A couple quick reads hit me within an hour of each other. #1. The Altar of Confession in Vatican City had to have a penitential rite to resacralize it after a man jumped up on it naked as a political move to support Ukraine in the war. #2. I was taken care of some business …
Continue reading Are there Cursed Days and Infected Objects?
Although there were many travelers in history who regaled people back home with tales of distant lands, often it was missionaries who were the first to record document other cultures to bring clarity and understanding. That is not to say that they went in without biases or agendas. They certainly did, but often they did …
I want to focus on one reason for failing to adapt to a new culture, but before I do, I suppose I should list some other reasons first. #1. Unintentional Ethnocentrism. This is the belief that "Our Way is the Only Way." This may be unintentional because the person comes from a monocultural setting, perhaps, …
Continue reading Maintaining Otherness. Why Do People Fail to Adapt to a New Culture?
Years ago I was told (by someone, somewhere) that theological writing should be dispassionate, because it is supposed to be objective, not subjective. One is not supposed to put in exclamation points (!!!) or ALL CAPS or use strongly emotional language to express arguments or ideas. The reason I was given was that research is …
Continue reading Theology— Writing Dispassionately for Passionate People
The final step of localizing a video game for a new market is Quality Control. The steps of Internationalization and Localization are meant to make a game that feels natural in a new market. I noted in the last post, the goal is not to make the game feel local, but rather to make the …
Continue reading Internationalization and Localization of Theology, Part 4
A critical step for converting video games to new culture/market is Internationalization. On initial consideration, it seems as if this is unnecessary. Why would one need to “internationalize” so as to 'localize.” However, this step is needed unliess one wants to make the localization process incredibly distressing. I must note that I am not a …
Continue reading Internationalization and Localization of Theology— Part 2
Robert and Christopher Strauss in their book, "Four Overarching Patterns of Culture: A Look at Common Behavior" speaks of four "Cultural Patterns." These are: JusticeHonorReciprocityHarmony I find these to be useful categories for a framework. Of course, the test of categories in a framework is its usefulness, not its correctness. So if one person has …
Teaching Cultural Anthropology as well as Interreligious Dialogue in a seminary in Southeast Asia means that several times a year the question of polygamy comes up. It comes up in terms of how to address polygamy as a Christian minister. Usually, it is in the context of dealing with Muslim families where polygamy is sometimes …
Continue reading Problem of Polygamy in Christian Missions Practice
A book I like, and have used before in my classes on Cultural Anthropology is "Cultural Anthropology-- A Christian Perspective" by Stephen A. Grunlan and Marvin K. Mayers (1988). You can find it by CLICKING HERE. I decided to do something yesterday that I pretty much never do--- read the reader comments (in this case …
Continue reading Cultural Anthropology– A Christian Perspective?
https://player.vimeo.com/video/498619663 Course at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary--- Online Jan-May 2021