Inculturation of the Church: Example of the Igboland, South-East, Nigeria

Abstract

God is a universal Being. In his salvific mission, He, in Jesus Christ, chose to make himself known through the vehicle of the Jewish culture. But the ultimate destination and the spiritual jurisdiction of His mission is the entire world. He could not complete this mission, however, before the expiration of His life on earth. But before He returned back to heaven, He commissioned His disciples to continue to expand on this mission which He had started. After many centuries of evangelism, His message reached Igbo land. But it was passed on to them under the cloak of Western culture. For this reason the message was disdainfully looked upon as one without lustre; one that lacks content and so irrelevant to the daily lives of the people. Some efforts, however, have been made after the Vatican II council to express God.s message through culture. It is believed in this paper that many more of such efforts need to be put in place in order for the church to take firm root in Igbo land.

Key word: Inculturation