The Mission of the Church
My center of theology is reconciliation. Ministry of reconciliation concerns in those in cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, ethical conflicts. As far as human beings are fundamentally free and their expressions of freedom are unique and diverse, conflicts are natural and necessary in human society. Problematic is not that there exist conflicts but that our society is less perceptive of the causes of conflicts and therefore less successful in resolving conflicts. What is the best attitude for reconciling conflicts in modern society? There seems to have so far been three normative types of mission.
1. Exclusivism: Karl Barth
According to Barth, we cannot know God by ourselves because of our total depravity. For Barth it is nonsense to insist a general revelation. In this sense, "religion is unbelief."1) Only when God reveals himself to us, we can know him. Inasmuch as religion in general is unbelief, so is Christianity. But Christianity is the true religion because of the once-for-all revelation and salvation offered only in Jesus Christ. So the difference between Christianity and other religions is decisive, even if there are a lot of similarities. There is no other name, except the name Jesus, to save us. Therefore, we can't and don't need dialogue with other religions.
This has such insights as: 1) Barth's premise, "that we are 'sinners,' that there are limits to the human condition, that sound reason and good will of themselves do not automatically insure progress,"2) gives us a realistic view of the world; 2) by presupposing the qualitative difference between God and human beings, Barth tells us the importance of the mystical traditions. However, this type has such oversights as: 1) by regarding the Word of God as absolute authority, he excluded the human experience as nothing; 2) by presupposing the revelation of Jesus Christ as the only authentic revelation, he excluded other religions as worthless; 3) by interpreting the Christian faith only in the light of sola fide and sola gratia, he violated "the nature of grace, to the capacities of human nature, and to the meaning of the incarnation"3); 4) therefore, this type of mission nothing but aggravates diverse conflicts in the world rather than functions as reconciling power.
2. Inclusivism: Karl Rahner
For establishing his fundamental theology, Rahner analyzes "man as transcendent being"4) who pursues something ultimate beyond his ontological restrictions. This transcendentality can be called "a 'transcendental revelation' built into our very nature"5) which is his starting point for the theology of religions. Rahner's verdict on other religions is that "religions are ways of salvations."6) So he says that "the non-Christian religions can be 'a positive means of gaining the right relationship to God and thus for the attaining of salvation, a means which is therefore positively included in God's plan of salvation.'"7) But there is a limitation that Christianity has an explicit name, Jesus, while other religions have no name, anonymity, because the revelation of Jesus Christ is "the 'final, unsurpassable, irreversible' historical realization and manifestation of what God is doing in history,"8) and because "The church is 'the continuation of the mystery of Christ.'"9)
This attitude of mission has such insights as: 1) he regards other religions as "possible ways of salvation."10); 2) he understands "Christ and the Church as a sign or sacrament of salvation"11); 3) he "engages in a dialogue with other religions."12) But this has also such oversights as: 1) his assertion on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is contradictory to our contemporary diverse experiences; 2) his assertion on the unsurpassibility of the revelation of Jesus Christ does not have the full evidence in the Bible; 3) if the revelation of Jesus Christ is the full meaning for our salvation and so sufficient for human salvation, we can't and don't need dialogue with other religious groups; 4) therefore, this attitude of Christian mission looks apparently embracing but is in nature imperialistic over all diversities occurring in the world..
3. Pluralism: John Hick
Hick who insists the "Copernican revolution in theology" "proposes a 'new map for the universe of faiths.' In designing this map, he speaks repeatedly of the one Spirit, the one Divine or Absolute, the one Logos behind all the religions. Although religions conceive this Reality either theistically(as personal) or nontheistically(nonpersonal), Hick implies that such differences are only historical, cultural, or psychological adaptations."13) By reinterpreting the myth of God incarnate not as "totum Dei, 'the whole of God'" but as "totus Deus, 'wholly God,'" Hick reaches to the conclusion that "God is truly to be encountered in Jesus, but not only in Jesus.14)
This type of mission has such insights as: 1) he can insist that "Jesus is the center and norm for our lives, without having to assert that he be so for all other human beings"; 2) his assertions are credible to our global experience; 3) his attitude leads us to the positive dialogue with other religious groups. But this has such oversights as: 1) considering Buddhist rejection to conceptualize the ultimate reality as God, even his presupposition of the one Divine rooted in theo-centralism is still dogmatic; 2) by presupposing the one true Reality behind all religions, Hick pursues the common essence beyond particular religions--but this eradicates the uniqueness of each religion and culture. What we have to do in our mission is to pursue not a uniformity beyond particular religions and cultures but a reconciliation among conflicts of religions and cultures.
Then, what would be an alternative to the existing three types of Christian mission? It is confessionalism. First, confessionalism proclaims Jesus as the reconciler confessionally, not dogmatically, since it recognizes that all religious expressions of faith is basically confessional, that is, that others may have definite confidence in their own faith as much as we may do in our faith. So we witness our faith with confidence but respect other's religious convictions and cultural expressions. This is a way of reconciling Christian mission.
Second, confessionalism is well aware that it is as a part that Christian faith can contribute to reconciliation of the whole world. This means that other faith may function as parts of effective reconciling agents in the world. In this respect Christianity can be cooperative with other religions and convictions.
Third, confessionalism is directed toward continuous growing up. Confessionalism is neither self-centered system nor self-less system but self-growing up system. Confessionalism is based upon the definite conviction of God's salvific grace through Jesus Christ. But since it well knows that such grace can be given by diverse ways, it always opens self to others and continues to grow up.
Fourth, confessionalism contributes other's maturation. Confessionalism not simply continues to grow up by learning from others but contributes to other's growing up. As far as human world is a nexus of organic interactions, being contributed by and contributing to others is necessary for living and growing up.
Ministry of The Church
Based upon my theological center of ministry, Jesus is defined as the reconciler. Mentioned in the previous section, 'the mission of the church,' Jesus as the reconciler should be proclaimed confessionally so that all religious groups and cultural expressions may contribute to one another's growing up and getting harmonious reconciliation. Then, how can we bring about such growing up and harmonious reconciliation? There can be three answers to this question: exclusivistic, inclusivistic, and pluralistic. As seen in the previous section, three typologies of Christian ministry are not good enough for wholesome growing up and harmonious reconciliation.
1. Jesus as the exclusive norm. This type of ministry undercuts the existential-situational character of the biblical witnesses by asserting the ontological-dogmatic character alone. This is the result of misunderstanding of the nature of revelation--revelation from God as infallible, yet a receiver of it as fallible. The exclusive type of ministry makes absolute relative cultural values, as the clothes of divine revelation, which were peculiar to that age. This type nothing but causes much more conflicts rather than resolves.
2. Jesus as the inclusive norm. This type of ministry presupposes Christ as "final, unsurpassable, irreversible," so that it comes to the conclusion that Christ is the full actualization of salvation. But in this case there can be no change, no increase in value, so communication or exchange of images or conceptions are impossible and meaningless. In the inclusive type of mission a well organized integration is possible, but growing up can be done in a very low level and harmonious reconciliation can not be done in a true level, since one faith that has a high position tries to control over all other faiths.
3. Jesus as the plural norm. This type of ministry seeks a common essence beyond all religions and thereby reduces all particularities to insignificance. But to get rid of all particularities is not to be rich but to be poor. In this case harmonious reconciliation may be successfully asserted, but growing up is underdevelopment. Without contribution to each other, our seeking of growing up together and getting harmonious reconciliation is less possible and meaningful.
4. Jesus as the confessional norm. This type of ministry witnesses Christ as the norm of growing up and harmonious reconciliation. But this witness is confessional, not dogmatic. This means that other faith is possibly recognized to have such confidence as much as we do. So all faiths are respected as what they are. Without this respect self-growing up and contribution to other's growing up is an empty slogan and getting harmonious reconciliation goes away from the conflicts with which we are confronted in our ordinary life. Jesus as the confessional norm of the ministry affects our practice and reflection of ministry so that we may obtain genuine growing up and harmonious reconciliation in the world full of conflicts, cultural, racial, religious, ethnic...so forth.
1) Paul F. Knitter, No Other Name?: A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward the World Religions(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1985) p. 84
2) Ibid., p. 88
3) Ibid., p. 94
4) Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction To The Idea of Christianity, trans. by William V. Dych(NY, NY: Crossroad, 1986) p. 31 Knitter describes that "Rahner sees our very 'existence' as 'supernatural': nature is more than just human nature." Knitter, No Other Name p. 125
5) Knitter, No Other Name p. 125
6) Ibid., p. 126
7) Ibid., p. 127
8) Ibid., p. 129
9) Ibid.
10) Ibid., p. 140
11) Ibid., p. 141
12) Ibid.
13) Ibid., p. 147
14) Ibid., p. 152