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Christian theologians in the Pacific Islands see culture as the grounds on which one understands God. In this pathbreaking book, Matt Tomlinson engages in an anthropological conversation with the work of “contextual theologians,” exploring how the combination of Pacific Islands culture and Christianity shapes theological dialogues. Employing both scholarly research and ethnographic fieldwork, the author addresses a range of topics: from radical criticisms of biblical stories as inappropriate for Pacific audiences to celebrations of traditional gods such as Tagaloa as inherently Christian figures. This book presents a symphony of voices—engaged, critical, prophetic—from the contemporary Pacific’s leading religious thinkers and suggests how their work articulates with broad social transformations in the region. Each chapter in this book focuses on a distinct type of culturally driven theological dialogue. One type is between readers and texts, in which biblical scholars suggest new ways of reading, and even rewriting, the Bible so it becomes more meaningful in local terms. A second kind concerns the state of the church and society. For example, feminist theologians and those calling for “prophetic” action on social problems propose new conversations about how people in Oceania should navigate difficult times. A third kind of discussion revolves around identity, emphasizing what makes Oceania unique and culturally coherent. A fourth addresses the problems of climate change and environmental degradation to sacred lands by encouraging “eco-theological” awareness and interconnection. Finally, many contextual theologians engage with the work of other disciplines— prominently, anthropology—as they develop new discourse on God, people, and the future of Oceania. Contextual theology allows people in Oceania to speak with God and fellow humans through the idiom of culture in a distinctly Pacific way. Tomlinson concludes, however, that the most fruitful topic of dialogue might not be culture, but rather the nature of dialogue itself. Written in an accessible, engaging style and presenting innovative findings, this book will interest students and scholars of anthropology, world religion, theology, globalization, and Pacific studies.
Following up on his first two books on Church events and the history of the Assembly of God Church in American Samoa, author Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto delves deeper into new science discoveries as they relate to Christianity. If you're interested in Church-related events on the Samoan Islands during the early twenty-first century, then you need this book. There are no known local sources on the progress of the various churches in the Samoan islands during this period and this book provides updated information to fill that void. This book is geared mainly for Bible college students and researchers and the author explores issues including traditions, translations, Climate Change, law and politics. His contemporary perspectives and commentaries provides an inclusive and deeper examination of church operations within the Samoan Islands and Samoan churches abroad.
Christian theologians in the Pacific Islands see culture as the grounds on which one understands God. In this pathbreaking book, Matt Tomlinson engages in an anthropological conversation with the work of “contextual theologians,” exploring how the combination of Pacific Islands culture and Christianity shapes theological dialogues. Employing both scholarly research and ethnographic fieldwork, the author addresses a range of topics: from radical criticisms of biblical stories as inappropriate for Pacific audiences to celebrations of traditional gods such as Tagaloa as inherently Christian figures. This book presents a symphony of voices—engaged, critical, prophetic—from the contemporary Pacific’s leading religious thinkers and suggests how their work articulates with broad social transformations in the region. Each chapter in this book focuses on a distinct type of culturally driven theological dialogue. One type is between readers and texts, in which biblical scholars suggest new ways of reading, and even rewriting, the Bible so it becomes more meaningful in local terms. A second kind concerns the state of the church and society. For example, feminist theologians and those calling for “prophetic” action on social problems propose new conversations about how people in Oceania should navigate difficult times. A third kind of discussion revolves around identity, emphasizing what makes Oceania unique and culturally coherent. A fourth addresses the problems of climate change and environmental degradation to sacred lands by encouraging “eco-theological” awareness and interconnection. Finally, many contextual theologians engage with the work of other disciplines— prominently, anthropology—as they develop new discourse on God, people, and the future of Oceania. Contextual theology allows people in Oceania to speak with God and fellow humans through the idiom of culture in a distinctly Pacific way. Tomlinson concludes, however, that the most fruitful topic of dialogue might not be culture, but rather the nature of dialogue itself. Written in an accessible, engaging style and presenting innovative findings, this book will interest students and scholars of anthropology, world religion, theology, globalization, and Pacific studies.
If you’re interested in Church-related events on the American Samoan islands during the early twenty-first century, then you need this book. Following up on his first book on the history of the Assemblies of God Church in American Samoa, author Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto delves deeper into church life on these South Pacific islands. Geared for Bible college students, pastors, and researchers, he answers questions such as: • What role has Christianity played in the lives of most Samoans? • What notable changes have recently occurred within American Samoa’s churches? • What is the financial condition of various churches? • What role does politics play in church life? While there is ample literature on the history and developments of churches in American Samoa and the Pacific from the late 1800s to the 1980s, there are not nearly as many resources updating the world on new church developments. This book fills that void.
The traditional understanding of discipleship in many Christian communities considers church needs and demands to be more important than family duties and responsibilities. To be a disciple requires one to abandon family and follow Jesus into (as if to colonize) the world. Public criticism of this understanding is emerging from Samoans who also question the relevance of traditional Christian teachings. When pondered with regard to people (patrons) and institutons (church), discipleship becomes an exercise in and an expression of power. Under the influence of the Samoan tautua (servant), for whom the needs of family and local people are foremost, and approaches in biblical criticism that affirm locatedness of readers, this book offers an alternative understanding of discipleship. Discipleship is also about place, which might be in-between spaces. Nofoaiga in this book offers tautuaileva (service in-between spaces) readings of Matthew 4:12-25 and 7:24-8:22 that emphasize place (Galilee) as well as the marginalized and excluded (the crowd).
First published in 1928, "Coming of Age in Samoa" is Margaret Mead's classic sociological examination of adolescence during the first part of the 20th century in American Samoa. Sent by the Social Science Research Council to study the youths of a so-called "primitive" culture, Margaret Mead would spend nine months attempting to ascertain if the problems of adolescences in western society were merely a function of youth or a result of cultural and social differences. "Coming of Age in Samoa" is her report of those findings, in which the author details various aspects of Samoan life including, education, social and household structure, and sexuality. The book drew great public interest when it was first published and also criticism from those who did not like the perceived message that the carefree sexuality of Samoan girls might be the reason for their lack of neuroses. "Coming of Age in Samoa" has also been criticized for the veracity of Mead's account, though current public opinion seems to fall on the side of her work being largely a factual one, if not one of great anthropological rigor. At the very least "Coming of Age in Samoa" remains an interesting historical account of tribal Samoan life during the first part of the 20th century. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.
This book offers a complete history and culture of the Samoans and Manu'ans, chronicled in a new narrative, thus giving a new perspective on reality. It's an Orator Chief's treatise covering over 3000 years of history and culture, reimagined through the paradigm of data analytics methodology. Told by an expert in the oral mythology and written history of the Polynesian Archipelago, both English and Samoan, this historiographical account makes use of the physical sciences-archeology, geophysics, ethnology, and anthropology-as well as the social sciences-the psychology and the sociology of Samoan and Manu'an human psyche and cultural norms-to evidence the evolutionary development of the culture and the national brand identity. Major changes in Samoan and Manu'an culture and history were caused by paradigm shift disruptions from the introduction of Christianity and colonialism by the Europeans-defining moments in the lives of the Samoans and Manu'ans. Exploring this, the Orator Chief author uses a linear timeline, covering periods of family genealogies and their respective generations, corroborated with the deep oral history and mythologies, to arrive at an ancient history, reimagined. The historical events and actors are memorialized locally in the oral history of thousands of years, supported by documented writings from the missionaries in the middle 1800s. All this is thoroughly chronicled in this treatise. This history also draws from the web-network of Samoan and Manu'an family inter-marriages which corroborate the time-periods, generations, and ages. This is the first time the over 3000-year history has been expressed in time-periods with family ancestry and connections, corroborated by archeological evidence, cultural praxis, and oral and local legends. For example, the time-period of the existence and origin of Tagaloalagi, a deity (or god) of Manu'a and Samoa and later across all Polynesia, shows the transformation process from deity, to demigod, to warrior Chief, to Orator, to the birthing of a foundational family of Samoa and Manu'a, leading to the time-period of Tuimanu'a, TuiAtua, TuiA'ana, and later the founding of the Malietoa dynasty. Putting the history into time-periods affords a parallel aerial view of Samoan and Manu'an history as compared to the history of other world societies. This account includes an analysis of the incredible transformation undertaken by the Samoans and Manu'ans to embrace Christianity, for they believed it was prophesied by the Warrior Chieftess demigod Nafanua, to await their impending kingdom from Heaven, so that, today, Samoa and Manu'a are 99.9% Christian. Their history, culture, and transformation all shed light on the modern world, as we face our global need for transformation and cultural understanding, in an age of rapid technological advances, climate change, and multinational business ventures affecting the whole of our world.