should not be universalized.

In the next chapter, Graham Ward offers a reflection on Christian discipleship as essen- tially political in nature and, as a result, necessarily intercultural. All Christians must learn to live out (perform) the gospel of the kingdom in contexts that have allegiances and author- ities that usurp the authority of Jesus. For Ward, the significance of intercultural theology lies in the discipline’s ability to help in the identification and evaluation of such powers.

In chapter three, David Cheetham explores the relationship between the fields of inter- cultural theology and interreligious studies, asking how far the two fields should be consid- ered separate or mutually dependent. He argues for the importance of interreligious studies as one seeks to evaluate and discern an appropriate orthodoxy within the larger context of global diversity. Building on the work of H. Richard Niebuhr and Kevin Vanhoozer, Cheetham shows how interreligious study is an important task in “improvising” the Christian gospel in new contexts.

Mark J. Cartledge’s essay identifies some of the similarities and differences between the goals and methods of Pentecostalism and the field of intercultural theology. Using the work of John Christopher Thomas and Ken Archer as foundation for discussing Pentecostal theo- logical method, Cartledge expounds the very distinct ways in which the two fields approach Christian doctrine, the nature of scripture, ecclesiology and spirituality.

Through a case study in feminist theology, Kirsteen Kim explores the value of intercul- tural theology as a discipline that highlights the cultural conditioning of all theology. Com- paring gender studies in the global west and north in relation to the south and east, Kim exposes areas of cultural ignorance and identifies opportunities for dialogue and mutual improvement through intercultural theology.

Louise Nelstrop’s chapter challenges Cosimo Zene’s notion of healthy intercultural dia- logue and ethical mission. He sees Zene’s methodology as deficient; it privileges indigenous religions without critical reflection and incorrectly assumes a static view of culture that can be bracketed and protected in cultural exchange. Nelstrop supports his claim with an empir-

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 35 (2013) 87-156

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ical study of a group of Buddhist women in Thailand who experienced positive psychologi- cal well-being through the challenges of Roman Catholic priests and religious workers.

In chapter seven, Martyn Percy claims that recent controversy concerning homosexuality in the Anglican communion masks deeper underlying issues of cultural and societal influ- ences on the church that have gone unnoticed by most, specifically, American individualism and consumerism. Percy argues that these influences turn what should be opportunities for a healthy exchange of ideas into heated disputes between “right” and “left.” Such disputes result in a church that either becomes absorbed into the culture or completely alien, either of which hurts the ultimate mission.

In the next chapter, Allan Anderson argues that the African Independent Churches (AIC) are places where Western Christian forms (particularly Pentecostal) are syncretized with the African worldview. For him, their creative adaptions are a “comprehensive intercultural the- ology.” Broadening the discussion beyond the AIC, Anderson identifies six common prac- tices among a majority of African Pentecostal churches that demonstrate a natural intercultural exchange between African spirituality and Pentecostalism.

Finally, Richard Burgess surveys Nigerian Pentecostalism and the possible contributions they can make to global intercultural dialogue. Through an examination of their hermeneu- tics, cultural engagement, local identity and political activity, he shows the value of intercul- tural theology for understanding the unique forms of Christianity expressed by Pentecostals in Nigeria and its potential value for critical engagement with other cultures.

Central to this volume is the notion that intercultural theology can operate across a vari- ety of theological commitments and maintain a trajectory that goes beyond interreligious dialogue. I would argue that this issue is best addressed with a robust pneumatology that takes seriously the shocking event of Pentecost where a radical pluralism of cultures was not replaced with a universal culture, but endowed with an outpouring of clarity and compre- hension in the midst of variety and unfamiliarity.1 Thus, for Pentecostals and Charismatics, the work of intercultural theology is not a peripheral discipline for select academics, but a core method for discerning new “words” from God for the church through the interpretation of “foreign tongues.”

This book is a small sample of the diverse and virtually limitless possibilities for multiple expressions of intercultural theology. Unfortunately, the authors are not as culturally diverse as one might expect in a project on interculturality. This lack of diversity undermines their intended goal as White Anglo Western academics have been given a privileged position in the conversation. Despite this criticism, this volume is fun to read for its variety in both the authors’ approaches and writing styles. While the collection barely scratches the surface of a very broad field of study, it is an excellent sampling of the richness of the discipline from which future students and scholars can draw insight and inspiration.

Reviewed by Aaron Friesen

Professor at New Hope Christian College Eugene, Oregon

[email protected]

1 Amos Yong, The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 172.

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