A Place to Stand: A Practical Guide to Christianity in Changing Times

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Or academics who are theologians and theologians who are academics. Apr 20, Shannon rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is the second I've read by Trueblood. I picked up the first one because I'd seen his name quoted in several other books I found thought-provoking. Today, I looked him up on Wikipedia, and I'm surprised that he was so prominent in his time. How is it that no one seems to have heard of him anymore? A Place To Stand definitely takes a lot of concentration to read, but Trueblood's ideas make sense and may even apply more to life in than in Mar 29, Jeanne rated it it was amazing.

Terrific book on Christian foundations.

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A favorite author of mine. A true seeker after God's heart. Feb 28, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: A case for the rationality of Christian belief. Sharp and compact like a gem. Oct 12, Michelle Murray rated it it was amazing Shelves: This has become one of my favorite books - I read it quickly for school but am going to go back and work through it at a much slower pace so I can contemplate so many thoughts that struck me. Mar 28, Cheryl rated it it was amazing Shelves: This practical guide is meant to be slowly read and thought about.

Jeremy Meeks rated it really liked it Jan 14, Timothy Hall rated it really liked it Oct 16, Kris rated it it was amazing Nov 03, Steve Walker rated it it was amazing Sep 13, Harmony Courtney rated it really liked it Dec 09, Kierkegaard's Pancakes rated it it was amazing Feb 03, Joe rated it liked it Sep 20, Emily added it Feb 17, Nick added it Sep 23, Mitch Vandiver marked it as to-read Aug 28, Jason marked it as to-read Feb 01, Jim marked it as to-read Jul 14, Tiffany marked it as to-read Mar 10, Larry marked it as to-read Jul 05, Tiara marked it as to-read Dec 20, Andy Kelly marked it as to-read Jan 14, Douglas Campbell added it May 22, Peter marked it as to-read Sep 08, Ed added it Dec 19, Jon Trevillyan marked it as to-read Mar 14, Lance Towers marked it as to-read Mar 29, John Sewell marked it as to-read May 22, Nevertheless, the kingdom which the Gospel proclaims is lived by men who are profoundly linked to a culture, and the building up of the kingdom cannot avoid borrowing the elements of human culture or cultures.

Though independent of cultures, the Gospel and evangelization are not necessarily incompatible with them; rather they are capable of permeating them all without becoming subject to any one of them. Therefore every effort must be made to ensure a full evangelization of culture, or more correctly of cultures.

They have to be regenerated by an encounter with the Gospel. In order to do this, it is necessary to proclaim the Gospel in the language and culture of men. This Good News addresses human persons in their complex wholeness, spiritual and moral, economic and political, cultural and social. The Church therefore does not hesitate to speak of the evangelization of cultures, that is to say mentalities, customs and behaviour. While cultures are subject to change and decay, the primacy of Christ is an unquenchable source of life cf.

As bearers of the absolute novelty of Christ to the heart of different cultures, Gospel missionaries incessantly exceed the limits of each individual culture, without allowing themselves to be ensnared by the earthly visions of a better world. Rather she fosters and takes to herself, insofar as they are good, the abilities, the resources and customs of peoples. The evangelization of cultures and the inculturation of the Gospel go hand in hand, in a reciprocal relationship which presupposes constant discernment in the light of the Gospel, to facilitate the identification of values and counter-values in a given culture, so as to build on the former and vigorously combat the latter.

She transmits to them her own values, at the same time taking the good elements that already exist in them and renewing them from within. In this encounter, not only are the cultures deprived of nothing, but they are actually stimulated to open themselves to the newness of the Gospel's truth and to find in it an incentive for further development. Fides et Ratio In tune with the objective demands of faith and its mission to evangelize, the Church takes account of the essential fact that the meeting of faith and culture is a meeting of things which are not of the same order.

The inculturation of faith and the evangelization of culture go together as an inseparable pair, in which there is no hint of syncretism: Successive Synods of Bishops, including both the African and European ones, and the Fourth General Conference of Latin American Bishops at Santo Domingo, insist on the particular importance for evangelization, for inculturation to be understood in the light of the great mysteries of salvation: Christ's Incarnation, his birth at Christmas, the mystery of his Passion, the Redemption at Easter, and Pentecost - which allows everyone, by the power of the Spirit, to hear the marvels of God in his own tongue.

This emptying of self, this kenosis necessary for exaltation, which is the way of Christ and of each of his disciples cf. The dominant wave of secularism spreading through the different cultures, harnessing the suggestive power of the media, frequently idealizes life styles that are opposed to the culture of the Beatitudes and the imitation of Christ; poor, chaste, obedient and humble of heart. Indeed, there are some major works of culture that are inspired by sin and can incite sin. She stigmatizes the counter-values and exorcises them.

She thus provides a critical element to cultures In service to the proclamation of the Good News and thus to man's destiny in God's plan, the pastoral approach to culture emanates from the very mission of the Church in our times, in the renewed awareness of its demands as expressed by the Second Vatican Council and the Synods of Bishops.

The awareness of the cultural dimension of human existence brings with it a particular attention for this field of pastoral work. Anchored as it is in Christian anthropology and ethics, this pastoral approach gives rise to a Christian cultural project which gives Christ, the Redeemer of man, centre of the universe and of history cf. In service to evangelization , which constitutes the Church's essential mission, her grace, her very vocation and her deepest identity cf. These elements may appear to be contradictory, indeed mutually exclusive.

In fact they are complementary and mutually enriching. At the same time, it affirms the absolute newness of Revelation in Jesus Christ and the need for conversion which is manifestly the result of meeting the Saviour: This shows the importance of the specific tasks of understanding in loyalty to the faith and of pastoral discernment that are incumbent on theologians and pastors.

What is at stake is the conversion of persons and, through them, of cultures, the Christianization of the ethos of peoples cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi , A new age in human history Gaudium et Spes , For the Church, it is like a new kairos , when the time is ripe for a new evangelization in which the new features of culture are to be seen as both opportunities and challenges for a pastoral approach to culture.

The Church in our time is well aware of all this, as a result of the efforts of the Popes, who have developed and articulated the Church's social teaching, from Rerum Novarum in to Centesimus Annus in It has inspired Federations of Bishops' Conferences and Synods of Bishops to develop practical responses appropriate to their countries' particular situations. While these situations vary greatly, there are some common factors in responses.

In the cultural situation which prevails in different parts of the world today, priority is given to subjective criteria and measures of truth cf. Fides et Ratio , Positivist presuppositions on the progress of science and technology are now seen as questionable. After the spectacular defeat of collectivist atheistic Marxism-Leninism, the rival ideology - liberalism - is struggling in its efforts to bring about happiness for the human race and to ensure responsible dignity for each person. Under various pressures, such as poverty and the under-development of rural areas deprived of indispensable goods and services as well as, in some countries, armed conflicts which force millions of people to leave behind their home and culture, the growing number of people on the move is emptying the countryside of people and causing the great cities to expand excessively.

In addition to these economic and social pressures, cities have the fascination of the well-being and entertainment they offer, as vividly portrayed by the means of social communication. Through lack of planning, the outskirts or suburbs of every megalopolis are like ghettos. These are often huge agglomerations of people who are socially rootless, politically powerless, economically marginalized and culturally isolated.

Cultural rootlessness, which has so many causes, shows how important cultural roots are.

It contributes to a loss of people's social and cultural identity and dignity. People whose lives are thus unravelled become easy prey for dehumanizing business practices. In this century, as never before, people have shown how capable and talented they are. But, at the same time, never throughout history had there been so many denials and violations of human dignity, bitter fruits of denying or forgetting God.

Cultural fragmentation confines values to the private sphere: Evangelium Vitae , and The means of social communication have become so important as to be for many the chief means of information and education, of guidance and inspiration in their behaviour as individuals, families and within society at large The very evangelization of modern culture depends to a great extent on the influence of the media The advent of the information society is a real cultural revolution: So the constant repetition of selected items of information involves a decline in critical awareness and this is a crucial factor in forming what is considered as public opinion.

Television and radio can be a means of cultural formation and development, and also of evangelization, a way of reaching out to those who have no point of contact with the Gospel or the Church in secularised societies. The pastoral approach to culture must provide a positive answer to John Paul II's crucial question: The most startling innovation in communications technology is, without doubt, the Internet. Like any other new technology, the Internet involves risks which have become tragically clear in cases where it has been used for evil purposes, and this calls for constant vigilance and reliable information.

It is not simply a question of moral use of the Internet, but also of the radically new consequences it brings: But, without doubt, the Internet's immense potential can be enormously helpful in spreading the Good News. Christifideles Laici , A great deal is at stake. How can we not be present and use information networks, whose screens are at the heart of people's homes, to implant the values of the Gospel there? If the fact that they share a common nature makes all people members of one great family, but the historical character of the human condition means that they have a more intense sense of attachment to particular groups, from their family to their people or nation.

The human condition is thus located between universality and particularity in a lively tension which can be remarkably fruitful if it is lived in a balanced and harmonious way. This is the anthropological foundation for national rights, which are nothing less than human rights considered at this specific level of the life of a community. The first one is the right to exist. The primary duty is undoubtedly to live in a spirit of peace, respect and solidarity with others. Teaching younger generations to live with diversity, to integrate diversity into their own identity, is a major priority in cultural education, given that pressure-groups frequently do not hesitate to use religion for political purposes that are alien to it.

While nationalism implies contempt or even hatred for other nations or cultures, patriotism is an appropriate particular - but not exclusive - love of and service to one's country and people, as remote from cosmopolitanism as it is from cultural nationalism. Each culture aspires to the universal through the best it has to offer.

The development of ecology is a sign of a new awareness in people. But it is not new for the Church: Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Philip Neri are symbolic witnesses of respect for nature, which comes from the fact that nature does not belong to the human race but to God, its creator.

God appointed us stewards of nature Gen 1,28 , so that we might respect it and thus discover the true basis of our own existence Cf. Centesimus Annus , The spread of scientific knowledge has shown people where they fit into the immensity of the cosmos and left them captivated with their own abilities and with the world, without even adverting to God as the creator of it all.

The challenge for a pastoral approach to culture is to help people to discover transcendence, to convince them that right reason will enable them to make wise use of the best achievements of modern science, and to invite them to tread anew the path which leads from human experience and understanding to knowing our Creator. While its great prestige allows it to penetrate so much of contemporary culture, science cannot grasp the essence of experience or the inner reality of things.

A coherent culture is based on the transcendence and superiority of spirit over matter, and harmonizes scientific knowledge and metaphysics. In the realm of knowledge, faith and science are not to be superimposed, and their methodological principles ought not to be confused. Rather, they should overcome the loss of meaning in isolated fields of knowledge through distinction, to bring unity and to retrieve the sense of harmony and wholeness which characterizes truly human culture.

In our diversified culture, struggling to integrate the riches of human knowledge, the marvels of scientific discovery and the remarkable benefits of modern technology, the pastoral approach to culture requires philosophical reflection as a prerequisite so as to give order and structure to this body of knowledge and, in so doing, assert reason's capacity for truth and its regulatory function in culture.

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How could the Church not be concerned by this? It is also the task of qualified philosophers and theologians to study the dominant scientific and technological culture and competently to identify challenges to the proclamation of the Gospel, but also positive points of contact. Thus philosophical and theological formation will need to be revised, since dialogue and inculturation depend on a theology which is perfectly in tune with the deposit of faith. A pastoral approach to culture also calls for Catholic scientists who will offer their due contribution to the life of the Church by sharing their reflections on the encounter between science and faith.

The lack of people who are both qualified in theology and competent in science makes for a patchy presence of the Church at the heart of a culture produced by scientific research and its technical applications. And yet we are living in a period which is particularly favourable to the dialogue between science and faith. While science and technology have established themselves as ways of increasing people's knowledge, power and wellbeing, their responsible use demands ethical criteria which they themselves cannot provide.

The ethical dimension of scientific questions often asked by scientists themselves reveals the need for a dialogue between science and morality. This quest for truth, which transcends the experience of the senses, offers new possibilities for a pastoral approach to culture which aims to proclaim the Gospel in scientific circles. The breadth of the scope of bioethics makes it quite clear that it is far more than a scientific discipline; it is a cultural trend with political and juridical dimensions, which the Church deems to be of the greatest importance.

In reality, the evolution of legislation in the area of bioethics will depend on the authority invested in legislators, and on their choice of values.

A Place To Stand by Elton Trueblood

There is a stark basic question which constantly needs to be asked: Evangelium Vitae , 18, ? When basic ethical questions are left to a series of legislators, is there not a risk of establishing as a constitutional right , what in moral terms would be a sin? Bioethics is one of the sensitive areas which invites man to seek out the fundamentals of faith, of anthropolgy and morality. The role of Christians is irreplaceable in forming an ethical social conscience and civil principles, by means of serious but respectful dialogue.

This new cultural situation calls for a thorough preparation in bioethics, both for priests and for those lay men and women who are working in this crucial area. It arises whenever there comes into being the conjugal covenant of marriage, which opens the spouses into a lasting communion of love and life, and it is brought to completion in a full and specific way with the procreation of children: As the cradle of life and love, the family is also the source of culture. It is the place that welcomes life and the school of humanity, where future spouses are best formed to become responsible parents.

The growth process which it guarantees within a community of life and love, in certain civilizations, goes beyond the family nucleus and constitutes, for instance, the great African family. And material, cultural and moral misery can jeopardise the institution of marriage and threaten to drain the very springs of life.

When this happens, the family must nevertheless safeguard its basic role as the primary place of humanization for the person and society. As experience shows, civilization and social cohesion depend, above all, on the human quality of families; particularly on the complementary presence of both parents to fill their respective roles as father and mother in the education of children. In a society where the number of people without families is growing, education is becoming increasingly difficult, as is the communication of a culture shaped by the Gospel.

Painful personal situations call for understanding, love and solidarity, but what is a tragic breakdown of family life should never be put forward as a new model for society. In this context, forming a community of life and love which unites spouses in association with the Creator is the best cultural contribution Christian families can offer society. Today more than ever before the specific role of women in society is a key topic of reflection and initiatives. This has somewhat overshadowed the rich significance of motherhood. Bearing in mind Revelation's message, which spread in spite of the vicissitudes of Christian history and cultures, about the fundamental equality of man and woman, created by God in his image Gen 1: However the divine intervention manifested in creation, through desiring woman to be man's equal in dignity and worth, at the same time clearly affirms her diversity and specific features.

It is primarily the responsibility of families, but calls for the help of society as a whole.

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Tomorrow's world depends on today's education, and education cannot be seen merely as a transmission of knowledge. It forms people and prepares them for their participation in social life by fostering their psychological, intellectual, cultural, moral and spiritual maturity. So the challenge of proclaiming the Gospel to children and young people, from school to university, calls for an educational programme for evangelizing culture.

Education does not simply form individuals, but initiates them into social life and citizenship, into relationships based on respect for rights and duties, in a spirit of welcome and solidarity, and with a moderate use of property and possessions which will guarantee just conditions for everyone, always. The future of humanity will depend upon the fully human development and solidarity of all Populorum Progressio , In their various different ways, families, schools and universities are called to bring the leaven of the Gospel to the third millennium.

In a world which seems increasingly obsessed with instant gratification, the lure of gain, the pursuit of profit and the overriding importance of possessions, it is striking also to acknowledge a persistent, even growing, fascination with beauty. Intuitively, the Church was aware of this from its origins and centuries of Christian art magnificently illustrate this. Every true work of art is potentially a way into religious experience.

Recognizing the importance of art in the inculturation of the Gospel means recognizing that human genius and sensitivity are akin to the truth and beauty of the divine mystery. The Church shows profound respect to all artists, irrespective of their religious convictions, since works of art bear an imprint of the invisible, as it were Art, like every other human activity, looks beyond itself for its absolute goal: In Christian artists, the Church finds extraordinary potential for the expression of new formulas and for the definition of new symbols or metaphors through the brilliance of liturgical genius in all its creative force, steeped in centuries of Catholic imagery with its ability to express the omnipresence of grace.

Every continent has had its Christian artists, whose Christian inspiration can attract people - of any faith or of none - to beauty and truth. Support and encouragement for Christian artists is an excellent way of reaching a whole host of people who may have no other contact with the message of Christ. At the same time, the Catholic Church's rich cultural heritage, in the form of its cultural assets, bears witness to a fruitful symbiosis of culture and faith.

It constitutes an inexhaustible source of beauty and a permanent resource for a cultural education which is also a genuine catechesis, one which unites the truth of faith to the genuine beauty of art cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium , As the fruits of a community which has lived its faith intensely, and continues to do so, the cultic and cultural treasures of the Church should not be seen in exclusively cultural terms, or their meaning will be lost.

They could be a real inspiration for humanity at the dawn of the third millennium. The world of leisure and sport, travel and tourism , is undeniably an important element in modern culture, along with that of labour , in which the Church has long been present, and so is becoming another new forum of evangelization. From the perennial need to earn one's daily bread cf. Laborem Exercens 1 , work is one of the means of responding to the ever more insistent desire for self-fulfilment, on a par with cultural activities.

Elsewhere, new ways of organizing labour, which are part of a process of technological and economic development, go hand in hand with an increase in unemployment at every level of society. This not only gives rise to material impoverishment, but sows in those cultures the seeds of doubt, dissatisfaction, humiliation and even crime. Having become almost universal, sport undoubtedly has its place in the Christian vision of culture and can promote both physical health and interpersonal relationships. However, sport can be taken over by commercial interests or become a vehicle for expressing tribal, national or racial rivalries, and give rise to occasional explosions of violence which reveal the tensions and contradictions which are part of contemporary society, and thus become an anti culture.

So it is an important area for a modern pastoral approach. Despite their variety and complexity and the clutter of symbols and commercialism, leisure pursuits and sport create not just an atmosphere but a whole culture, a way of life and a value system. Well-adapted pastoral policy will find there all the genuine educational values and a springboard for celebrating everything in human nature which is rich, in the image of God and, like the apostle Paul, announces salvation in Jesus Christ cf.

What is most noticeable about the world in which the Church carries out her mission of evangelization today is the diversity of cultural situations which have developed from the perspectives of different religions. This affects every continent and every country, since there are ever more frequent intercultural and interreligious exchanges in the global village.

This was brought out in the special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. There Christianity and Islam have come into contact with traditional religions, which are still thriving today, since they permeate African culture and the social life of individuals and communities. When the evangelization of Africa began, the positive cultural values of these religions were not always taken seriously enough to be integrated with the Gospel.

Today, particularly since Vatican II, the Church recognizes these religious values and promotes those which are consonant with the Gospel. It is fertile ground for cultivating conversion to Christ. The positive values enshrined in these traditional cultures, such as a sense of family, love and respect for life, veneration of ancestors, a sense of solidarity and community, respect for the chief and elders, are a solid basis for the inculturation of faith, whereby the Gospel penetrates the whole of culture and brings it to fruition cf.

The countries of the immense continent of Asia have ancient cultures, which are profoundly influenced by non-Christian religions and traditions of wisdom, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism and Islam, which need to be considered very carefully. Asia as a whole may well still appear unaffected by the message of Christ, but is that not chiefly because Christianity is still perceived there as a foreign religion introduced by Westerners, which has not been sufficiently adapted, thought through and lived in the cultures of Asia?

This shows how broad a pastoral approach to culture in this continent must be. Many elements of spirituality and mysticism, like holiness, self-denial, chastity, universal love, a love for peace, prayer and contemplation, bliss in God and compassion, which are very much alive in these cultures, can lead on to faith in the God of Jesus Christ. Pope John Paul II recalls this: Religions are an expression of man's search for God, and evidence of the spiritual dimension of the human being cf. Nostra Aetate , 2. In a world at the mercy of secularisation, they are a reminder of the divine presence and the importance of spirituality as the living core of cultures.

It is an enormous pastoral challenge to start from these rich cultural traditions, such as the age-old wisdom of China, and to steer their ancient quest for divinity towards an openness to the revelation of the living God, who makes us his partners by grace in Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer. As was highlighted by the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops, other large parts of the world whose culture is profoundly shaped by the Gospel message are at the same time a prey to the penetrating influence of materialist and secular life-styles, which manifests itself particularly in the rejection of religion by the middle classes and by men of culture.

The Church asserts the dignity of the human person, is struggling to cleanse society of violence, social injustice, the abuses of which street children are victims, drug trafficking, etc In this context and affirming her preferential love for the poor and the excluded, the Church is duty-bound to promote a culture of solidarity at every level of society: In striving for greater union between people, between societies and between nations, the Church will associate herself with the efforts of people of good will to build a world that is ever more worthy of the human person.

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In doing this, she will contribute to: In our times, religious ignorance is feeding the different forms of syncretism between ancient and now extinct cults, new religious movements and the Catholic faith. The world's social, economic, cultural and moral ailments serve as a justification for new syncretic ideologies that are increasingly present in many countries.

The Church there has taken up these challenges in particular in its work to evangelize poor people, to promote social justice and to evangelize native cultures and the evolving megalopolis-cultures. The countries where Islam dominates are in a cultural world of their own, although there are differences between the Arab countries and the other countries of Africa and Asia.

Islam is not just a religion in the classic sense of the word: Islam is currently expanding rapidly, particularly due to migratory movements from countries with rapid demographic growth. Countries with a Christian tradition, where, except in Africa, population growth is slower or even negative, often see the increased presence of Muslims as a social, cultural or even religious challenge. Muslim immigrants themselves, at least in some countries, encounter major difficulties as regards social and cultural integration.

Furthermore, the alienation of a traditional community often leads - in Islam as in the other religions - to the loss of certain religious practices and to a cultural identity crisis. True collaboration with Muslims on the level of culture in real reciprocity may foster fruitful relationships in Islamic countries and with Muslim communities established in traditionally Christian countries. Such collaboration does not dispense Christians from bearing witness to their christological and trinitarian faith in relation to other expressions of monotheism.

Secularized cultures have a profound influence in various parts of the world where the acceleration and complexity of cultural changes have increased. Born in countries with a long Christian tradition, this secularized culture, with its values of solidarity, generous dedication to others, freedom, justice, equality between men and women, an open mind, a spirit of dialogue and a sensitivity to ecological issues, still bears the imprint of these fundamentally Christian values which have imbued culture over the centuries and of which secularization itself brought the fruits to civilization and nourished philosophical reflection.

When secularization transforms itself into secularism Evangelii Nuntiandi , 55 , there is a serious cultural and spiritual crisis, one sign of which is the loss of respect for the person and the spread of a kind of anthropological nihilism which reduces human beings to their instincts and tendencies. By putting Christ back as the keystone of existence and restoring the place of reason enlightened by faith, a pastoral approach to culture could strengthen Christian identity by a clear and enthusiastic invitation to holiness. In this way, individuals and communities could rediscover a reason for searching in every situation for the Lord who comes, and for the life of the world yet to come Rev The reductive effects of the secularism that spread through western Europe towards the end of the s are at present contributing to the destructuring of culture in Central and Eastern Europe.

Other countries with traditional pluralistic democracies, against a background of massive social and religious adherence, are experiencing the thrust of a mixture of secularism and popular religious expressions brought in by migratory flows. This is why the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America gave rise to a new missionary awareness.

People are searching once again for spirituality - more than religion - in a whole variety of ways, in a society which is reminiscent of the Areopagus in Athens, the scene of some of Saint Paul's great debates cf.

A Place To Stand

There is a need to recover a spiritual dimension which will also give meaning to life, and a deep desire to rebuild the framework of affective and social relationships which, in some countries, has been dismantled by the increasing instability of family life. Many very different groups may be classified under the polysemous heading of sects.

Some are of gnostic or esoteric inspiration, some are Christian in appearance, and others, in some cases, are hostile to Christ and the Church. These groups succeed quite clearly because they respond to frustrated aspirations. Many of our contemporaries can communicate easily in such groups and experience a feeling of belonging; they find affection, brotherhood, even apparent protection and security. In some cases people are psychologically wounded or suffer rejection or total isolation in the anonymity so prevalent in urban life; they readily accept a spiritual vision which restores lost harmony and even offers a feeling of physical or spiritual healing.

This shows the complexity and the transversal nature of the problem of sects, which combines the existential ailment with rejection of the institutional dimension of the religions, and is expressed in heterogeneous forms and expressions of religion. However, the proliferation of sects is also a reaction against secularised culture and a consequence of social and cultural upheavals which have uprooted traditional religion.

One of the challenges the Church must take up is that of getting through to people affected by sects, or in danger of it, in order to proclaim to them the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. This realisation calls for a new pastoral approach to culture, one which can take up these new challenges, in the spirit of that conviction which prompted John Paul II to create the Pontifical Council for Culture: The new challenges which must be taken up by an inculturated evangelization based on cultures shaped by two millenniums of Christianity and reference points identified at the heart of the new Areopagus-situations to be found in our times, call for a renewed presentation of the Christian message, rooted in the living tradition of the Church and sustained by the witness of genuine Christian living of Christian communities.

Conceiving everything anew, based on the newness of the Gospel proposed in a fresh and persuasive way becomes a major requirement. In a perspective of Gospel preparation, the primary objective of the pastoral approach to culture, is to inject the life-blood of the Gospel into cultures to renew from within and transform in the light of the Revelation the visions of men and society that shape cultures, the concepts of men and women, of the family and of education, of school and of university, of freedom and of truth, of labour and of leisure, of the economy and of society, of the sciences and of the arts.

But the fact that something is said is not enough to guarantee that it will be understood. When those listening were basically in tune with the message because of their traditional culture imbued with Christianity, and generally well disposed towards it through their overall social and cultural background, what was offered could be received and understood.

With the cultural pluralism of the present, there must be coherence between the message itself and the conditions of its reception. The success of this great undertaking implies the need for continual discernment, with the light of the Holy Spirit invoked through prayer. It also calls for adequate preparation and appropriate formation through simple pastoral means - homilies, catechesis, popular missions, schools of evangelization - together with modern means of communication so as to reach men and women of all cultures.

The Synods of Bishops since Vatican II have recalled this ever more insistently, for lay people as much as for priests and religious. Bishops' Conferences find that cultural commissions or committees - which it is important to create where they are as yet lacking - are an excellent tool for collaboration in this field.

They can promote the presence of the Church in the various areas of cultural development, and foster the many types of creativity which are born of faith and express and sustain it. In her mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all men and women of all cultures, which also always involves the inculturation of faith, the Church comes into contact with traditional religions, above all in Africa and Asia.

Ad Gentes , 19 and It is often more a question of religious feeling than of a demanding personal commitment to God, in a communion of faith with the Church. Still, none could deny that a growing number of men and women are turning once again to a dimension of human existence which they call spiritual, religious or sacred, as the case may be. It is worth noting, by the way, that this is largely something which affects young or poor people - which is all the more reason to pay careful attention to it - and brings them back to Christianity, which had left them quite disillusioned.

Some of them will have turned to other religions, and others will have been enticed into sects, or turned to the occult. All over the world, a whole new range of possibilities is opening up for a pastoral approach to culture to bring the light of Christ's Gospel to the hearts of men. On many points there needs to be a re-formulation of Christian faith which is more accessible to dominant cultures, because of the competition caused by the profusion on all sides of diffuse forms of religiosity.

A search for dialogue and its necessary correlative - a clearer identification of what is specific to Christianity - are an increasingly significant area of reflection and action in the proclamation of faith in our cultures. This is the frame of reference of the challenge a pastoral approach to culture faces in sects cf. This situation calls for rigorous reflection on the way we live tolerance and religious liberty in our societies cf. Dignitatis Humanae , 4. Priests and lay people must, of course, be better trained to be competent discerners of sects and the reasons for their success, but we should never lose sight of the fact that the best weapon in the fight against sects is the quality of ecclesial life.

Priests need to be ready to face the challenge from sects, but also to help the faithful who are in danger of leaving the Church and giving up their faith. This created a whole culture which effectively included everyone, a culture built on faith and organized around it. Such a culture appears to be particularly threatened by secularism.

It is important to support the better efforts which have been made to revive such traditions.

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