This book explores the perceptions and attitudes of Sinhalese Buddhists and Sinhalese Christians regarding the puberty ritual in Sri Lanka, thereby identifying a relevant Christian response to the ritual. The author utilized ANOVA and Mann-Whitney statistical tests to quantitatively compare the viewpoints of the Sinhalese Buddhists and Christians at cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels. At the same time, an analysis of qualitative data documents the rich Sinhalese Buddhist experience of the puberty ritual, as well as the Sinhalese Christian reservations and alternatives to the tradition. Furthermore, this book establishes that a relevant Christian practice of puberty will help Sinhalese Christians enjoy the Christian faith that reflects their cultural roots, values, and identity, affirms their relationship with God, and offers a missional witness of their faith that responds to the hearts and lives of the people around them. When Christianity engages people’s unique cultural perceptions, interests, and concerns, they can be expected to appreciate the gospel as meaningful and relevant to their daily lives. This book can serve as a text or a significant resource for upper division undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses on missions, culture, anthropology, rituals, contextualization, cross-cultural communication, ethnic studies, and comparative studies.

Paul Mantae Kim earned his BA in English language and literature from Yonsei University, his M.Div. from the Graduate School of Theology of Hansei University, South Korea, and his Th.M. and PhD in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. He was a missionary in Sri Lanka and currently serves as Professor of Missions and Chief Academic Officer at Bethesda University, Anaheim, California.

«Paul Mantae Kim, a Korean missionary who takes seriously the local culture of new converts, explores the fuzzy boundaries between contextualization and syncretism in the Sinhalese female puberty ritual. Arguing that contextualization is the work of local Christians, not the missionary, Kim documents how many Sinhalese Christians continue to value aspects of their puberty ritual which they see as compatible with their new found faith. The power of Kim’s work lies in its careful reflection on how the creation of Christ-centered practices for puberty rites may enhance community worship, the status and purity of women, and serve as witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.» (Sherwood Lingenfelter, PhD Professor of Anthropology, and Provost and Senior Vice President, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California) «Paul Mantae Kim’s meticulous comparative research exploring the perceptions and attitudes regarding the puberty ritual of Sinhalese Buddhists and Christians in Sri Lanka is comprehensive in scope and stylistically accessible. In this work readers will discover a missiological approach that not only helps Sinhalese Christians respond appropriately to the puberty ritual, but riveted in context and faithful to Christian orthodoxy. Kim distills signposts of contemporary contextualization that will prove helpful to a broad section of global contexts.» (Robert L. Gallagher, PhD President, American Society of Missiology, and Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies, Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois)

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