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book reviews
245
Mark J. Cartledge, and David Cheetham (eds.)
Intercultural Theology: Approaches and Themes(London,eng:scmPress, 2011).
xi + 245 pp. $43.44 paperback.
Intercultural Theology: Approaches and Themes is a collection of nine essays, edited by Mark J. Cartledge (Professor of Practical Theology at Regent Univer- sity) and by David Cheetham (Reader in Philosophical Theology at the Uni- versity of Birmingham). It includes a variety of thoughts from scholars such as Allan Anderson, Kirsteen Kim, Werner Ustorf, and others. Intercultural theol- ogy is the main topic of the book, as it is central to the study of the tripartite relationship of God, gospel, and culture. The book answers questions concern- ing the definition, the importance, and the manner in which intercultural the- ology can be carried out.
The contributors point out that intercultural theology is a contemporary approach to theology where a variety of definitions and perspectives exist. Thus, the editors coin their own definition of the subject or at least what they consider important components of intercultural theology. First, intercultural theology takes into account the varieties of cultures that exist in the world since theology must be made relevant to the context. Second, culture is consid- ered one of the sources for constructing intercultural theology. Traditionally, theology has considered Scripture, tradition, reason, faith, and experience as its sources. But in intercultural theology, culture is also considered as one of the sources for creating theology. Third, intercultural theology calls for engage- ment with theologies that have been created in different cultures. Finally, inter- cultural theology should be seen as a methodology and not an ideology; and constructed as a global project. Intercultural Theology presents the relation- ship between intercultural theology and discipleship, with Pentecostal theol- ogy, gender issues, interreligious studies, and the way these work in different contexts such as Africa.
The book takes into account the Pentecostal tradition and how Pentecostals might contribute to intercultural theology. In chapter four, Cartledge compares Pentecostal theological methods and intercultural theology to consider how they affect the way that each engages theology in mutual and interactive ways. Both Pentecostal theology and intercultural theology share some important components on doing theology: both recognize the importance of the narra- tive approach, giving priority to local voices, where the role of the church is important, and recognizing the importance of spirituality. This chapter makes clear that Pentecostal theology and intercultural theology can be good partners in the process of constructing theology for today’s world.
In chapter eight, Allan Anderson discusses how Pentecostalism has inter- acted within African cultures and argues that Pentecostals contribute to inter-
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03901015
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book reviews
cultural theology. It is clear that Pentecostalism provides new ways for con- structing such intercultural theology. An example of this demonstrates how Pentecostals in Africa integrated their culture with their Christianity. They incorporate African oral liturgy, narrative theologies, witness, communality, and spiritual experiences. Additionally, African Pentecostals affirm the impor- tance of healing and joyful ways of celebrating in the worship services. All of these components are embedded in the African culture and also in African Pen- tecostalism because Pentecostals allow Africans to be African.
To summarize, Intercultural Theology provides a good discussion on inter- cultural theology and Pentecostalism. In my opinion, every theology in today’s world must listen to the Pentecostal voices, especially from the majority world. Also, the text demonstrates that Pentecostals are able to use tools provided by an intercultural theology.
In general, I find two major weaknesses in this book. First, who are the cre- ators of the methodology of intercultural theology? Are the academics or the church people responsible? In my opinion, the academy is in charge of or con- trol of this theology, or at least, it is in control of the creation of its methodology. This is an important issue that should be more amply addressed and discussed concerning this intercultural theology. There is a saying in Latin American Christianity that states: “Liberation theology opts for the poor but the poor opt for the Pentecostals.”This means that sometimes the theology that is born from above is less successful than the theology that is born from below. We simply cannot hand a methodology to the church people; we need to allow them to be part of the formational process. Second, this book makes intercultural theology look very European. The majority of the contributors are from the United King- dom where they live and teach. Additionally, the starting point for the essays lies in Europe. Intercultural Theologycould be made stronger if it included dif- ferent voices from around the world and demonstrated how different scholars from outside Europe understand intercultural theology.
In conclusion, Intercultural Theology is a good introductory text and shows the applicability of this approach to different contexts, such as: the local church, gender, interreligious studies/dialogue, to mission, the public square, and others. It takes into account the Pentecostal movement, which is ignored in other books that speak about contextual theologies. In today’s intercultural, local, or contextual discussions, Pentecostals have to be present in the conver- sation because of their ability to quickly adapt to different cultures.
Reinaldo I. Gracia Figueroa Asbury Theological Seminary
PNEUMA 39 (2017) 241–257
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