JWise thesis

Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Wise, Joan Marie (2020) Seeking Christian enculturation among Vietnamese Evangelicals PhD thesis, Middlesex University / Oxford Centre for Mission Studies [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/32980/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge Works, including theses and research projects, may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from them, or their content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s) They may not be sold or exploited commercially in any format or medium without the prior written permission of the copyright holder(s) Full bibliographic details must be given when referring to, or quoting from full items including the author’s name, the title of the work, publication details where relevant (place, publisher, date), pagination, and for theses or dissertations the awarding institution, the degree type awarded, and the date of the award If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: eprints@mdx.ac.uk The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated See also repository copyright: re-use policy: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/policies.html#copy Seeking Christian Enculturation among Vietnamese Evangelicals Joan M Wise OCMS, PhD August 2020 ABSTRACT This thesis seeks enculturated traits which show potential for Christian enculturation in the larger Vietnamese culture through the voices of primary sources (through qualitative research) of Evangelical Christian Vietnamese and the voices of those adhering to indigenous ancestral worship practice Schreiter’s contextual model, through cultural listening, attempts to create overt inculturation keys amenable to the Christian message, but such models have not been an aid to the problems surrounding ancestral veneration rites, which have existed in East Asia societies from antiquity, including Southern Vietnam The approach in this research modifies his inculturation approach (which is forced to bring in foreign elements of acculturation) to a model of enculturation which seeks out extant traits within the culture by which to bridge to an historically mediated message of Jesus the Christ To date, no research has been done among Vietnamesevangelicalism within anthropological disciplines (versus theological ones) in seeking answers to the conundrum of Evangelicalism and ancestral worship A key ancestral worship ritual is examined through ethnographic description as embodied ritual among a representative sampling of Southern Vietnamese in the Mekong Delta regions This model exposes evidence of enculturated dispositions of filial piety, that is, a filial habitus among non-Evangelicals and Vietnamese Evangelicals alike This enculturated trait may be seen in the Evangelical ritual of the Lord’s Supper and aids in bridging the cultural gaps between Evangelical beliefs and indigenous pre-Christian practices The filial habitus and the inculcated dispositions associated with it show potential for Christian Vietnamese communities to develop local theologies as a means of seeing Christian enculturation penetrate into the wider Vietnamese society Seeking Christian Enculturation Among Vietnamese Evangelicals by Joan M Wise BS Montana State University MA Wheaton College A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Middlesex University First Supervisor Doctor Ben Knighton Second Supervisor Doctor Bruce Lockhart House Tutor: Doctor Marina Behera August 2020 Oxford Centre for Mission Studies DECLARATIONS This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree Signed (Candidate) Date August 18, 2020 STATEMENT This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated Where correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote Other sources are acknowledged by midnotes or footnotes giving explicit references A bibliography is appended Signed (Candidate) Date August 18, 2020 STATEMENT I hereby give consent for my thesis, if approved, to be available for photocopying by the British Library and for Inter-Library Loan, for open access to the Electronic Theses Online Service (EthoS) linked to the British Library, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organizations Signed (Candidate) Date August 18, 2020 DEDICATION Dedicated to the memory of my parents, Ed and Joan Wise, who though not able to receive higher education for themselves, were delighted that my siblings and I had the opportunity for such achievements i ... Christian Enculturation among Vietnamese Evangelicals Joan M Wise OCMS, PhD August 2020 ABSTRACT This thesis seeks enculturated traits which show potential for Christian enculturation in the larger... Enculturation Among Vietnamese Evangelicals by Joan M Wise BS Montana State University MA Wheaton College A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Middlesex University... submitted in candidature for any degree Signed (Candidate) Date August 18, 2020 STATEMENT This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated Where correction services