1.2. Limitation of Topic and Methodology
The
purpose of this thesis is not to investigate the impact of the rising
mobilization of ethnic identity on the political landscape of
Indonesia; nor do I intend to evaluate the role of the Internet,
virtual-social media, and mass media in shaping public opinion on
this matter, although these are admittedly significant in the
aforementioned revival of cultural heritage and reinforcement of
ethnic identity in contemporary Minahasa.
This
thesis is by no means a nostalgic undertaking to bring the past into
the future. It is rather a work that takes seriously the importance
of the past and the present sense of ethnic identity as well as the
importance of our Christian faith to establish the hope of the reign
of God in a given community and in the world at large. Hence, the
goal of this thesis is first to analyze the Epistle to the Romans for
the purpose of establishing a biblical understanding for ethnic
identity within the Christian tradition, and from there to provide a
framework of
comprehending Minahasan
traditions and Christian practices from a local perspective. This
thesis rests on the case that Minahasan
ethnic identity, a fusion of essential and instrumental attributes,
is real and
powerful, and that Christian theology, both in theory and practice,
has something to say about this.
I
perceive this thesis to be a project of local theology that is
different from the conventional theological framework with its rigid
categorizations, such as Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology,
Practical Theology, and so forth, which in my opinion contributes to
a drawback in Church life, and in turn hinders Christian scholarship
itself. I see that such an approach tends to compartmentalize the
texts, Christian practices, and the community of faith, as if they
could stand independently from one another. As a result, the
mediatory function of a theological inquiry to bridge the biblical
texts and the life of the church is often missing in academic
engagement and runs the risk of potentially producing a barren
theology, or worse, a self-defeating theology to the Church. In this
effort of “constructing local theology,” I maintain that
Christian scholarship has to have a basic foundation in the Scripture
according to the Christian tradition, and that it must connect to the
life and edification of the community of believers in concrete and
life-giving ways.
Hence,
the methodology adopted in this thesis is borrowed from the trilogy
of Scripture, Tradition, and Context.1
The basic tenet within this methodology is that the authority of the
Scripture overlaps with God's revelation to Israel and its subsequent
preservation as traditions documented in the Old Testament. This
revelation received its perfection and fulfillment in and through the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is preserved in
the apostolic teaching of the New Testament, in order to be the
foundation of Christian life and practices within a particular
context at
all times.
Scripture here is understood as the Old and New Testament in the
Protestant tradition.2
Yet,
Tradition, instead
of church traditions, is broadly defined as the way of life of the
Minahasans, known locally as kenaramen3
(Bahasa,
adat-istiadat)
which is an integral
part of the worldview, expressed in a wider sense as culture, and
understood through their story and history. And then there is
Context,
which describes the issues, location, and time of a particular church
and community in their “glocality,”4
and where a theological reflection may produce what is called
“contextual theology” (contextualization).
This
study is an information-based research using library and online
resources, including interviews with local sources, which is divided
into seven steps:
Chapter
One is an introduction in which the background of the topic is made,
the title is formulated, the goal of this study is stated, and the
methodology is set.
Chapter
Two consists of seven theoretical and theological orientations that
inform the background of this thesis: (1)
The Centrality of the Scripture in Christian Tradition; (2) The
Gospel as the Hermeneutic of the Scripture; (3) Hodegesis as a
Hermeneutical Tool for Christians in Bringing Out the Gospel Messages
into Real Life; (4) Christianity, Colonialism and Post-colonialism;
(5) Ethnicity; (6) Culture, Religion and Ethnic Identity; and (7)
Contextual Theology.
Chapter
Three is a hodegesical
study of the Epistle to the Romans and functions as the scriptural
foundation for the place of ethnic identity within Christianity.
Hodegesis is a cross-cultural biblical interpretations that takes
into account the benefit of pre-critical, historical-critical, and
post-historical-critical approaches to the Bible in order to
understand the Scripture in connection to the local tradition, the
context, and the community of believers (further explained in Chapter
Two).5
This
chapter contains a biblical interpretation under the theme of the
Romans Debate and ethnic identity.
Chapter
Four provides a lens into understanding what, in a greater sense,
constitutes a Minahasan sense of identity. Because Minahasa has drawn
a good number of Europeans, notwithstanding some Minahasan scholars,
to write about its social condition, culture, and history, for this
part I employ “emic synthesis,”6
which means analyzing emic and etic perspectives through a cultural
insider's view. The goal is to create a dialogue between the
outsiders' and the insiders' interpretations of ethno-data embedded
in the culture, bridging the gap between these emic and etic
perceptions. Hence, along the way we will encounter emic and etic
ethnographic description, analysis, and a critical synthesis. This
section is particularly important in constructing a way for
understanding Minahasan ethnic identity and therein the place of our
ethnicity within our Christian identity.7
Chapter
Five briefly describes the meeting of Christianity and the people of
Minahasa from the background of imperialism/colonialism through the
time of the independent Minahasa within Indonesia. This chapter
describes how Christianity was embraced and became part of Minahasan
ethnic consciousness.
Chapter
Six provides a theological reflection on Christian faith and
Minahasan tradition, and how they may be reconciled in light of the
uniqueness of Jesus Christ as our Opo'/Empung/Kasuruan
(terms
used for God or ancestors). This chapter discusses how we Minahasans
may understand Jesus Christ, and what significance He makes for us to
be both Minahasan and Christian. It also demonstrates how Minahasan
traditions give flesh to Christian faith, and how in return Christian
faith transcends, enlarges, and embodies the Minahasan ideals,
envisioning the good news for Minahasan people and beyond.
Given
the range of complex situations that the people of Minahasa face
today, Chapter Seven discusses some practical problems especially
related to the practice of mapalus
(mutual cooperation). This chapter points at the context of Minahasa
and poses the question of how our ethnic and Christian traditions can
play a very important role in living out the Good News and
safeguarding the well-being of the land and the people of Minahasa as
an integral part of the global community. This last chapter provides
a final conclusion.
This
work is a preliminary study for further research on the topic of
Minahasan Christian identity. It presents the skeleton of a future
endeavor to construct Minahasan local theology. I am indebted to
Lesslie
Newbigin for the formulation of words in which I’d like to
categorize this work: “No one comes to any text with a completely
vacant mind. Everyone comes with a pre-understanding; without this no
understanding is possible.”8
This I acknowledge in agreement with his further statement that an
adequate space has to be provided to “allow the text to speak in
its own way, and accept the possibility that the pre-understanding
will be changed into a new understanding.”9
I have two texts in my hand, the Bible that I hold as authoritative
texts and my cultural texts as venues to understand the Bible. Hence,
this work is a double-text hermeneutic and engagement. I maintain
that this work is a “hermeneutical circle operating within
the believing community.”10
-------
1 For
a discussion on these three sources of theology, see Richard
Bauckham, God and the Crisis of Freedom (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 110-115.
2 The
singular Scripture in this thesis is used to refer to the Old and
New Testaments, while the plural form, Scriptures, is used to refer
to passages in either or both the OT and NT (see the use of graphe
in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Vol. I,
ed. Gerhard Kittel and Geoffrey W. Bromiley [Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964], 758. Henceforth TDNT.)
3 From
the word naram “tame,” “not wild,” meaning
“customs,” “habitude,” “tradition" (see A.
Wantalangi, et.al., Kamus Tondano-Indonesia [Jakarta: Pusat
Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan dan
Kebudayaan, 1985]).
4 Paul
G. Hiebert uses this term to point out how societies are influenced
by globalization on one hand and the rise of localization on the
other (Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding
of How People Change [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic,
20008], 241-264).
5 Hodegesis
parallels the “theological interpretation of Scripture” approach
described by J. Todd Billings in his article “How to read the
Bible” in Christianity
Today, October
2011. Dr.
Billings is Associate Professor of Reformed Theology at
Western Theological Seminary, who
I had the privilege to meet when I enrolled as a Th. M. student
2011-2012.
6 Kenneth
Pike, a linguist, uses the word “emic perspective” to describe a
“cultural insider's view” and to differentiate it from that of
“an informed outsider's view,” which is called the “etic
perspective” (Charles H. Kraft, Anthropology for Christian
Witness [Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996], 76).
7 I
rely mainly on the present accessible literature about Minahasa
written in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and sources in Proto-Minahasan
related languages (Tondano, Tombulu, Tonsea, Tontemboan, and
Tonsawang), including translated Dutch literature and others. They
are supplemented with personal correspondence and consultation with
several Minahasan experts on the topic of culture and theology.
8 Lesslie
Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western
Culture (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, UK: William B.
Eerdmans, 1986), 51.
9 Lesslie
Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks, 51.
10 Lesslie
Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks, 56 (emphasis author’s).
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