Intercultural Communication In a Presented by jbretzke@Jesuits.org

Competing Paradigms of Wisdom Only God Can Know the Whole of Reality Thus for the rest of us this knowledge is necessarily incomplete and partial, and we tend to understand complex realities according to models and paradigms Can we speak of authentic cultural paradigms for morality and ethics? Necessary Openness to Revision of All Paradigms—especially in light of new insights

Culture As Framework Culture as our principal mode of being human, thus the way we are truly human beings There is no such thing as a non-cultural or “a-cultural” human being Thus, to speak of “human nature” one must do so always in a cultural context

Much of Culture Is “Hidden”

Framework for Interpreting Religious Traditions Texts Traditions Belief Systems Interaction/Non-Interaction with “Non-Group” Outsiders

Sacred Texts Canon Commentary Standard Collection (how included/excluded) Claims about the Sacred Texts Revealed Inspired Natural Law Wisdom Commentary

Traditions History Ritual Theologies Structures

Belief Systems Cosmology Dogma and Doctrine Orthodoxy Heterodoxy Heresy

What & Whose Wisdom? “Truth,” moral or otherwise exists always in a context In that context what we see, and how we see it, will help “shape” the truth for us Therefore, seeing broadly and diversely is part of seeing “correctly Even the same site will truly look different depending on time & circumstance

Hermeneutical Theory 101 “Classic” text (vs. a “period piece”) Which has an “excess of meaning” (Sensus plenior in reference to Scripture) Which must be “understood” Understanding is always an act of interpretation, involving reading, encountering, and applying a text by the “reader” in his/her own context Leading to a “fusion of horizons”

Analogical Imagination A “classic” text invites the reader into an alternative world of “imagination” (as distinguished from “fantasy”) The audience of a true classic is expanded from the “original” audience And thus new “imaginations” come into play in interpreting the text

Effective History & Fusion of Horizons Historical consciousness, the uniquely human way of being, of understanding in our world, and re-interpreting events of the past. The “past” can only be known in the present, and thus can “shift” its meaning Schneiders’ example of divorced woman Thus, no possibility of “one” “correct” view of history or one “right” reading of a text! Rather, speak of “transformative understanding”

Multi-Strand Double Helix of Classics & Interpretation Individual’s Life Experiences and Community Traditions Variety of Texts, Forms, Genres, Theologies Intersections Between Texts and Experience

The Inculturation of Wisdom E.g., if the Gospel is ultimately about the deepest truth of our world and ourselves And if we are called to inculturate the Gospel in every culture Then we must look at this “truth” in a variety of modes And the truth will be both the same and different at the same time

The Truth about Evangelization “Evangelization is to be achieved, not from without, as though by adding some decoration or applying a coat of color, but in depth, going to the very center and roots of life. The gospel must impregnate the culture and the whole way of life of men & women.” Evangelii nuntiandi, 20

Pathway to Spiritual Wisdom: Pilgrimage of Dialogue C.S. Song’s Stages of Conversion: The World is Different Blessed Ignorance Bi-Lateral Cease-Fire Conversion to Dialogue C.S. Song, Tell Us Our Names: Story Theology from an Asian Perspective, (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1984)

Cross-Fertilization of Truth If inculturation leads to new understanding of moral truth then cross-cultural ethics may help produce a broader and deeper understanding akin to the model of cross-fertilization As inculturation bears fruit in evangelization then this new fruit should be enjoyed by all

Fundamental Values and Root Paradigms Fundamental Values express assumptions about the world as a whole, and in particular about human nature and concomitant appropriate behavior. These values are incarnated in Root Paradigms, e.g., The Way of the Cross for Christianity

Ethnocentrism Culture tends to produce ethnocentrism as a way of viewing the world and especially other cultures in terms of one’s own culture. Ethnocentrism is a natural result of culture’s functioning, but poses great challenges to intercultural communication

Inter-Cultural Communication Ethnocentrism as a whole raises many difficulties Fundamental Values and Root Paradigms are usually the last things to change in a given culture Tension between conflicting root paradigms is particularly challenging

Acculturation and the Meeting of Cultures Acculturation refers to the encounter between member(s) of different cultures Acculturation usually results in some sort of change, which can be both benign or conflictual Acculturation & Cross-Fertilization

Interaction With Non-Groups Other Religious Traditions/Faiths Inter-Denominational Dynamics Intra-Denomination Dynamics Secular Culture/Non-Believers