[stephenkhoo]

GLOBALIZATION, SECULARIZATION AND INCULTURATION

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64; LUKE 18:35-43http://www.universalis.com/20131118/mass.htmIn the wake of globalization and secularization, the Church is once again, becoming a Diaspora as in the foundational days of the Church.  This is to say, Catholics are no longer a majority in most countries.  The homogeneity of faith and religion is disappearing. Even traditional Catholic countries face a great influx of migrants from other countries who bring with them their cultures and their religions.  In some of our Catholic schools, there are more non-Catholics than Catholic students.  As a result, there is an increasing encounter between religions and cultures.  Globalization means the inevitability of the interactions between cultures, religions and science.As a consequence of globalization and cross cultural and religious interactions, secularization becomes the way to preserve unity in the world when politics is separate from religion.  This is certainly not healthy.  Whilst secularization itself is not against faith, there are some who go beyond secularization to advocate secularism; which is the exclusion of all religions in public and social life and relegating it to the privacy of one’s home.  This is where danger lies.  For without the presence of religions, the people will be without spiritual and moral values.The first reading presents to us a similar challenge faced by the Jews during the reign of Antiochus Eiphanes, the king of Syria.  On one hand, there was the desire to adopt some of the more advanced aspects of Greek culture and on the other, there was the desire to be faithful to their Jewish religion.  Indeed, there were some Jews who willingly adopted the pagan customs and practices so that they might not be at a disadvantage compared to the pagans and the Greeks. They said, “Come, let us reach an understanding with the pagans surrounding us.  For since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.”  Such a pragmatic approach was supported by the king who “authorised them to practise the pagan observances”.Of course, the king was not happy when some Jews were faithful to their culture and religion, and refused to adopt pagan culture and practices.  As a result, Antiochus Epiphanes became impatient and began to persecute those people who refused to adopt the Greek religions. In the name of unity, Antiochus decreed that “all were to become a single people, each renouncing his particular customs”.   This organized persecution was done for a pragmatic and political reason, which was to unite all the different groups within the empire.  Other religions other than Greek religion were considered divisive and a potential source of conflict.Isn’t this the same challenge that we face?  Today, we are also pressurized to conform to the lifestyle and ideological climate and materialistic culture of our society.  We are afraid of being different or to be seen as outdated.  So we consciously or unconsciously imbibe worldly values and lifestyles.  Such values include valuing people in terms of utility, productivity and achievements.  Happiness is determined by our possessions and pleasure.  Success is measured by achievements in the materialistic sense even when one adopts unscrupulous means.In some countries, there is religious persecution as well.  People of other faiths are not allowed to practice their religions freely.  This restriction is imposed in the name of unity for the country.  By extension, secularists who are supposedly champions of freedom and autonomy are advocating that all religions must be banned from public eye and discussion, and be totally relegated to the home so that there will be unity and true freedom.  The irony is that those who advocate freedom from all religions are themselves intolerant of others who think otherwise.How then do we respond to such a situation?  Should we conform for the sake of unity and for our own benefit?  Should we follow those in Israel “who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food”, choosing “death rather than contamination or profanation of the holy covenant”?The answer is not so simplistic.  We can be fundamentalistic and reject all forms of inculturation and swing towards traditionalism.  But the truth remains that religion is not against science or culture.  Faith can accommodate and make use of technological and cultural advancements for the development of humanity and the world.  So we must ask and discern whether we can adapt and take advantage of the advancements of other cultures without giving up our faith.  By keeping ourselves isolated and withdrawn from cultural and technological progress of other cultures and religions, we will be doing ourselves a disservice.  Of course, in adopting such customs without a judicious judgment, we might also be imbibing anti-Christian values that are detrimental to our faith.Today, the solution to our moral and religious dilemma is given in the gospel.  We must not fall into the same mistake of the crowd who followed Jesus.  They simply followed the crowd without having a mind of their own.  This is true for many of us as well.  We are not discerning enough as to what values we have consciously or unconsciously adopted from our secular and materialistic society.But we are told that the apparently blind Bartimaeus was different.  He might be physically blind but his ears were attentive to what was happening around him.  For this reason, he could hear Jesus coming towards him.  He was not simply begging and wasting his life away.  He was looking for an opportunity to get out from poverty.  He was proactive in seeking Jesus.Even when “the people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet”, “he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’”  Indeed, Bartimaeus showed himself to be one who was sure of his belief and conviction.  He did not allow the voice of the crowd to shake his faith and confidence.  In spite of being humiliated and discouraged, he shouted all the louder so that his voice drowned the crowd’s.  Bartimaeus shows us that we must remain firm in our faith.  He knew what was essential, that is, faith in Jesus.  He did not allow the crowd to influence him into thinking that he was too insignificant for Jesus to stop for him.We too must be louder than the voice of the secular world.  We can only be firm in our faith if we know Jesus and have the courage to follow Him.  With respect to faith in Jesus and the gospel values, we must remain faithful.  Anything that leads to a compromise in our faith of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God; anything that leads to a compromise of the values of the gospel as enshrined in the beatitudes and the sermon on the Mount would be against our Christian faith.Faith cannot be compromised.  Even when the world thinks otherwise, Jesus refused to take the easy path to victory over sin and Satan.  Jesus entrusted Himself to His Father’s will, which was to drink the cup of crucifixion.  So too was the case of Bartimaeus.  He trusted in the compassion of Jesus and he was the only one who could recognize Christ as the Son of David, the Messiah.Today, we must pray sincerely, the same request of Bartimaeus, “Let me see again.”  Indeed, Jesus told him, “’Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.”  But that is not all; we are also told that he followed Jesus along the way praising God.   So in the light of the challenges and the attempts to dilute our faith, we must be discriminating of those fundamental truths and morals of our faith that cannot be compromised in the process of inculturation.  We must first make a distinction between faith and culture.  Then we must discern which aspects of culture and science are in agreement with our faith and the values of the gospel.

- See more at: http://www.csctr.net/reflections/#sthash.vjLnMt28.dpuf