The split between the Gospel and culture is the drama of our time and in his latest book, “Culture, Inculturation, and Theologians: A Postmodern Critique” Gerry Arbuckle seeks to help us bridge this gap.
It’s been said of Gerry’s book, that “only a master could write a book like this” and that the book could “bring efforts of inculturation to a new level”.
Gerry is of the view that inculturation is an indispensable task of the church, and as a consequence maintains that inculturation demands all who enter into the dialogue understand what culture means and dialogue entails.
In Culture, Inculturation and Theologians, Gerry,
- traces the history of the development of the concept of culture and the too-often negative, rarely positive effects of encounters between church and culture,
- explores how Jesus Christ approached the cultures of his time, and outlines the current treatment of culture and inculturation in church documents and in Catholic theology, and
- shows that modest progress in understanding has recently stalled, and there are even forces working to turn that progress into regress.
Gerry concludes with a description of inculturation as it needs to happen and a sharp critique of those who resist.
The book is available from Amazon.com and all good bookstores.