For a perceptive study of one North American indigenous culture, see David M. Smith's 1997 essay "World as Event: Aspects of Chipewyan Ontology" that is reprinted, slightly revised, in the ambitious anthology Of Ong and Media Ecology, edited by Thomas J. Farrell and Paul A. Soukup (New York: Hampton Press, 2012, pages 117-159).
In paragraph 71 of Pope Francis' new 2020 apostolic exhortation, he says, "In this regard, the indigenous people of the amazon region express the authentic quality of life as 'good living.' This involves personal, familial, communal, and cosmic harmony and finds expression in a communitarian approach to existence, the ability to find joy and fulfillment in an austere and simple life, and a responsible care of nature that preserves resources for future generations. The aboriginal peoples give us [in the Western world today] the example of a joyful sobriety and in this sense, 'they have much to teach us.' They know how to be content with little, they enjoy God's little gifts without accumulating great possessions; they do not destroy things needlessly; they care for ecosystems and they recognize that the earth, while serving as a generous source of support for their life, also has a maternal dimension that evokes respect and tender love. All these things should be valued and taken up in the process of evangelization."
For related reading, see Anthony de Mello's book The Way to Love (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
In paragraph 73, the pope says, "Inculturation [of the Gospel as interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church's magisterium] elevates and fulfills. Certainly, we should esteem the indigenous mysticism that sees the interconnection and the interdependence of the whole of creation, the mysticism of gratuitousness that loves life as a gift, the mysticism of a sacred wonder before nature and all its forms of life. At the same time, though, we [Roman Catholics] are called to turn this relationship with God present in the cosmos into an increasingly personal relationship with a 'Thou' who sustains our lives and wants to give them meaning, a 'Thou' who knows and loves us."
For related reading see the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's books The Divine Milieu, translated by Sion Cowell (Brighton and Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 2004) and The Human Phenomenon, translated by Sarah Appleton-Weber (Brighton and Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 1999).
In paragraph 77 of Pope Francis' new 2020 apostolic exhortation, he says "This [inculturation of the Gospel in the Amazon region] will give rise to witnesses of holiness with an Amazonian face, not imitations of models imported from other places. A holiness born of encounter and engagement, contemplation and service, receptive solitude and life in community, cheerful sobriety and the struggle for justice. A holiness attained by 'each individual in his or her own way,' but also be peoples, where grace becomes incarnate and shines forth with distinctive features. Let us imagine a holiness with Amazonian features, called to challenge the universal church."
In paragraph 79, the pope says, "It is possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way, without necessarily considering it as idolatry. A myth charged with spiritual meaning can be used to advantage and not always [be] considered a pagan error."
Long ago, an anonymous Christian missionary did just this and gave us Beowulf.
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