WCC NEWS: Christian self-understanding in the context of indigenous religions

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World Council of Churches - News

CHRISTIAN SELF-UNDERSTANDING IN THE CONTEXT OF INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS

For immediate release: 14 February 2012

With the help of participants from several regions of the world a World
Council of Churches (WCC) consultation recently looked at Christian
self-understanding in the context of indigenous spiritual traditions.

The consultation was organized by the WCC programme for Inter-religious
dialogue and Cooperation (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=9d91e01dee9b23f3a549 ) in collaboration 
with the Latin
American Council of Churches (Link: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=52d63519d4027ab0b150 )
(CLAI) and the Federation of Evangelical Churches Argentina
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=befc2eea8730c127ba80 ) (FAIE) 
and was held from 6 to
9 February in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The event brought 12 participants representing churches and Indigenous
Peoples’ groups from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador,
Philippines, Guatemala and New Zealand.

The discussions were framed in part by the document Religious Plurality
and Christian Self-Understanding (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=0882855135dfb31ce4c1 ) produced by the 
WCC in 2004. The
document developed a process of reflection on Christian self-understanding
in our modern religious plural world. As part of this process there have
been intra-Christian consultations looking at the topic in relation to
Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

The present meeting was an intra-Christian gathering which explored the
topic from the perspective of indigenous spiritual traditions.

It was felt important that Indigenous Peoples should also be taken into
account in the process of drawing a picture of Christian
self-understanding in contexts of religious plurality. This is because
they are able to offer significant insights into life and the relationship
between human beings and creation.

The quest for “one truth”

“No culture can conceive God as a whole”, said Miguel Salanic,
coordinator of mission among Indigenous Peoples in CLAI. “Everyone knows
part of God. It is by bringing people of diverse beliefs together that one
can have access to the truth of God,” he said.

The traditional Maya religion understands God as the superior being,
explained Salanic. “Their understanding embraces both sides of reality:
male and female, night and day, life and death, light and dark. Therefore
God is mother, father, woman, man, spirit and flesh. All these elements
are connected,” he concluded.

Bishop Alexander Wandag from the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines said that he received challenging responses from Indigenous
Peoples in his country, when he asked them about contributions they can
make to Christianity in pursuit of deeper self-understanding. Among their
responses was a demand for repentance for sins churches and their members
have previously committed against Indigenous Peoples.

This article is adapted from a text written by Enrique Zerbin for the
Agencia Latinoamericana & Caribeña de Comunicación.

Read also:

Full text of the communiqué (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=01fb7b80a1ff45956484 )

Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=231ff80accbafe66dd91 )

Christian self-understanding amid many religions (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=9931de2a60ab5bea1be3 )

WCC programme for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=0831baa5c5c302d74942 )


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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