Christology in Context: A Tribal-Indigenous Appraisal of North East India

Contents: Introduction. 1. Colonialism, missionaries, and indigenous : a critical appraisal. 2. Situating indigenous theology : historical, socio-economic and political setting of Nagaland.  3. Christology : Christological traditions and approaches through the centuries. 4. Methodological issues of indigenous theology : sources of indigenous Christology. 5. Dreaming the future : a theological construction of a Naga-indigenous Christology. Conclusions. Bibliography. Appendices. Index.

One theological theme that requires serious consideration is a contextualized Christology. Too many tribal people envision Jesus in terms of the portrayals presented by the Euro-American missionaries. Indigenous people continue to imagine Jesus as fair skinned, blond or red-headed, and blue eyed. This book attempts to construct a contextual Indigenous Christology that is revealed in Naga cultural values and metaphors. In all, this book raises a serious question on the adaptability of western Christology by the tribal people. The author asserts that a Christology must not only incorporate socio-economic and political realities of the people, but also peoples' values and traditions.

Any attempt to articulate a Naga-Indigenous Christology must begin by defining Christology and the gospel for ourselves in ways that might be more compelling and more culturally appropriate for us. And we do this by asking who Jesus is and what might Jesus mean for the Naga community? How might we profess and proclaim Jesus in a manner that is genuinely derived from and centered in the Naga people's experience and cultural reality?

The author in the present brain-storming research work has employed various historical, political, and cultural resources to move a step beyond the existing Indigenous theological work by providing a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of the identified theological theme.