The Dema and the Christ

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-3-87710-540-5
Verlag: Verlag Franz Schmitt

Buch, Englisch, Band 101, 302 Seiten, PB, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Studia Instituti Missiologici Societatis Verbi Divini

Ennio Mantovani, a Divine Word Missionary, was born in Italy, studied
philosophy and theology at St. Gabriel’s near Vienna and in 1962
obtained a doctorate at the Gregorian University in Rome with a specialisation
in phenomenology of religion. For forty years he worked in
Papua New Guinea, the first fifteen as a pioneer in the bush, then at the
Melanesian Institute, Goroka, researching, lecturing, and writing on
Melanesian religions and cultures. 2003-2009 he was fulltime lecturer
at the Yarra Theological Union, Melbourne, on issues of culture and
mission. After retiring he has published his letters from PNG 1962-
1977, Sent to Baptize or what? and the chronicle of Yobai, the parish
he founded, Mission: Collision or Dialogical Encounter?
In 1962 the author left Europe to join those dedicated to bringing light
where there was darkness. Living as a missionary among the people of
the Simbu region of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea he was surprised
to discover not only the darkness he expected, but also an amazing
presence of light. Since the world is always seen through the tinted
glasses of one’s culture – and this is true of Divine revelation also – his
first task was to learn the culture of the people, not only what they do
and how they live, but why they live the way they do; to discover the
core of the culture deep in their hearts and minds.
“The Dema and the Christ” shares the journey of the author, the inner
dialogue he entered into in order to discover how the people, through
their culture, perceived Divine revelation in creation and how they responded
to it. He came to understand his task as discovering the Light
they had seen and helping it shine more brightly – in its own cultural
way.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mantovani, Ennio