Abstract
Ancestor worship is practiced in different forms around the world today, even in societies participating in the modern global economy. Ancestral beliefs are deeply dependent on the premise that the souls of the dead may return to the living and influence their lives; that it is possible and acceptable for the living to communicate with the dead and lastly that the living are able to exert an effect on the destiny of deceased ancestors. The following issues are most relevant to ancestor worship: 1) death and the afterlife, 2) possibility of communication between the living and the dead, and 3) the destiny of believers who die. The article looks at these issues from a Biblical perspective, offers Biblical guidelines in assessing ancestor worship and its cosmology and interprets ancestor worship theologically. The conclusion is that ancestor worship is incompatible with Christian faith.
Highlights
Ancestor worship is a phenomenon which most people associate with primitive civilizations, it is still prevalent in many countries around the world today, including some who are generally accepted as modern societies and economies
It is practised extensively in Africa, Korea and Japan for example. In each of these countries this phenomenon is very closely linked to the cosmology of the people concerned and has a strong social and ethical function
In this article, ancestor worship in a narrow sense refers to the specific actions performed during the rites relating to the propitiation of deceased relatives and/or ministration to their needs
Summary
Ancestor worship is a phenomenon which most people associate with primitive civilizations, it is still prevalent in many countries around the world today, including some who are generally accepted as modern societies and economies. It is practised extensively in Africa, Korea and Japan for example. Some anthropologists and Catholic scholars have asserted that the social and ethical dimensions of the rituals can be separated from the religious connotations attached to ancestor veneration The reason for this has to do with a specific missionary approach – that of assimilation and accommodation. This analysis prefers to understand ancestor rituals intrinsically as a form of worship and the term “ancestor worship” is used
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