In resolution thirteen of the 1970 meeting, the bishops pledged themselves to the development of "an indigenous theology ... so that the life and message of the Gospel may be ever more incarnate in the rich historic cultures of Asia..."[3]  Carolus B. Putranta, in his 1986 survey of the FABC documents up until 1982,[4] does not include indigenization - or, as it is more often termed in later documents, "inculturation" - among the major themes addressed in the Federation's first twelve years of existence; the reader of the documents, however, cannot but be struck at how the effort to theologize in an Asian way seems to be the driving force behind every FABC meeting, seminar or consultation.  The term "inculturation," may not be the best description of the process by which the variety of Asian religious, cultural and economic contexts are taken seriously in the theological enterprise;[5] nevertheless the search for ways to make the church more truly Catholic by making it more truly Asian functions as the leitmotif of every FABC concern.

    This paper is an investigation into the ways the FABC approaches the question of inculturation in its various documents.  It will survey the six statements of the plenary assembly, but will include as well the documents from the various "bishops' institutes" and the other three major meetings the FABC sponsored: the colloquium on ministries, the international missionary conference and the consultation on Muslims in Asia.  Also included will be the four published statements from the Theological Advisory Commission.  While all of these documents obviously do not have the same theological authority, all of them together can give a clearer and broader picture of the FABC's conception of the method and content of a theology that emerges from and speaks to the Asian context.

    The paper will consist of three parts.  Part I will investigate those sections of the documents which treat the question of inculturation explicitly.  Part II will point out several approaches to inculturation that appear implicitly in the documents.  Part III will focus on several theological themes which the FABC identifies as central to the construction of an Asian theology.

    The perspective presented here is admittedly an "etic"[6] one.  I am not myself an Asian, and, although I worked in Asia (Philippines) for the better part of the decade of the 1970's, I have not lived in Asia for some fifteen years.  However, I offer the fruits of my investigation to readers of Studia Missionalia for a number of reasons.  First, as Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy has pointed out, the FABC texts have had considerable influence in the thinking of non-Asian episcopal conferences, and represent a valuable contribution to the ongoing dialogue that needs to take place among all the churches of the world.[7]  They are accessible, in other words, to people not particulary familiar with the complexities of Asia, and a study of them can be helpful for others' efforts to understand the Gospel in their own contexts.  This study might serve as an introduction to a valuable resource for non-Asian theologians, and perhaps even for Asian theologians as well.  Secondly, at least in the documents published by the Theological Advisory Commission, there is a clear call for "feedback and discussion from theologians and theological students who may take the time to read and study these pages."[8] The sense I get from the very open style and atmosphere of all the FABC documents is that studies, comments and reflections would be welcome.  Thirdly, while an "etic" perspective might not be as valuable as an "emic" one, the outsider may very well see aspects within a text or a situation that an insider has not seen or even cannot see.  Whether this will indeed be the case here, of course, I leave to my Asian readers to decide.

    Explicit references to or explanations of the notion of inculturation in the FABC documents are actually quite sparse.  In the Federation's early documents, produced soon after Vatican II, the notion of the importance of culture in the church's pastoral activity and theology was rather a novelty, and terminology for the process was still unclear.  Some still spoke of "adaptation;" others preferred "indigenization" or "inculturation" or "incarnation." In the 1970 message of the Asian Bishops' Meeting, the term "inculturation" appears in paragraph 24, and is immediately tied to dialogue with Asians of other faith traditions and respect for Asian cultures and traditions.  In resolution 13, as was mentioned above, the bishops pledged themselves to the development of an indigenous theology, "so that the life and message of the Gospel may be ever more incarnate [my emphasis] in the rich historical cultures of Asia, so that in the necessary process of modernization and development, Asian Christianity may help to promote all that is 'authentically human in these cultures. '"[9] Inculturation, incarnation or indigenization, then, are linked in this early document especially to Asian cultures and traditions, but to Asian religious traditions as well.

    The 1974 plenary assembly, the theme of which was "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia," issued both a longer and a shorter form of its final statement.  In paragraph 26 of the longer statement the assembly speaks of "indigenization" as the process that "renders the local church truly present within the life and cultures of our peoples.  Through it, all their human reality is assumed into the life of the Body of Christ, so that all of it may be purified and healed, perfected and fulfilled."[10] Two things are to be noted here.  First, "indigenization" is again linked to "cultures," but also - rather vaguely - to "life." Secondly, in terms reminiscent of LG 17, indigenization is called for in order that "human reality" can be purified, healed, perfected and fulfilled - the process, in other words, is "one way," in that indigenization takes place when cultures and human reality are changed by the influence of the Gospel.  In the shorter and briefer version of the final statement, which, while expressing the same content, is organized quite differently, we read in paragraph 20 that there are three key elements in evangelization in Asia today, one of which is "inculturation" - "which renders the local church truly present within the life of our people."[11] Again we see that the process, now termed "inculturation," is the way the church becomes authentic within the context of Asian life.  Both forms of the statement argue that the way the church must evangelize in modern-day Asia is through the "building up of the local church" (9), and that this is done by means of a three-fold dialogue: with culture, with Asian religions, and with the Asian poor.  "Indigenization" or "inculturation," however, refers to the cultural existence of Asian Christians, and not to the other two.

    In 1978 the second plenary assembly of the Federation was devoted to reflection on "Prayer - The Life of the Church of Asia."[12]  In paragraphs 10 and 11, reflecting on some aspects of the Asian religious context and the challenges it presents, the assembly refers to a double movement that is the necessary "task of inculturation" (11) - one both of assimilation and translation.  Christianity must "assume into the full Christian life of our peoples what is good, noble and living in our cultures and traditions" (11), as well as bring to fulfillment whatever seeds of the Gospel have been planted in Asian cultures previous to evangelization.  In the briefer version of its statement there is specific mention of some of the gifts that Asian spirituality can give to the entire church: a holistic view of prayer, traditions of asceticism, techniques of contemplation and popular expressions of faith (24).  If taken seriously, these could go a long way not only to make the church more "at home" in Asia, but to transform some of the understandings of prayer and spirituality themselves in the Christian tradition - both in Asia and in other parts of the world.  Inculturating the Gospel, therefore, is seen not just as a technique for evangelization, but a way of coming to a deeper understanding of Christianity itself.  What we have here, I believe, is an advance over the 1974 statement, for rather than being conceived as a "one-way" process by which the Gospel is "inserted" into a culture to challenge and purify it, inculturation is presented here as a "two-way" process of mutual critique and enrichment.

    At the 1979 International Mission Conference in Manila, Philippines, a workshop was held specifically on inculturation,[13] and the process was described explicitly.  Inculturation is not "mere adaptation of a readymade Christianity into a given situation; rather, it is the creative embodiment of the Word in the local church" (6).  The process of inculturation is one of dialogue and results in a "discovery of the seeds of the Word which lie hidden in given cultures and living traditions" of Asia (7).  Although the Word, the Gospel, is unchanging, the process of inculturation will purify, heal and transform not only the local Asian culture within which one is searching, but also the church itself - on both the local and universal levels (9).  Theologizing, the final paragraph of the workshop report says, should be "contextual," by "taking into consideration the ways of thinking and the sets of meanings and values that shape the lives of the people" (19).  The workshop report comprises only a brief two and a half pages, but it is a real gold mine of reflection about the nature of the inculturation process.  Inculturation, we see, is a two-way process, in which both the Asian reality and the Christian evangelizer are purified, healed and transformed.

    The final message of the participants at the 1983 consultation on Christian presence among Muslims in Asia[14] contains two short paragraphs on inculturation.  Again we see that inculturation, like dialogue, is not a mere tactic of evangelization, but is part of the very nature of a worthy preaching and witnessing to the Gospel.  "Genuine inculturation" is effected, says the document, as Christians live out authentically their "double heritage of faith and country," and engage in both interreligious and intercultural dialogue (31).  Paragraph 32 is a call to live out Christian life, conceptualize Christian religious experience and concretize Christian worship in ways that cherish and respect the cultural heritage of areas of Asia that are predominantly Muslim.

    From 1984 to 1991 the FABC sponsored some twelve workshops on the theology of dialogue, and in the first workshop there appears a short section on "Dialogue and Inculturation."[15] The section suggests that two themes (harmony and the church's nature as a sign or sacrament) should be considered for the inculturation of the Gospel in Asia.  What is important for our current reflections, however, is the connection made between the process of inculturation and the practice of dialogue (12).  Inculturation is again proposed as a "two-way" process, one that is carried out with deep respect for the other, one that is marked by openness and readiness for transformation on the part of both sides, and one that includes both attention to culture and to the religious traditions of Asia.

    In a small but significant paragraph in the conclusions from a theological consultation held in Thailand in 1991,[16] inculturation is given a Christological, paschal focus.  The foundation for inculturation, we read, is the conformity of the church to its Master.  Just as Jesus conveyed the mystery of God within a specific context, so must the church.  And just as Jesus died for his convictions, the paragraph implies, so must the church; it must die to its preconceptions and die for its vision of God's challenging and redeeming presence within Asian realities.  Only then can it rise fully Christian and fully Asian, fully inserted "in the surrounding cultures, in all aspects of their life, celebration, witness and mission" (35).

    No doubt the fullest statement on inculturation of any FABC-related document is found in the document entitled "Theses on the Local Church" by the Federation's Theological Advisory Commission.[17]  In these pages it is clear that inculturation is an ongoing process of mutual critical correlation - "encounter," as the document says (5.4 and 5.5) - between Gospel and culture.  The Gospel needs to find roots in the local culture, and often this can be done only by a prophetic critique of that culture (6.8). Nevertheless, the deeply religious culture of Asia also needs to purify the way the Gospel is presented, and can even open up aspects hitherto unnoticed or neglected in the Gospel itself (5.13). Ultimately, the Asian theologians note, inculturation is "a meeting of the Spirit with the Spirit" (8.5), because God's spirit is present and active among Asian peoples beyond the boundaries of Christian faith.  One listens with an Asian spirit to God's spirit, and listens as well with God's spirit to the Asian spirit; such is the dynamic of inculturation.

    Explicit reflection on inculturation in the FABC documents, as I have said, is in fact relatively sparse.  One will look in vain for explicit treatment of inculturation (beyond a casual mention of the term) in the 1982 statement of the plenary assembly which focused on "The Church - A Community of Faith in Asia"[18] in the 1986 statement which reflected on the laity in Asia,[19] in the statement of the fifth plenary assembly entitled "Journeying Together Toward the Third Millennium,"[20] and in the 1995 statement on Christian discipleship in Asia today.[21] In the various bishops' institutes and special meetings as well, explicit treatment of inculturation is rare.

    Nevertheless, as I have already mentioned, the documents of the Federation are fueled by the vision of inculturation, and the importance and reality of the process is like a leitmotif or background for practically everything the Federation has published.  This section of the paper will explore, therefore, several ways that the process of inculturation is described implicitly.

    As Ladislav Nemet points out, the reason for a relative lack of explicit references to inculturation in the FABC documents is due to the fact that, for the Federation, the reality of inculturation "is a more complex encounter between Gospel and a local church in the whole Asian reality, made up of religions, cultures, poverty and the poor."[22] As early as the 1974 document "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia"[23] the Asian bishops spoke about a threefold dialogue as constitutive of authentic evangelization in Asia: dialogue with Asian culture, by which the local church is rendered "truly present within the life of our people," dialogue with the great religions "so that the seed of the Word in them may come to full flower," and dialogue with the poor, "uniting with them in the struggle for a more human world" (Briefer Statement, 20).  As was mentioned above, the document named only the first aspect of this dialogue as "inculturation," but it does not take much thought to realize that all three of these dialogues comprise what we would call today the entire inculturation process.  This threefold dialogue is repeated time and time again in subsequent documents, but - interestingly, I believe - not always in the same order.  There is no prioritizing demanded by the documents, one can conclude, but a fidelity to all three aspects is always necessary if a pastoral direction or theological expression is to be genuinely Asian.  If the Christian community truly dialogues (with all of that word's implications)[24] with culture, with religions and with the poor, it will truly become "a Church of Asia not simply a Church in Asia," and will no longer be seen as a foreign presence."[25]

    Method, or the way one proceeds to develop a particular line of thought, also implies an attention or lack of attention to issues involved in the inculturation process.  What is clearly evident as one reads the various FABC documents is the employment of a method that starts from experience, from lived, actual realities.  In every document issued by a plenary assembly (with the exception of the third plenary assembly which begins with a theology of church) and in many documents that result from the various bishops' institutes, the starting point for reflection is Asian reality.  Asia, say the documents, is a continent in transition, undergoing modernization, social change and secularization.[26] These things threaten traditional values in Asia, and so the church needs to witness to the rich spiritual heritage that are the hallmarks of Asian religiosity in all its variety.[27]  Asia is described in the 1986 document on the laity from the fourth plenary assembly as "an arena of conflict and division, the world's exploited market plade, the continent of suffering humanity,...cradle of culture, birthplace of great religions, a continent awakening to new and gigantic responsibilities," and that the task of the church is to "confront the dark realities in the heart of Asia" (1.1 and 3.0.1).[28] While Asia is filled with dangers and challenges, there are increasing signs of hope as the poor become more and more recognized, democracy and human rights develop, human communities emerge and people become more and more committed to serious dialogue.[29] The problems and opportunities of the global economy, with both life-giving and death-dealing forces, are the context in which the church lives and theology is done in Asia today.[30] What this method implies, it seems, is something that is even beyond the scope of the often-repeated three-fold dialogue.  A truly Asian church and Christian expression is one that grapples with, reflects on, critically embraces and perhaps even takes prophetic stances against the modernizing and globalizing trends that are having such a strong impact on Asia, and in which Asia is involved in the whole complex global economy.  This reflection is not exclusively Asian, of course, but it is a reflection that needs to take place within the Asian context.  It is a genuine and urgent way that Gospel and Asian realities intersect, and a way that both expands the understanding of the Gospel and sheds Christian light on global movements that have rooted themselves in Asia.[31]

    More than one time the documents reflect the importance of praxis in the development of a truly Asian Christianity.  In the final document issued by the Asian Colloquium on Ministries in the Church,[32] for example, the combination of the lived life of the basic ecclesial communities (46), the situation of lack of priests, and the realization of the centrality of Eucharist in the Christian community prompts the document to suggest that "serious consideration be given to the possibility of acknowledged leaders emerging from basic communities ... being made eligible for ordination to the presbyterate" (105).  Since the document foresees that these leaders would ordinarily exercise a secular profession and would exercise priesthood on a part-time basis, one can only imagine what new forms of ministry, rooted in Asian everyday realities and developed out of grassroots wisdom, could emerge from continued reflection on this decision (praxis).  This may be a form and theology of priesthood in harmony with present structures in the church, but perhaps distinctly different from it, one that "fits the culture, attitudes and values" (46) of the local situation.

    At the seventh Bishops' Institute for Social Action (BISA VII) a particular theological method involving praxis was employed: what the institute called "The Pastoral Cycle."[33] In previous BISAs, the document explains, the participants had been exposed to particular Asian realities; in this institute, however, they were immersed in the reality.  Rather than just visiting areas, or driving through in air-conditioned Land Rovers, the participants spent time in hand-on experience, living with families, spending time with people.  "Exposure is like a doctor's visit for diagnosis; immersion is like the visit of a genuine friend entering into a dialogue-of-life"(8).  A second stage of the Cycle is social analysis, by which the social, economic, political, cultural and religious systems of society are reflected on in their complex interrelationship, particularly in terms of the pitfalls and possibilities of religion.  The Cycle then moves on to a particularly Asian perspective: contemplation.  Prayer is involved in every stage, the document insists (13), but it is particularly here that peaceful, contemplative prayer is employed so that "the mystery of God's preferential presence and activity among the poor" (11) is recognized as a true theological and pastoral source.  In the light of all this, then, the fourth stage of pastoral planning is embarked upon, so that the insights gotten from experience, analysis and prayerful theological reflection can be translated into authentic and effective action.  And then the Cycle begins over again.

    In a theological consultation that was held in Thailand in 1991,[34] the participants say clearly that "since doing the truth comes before the formulation of doctrine, the churches in Asia should not await a satisfactory theological answer before going further in the praxis of dialogue and proclamation.  It is in the systematic reflection on sustained praxis that we shall discover what God is saying to the churches"(53).  Earlier in the document reference was made to the fact that the commitment to the threefold dialogue mentioned above is a commitment that involves genuine conversion.  The church in Asia needs to "pass over" (16) to the poor, the Asian cultures and to other religions.  Particularly in terms of passing over to the poor we can see what this would mean for inculturation.  While numerically marginal in Asia, the church has significant institutional presence; the question now is whether such institutions like schools, hospitals, clinics and orphananges are more aligned with the rich and powerful than with the poor, and the question is further whether such institutions and the privileges they include should not be given up.  In this way the church might experience freedom to be in genuine solidarity with the poor, letting the poor's agenda be its agenda, and the poor's values be its values.  Such passing over and real dialogue might hold out the possibility for a real recreation, allowing the church to grow "anew from local turf" (17).  Both in this document and.in the final statement of the 1995 plenary assembly[35] reference is made to the paschal dimension of Christian praxis in Asia.  The church is called to die to itself, says the former; it is from a position of weakness, says the latter - being a minority group, a "little flock in Asia" - that new life and therefore genuine Asian-ness will emerge (14.3). If the church would slough off its wealth and its pretense, it could be more like the church in the centuries before Constantine, and could retrieve some of the freedom to be truly in touch with the men and women of its times that the early church enjoyed.

    In this survey of the FABC documents from 1970 to 1982.  Carolus B. Putranta named four "basic theological assumptions" which undergird the documents' reflections: (1) the universality of the grace of Christ, (2) the inseparability of Jesus and the Cosmic Christ, (3) the conviction that the final stage of history has been inaugurated in Christ, and (4) the relativity of the church to Christ.[36]  Of these four theological assumptions, the one that implies an attitude to inculturation is that of the universality of grace.  Time and time again the documents make the point that God's presence has always permeated Asian realities.  God has drawn Asian peoples to Godself through Asian religions, in which are hidden genuine seeds of the Word;[37] forms of prayer in these religions can enhance and greatly enrich the already venerable tradition of prayer life in the Christian church;[38] all Asians are on a common pilgrimage '"in relentless quest for the Absolute,'" and are all '"attuned to the work of the Spirit in the resounding symphony of Asian communion.'"[39] God's saving grace is at work in all religions; it is not limited to Christians, but is offered to every person.  God's grace, says BIRA II, "may lead some to accept baptism and enter the church, but it cannot be presumed that this must always be the case." God's ways are mysterious and unfathomable, and no one can determine the direction of divine grace.[40]  Each people, and each culture, says the International Mission Congress, is called by the Spirit "to its own fresh and creative response to the Gospel." In every local church, "each people's culture, meanings and values, each people's traditions are taken up, not diminished or destroyed, but celebrated and renewed, purified if need be, and fulfilled."[41] At the second bishops' institute for the lay apostolate in 1986 the participants wrote that the more they are in touch with the religious and cultural issues of the Asian people, the more faithful they are to Jesus's vision.  The church is a community that searches for God's Reign in the "joy and hope, griefs and anguish" (GS 1) of the world.[42]  Asia is the context "of God's creative, incarnational and redemptive action," in which Asia's salvation is being enacted, "in ever new, ever mysterious ways."[43]

    The "basic theological orientation"[44] of the FABC documents is clearly "creation centered." The religions, the cultures, the social movements of Asia today are transparent to God's activity and grace; the "natural" in Asia is more than natural, it is "holy ground." This is why the threefold dialogue with culture, religion and Asia's poor is possible; this is why it is not simply a "one-way" encounter of fulfillment and purification, but a "two-way" encounter of mutual critique and enrichment. And this is why, ultimately, that inculturation is not a mere option, or one of a list of agenda for the Asian church.  Inculturation is demanded by the nature of the Gospel itself, for it is the Gospel of a God who calls men and women to salvation through a dialogue with their humanity.[45]  The stuff of ordinary life, in other words, the stuff of ordinary, everyday Asian experience, cannot be regarded as something that the Gospel replaces, or something to be used as a mere vehicle for more relevant evangelization.  Rather it can be seen as a true theological source, a locus theologicus, to be taken on an equal basis with the venerable loci of Scripture and Tradition when Christians attempt to express and embody their faith.  Scripture, Tradition, culture, religiosity, social location and the movements of social change are all equal partners in a mutually critical conversation.

    One final implied treatment of inculturation in the FABC documents is the employment - unconsciously for certain - of what I have called elsewhere a "transcendental model" of doing contextual theology.[46]  In this way of doing theology what matters is not so much the content of what is written or spoken but the authenticity of faith and cultural connectedness with which theology is done.  As a result, a particular theological expression may not look particularly Asian, in that it might use concepts and symbols that are not exclusively Asian, but such expression may be authentically Asian because it is the result of an Asian person or community which has striven to express Christian faith as an authentic cultural subject.  This approach, I believe, appears in various places in the documents, but as an illustration I will focus on two examples: from the document issued by the third plenary assembly, and from the document produced by the Colloquium on Asian Ministries.

    The topic of reflection at the third plenary assembly of the FABC was "The Church - A Community of Faith in Asia."[47]  In section two of the final document, the bishops outline an ecclesiology that they understand to be adequate and challenging to Asian reality.  What emerges is a sketch of the nature of the church that is extremely close to the vision of the church expressed in the documents of Vatican 11.  Thus the church is at its deepest level a communion rooted in the Trinity (7.1), the purpose of which is discipleship in the Gospel (7.3), which issues forth in mission (7.9). The church exercises its communitarian nature in participation and co-responsibility (7.6), in unity with its leadership (7.7) and in true catholicity (7.8).

    On the one hand, one might think that this is just a carbon copy of Roman ideas of church; on the other, it could be a considered judgement by Asian people of faith how best to describe the community of Christ.  Its language may be quite Western, but if the vision it proposes is truly carried out in the church's constant praxis, the church will he seen as eminently Asian as it wrestles with the realities that surround it and seeks to be faithful to the vision of the Gospel.

    Similarly, in the 1977 Colloquium on ministries, the approach to ministry - and ordained ministry in particular - is remarkably similar to the approach laid out by contemporary Western scholars.  All ministry is rooted in the priesthood of Christ, and all Christians are participants in that priesthood by virtue of their baptism.  The task of the ordained minister - for example, the presbyter or priest - is to be "at the service of the community, building it up into a Christian fellowship and providing it with spiritual guidance as he participates in the bishop's commitment to his flock."[48] Again, this could be understood as a mere Western approach to ministry, since there is no obvious evidence of Asian images or languages.  But, as the result of the reflection of Asian theologians in touch with the needs of Asia on the one hand and the Tradition of the church on the other, it is a profoundly Asian expression of ordained, presbyteral ministry.

    While there are relatively few explicit reflections in the FABC documents on inculturation, there are several recurring notions that imply an understanding of inculturation that is quite profound.  The rich notion of the three-fold dialogue with culture, religion and the poor, the methodological commitment to starting with Asian reality and reflecting on concrete praxis, the theological conviction of the universality of divine grace and the subsequent goodness and holiness of the human, and the authenticity of theological reflection as an activity of authentic Christian and cultural subjects, all point to a notion of inculturation that emerges out of a mutually critical encounter between Gospel and Asian life.

    Besides locating explicit treatments of inculturation and the various implicit understandings which emerge from a study of the texts, one can explore the notion of inculturation operative in the FABC documents by focusing on certain recurring themes in them.  A number of themes might be mentioned - the need to understand and harnness the power of the media, the importance of the laity as primary agents of inculturation, the imperative of developing Asian programs of formation for religious and seminarians, concern for youth, women, the family, ecology, and "displaced persons" (refugees and migrant workers).  Since space is limited, however, I will focus here on three other themes that seem to emerge in the documents as particularly important: the themes of prayer and spirituality, the notion of harmony, and the local church.

    A theme that constantly recurs in the documents is the need for prayer and spirituality.  If the church is to contact the Asian spirit, the Federation said in 1974, it needs to be "devoted to prayer, and to contemplation."[49] Christianity has not always been perceived as contemplative, and so part of evangelization is to emphasize the rich tradition of contemplation and spirituality within the Christian tradition.[50]  Perhaps more importantly, however, is that for Asian Christians truly to get in touch with their deepest selves, they must give themselves over to a dialogue with the rich spiritualities of Asia and experiment with the many authentically Asian ways of prayer.  The second plenary assembly emphasized that Christian prayer had much to contribute to Asian sensibilities, but it also insisted that Asian prayer has much to offer to Christian spirituality as well: "a richly-developed prayer of the whole person in unity of body-psyche-spirit; contemplation of deep inferiority and immanence; venerable sacred books and writings; traditions of asceticism and renunciation; techniques of contemplation found in the ancient eastern religions; simplified prayer-forms and other popular expressions of faith and piety easily available even to simpler folk, whose hearts and minds so readily turn to God in their daily lives."[51] BIRA IV/7 recommended that a network of centers of spirituality be developed where, "besides study and research, seekers of God and truth of all religious affiliations could meet and share their spiritual experiences."[52] Inculturation will not happen overnight, says BIRA IV/1, and it will not be accelerated by artificial or superficial attempts.  In order to ensure an inculturation that is both authentically Asian and authentically and faithfully Christian, Asian Christians must cultivate a love for meditation and prayer, and use the discipline of non-violence.[53]  In the practice of spirituality will emerge a truly inculturated liturgy, eeclesial structure and expressions of theology.

    BIRA IV/12[54] spoke about Christian spirituality as threefold.  "At heart" (36), it is a spirituality of dialogue, a life in touch with the Spirit, who is present and active in all cultures and religions.  Christian spirituality, in other words, is nourished not only by its own traditions, but by the traditions that are at the center of Asian religious sensitivity.  In order to profit most fully from such dialogue, Christians need openness, and that openness is the result of a spirituality of kenosis or self-emptying.  An Asian Christian spirituality is one in which Christians are continually divesting themselves of power, and continually purifying themselves of self-centeredness, and growing more open to the other.  "Kenosis implies death and resurrection, that dying to self which brings fullness of life (Phil 2:611).  Hence, it is communitarian; it is centered on the eucharist, where together we experience death and resurrection in Christ" (39).  Finally, a genuine Asian Christian spirituality is transformative.  It is not simply seeking to cultivate the inner life, but needs to bear fruit in working for justice, peace and ecological integrity in Asian society.

    What is fascinating to see in this description of spirituality is how it emerges out of a genuine encounter of traditions.  On the one hand, Christians need to learn and be transformed by Asian tradition; on the other, this is no compromise of Christian ideals and principles - rather, Christianity finds new life, shape and voice as it strives to inculturate itself in Asian context.

    In June and July, 1988, participants gathered at Sukabumi, Indonesia, to reflect on the theme of harmony.[55] Harmony, it had been recognized at BIRA IV/1, "seems to constitute in a certain sense the intellectual and affective, religious and artistic, personal and societal soul of both persons and institutions in Asia."[56] It may very well be the basic "cultural text" out of which Asian theology in all its diversity could be constructed.[57] In reflecting on the theme, the participants said that, despite many forces of fragmentation that exist undeniably in Asia, there are nevertheless many signs of harmony emerging in Asian life.  Asians are thirsting for peace; a greater sense of human dignity, equality and interrelatedness is emerging; true patriotism is developing; and the media are uniting millions (BIRA IV/11, 4).  Above all, Asians are gradually becoming convinced that dialogue and mutual cooperation are effective ways of achieving a harmony in all aspects of human life (BIRA IV/11, 5).  Traditional Asian cultures provide resources as well whereby these emerging signs of harmony can be cultivated: "Sensitivity in human relationships, close ties of love and cooperation in families are highly valued in our cultures.  Furthermore, traditionally, the various groups in Asian societies were held together harmoniously through forces of syncretism, spirit of tolerance, mysticism and through messianic movements" (BIRA IV/11, 6).  Although these need to be appropriated critically, such traditional values are allies and not enemies.

    Christianity can be interpreted also in terms of a religion that fosters harmony between humanity and God, among the peoples of the earth, and with the cosmos itself.  The doctrines of Creation, Covenant and the People of God, but particularly those of the Reign of God and the Trinity, are all ways of expressing the one Mystery at the heart of Christian faith: God is involved in human history and calls creation to harmony-in-community (BIRA IV/10, 6-9; IV/1 1, 7-1 1).

    What appears in these few pages is hardly a full theology of harmony, and much less a complete Asian theology inspired by the theme, but the notion of harmony holds out immense promise as a basic view out of which an Asian theology and Christian practice can be developed.  In my correspondence with the FABC office in Hong Kong in the course of preparing this article, I was informed that the Theological Advisory Commission is now at work preparing a more expansive reflection on the theme.

    The first plenary assembly was emphatic when it said that "the primary focus of our task of evangelization, then, at this time in our history, is the building up of a truly local church (9)."[58] The development of a local church is a theme that constantly recurs in the documents and is a project that is seen as a sine qua non in the development of an Asian Christianity.  The local church, if it is truly so, is the "realization and the enfieshment of the Body of Christ in a given people, a given place and time" (10).  If the church is truly to be a "sign of salvation,"[59] it needs to be local, for it will only communicate God's saving love when it ceases to be structured, governed and symbolized in a foreign way, and speaks to people in language and ways of being that a particular people understands.

    But this radical particularity does not mean isolation from other communities of faith; on the contrary, the more one is immersed in the reality of culture, time and place, the more one needs to be in communion with other local churches - both for the good of one's own community and for the good of the others (11).[60] Being church means being in dialogue, and such dialogue is not only with a local culture; it is a dialogue as well with local churches throughout the world.  "This is the mystery of the 'local Church'; in Asia this is the mystery of the Asian Churches" (24).

    Each local church is determined by the context in which it finds itself, and so needs to discover time and time again "what ministries and ministerial structures she requires in order to fulfil her mission"; and in order that this creative response to context can be effected, local churches should be recognized as basically autonomous (25).  Local churches are not "parts" of a whole, but contain within themselves a certain integrity that is fully realized in communion with other local churches.[61] A local church, while not the entire church, is an entire church.  Developing into a local church, therefore, is at the same time the development of an Asian Christianity and an Asian theology.  It is in many ways the key to the whole process of inculturation.

    Biblical theology has pointed out for some time that in the Bible, as in human life in general, there exist two kinds of time.  One, chronological time, or chronos, is simply time in terms of one moment following the next; the other, qualitative time, or kairos, is time in terms of meaning and opportunity.  In the history of the church, and indeed in the history of Asia, twenty-five years of efforts at inculturation by the FABC is not significant in terms of chronos; in terms of kairos, however, it is a time filled with blessings, challenges, and, I believe, with significant progress.  In Asia, in Latin America, in Europe, in Africa, in North America, the church is just beginning to discover its mission to embody, to incarnate and to discover the Gospel in particular contests.  As we move forward together, we can only be thankful to the FABC for its courageous, creative work.

FOOTNOTES

* Reprinted with the kind permission of the author.

1.  Felix Wilfred, "The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC): Orientations, Challenges and Impact," FABC Papers, No. 69 (January, 1995), 2.
2.  Asian Bishop's Meeting, November 29 , 1970.  Resolution 1. Published in G. B. Rosales and C. G. Arevalo, eds., For All the Peoples of Asia: Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences Documents from 1970-1991 (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books; Quezon City, Philippines, 1992), p. 8. Hereafter, the book will be abbreviated as FAPA; a general reference to the page numbers where a particular document appears will be given, and then the paragraph numbers will be given in the text, or, when appropriate, following the citation in the note.
3. Ibid., p. 9.
4.  Carolus B. Putranta, "A Brief Survey of the FABC Documents, 1970-1982," FAPA, pp. 263-269.
5.  L. Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC Documents," East Asian Pastoral Review, 3 1, 1 and 2 (1994), 94.
6.  On the distinction between "etic" and "emic" perspectives, see C. H. Kraft, Christianity in Culture (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1979), p. 403.  On the limits and advantages of such an outsider perspective, see S. B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology (Marvknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992), pp. 13-16.
7.  Lourdusamy's observation is referred to in C. G. Ardvalo's "General Introduction" to J. Gnanapiragasam and F. Wilfred, eds., Being Church in Asia: Theological Advisory Commission Documents (1986-92), p. 5. The observation also appears in the statement of the third plenary assembly in 1982.  Cf.  FAPA, p. 54, 3.4.
8.  Arevalo, "General Introduction": p. 5.
9.  FAPA, p. 9.
10. Ibid., p. 16.
11. Ibid., p. 23.
12. Ibid., pp. 27-48.
13. Ibid., pp. 138-141.
14. Ibid., pp. 165-173.
15. Ibid., p. 249.
16.  Ibid., pp. 335-347.
17. Being the Church in Asia, pp. 50-76.
18.  FAPA, pp. 49-65.
19. Ibid., pp. 198.
20. Ibid., pp 273-289.
21.  "Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life," Final Statement of the Sixth FABC Plenary Assembly, January 10-19, 1995.  Published by the Federation of Asian Bishops'Conferences, 16 Caine Road, Hong Kong.
22.  Nemet: 94.
23.  FAPA, pp. 11-25.
24.  See: Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Dialogue and Proclamation, esp.  Paragraphs 42-54.  In W. R. Burrows, ed., Redemption and Dialogue (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992), pp. 104-107.
25.  BIRA IV/12, paragraph 50, in FAPA, p. 333.
26.  "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia," Ibid. p. 13.
27.  "Prayer -The Life of the Church in Asia," Ibid., pp. 30-31.
28.  Ibid., pp. 178-179.
29.  "Journeying Together Toward the Third Millennium," Ibid, pp. 275-279.
30.  "Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life," pp. 2-3
31.  On the connection between the FABC reflections and U.S. realities, see John S. Cummins, "Asia, Continent at a Crossroads," America, 173, 11 (October 14, 1995), pp. 4-6.
32.  FAPA, pp. 67-92.
33.  Ibid., pp. 231-232.
34. Ibid., pp. 335-347.
35.  "Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life," previously cited.
36.  Putranta, pp. 263-269.
37.  "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia," in FAPA, pp. 14-15. paragraphs 15-16; "Prayer - The Life of the Church of Asia," Ibid., p. 31, paragraph 11.
38.  "Prayer - The Life of the Church of Asia," Ibid., p. 35, paragraph 32.
39.  "The Church - Community of Faith in Asia," Ibid., p. 57, paragraph 8.2; see also BIRA 1, Ibid, p. 110, paragraph 5-6.
40.  BIRA 11, Ibid., p. 115, paragraph 12.
41.  International Congress on Mission, Ibid., p. 130, paragraph 15.
42.  BILA 11, Ibid., 239-240, paragraph 3.
43.  "Journeying Together Toward the Third Millennium," Ibid., p. 275, paragraph 1.5; "Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life," paragraph I 1.
44.  On the question of "basic theological orientation," see Bevans, pp. 16-17.  See also D. Tracy, The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism (New York: Crossroad, 1981), pp. 202-218.  Rather than "basic theological orientation," Tracy speaks of "classical forms of religious expression."
45.  See BIMA 1, in FAPA, p. 94, paragraph 9.
46.  See Bevans, pp. 97-112.
47.  FAPA, pp. 49-65.
48.  "Asian Colloquium on Ministries in the Church," Ibid., p. 86, paragraph 103.
49.  "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia," Ibid., p. 23, paragraph 21.
50.  "Journeying Together Toward the Third Millennium," Ibid., p. 278, paragraphs 2.3.4.
51.  "Prayer - The Life of the Church of Asia," Ibid., p. 35, paragraph 32.
52.  Ibid., p. 31 1, recommendation 2.
53.  BIRA IV/I, Ibid., p. 250, paragraph 19.2.
54.  BIRA IV/12, Ibid., pp. 325-334.
55.  BIRA IV/10 and IV/1 1, Ibid., pp. 313-315; 317-324.
56. Ibid., p. 249, paragraph 12.a.
57. On cultural texts, see R. J. Schreiter, Constructing Local Theologies (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1985), pp. 39-74.
58. "Evangelization in Modern Day Asia," in FAPA, pp. 11-25.
59. See BIRA IV/1.  Ibid., pp. 247-250, paragraph 14.c.
60. "Asian Colloquium on Ministries in the Church," Ibid., pp. 67-92.
61. "Theses on the Local Church," in Being the Church in Asia, p. 68.

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