Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Pauline Freedom: Idolatry and the Vietnamese Ancestor Cult

Nguyen, Daniel Xuan-Vu

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.), Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Bible Division.
Ancestor worship has been a vexing issue for Christian missionaries since the 16th century in Vietnam due to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Communist influences. However, there are few studies from the Protestant perspective on the ancestor cult. This thesis hopes to contribute to the mission work by analyzing the ancestor cult in light of Paul’s First Corinthians 8––10, namely how Christian freedom informed participants regarding worshiping idols and consuming food sacrificed to idols. The analysis includes delineating the complexity of Vietnamese religious pluralism and tracing the similarities and differences between the Christian cult of the saints and the ancestor cult. This thesis challenges the traditional perspective that the ancestor cult in Vietnam is religious and superstitious; rather, the ancestor cult is cultural in every aspect. A successful inculturation of the Gospel must separate the ancestor cult from the religious components of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and popular folk religion.
Walter Taylor, Jr./Ph.D. (Advisor)
Henry Langknecht, Th.D. (Committee Member)
156 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Nguyen, D. X.-V. (2016). Pauline Freedom: Idolatry and the Vietnamese Ancestor Cult [Master's thesis, Trinity Lutheran Seminary]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=trin1455712662

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Nguyen, Daniel. Pauline Freedom: Idolatry and the Vietnamese Ancestor Cult. 2016. Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=trin1455712662.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Nguyen, Daniel. "Pauline Freedom: Idolatry and the Vietnamese Ancestor Cult." Master's thesis, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=trin1455712662

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)