Indigenous youths learn to appreciate indigenous culture based on the Bible

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3128 Edition

February 6-12, 2012

Church Ministry News

Indigenous youths learn to appreciate indigenous culture based on the Bible

Reported by Sam Lee

Written by Lydia Ma

Yushan Theological College and Seminary held two seminars for indigenous 
students recently focusing on the Bible and indigenous culture and human 
development. The purpose of these camps was to help indigenous youths realize 
that Christianity doesn’t conflict with their indigenous culture, but rather, 
helps them appreciate their culture even more.

Commenting on the seminar about indigenous culture and the Bible held from 
February 3-5, 2012, Yushan Seminary Research and Development Center Director, 
Rev. Kapi, said that some indigenous Christians have grown up with many 
misunderstandings about the relationship between faith and culture. One of them 
is that there exists many conflicts between their indigenous culture and 
Christianity. This belief is further exacerbated by indigenous peoples’ 
experience with colonialism whereby they were taught wrong perspectives and 
even led to the point of denying their own culture and identity. The seminar 
seeks to use the Bible and Christian theology to correct these views and help 
students gain acceptance and develop healthier views of their own culture.

This seminar themed “Discovering the meaning of life and what it means to be a 
real man” featured various Yushan College professors as speakers and also 
included many outdoor games and times of reflection. About 20 students 
registered and participated in this seminar.

Besides a seminar for college students, Yushan Seminary also hosted a seminar 
for high school students based on the theme “Let God hold your heart” featuring 
Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation CEO Rev. Biung. He spoke on 
“Christianity on indigenous youths” and recounted his testimony and his 
ministry, which consists of managing a retreat center called Bunun Reservation 
and an afterschool programs for kids. These programs were made possible through 
the vision and faith of local indigenous churches that they could help youths 
discover and reach their potential and thus reinvigorate indigenous 
reservations in the process. 

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