Dramatic Theology: A Hermeneutical Framework for Discerning the Cultural Realities and the Role of Christianity in India

Abstract

This article explains how dramatic theology can discern, evaluate, and interpret critically different cultural institutions and bring forward the uniqueness of Christian revelation in a pluralistic world. It clarifies the concept, methodology, and relevance of dramatic theology, which uses mimetic theory as an auxiliary hypothesis; taking the concrete example of cultural realities in India, it unearths the archaic background of their all-encompassing nature, the multiplicity of gods, and the caste system. It also describes how dramatic theology exposes the unique role of Jesus as the human face of God the Father, and the new gathering—through five acts in the Drama of Salvation—in human history and Christianity in such a complex cultural context.

Keywords

• dramatic theology
• mimetic theory
• Indian cultural complexities
• the role of Christianity in India
• <i>Jesus in the Drama of Salvation</i>
• caste system