Hermeneutic of Cultural Differentiation and Accommodation: A Biblical Paradigm of Inculturation for the Indian Church

Abstract

The relationship between Christian faith and culture continues to generate discussion. This issue is perennially relevant to the Indian church as it exists in a multicultural context. How should the Indian church practice its faith in a given culture? To what extent can its faith be enculturated? This article proposes a biblical hermeneutic of cultural accommodation and differentiation as a model for the Indian church. It examines the culture/customs of the patriarchs in the book of Genesis as a test case and argues that the narrator’s hermeneutic promotes the integration of culture with faith so long as both converge under the primacy of the latter.