LOCAL CULTURES and the UNIVERSAL

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It is important to understand the way in which cultures interact with each other, and their social function, when exploring the link between culture and the dissemination of ideas, political and religious as well as cultural. Civilized forms of exchange, affected the way people thought, and related to their natural environment. Knowledge systems, along with primal beliefs that link the human to the Divine, brought about ways of worship, and a sense of sacred space. Temples and images gave coherence to the spiritual orientation underlying a cultural world view. A prevailing cosmology provided meaning to the social and political order, and helped in the establishment of empires which were forever extending their boundaries.
A concept of the universal, includes the diversity of cultures within an over-arching framework of interconnecting symbols. The temple or holy place for worship, is a microcosm that reflects the unity of a divinely ordained cosmos. The local, or particular, is given the significance of a part, reflecting a teleological whole.
The relation of Gospel to culture also influences the way in which we understand modern ecological issues, where industry and science are effecting our whole environment. Globalization of culture is part of the problem when thinking about the importance of local cultures, in relation to their natural and geographic context.

important to understand connecting links between cultures, and their social function, when exploring the link between culture and the dissemination of ideas, political and religious as well as cultural. Civilized forms of exchange, affected the way people thought, and related to their natural environment. Knowledge systems, along with primal beliefs that link the human to the Divine, brought about ways of worship, and a sense of sacred space. Temples and images gave coherence to the spiritual orientation underlying a cultural world view. A prevailing cosmology provided meaning to the social and political order, and helped in the establishment of empires which were forever extending their boundaries.
A concept of the universal, includes the diversity of cultures within an over-arching framework of interconnecting symbols. The temple or holy place for worship, is a microcosm that reflects the unity of a divinely ordained cosmos. The local, or particular, is given the significance of a part, reflecting a teleological whole.
The relation between culture and nature is a vital concern when thinking about the way that environmental issues affect our understanding of the Gospel in the modern globalized and industrialized world.

It is important to understand roads of communication, and their social function, when exploring the link between culture and the dissemination of ideas, political and religious as well as cultural. Civilized forms of exchange, affected the way people thought, and related to their natural environment. Knowledge systems, along with primal beliefs that link the human to the Divine, brought about ways of worship, and a sense of sacred space. Temples and images gave coherence to the spiritual orientation underlying a cultural world view. A prevailing cosmology provided meaning to the social and political order, and helped in the establishment of empires which were forever extending their boundaries.
A concept of the universal, includes the diversity of cultures within an over-arching framework of interconnecting symbols. The temple or holy place for worship, is a microcosm that reflects the unity of a divinely ordained cosmos. The local, or particular, is given the significance of a part, reflecting a teleological whole.

Trading in Culture.

The Second Vatican Council provided a new theological basis for what was termed a process of “inculturating” the Church into local cultures in the non-Western world. This process was understood as a way of incarnating the Divine Word into another cultural context, by using local forms to embody what was understood as being the Universal principles underlying the Gospel. This valuing of cultures other than what characterizes European civilization, led also to the translating of the Bible into many other languages. The process of translation cannot simply be a literal one. Words, like images, carry their own ambience of meanings, and symbolic over-tones, which draw on the memory, and mytho-poetic world from which cultures have emerged.

Second Vatican Council provided a new theological basis for what was termed a process of “inculturating” the Church into local cultures in the non-Western world. This process was understood as a way of incarnating the Divine Word into another cultural context, by using local forms to embody what was understood as being the Universal principles underlying the Gospel. This valuing of cultures other than what characterizes European civilization, led also to the translating of the Bible into many other languages. The process of translation cannot simply be a literal one. Words, like images, carry their own ambience of meanings, and symbolic over-tones, which draw on the memory, and mytho-poetic world from which cultures have emerged.

The Divine Incarnation into a world of cultural images.

f we look at the way Religious traditions spread in the first millennia and a half of the Common Era, we are conscious that while Christianity followed the fortunes of the Greco-Roman empire, civilizations of the East had also their sense of Mission and spiritual quest. Thus the ancient Mauryan empire, especially under the rule of Ashoka, did much to spread Buddhism and other forms of Indian spirituality right across Asia. Later, Islam spread over central Asia to India and Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
This link between Faith and civilization needs to be better understood, or we may be in danger of viewing the emergence of a Global culture in the light of what Huntington termed a ‘clash of Civilizations’. There is nothing intrinsically Christian about European Civilization, and Asian Cultures are not by their nature at variance with Gospel values. Yet many missionaries, accompanying European adventurers in search of Asian resources for trade, thought they were bringing civilization along with the Christian Faith to ignorant natives given to idolatrous cults. The link between Gospel and Culture represents a ‘counter-culture’. This counter cultural aspect of the Gospel challenges the very notion of colonialism. The hunger for power is fundamentally opposed to the vision of Jesus concerning a ‘Kingdom of God’ here on earth. To impose one form of civilization on another, gives rise to situations of conflict that endanger the future of the whole planet earth. The concept of Gospel in relation to cultures, and especially the cultures of the dispossessed, or marginalized, underlies a new understanding of “Mission” as a dialogue between cultures, that is respectful of the diversity of peoples, in relation to the diversity that we find in nature itself, and which needs to be protected and celebrated if Creation is to be furthered, as Divinely ordained.

f we look at the way Religious traditions spread in the first millennia and a half of the Common Era, we are conscious that while Christianity followed the fortunes of the Greco-Roman empire, civilizations of the East had also their sense of Mission and spiritual quest. Thus the ancient Mauryan empire, especially under the rule of Ashoka, did much to spread Buddhism and other forms of Indian spirituality right across Asia. Later, Islam spread over central Asia to India and Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
This link between Faith and civilization needs to be better understood, or we may be in danger of viewing the emergence of a Global culture in the light of what Huntington termed a ‘clash of Civilizations’. There is nothing intrinsically Christian about European Civilization, and Asian Cultures are not by their nature at variance with Gospel values. Yet many missionaries, accompanying European adventurers in search of Asian resources for trade, thought they were bringing civilization along with the Christian Faith to ignorant natives given to idolatrous cults. The link between Gospel and Culture represents a ‘counter-culture’. This counter cultural aspect of the Gospel challenges the very notion of colonialism. The hunger for power is fundamentally opposed to the vision of Jesus concerning a ‘Kingdom of God’ here on earth. To impose one form of civilization on another, gives rise to situations of conflict that endanger the future of the whole planet earth. The concept of Gospel in relation to cultures, and especially the cultures of the dispossessed, or marginalized, underlies a new understanding of “Mission” as a dialogue between cultures, that is respectful of the diversity of peoples, in relation to the diversity that we find in nature itself, and which needs to be protected and celebrated if Creation is to be furthered, as Divinely ordained.

THE SILK ROAD

Among the earliest travellers to bring Christianity to Asia were Nestorian monks and traders who journeyed far into Asia to exchange goods. These goods were not only objects of commerce: they were also linked to the exchange of ideas and technologies. The trade route that linked the cultures of the East to Europe has been called the ‘Silk Road’. But it was not only silk, or other precious fabrics that were transported on these routes, but also objects of art, and philosophical ideas. In return, Eastern potentates valued the scientific discoveries of Western intellectuals, along with cultural gifts which were linked to the Christian Faith. Jesuits brought images of Jesus and the Madonna, or beautifully illustrated books which were prized by Eastern aesthetes, but also seekers for spiritual wisdom.

Among the earliest travellers to bring Christianity to Asia were Nestorian monks and traders who journeyed far into Asia to exchange goods. These goods were not only objects of commerce: they were also linked to the exchange of ideas and technologies. The trade route that linked the cultures of the East to Europe has been called the ‘Silk Road’. But it was not only silk, or other precious fabrics that were transported on these routes, but also objects of art, and philosophical ideas. In return, Eastern potentates valued the scientific discoveries of Western intellectuals, along with cultural gifts which were linked to the Christian Faith. Jesuits brought images of Jesus and the Madonna, or beautifully illustrated books which were prized by Eastern aesthetes, but also seekers for spiritual wisdom.

IMAGE OF MARY in ASIAN ART

The Jesuit mission to Agra at the time of Akbar brought copies of Jesus and the Madonna to the Mogul court. A copy of the “Borghese Madonna” of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, created much interest, and many came to see but also worship before these images, including Akbar himself. Interest in the figure of Mary is a special feature of Catholic art in Asia, arousing interest among those who have a devotion to the feminine aspect of Divinity.
In China, Japan and also the Philippines the popular image of ‘Kuan Yin’ (or Guanyin, also known a Kannon in Japan) has been related to that of Mary. On occasion those who were in danger of persecution because of their Christian belief substituted for Mary an image close to the Buddhist Kuan Yin as a way of disguising their Faith. In this connection it is interesting that the modern Indian Christian artist Angelo da Fonseca often represented Mary in his paintings. He became famous after he painted an image of Mary wearing a sari, which was published in a popular Catholic paper, and seen by the Jesuit Fr. Heras in Bombay, who subsequently became a patron of Angelo da Fonseca and his art. This tendency to represent Mary in an inculturated form is an important feature of Catholic art in Asia.

Jesuit mission to Agra at the time of Akbar brought copies of Jesus and the Madonna to the Mogul court. A copy of the “Borghese Madonna” of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, created much interest, and many came to see but also worship before these images, including Akbar himself. Interest in the figure of Mary is a special feature of Catholic art in Asia, arousing interest among those who have a devotion to the feminine aspect of Divinity.
In China, Japan and also the Philippines the popular image of ‘Kuan Yin’ (or Guanyin, also known a Kannon in Japan) has been related to that of Mary. On occasion those who were in danger of persecution because of their Christian belief substituted for Mary an image close to the Buddhist Kuan Yin as a way of disguising their Faith. In this connection it is interesting that the modern Indian Christian artist Angelo da Fonseca often represented Mary in his paintings. He became famous after he painted an image of Mary wearing a sari, which was published in a popular Catholic paper, and seen by the Jesuit Fr. Heras in Bombay, who subsequently became a patron of Angelo da Fonseca and his art. This tendency to represent Mary in an inculturated form is an important feature of Catholic art in Asia.

Mapping the Asian Continents

Underlying this overlapping of Buddhist iconography and Christian images would be the early links drawn by Nestorian Christians between the message of compassion of the Lord Buddha, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Trading communities in the little state of Sogdiana between the rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, whose capital was Samarkhand, on the Silk Route, seem to have been often followers of a form of Christian Faith which came to be known as the Church of Light. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries of our Common Era, missionaries were sent from the Persian Church to the Far East, reaching as far as the Great Wall of China. An engraved limestone Stele was unearthed in the late Ming Dynasty (between 1623 and 1625) and was subsequently studied by the Jesuit Alvaro Semedo. It appears that this monument was originally erected around 781 CE during the Tang Dynasty, and concerns the teaching of a Persian monk called the Venerable Alopen, who left behind “Twenty seven standard books. These set forth the great conversion for the deliverance of the soul”.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.

Underlying this overlapping of Buddhist iconography and Christian images would be the early links drawn by Nestorian Christians between the message of compassion of the Lord Buddha, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Trading communities in the little state of Sogdiana between the rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, whose capital was Samarkhand, on the Silk Route, seem to have been often followers of a form of Christian Faith which came to be known as the Church of Light. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries of our Common Era, missionaries were sent from the Persian Church to the Far East, reaching as far as the Great Wall of China. An engraved limestone Stele was unearthed in the late Ming Dynasty (between 1623 and 1625) and was subsequently studied by the Jesuit Alvaro Semedo. It appears that this monument was originally erected around 781 CE during the Tang Dynasty, and concerns the teaching of a Persian monk called the Venerable Alopen, who left behind “Twenty seven standard books. These set forth the great conversion for the deliverance of the soul”.
This early introduction of Christian mystical thought into China was of interest to the Jesuits Mission founded by Matteo Riccci (born 1552)who played a significant role in creating links between the Catholic Church and Chinese culture.He received an invitation of the governor of Zhaoqing, who was keen to learn from Ricci about his knowledge of mathematics, and the making of maps.

PILGRIM JESUS

Cartography, or the art of making of maps, was a vital science that was to lead to our present understanding of a global world. Some would argue that the journey of Christianity towards the Far East has only just begun. In a post colonial world this journey must be undertaken by pilgrims rather than by soldiers or traders. It has to be respectful of ancient holy sites. One sees in the art of a number of Asian Christians the image of Jesus walking on the roads that lead East. This Jesus accompanies a pilgrim Church, in the way that the Risen Christ walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Christians have often felt confused, or even exiled. Another favourite theme of Oriental art is the journey of the Holy Family escaping with the baby Jesus into exile. The Jesus who has appealed to the imagination of Asian artists, is often a mendicant holy man, like the wandering monk, or Sanyassi. He is not a “conquisitor”—a European imperialist. Rather he reveals a way of Light, that is also a path to liberation

Cartography, or the art of making of maps, was a vital science that was to lead to our present understanding of a global world. Some would argue that the journey of Christianity towards the Far East has only just begun. In a post colonial world this journey must be undertaken by pilgrims rather than by soldiers or traders. It has to be respectful of ancient holy sites. One sees in the art of a number of Asian Christians the image of Jesus walking on the roads that lead East. This Jesus accompanies a pilgrim Church, in the way that the Risen Christ walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Christians have often felt confused, or even exiled. Another favourite theme of Oriental art is the journey of the Holy Family escaping with the baby Jesus into exile. The Jesus who has appealed to the imagination of Asian artists, is often a mendicant holy man, like the wandering monk, or Sanyassi. He is not a “conquisitor”—a European imperialist. Rather he reveals a way of Light, that is also a path to liberation