Reformed World vol 50 no 4 (2000)
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Transcript of Reformed World vol 50 no 4 (2000)
156 Reformed World Reformed World 157
Introduction
Jet den Hollander
What does a secretary–slave in first century Corinth discover when he
visits the citizens‟ meeting of God? What happens to him as these citizens
chant “Maranatha”, remember their Lord in bread and wine, translate Paul‟s
admonitions into solidarity and protest action, and struggle with what it
means to live and die with Christ in the complexity of a cosmopolitan,
bustling harbour town in the Roman empire?
In his classic story, “Conflict in Corinth”, reprinted here in abridged
form, Walter Hollenweger takes us back to our roots. Notwithstanding a
distance of 20 centuries, the scenes look strangely familiar: quarrels over
the interpretation of the text; differences of class, race and gender; clashes
of culture, temperament and musical taste. But there is also the search for
identity, the need for community, the longing for a world that is radically
different from the present. And then there is the Spirit who has empowered
a diverse group of believers to become “body of Christ” in Corinth.
What does “Conflict in Corinth” say about mission in unity? Like all
good narrative, the story is open to many interpretations, and questions and
answers depend on the reader as much as the writer. But two things may be
noted. On the one hand, Chloe the ex–prostitute and Gaius the city
administrator find each other in their common commitment to solidarity
action. Mission engagement generates (comm)unity, though at times the
opposite happens too. On the other hand, (comm)unity is required if the
body is to function optimally, for how – Paul reminds the believers – can
any member of the body carry out its mission if it is not integrally
connected to the others.
Revisiting eschatology As Bert Hoedemaker reminds us, however, mission and unity are not
innocent words. In his contribution to this issue, he reviews the ecumenical
learning process of the twentieth century in order to trace its effect on our
contemporary understanding of mission and unity and the relationship
between them. Given the present impasse in which much ecumenical and
missiological thinking and practice finds itself, Hoedemaker suggests a
thorough rethinking of the mission–unity connection in the context of
158 Reformed World Reformed World 159
postmodernism, pluralism and globalization, in which revisiting
eschatology is crucial.
This kind of rethinking is going on at present all over the world. In
certain contexts it is intensified under the acute pressure of crisis. Thus
André Karamaga reflects on Rwanda after the genocide and the subsequent
violence, and how step by step the churches there develop new insights into
what the new missional challenges are and how these can be approached
cross–denominationally. Likewise, old divisions in Indonesia have become
so explosive that Karel Phil Erari believes that a new understanding of unity
– between Reformed churches, yes, but also between Reformed and
Lutherans, Protestants and Catholics, and Christians and Muslims – is
urgently needed if there is to be peace.
More gradual processes of profound change also demand a
reinterpretation of the old key concepts of the Christian faith. In her article,
Claudia Währisch–Oblau describes elements of the exciting adventure she
is involved with in the Rhineland. Prompted by the changing demography
of Germany, the old–established Landeskirchen (territorial churches) and
the newer immigrant churches are beginning to see themselves, one
another, and their context and mission with new eyes. A whole range of
missiological questions is involved: why mainline churches often seem
more interested in the “other” who is far away than in the “other” who is
living on their doorstep; lingering colonial perspectives and attitudes; and
whether established churches are interested only in developing bilateral
relations with individual immigrant churches, or whether they will be ready
to become one of the many partners in a multilateral framework where all
the churches, immigrant and established, relate on an equal basis. In
Germany, as in Rwanda and Indonesia, new frontiers are being crossed with
regard to “who do I consider as my partner in mission and whose partner do
I need to be”.
What is important is that the rethinking required should not occur in a
vacuum, but in the context of doing things together, where reflection and
action inform each other in a continuous process of reinvention.
The Mission in Unity Project 1999–2002 It is in the context of this worldwide search for new expressions of
mission in unity that the World Alliance of Reformed Churches has joined
with the John Knox International Reformed Centre to set up the Mission in
Unity Project 1999–2002. The project is meant to be a catalyst, a helping
hand for those churches and communities which believe that “life in its
fullness for all” requires a thorough rethinking of mission, a new practice of
mission, and an urgent attack on all that keeps our myriad divisions alive.1
Years of research have made clear that in the Reformed family disunity is
particularly prominent, and that some specific Reformed features, when
overemphasized, can easily contribute to further splits.2
One of the current MIU programmes is an inquiry with Reformed
theologians and theological colleges worldwide into which aspects of
Reformed ecclesiologies and missiologies (for there are many – “semper
reformanda”!) have been found to be helpful or to be a hindrance in
maintaining the unity of the church in particular contexts. Other MIU
programmes aim to assist groups of Reformed churches – in Bolivia, Korea,
the Netherlands, Southern Africa, Uganda and the USA, for example – to
develop new models of working together in mission. Included in this issue
is the “Common Statement of the Southern Africa Association of Reformed
Churches” which resulted from SAARC‟s recent consultation on mission in
unity. Increasingly we realize that our search for mission in unity as
Reformed churches is an integral part of a larger process, which has as its
horizon the unity of all humankind, the oikoumene reconciled in God.
The story from Corinth takes us – in more ways than one – back to our
roots, and may provide us with new inspiration to be body of Christ in the
place where we are, united in mission. It is not only our past, however, but
also the beckoning perspective of the future we envisage – the new world
already inaugurated in Christ – that inspires us to search for new
expressions of mission in unity. If we really expect a world where all will
live and work in true interdependence, in “reconciled diversity”, then we
cannot but begin to practise that future today. The Mission in Unity Project
hopes, in modest ways, to stimulate such practising of God‟s future today.3
You are warmly invited to respond to the articles that follow, thus
contributing to the ongoing exploration of these issues.
Jet den Hollander of the Uniting Churches in the Netherlands is the
executive secretary of the Mission in Unity Project 1999–2002.
1 “That all may have life in fullness” is the theme of the 24th WARC general council, to
be held in Ghana in 2004. 2 See the reports of the various mission in unity consultations published in the John
Knox Series, cited below, p.198. 3 A phrase used in the 1980s by Fred Kaan in relation to the Council for World
Mission‟s practice of partnership in mission.
160 Reformed World Reformed World 161
Conflict in Corinth 1
Walter J Hollenweger
I am a secretary–slave at the great Corinthian Bank of Trade and
Commerce. We have branches in Patrae and Athens and also in Rome,
Alexandria and Marseilles.2 Our bank was founded about fifty years ago
when the famous Isthmic Games were reintroduced.3 We have a foreign
exchange department for the many visitors who come to the great sports
events and we also arrange credit for the heavy metal industry and
occasionally for the provincial administration of Achaia.
One of my acquaintances is a secretary–slave with the provincial
administration. His name is Tertius.4 We met at the classes where we went
to learn the Greek and Roman trade and commercial terms. For our work
we both have to know not only the Greek but also the Roman trade
language.
It was Tertius who invited me to a religious service held by a sect called
the Christians. I was interested in this sect which I knew only from hearsay,
and I therefore took advantage of the opportunity of going with him. I
would not have had the courage to go on my own.
One afternoon after the offices had closed, Tertius called for me at the
bank. The last client had just left the building. I filed away the coins, letters
of credit and books under the supervision of the head slave, and then
Tertius and I set out together. “Today,” he said, “we are having a
particularly important meeting. The Corinthian Christians sent a letter to the
founder of our congregation, a man by the name of Paul, and today we
intend to read and discuss part of his reply.”
1 This is an abridged version of the story “Conflict in Corinth”, originally published in
Walter J Hollenweger, Conflict in Corinth & Memoirs of an Old Man (New York: Paulist
Press, 1982). Permission to print a shortened version in this issue of Reformed World was
given by Walter J Hollenweger. 2 G Theissen, “Soziale Schichtung in der korinthischen Gemeinde. Ein Beitrag zur
Soziologie des hellenistischen Urchristentums” (ZNW 65, 1974), pp.232–272; JAD Larsen,
“Roman Greece”, in An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome IV, ed. T Frank (Baltimore
1938), p.472. Plutarch (mor.831A). 3 To be exact, between 7BC and 3AD (Theissen, “Soziale Schichtung”, p.263); our
story suggests the latter date. 4 Rom 16.22.
The sect of the Christians On this particular evening the meeting of the Christians took place in
the house of the well–known Gaius.5 He was a friend of Erastus,
6 the
Chairman of the Department of Public Works in Corinth.7 Tertius worked
under him, and I knew him as he was also a member of the board of
directors of my bank. I also knew that the former chairman of the
synagogue, Crispus,8 another client of our bank (of course I am not at
liberty to say anything on the nature of his dealing with our bank) was an
important member of the Christian sect.
As we walked and talked I was surprised to hear Tertius always refer to
the Christians as “the citizens‟ meeting of God”. I had never before heard
anybody use this old–fashioned expression (which I had only come across
in history books) for a religious society. I asked him why they used such a
strange expression as a name for their society. He did not know. “That is
how we are called,” he said, and added that he was quite sure that they were
not just another religious society among the many in Corinth, but the new
people of God, the latter–day saints, the citizenry of God. Well, well, I
thought, like everybody else they do their best to sell themselves.
When we arrived at the house of Gaius there were already about twenty
to thirty people there, mostly well–off people from Corinth, either
secretary–slaves or house upper–middle–management positions like me or
free upper–middle–class civil servants, and artisans. Of course Crispus, the
former chairman of the synagogue, was there too, and Erastus. The latter
greeted me with special attention which, I have to admit, flattered me. He
said that he was happy to see me there and offered me some wine, grapes
and nuts. On the whole there was a very relaxed atmosphere, very different
from official receptions in Corinth. Each new arrival brought some fruit,
bread, cheese, olives or flowers. Everything was put on a big table. I was a
little embarrassed because I had not brought anything.
More and more people gathered in the courtyard. After dusk some dock
workers also came along. I knew that they had arrived even before I saw
5 Rom 16.23; 1 Cor 1.14; Theissen, p.251.
6 Rom 16.23; on Erastus in detail, Theissen, pp.237–246; J Cadbury, “Erastus of
Corinth”, JBL 50, 1931, pp.42–58; P Landvogt, Epigraphische Untersuchungen über den
Oikonomos. Ein Beitrag zum hellenistischen Beamtenwesen. Diss. Strasbourg, 1908. 7 Theissen (pp.237–241) discusses in detail the translation and function of an
“oikonomos tes poleos”. 8 Acts 18.8; 1 Cor 1.14; Haenchen, Die Apostelgeschichte (Göttingen, 1959), p.472;
Theissen, p.236f (lit.).
162 Reformed World Reformed World 163
them because of the typical smell of fish and salt water. After eight o‟clock
a clique of unskilled workers arrived – all of them slaves, as was obvious
from their behaviour – some of them from Upper Egypt and other distant
parts of the Roman Empire. They did not speak Greek or Latin among
themselves but some barbaric dialect. Erastus greeted them too and poured
wine for them, just as he had for everybody else. But there was not
sufficient wine to go around. They were obviously very thirsty!
Crispus and Gaius now stood behind a table on which there were a
number of flat breads and a large cup. Opposite me, on the other side of the
courtyard among the slaves and foreign workers, a somewhat exotic woman
had attracted my attention. She had short dark hair and wore a purple gown.
As far as I could see in the dim light of the torches which had now been lit,
she played on a small hand drum, a kind of tambourine. The dock workers
rose and beat time with their feet. They repeated one word over and over
again in strong, syncopated rhythms, mixed with simple archaic harmonies.
The word was “Marana–tha”.9 They emphasized the last two syllables:
“Marana–tha”. When they stopped singing and shouting, Crispus took one
of the flat breads, held it up, and, after giving thanks to God, broke it and
said: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” I
nudged Tertius because I thought that this was rather a bad joke. But to my
astonishment his eyes were closed. He was praying and was unaware of
what was happening around him.
The bread was broken into pieces and handed around. After a short
while Crispus held up the cup and said: “This cup is the new covenant in
my blood. When you drink it, do it in remembrance of me. For each time
you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord,
until he comes.”10
Red Chloe prophesies The cup was passed around and the woman in the purple gown – I now
learned that her name was Chloe11
– played the hand drum, and led by the
foreign workers the Christians sang “Marana–tha, Marana–tha”.
9 1 Cor 16.22; H Conzelmann, Der erste Brief an die Korinther (Göttingen, 1963),
p.360. 10
1 Cor 11.23–26. 11
1 Cor 1.11; this interpretation of “hoi Chloes” is based on Theissen, p.255, who
describes them as “representatives of the lower strata of society”. According to Theissen the
formula “hoi Chloes” excludes relatives and sons “almost certainly”.
Chloe stood up and spoke violently and with closed eyes. She had
covered her hair with a veil which glowed red in the light of the torches.
She looked to me like an oracle priestess of ancient Greece. I did not
understand what she was saying. It sounded to me as if she were speaking
in a foreign tongue for the foreign workers.
But when she had stopped speaking, one of the foreigners spoke in
broken, but clearly understandable, Greek. It was obvious that he was
interpreting Chloe. As far as I can remember he said, “Before me, all are
equal, Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, man and woman. Honour him or
her as a saint of God. In God‟s people there are only saints; nobody is more
saintly than anybody else! Thus speaks the Lord.”
As soon as the interpretation was over a general discussion broke out.
The foreigners and slaves who were gathered on the opposite side of the
court gesticulated and sometimes shouted something over to our side, but I
could not make out what they were saying. I could only understand those
who were standing next to me. These were a group of more affluent
Christians. They said, “We wonder how long Crispus and Gaius will put up
with the noise of Chloe‟s people. Do we have to listen Sunday after Sunday
to this hoi polloi? Not to speak of the fact that their understanding of the
Christian faith is a bit too rudimentary. It is true they do not expect that the
Christians will deliver them from slavery in society, but they want to be
treated as equals in the worship service – that seems pretty clear from their
behaviour. Sometimes one gets the impression that they are even proud of
their spiritual and material misery.”
I watched Erastus leave the court of the villa and saw him return
carrying a scroll under his arm. As he had greeted me so warmly at the
beginning of the meeting, I was encouraged to ask him what this was all
about. “Well, you see,” he said, “Christians are basically different from
other religious societies in Corinth. The Christians do not hold separate
religious services for slaves and freemen, which would make it awkward
for the better educated slaves who would not know to which group they
really belonged.” He mentioned this on purpose as he knew that I was one
of these. I asked, “But does this mixture of cultures and social status not
create a number of financial and psychological problems?” “It certainly
does,” he replied, “as you can see for yourself in this meeting. And what
you have heard is not the only controversy in the Christian community. You
surely know that I as Chairman of the Department of Public Works in
Corinth have to attend many banquets and receptions, festivities where the
meat which is served comes from the temples here in Corinth, and which
164 Reformed World Reformed World 165
has been offered ceremonially to idols.12
You are certainly aware that I
would have to resign from my job if I did not take part in these banquets.
However, I am of the opinion that for a Christian everything is allowed,
including attending business banquets where political compromises are
made.”
Tertius interrupted Erastus. “It is not only the meat which has been
offered to the idols that Chloe protests about. She says she knows that the
Corinthian courtesans go to these banquets – business and political
courtesans.”
“Prostitutes who are used to win certain contracts you mean?” I asked.
From my work in the bank I knew that such things went on.
“No comment,” Erastus said. He added, “One is expected to drink a
toast with these courtesans but otherwise one has no further obligations.”
The topic was obviously embarrassing for him, but he mentioned in
passing, “You must not take too seriously the criticisms which Chloe
throws at us. This somewhat exalted women‟s lib apostle has no family to
help her feel important and wanted, only her followers, the foreign dock
workers and slaves, to boost her ego.”
This was obviously a sign to end the conversation. Erastus now went
forward with the scroll and rolled it out. A Christian stood on either side of
him holding a torch. Gaius introduced him. “Just as Paul wrote a letter to
the Romans while he was here in Corinth – you surely remember how he
worked day and night – so he has written a long reply to us from Ephesus.
For many Sundays we have already read parts of this reply, and we come
today, so it seems to me, to one of the most important and instructive
passages. Please read, Erastus.”
The meeting of God’s citizens The two torchbearers drew nearer to Erastus and there was absolute
silence in the courtyard. Erastus began, “For Christ is like a single body
with its many limbs and organs, which, many as they are, together make up
one body. For indeed we were all brought into the one body by baptism in
the one Spirit, whether we are Jews” – and here he looked at Crispus – “or
Greeks” – he stopped as if he wanted to say, “as I am” – “whether slaves” –
and when he uttered this word Chloe‟s people and the dock workers threw
their hands in the air and shouted in a mighty chorus, “Hallelujah, Kyrios
Jesous!” Then the shout took the form of a fugue or a hymn. “Halle–, halle–
12
1 Cor 10.
hallelujah! Jesus is Lord! Halle–, halle–, hallelujah! Jesus is Lord!” And
finally everybody, not only the slaves, joined in the shout, “Jesus is Lord!”
“You are right,” Erastus continued, “but listen to how he goes on:
whether slaves or free men” – and now there was a hush, for the Christians
born as free men or those who had been given freedom by their
slavemasters stood in superior silence – “we have been immersed into one
Holy Spirit.”13
“Amen, hallelujah,” the meeting responded.
But now Chloe stood up again. “And the women – has he forgotten the
women?”
Erastus looked at his manuscript. “I do not find that he mentions the
women.”
Another woman, Phoebe from the port of Cenchreae,14
rose to her feet.
She spoke softly and slowly. “It is not necessary to mention women. We are
here. We take part in the service. We are immersed into one Holy Spirit.
Nobody can deny that.” Some of the men around me sighed deeply. But
they did not speak.
Erastus continued, “A body is not one single organ, but many. Suppose
the foot should say, „Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body‟,
it belongs to the body nonetheless. Suppose the ear were to say, „Because I
am not an eye, I do not belong to the body‟, it still belongs to the body. If
the body were all eye, how could it hear? If the body were all ear, how
could it smell? But, in fact, God appointed each limb and organ to its own
place in the body as he chose. If each organ had the same function, how
could the body function as a whole? That is why there are many different
organs, but one body.”15
During these somewhat difficult sentences I noticed that the dock
workers and the slaves on the left–hand side of the court had let their
attention wander. I wondered whether they knew enough Greek to follow
this reading. Some of them began to walk around and to look on the tables
for something to eat. They found a few grapes and were content to sit in a
corner and eat them.
On the other side of the court attention grew. Some nodded their heads
in agreement or murmured softly, “Yes, that‟s right!” Titus Justus, whom I
13
1 Cor 12.12f. 14
Rom 16.1. 15
1 Cor 12.14–20.
166 Reformed World Reformed World 167
recognized by his Jewish prayer bands, whispered something. He said, “Too
many philosophical quotations, Livius and Plato.”16
“Well, do not forget, he also quotes Josephus, the Jewish writer,” his
neighbour whispered in reply.
Erastus criticized Erastus continued, “The eye cannot say to the hand, „I do not need you‟,
nor the head to the feet, „I do not need you‟. Quite the contrary: those
organs of the body which seem to be weaker than others are indispensable”
– and here I noted how one of the dock workers stopped chewing and spat
out the grape which he had just put into his mouth – “and those which we
regard as less honourable are treated with special honour. To our unseemly
parts is given a more than ordinary respect. The respectable parts do not
need it.”17
“Amen,” shouted the slave who had just spat out the grape. “If that be
true then Erastus had better give the money he donated towards the paving
of the main street in Corinth18
to us, the slaves, for the respectable ones do
not need it, but we, the weaker ones, we could make good use of it.”
Erastus stopped. It hurt him that his political life, in which, as he had
told me, compromises were necessary, was discussed in church. He did not
defend himself, but asked Gaius to take over the chairmanship of the
meeting. “No, not Gaius,” the same slave shouted. “Why could it not be one
of us for a change?”
“Very well,” Gaius replied. “Which of you can read, for we want to
continue our reading of Paul‟s letter?” It turned out that none of the dock
workers or slaves could read. Only Phoebe from Cenchreae, in whom they
obviously had confidence, and we the better–educated slaves could read.
That is how my friend Tertius came to be asked to continue the reading. I
could see that he trembled nervously when they chose him. But he went
16
Livius II 32; Plato, State, 46c–d; Josephus, Bell.Jud. 4/VIII/406; Conzelmann, p.248;
A Bittlinger, Gifts and Graces: A commentary on 1 Corinthians 12–14 (London, 1967),
pp.54ff. 17
1 Cor 12.21–24. 18
Compare the reconstruction by Kent of an Erastus inscription “(praenomen nomen)
Erastus pro aedilit (at) e s(ua) p(ecunia) stravit” (Erastus paid for the laying of this pavement
out of his own pocket in recognition of his election to the office of an aedil). JK Kent, The
Inscriptions 1926–1950. Corinth. Result of Excavations VIII, 3 (Princeton, 1966), pp.18–19,
no.232. Discussion of the literature in Theissen, p.242.
forward, and when he took the scroll from Gaius‟ hands everyone
applauded.
He asked to be shown the passage where the reading should continue.
At first he read with hesitation, but the more he read the clearer and more
distinct his voice became. His face shone in the awareness that he could
communicate something important and helpful. He read, “But God” – and
he emphasized the word “God” – “but God has put the various parts of the
body together, giving special honour to the humbler parts, so that there
might be no split in the body and that the parts might care for each other.”19
When he said this, Erastus went to the slave who had interrupted him,
sat next to him on the floor and engaged in a long conversation which of
course I could not hear.
Tertius continued, “If one organ suffers, they all suffer together. If one
flourishes, they all rejoice together. Now you are Christ‟s body and each of
you a limb or organ of it.”20
Tertius rolled up the scroll. The community sang a Jewish psalm, in
Greek translation of course. They stood together for a while and talked. I
asked Tertius for permission to copy the passage which had been read to us.
While I was writing I felt somebody‟s eyes on me. When I turned around I
discovered Chloe.
“You are right to copy this passage of our apostle Paul. His letters are
tremendous. When he was with us he was not much of a public speaker. But
his letters, they get right under the skin.”21
I realized that she could read, for
she followed my writing with her eyes. “You are astonished,” she
continued, “that a woman who is generally seen in the company of slaves
and dock workers can read. I would have liked to read publicly when
Tertius was asked to continue the reading. But that would have stirred up
even more hostility against what some call the „women‟s regiment‟. That is
why I kept quiet.”
I stood up and looked at the woman. Something about her appeared to
me to be both familiar and strange. Where had I met that perfume, that hair
style, that eye shadow? I asked myself. Then it dawned on me. Her
appearance bore a striking resemblance to the courtesans who enhanced the
symposia of the directors of the bank. I did not want to mention this, for a
19
1 Cor 12.12f 20
1 Cor 12.27. 21
2 Cor 10.10.
168 Reformed World Reformed World 169
courtesan at a Christian religious meeting – that was a little out of place, it
seemed to me.
She seemed to guess my thoughts and said, “Yes, sir, I was a courtesan,
or, if you prefer, a well–educated and well–paid prostitute, whom the
businessmen of Corinth used to influence their clients. That is what I was.
Then I became a Christian and gave up my „profession‟. This body of
prostitution has become a temple of the Holy Spirit.”
“How then do you now earn your living?” I asked, somewhat too
curiously perhaps.
“I keep a local inn for dock workers and slaves. That way I can just
make a living.”
I did not want to ask further questions and so I took my leave.
Living with conflicts I arrived late at Gaius‟ house the following Sunday. Because of the riots
in the port and the risk that some of the ships might be set on fire, we had to
complete some urgent insurance transactions. I could not leave the bank at
the usual time and arrived only about half past seven.
When I entered his villa, I heard strange singing. It seemed as if the
whole citizens‟ meeting of the Christians was singing in ten or twenty parts.
I could not understand the words, but I soon realized that this must be the
singing in tongues which I had heard mentioned several times in Paul‟s
writings. Although everyone sang his own melody so to speak, the
harmonies fitted together. It was as if the Christians were building a temple
of sounds, a social acoustic sanctuary under whose roof they could feel at
home.
The distribution of wine and bread followed the pattern of the previous
Sundays. I do not need to repeat this. But when Erastus, the Chairman of
the Department of Public Works in Corinth, went forward with the scroll
from which he intended to read and when the two torchbearers took their
positions at either side of him, Chloe – who else? – rose to her feet and
protested.
“With respect, brothers and sisters,” she said, “how can you just carry
on with the reading from the learned texts of our brother Paul after all that
has happened in our city during this week? Do you not know that Jason,22
whom we baptized last Sunday in the name of Jesus, and who was baptized
with us together into one body, as Paul says – this same Jason is in prison?
22
Rom 16.21.
Does Paul not say that if one organ or limb suffers, all suffer? And Jason
suffers. Do we not suffer with him? Do you know that he has been unjustly
accused of rioting? It is surely clear to the gentlemen and brothers from the
city administration here present” – and she looked at Gaius and Erastus, but
glanced also briefly at Tertius – “that if the accusation can be upheld in
court, his crucifixion is inevitable. A week ago Tertius read from Paul‟s
letter, „God has put the various parts of the body together, giving special
honour to the humbler parts, so that there might be no split in the body and
that all the parts might care for each other.‟23
Jason is in serious trouble. Do
we not care about him?”
Chloe sat down. Meanwhile Gaius had listened with great attention.
“Chloe is right,” he said. “We must send a delegation to the proconsul. And
it seems to me that you, Erastus, should lead that delegation. We have to
inform the proconsul that we consider that to convict Christians of rioting is
politically unwise and unjust and that we would not hesitate to appeal to
Rome against the ruling of the courts in Corinth in order to stop what we
consider this miscarriage of justice. True, „love endures all things, believes
all things, hopes all things‟,24
but that does not mean that we accept without
comment criminal breach of justice. Paul also says that love does not enjoy
injustice but rejoices with truth.”25
I thought to myself: But suppose Christians were accused of
undermining society because the very form of their worship service
questions existing law and order? Would it not be a just accusation, because
in their services foreigners, slaves and women are considered equal – or
almost equal. This could be seen as a kind of spiritual revolution. Their
belief in a coming kingdom of God which will be inaugurated by the last
trumpet surely relativizes and questions the existing holy Roman Empire.
Nobody in his right mind can question these facts. It is possible that Jason is
justly accused according to Roman law. And if he is crucified according to
the law, what will Erastus, Gaius and Chloe do then? I could not answer my
question.
In the meantime the excitement had died down. Red Chloe and her
people seemed to agree to Gaius‟ proposal. The torchbearers approached
Erastus and he began to read again: “If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays
23
1 Cor 12.24. 24
1 Cor 13.7. 25
1 Cor 13.6.
170 Reformed World Reformed World 171
but my mind remains barren. What then? I will sing with the spirit, and I
will sing with the mind.”
“To sing with the spirit,” Erastus looked up from his manuscript and
added, “refers to that which we did at the beginning of our meeting when all
sang together in tongues in many harmonies. To sing with the mind refers
to that which we did last Sunday, when we sang the hymn which we all
know, „And yet abideth…‟ According to Paul both have their place in the
service.”
“ I continue: If you sing with the Spirit how shall the one who is sitting
on the seat of the idiot, the uninitiated” – and all looked over to me – “how
shall he understand what you pray? You may go through a wonderful
religious experience but it is of no help to the other man.”26
“We do not sing and pray for the others,” said Quartus, one of the two
slaves who had been baptized the previous Sunday. He had been taken into
custody on a charge of alleged rioting and he had been scourged, but then
released with a warning to mend his ways. “We sing and pray for us,” he
said. “There are certain things which we have to do for our own benefit as
almost everything that we do is for others – for instance, being punished
and scourged for others.” His hand touched his back and his face looked
half–comical, half–sad. “Always carrying bags for the rich people, always
working for others. At least in the worship service we would like to do
something for ourselves. There we sing for us, and speak in tongues for us.”
“Amen, amen,” shouted the slaves on the left–hand side of the
gathering.
Erastus continued, “Paul is not against speaking in tongues. The next
sentence shows this very clearly. He writes: Thank God, I speak more in
tongues than all of you, but in the congregation I would rather speak five
intelligible words for the benefit of others as well as myself, than thousands
of words in tongues. Do not be childish, my friends. Be as innocent of evil
as babes, but at least be grown up in your thinking.”27
“Paul is unjust and he does not understand us,” Quartus interrupted
again. “Certainly, we should be grown up in our thinking. But we do not
think as the scribes like Erastus, Gaius, Tertius and Paul think. We are
Christians without books. You think with a pen in your hand. You think in
sentences and arguments. We think in images and visions.28
We think with
26
1 Cor 14.15–17. 27
1 Cor 14.18–20. 28
WJ Hollenweger, Pentecost between Black and White (Belfast: Christian Journals
the whole body, not just with the head. Do you really think that my back
does not think when the whip is dancing on it, or when I carry the heavy
bags on the docks? Because we think with the whole of our bodies,
speaking in tongues helps us to grow up in thinking. Why can‟t you ever
understand this? We can‟t afford the luxury of limiting thinking to reading
and writing. It is bad enough that for ten weeks already we have had to
listen to Paul‟s letter.”
“Do you not want to hear the rest of the letter?” Erastus asked.
“Sure we want to hear it,” Quartus replied. “We want to know what
Paul has to say. But we shall always protest when we disagree.”
“That is right,” Erastus said. “That is part of the body, part of thinking
in the body, as you say, that conflicts are not suppressed. However, Paul is
concerned not only with Christians but with the world as a whole. He thinks
that our service must make a newcomer so understand his own innermost
being that he will fall on his face, worship God and recognize that God is in
fact in our midst.”29
I found this argument a little strange. I had never felt like falling on my
face and declaring that God was in our midst. This did not bother me, but I
still found it strange that they believed that their crucified Jesus was both in
their midst and that he would come again. To my way of understanding,
these were two very obvious contradictions. On the other hand I was not
disturbed by the singing in tongues and the emotional outbreaks from
Chloe. On the contrary, the human, sometimes almost primitive spontaneity
of the Christian worship, and their direct way of dealing with each other,
impressed me.
Shall I become a Christian? We said goodbye and I returned alone through the night streets of
Corinth. I live in a small room in a villa belonging to one of the directors of
the bank where I am employed. There I keep the few things which belong to
me – a second tunic, sandals, parchment, a bed and a lamp. Every day I go
to the office in the bank. I am responsible for checking transactions and
general bookkeeping, and I have to make sure that letters of credit and coins
are always correctly filed and put away, especially in the evening when the
bank is closed. In uncertain times, as has been the case this week, I have to
work overtime. Once or twice a year on the great public holidays we close
Limited, 1974).
29 1 Cor 14.24–25.
172 Reformed World Reformed World 173
the bank for a whole day. The Corinthians drink so much that it is advisable
to close and see that the bank is securely locked up.
I am a slave and my master is a director of the Corinthian Bank of
Trade and Commerce. He treats me well. I have enough to eat and a small
room. When I need anything I can go to him. Only I do not know where I
belong. I do not belong to the free businessmen, the officers, the scientists,
and the bankers, nor do I belong to the slaves and the dock workers who –
so they say – think not merely with the head but with the whole body.
Perhaps, if I am lucky, I will be given my freedom one day. It happens
sometimes, but it depends on the good will of one‟s master.
And so I ask myself whether or not the citizens‟ meeting of the
Christians is the right place for me.
I cannot be a whole human being all on my own. I need Chloe‟s people
and also Erastus and Gaius and my friend Tertius. But being a Christian has
great disadvantages. Christians run the risk of being regarded as
nonconformist or even hostile to the state. That is because so many of the
Christians are slaves. Numerically slaves are in the majority. But they do
not have as much influence as the minority of free and affluent Christians.
Membership in the body of the Christians means a tremendous increase in
prestige for the slaves. But as I have already said, to be a Christian has
disadvantages. One could easily be identified with Chloe‟s people, and if
one is arrested and convicted of conspiracy it does not really matter whether
one is guilty or not. A just conviction or a miscarriage of justice produces
the same result. One is dead.
What shall I do?
Is there any good reason for becoming a Christian?
Do I need any reason for becoming a Christian?
Prof. Dr Walter J Hollenweger is emeritus professor of mission at Birmingham University in England and a world–renowned scholar on Pentecostalism; he is currently a pastor of the Swiss Reformed church.
Mission, unity and eschaton: a triadic relation
Bert Hoedemaker
This short essay is an attempt to deal with the relation between mission
and unity in the perspective of the ecumenical learning process that has
affected the use of these terms so profoundly since the beginning of the
twentieth century. Its point of departure is that it might be profitable to
recall some aspects of this learning process, particularly those aspects that
help us to link the Christian keywords mission and unity to the vision of the
coming kingdom of God. Its aim is to consider how the MIU–approach to
mission as credible and efficient witness of churches that are themselves
reasonably united, and its focus on the overcoming of church disunity for
the sake of mission, might be enriched by an eschatological emphasis.
That mission and unity belong together has not always been self–
evident. In fact, it is not until halfway through the twentieth century that we
come across a way of speaking about mission that is decidedly church–
centred, and a way of speaking about church that is decidedly missionary.
We will briefly analyse two impulses that led to this new ecumenical
consensus, and then raise the question as to how the various factors that
contributed to it look from the point of view of the present experience of a
world that is marked by pluralism and globalization. Finally we will
consider what all this might imply for a contemporary approach to the
mission–unity connection.
The unity impulse from the missionary movement Urged on by a spirituality of conquest, the modern missionary
movement saw the world as one large field ready to be won and cultivated
in the name of Christ. This sense of unity – oversimplified as it may have
been – was one of its strengths; and it originated not from a strong church
consciousness but from a marriage between grassroots Christian revivals
and a typically “modern” perspective on the unity of humankind. It could
not leave the divided state of Christendom unaffected: the new accessibility
of the “ends of the earth” had to lead to a rediscovery of the church and of
the importance of the search for its unity. This is indeed what happened:
through a series of comity arrangements on the mission fields, and through
a series of regional and worldwide mission conferences meant to produce
structures for efficient consultation, particularly the famous “Edinburgh
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1910”, the movement became a major driving force behind the new
ecumenical movement.
It remains important to see what this unity impulse is and what it is not.
Even though the origins of the church unity movement can be traced
indirectly to the missionary movement – one of the main architects of Faith
and Order, Charles Brent, came from the “mission field” – the missionary
conferences were not interested in ecclesial consensus. They aimed rather at
practical cooperation and consultation without theological discussion. They
did develop a church focus, but it was a different one from the church focus
developed in Faith and Order. Faith and Order rediscovered the church as
tradition and community; for the missionary movement the churches
remained strategic units in a worldwide project.
The strength of the missionary unity impulse was its eschatology. The
modern missionary vision brought God, world and church together into one
dynamic: it saw the coming of the kingdom expressed in the going of the
missionaries to the ends of the earth, and it saw the gathering of the first
fruits of the pagan world as the sign of the consummation of history. Of
course, to the extent that this implied the unsophisticated projection of
images of faith on a world naively conceived as a field of darkness waiting
for light, this eschatology is no longer convincing in our day. On the other
hand, the connection of Christian eschatology with the modern experience
of history and with the messianic hopes raised by the modern age – even
though this connection is also under fire in a “postmodern” age – remains
significant. At least it helps us to hear some of the overtones in the early
ecumenical link between mission and unity.
Understanding church and mission in the perspective of Missio Dei
The second major impulse that led to a close linking of mission and
unity in ecumenical discourse is related to the effort to create a worldwide
network of churches called to become centres of witness, each in its own
context. In the course of the first half of the twentieth century, ecumenical
communication among churches became the framework for the
understanding of mission. In this perspective, the non–Christian world
could no longer be defined in an undifferentiated way as “pagan”: the first
world war had placed the world on the agenda as a problem of peace and
justice; there was the self–affirmation of other religions; the emergence of a
“secular” world civilization and economic inequality; nazism and
communism raised the issue of “neo–pagan” ideologies. All this called for
an understanding of world Christianity as the paradigm of a world society
in the perspective of the kingdom of God; and this became the logic of the
integration of mission and church, and of missionary movement and
ecumenical movement.
There was also a more theological side to this impulse. Twentieth
century theology made an effort to recover original aspects of biblical
eschatology and to redefine its relation to modern culture. Dialectical
theologians in particular sought to define the eschaton as the “limit” of
human existence, as the point where the sovereign God touches human
history in judgment and challenge. In connection with an approach to
biblical theology that emphasized the history of salvation, this led to a
positioning of mission “between the times”: mission was not to be seen as
an extension of church or Christianity but rather as an announcement of the
coming kingdom. Both mission and church were seen as embedded in
divine action, and this is precisely what the concept of Missio Dei intended
to express. The divine plan of salvation is realized in the gathering of the
people of God (church) and the establishing of signs of the coming
kingdom (mission). Missio Dei sees mission as part of an encompassing,
overarching action of God in which “world” and “kingdom” are held
together.
The strong connection between church and mission that was the result
of all this found expression in a variety of diverging theological approaches,
but these agreed basically that mission belonged to the nature of the church,
and that church and mission could no longer be conceived apart from each
other. It remains important to see that this strong connection is linked to a
specific understanding of eschatology and modernity. To put it briefly:
modernity came to be conceived as a rival system, an alternative paradigm,
that could only be kept in rapport with the eschaton through the presence of
a witnessing church. It was this broad vision of the eschatological
coherence of church, world and mission that became the foundation of the
“christocentric universalism” that characterized the ecumenical movement
in its heyday.
At the same time it should be noted that this development gave the
ecumenical movement, as it came to visibility in the World Council of
Churches, a definite church focus that eventually led to a certain loss of
eschatological vision. The “ecumenical” connection between church and
mission may have had a strong eschatological component, yet it also
strengthened the tendency to reverse the perspective. In the reversed
perspective, church unity is no longer regarded as a manifestation of a
176 Reformed World Reformed World 177
broader vision; on the contrary, the so–called “wider issues” (mission,
social action) are now regarded as further items added to the agenda of
church unity. Along this line, “mission” is understood as something that the
church does among other things, rather than as a pluriform worldwide
movement in which the church rediscovers and receives its identity. The
Missio Dei concept turned out to be not strong enough to counter this
tendency: its effect was not to link the church more strongly to the legacy of
the missionary movement, but rather to give theological legitimation to the
ecumenical emphasis on the church.
Assaults on the self–confidence of modernity Most current conceptions of the relation of mission and unity are
construed out of the two impulses described above, and – it must be added –
most of them are also characterized by loss of eschatological vision.
Meanwhile, the contemporary experience of the world is radically different
from the experience that was dominant at the time of the impulses. Neither
eschatology nor modernity can be dealt with in quite the same way as half a
century ago. Inevitably, therefore, we will have to reconsider conceptions of
the relation of mission and unity that are linked, however implicitly and
unconsciously, to these older approaches.
In the second half of the twentieth century, many varieties of third
world theology developed that explicitly questioned the prevalence of
western ways of thinking and the self–confidence of modern western
culture in ecumenical theology. By claiming attention for local cultural and
religious traditions as legitimate sources for theological reflection, these
theologies in fact undermine the “modern” desire for a rational ordering of
reality from a given centre, with a new emphasis on pluralism. Even Missio
Dei thinking becomes suspect from this point of view: it is exposed as an
attempt to order a complex world with the aid of abstract categories and to
lift church and mission above the complexities of a plural and ambiguous
human history.
At the same time, various “postmodern” trends, both in western culture
as a whole and more specifically in western theology, strengthen this attack
on modern ordering by encouraging distrust and suspicion with regard to
“grand narratives” and by taking new experiences of pluralism as points of
departure.
The postmodern treatment of pluralism is, of course, a serious challenge
to any ecumenical conception of mission and unity. Two points can be
made about this. First: pluralism can no longer be made subordinate to a
preceding or overarching conception of unity. Pluralism – of traditions, of
religions, of cultures – is basic, it multiplies itself, there is no hidden or
final unity in view, except those unities that are one–sidedly imposed by
one particular tradition, religion or culture. This leads to the second point:
pluralism is not just an interesting mosaic of differences; it has an underside
of violence, alienation and hostility; it is the end–product of an extremely
bloody history, both within Christianity and among the religions and
cultures of the world. It is full of unreconciled memories. The confident
modern vision of an ultimate “unity of humankind” has become highly
problematic.
In its outward appearance, the final stage of globalization that we seem
to have reached promises precisely that: a unity of humankind. The new
technology of traffic and communication is its finishing touch. The world is
no longer made up of “contexts” that can be understood independently from
each other; on the contrary, contexts have become “deterritorialized,
hyperdifferentiated and hybridized” (Schreiter). Globalization presents
itself as the secular realized eschaton of humankind: it promises universal
and lasting salvation. Behind this façade, however, we observe the new
dichotomies between rich and poor, the elite and the marginalized, and we
observe the social Darwinism, the contempt for democracy, and the
colonization of the primary relations of life. And we also observe the
struggle of individuals and groups to create new cultural identities on the
borderlines that have become insignificant in the process of globalization
and in the gaps that this process has caused. In other words, globalization
and a new, disorderly pluralism seem to go together. Although itself a
product of modernity, globalization undermines the “modern”
consciousness of clear identities and “missions”, and in that respect it also
signals the failure of the modern visions of unity which had been so
important for the genesis of the ecumenical movement.
Effects on the understanding of mission and unity The contemporary pressures of postmodern suspicion, pluralism, and
globalization make it possible, in retrospect, to assess the degree to which
ecumenical thinking on mission and unity has been captive to the project of
modernity from the beginning of the twentieth century. The resulting
uncertainty with regard to traditional ecumenical convictions manifests
itself, of course, in a crisis of the ecumenical movement as a whole, but it
specifically touches the self–understanding of churches that seek to remain
faithful to the ecumenical consensus regarding the connection between
178 Reformed World Reformed World 179
mission and unity. Generally speaking, we can discern three reactions to the
new challenges. Our sketch of these reactions is restricted to the Protestant
churches, but analogies can easily be traced in other parts of Christianity.
The first reaction is prevalent among the “older” churches in the
western world; it consists of a loss of missionary self–confidence, and of a
tendency to redefine missionary work in the direction of projects of
interchurch aid or “serving presence”. This reaction is characterized by
identity problems, not so much in relation to faith as such but in relation to
the self–evident superiority of “our” faith. The “other” – traditionally the
object of mission – has come too close, has become too much like myself.
The influence of postmodernism, pluralism, and globalization in the daily
lives of people does not diminish the concern for other human beings or the
desire to participate in a faithful community, but it does weaken the strong
sense of conviction associated with “heavy” words such as mission and
unity in earlier times.
The second reaction consists in the stubborn persistence in the truth of
the given tradition and in the “missionary” calling to persuade others of this
truth. We can call this “fundamentalism” in a general sense, in that it
refuses to accept the premises of both modernity and postmodernity and
sustains an eschatology according to which the modern world as a whole
will be brought to judgment. Fundamentalism, however, is not pre–modern;
rather, it proposes an alternative modernity. It is an effort to attack
modernity with its own weapons and to conquer it in the name of an
idealized religious tradition. It seeks to emulate rather than to repudiate the
project of modernity. Fundamentalism, of course, has been alive ever since
the beginnings of the modern ecumenical movement; in the present
situation of pluralism and globalization it obviously acquires a new strong
appeal.
The third reaction – widespread particularly in the third world – is the
spiritualization of the mission–church–eschaton triad, prevalent in
Pentecostal movements (but not only there). This reaction, in a sense,
individualizes eschatology: it replaces the traditional ecumenical Missio Dei
coherence with an emphasis on the powerful witness of persons touched by
the Holy Spirit. It saves mission at the expense of unity and eschatology.
Outwardly, it has the capacity to accommodate to the requirements of
pluralism and globalization; inwardly, it offers experiences that transcend
the limitations of those requirements. In that way, therefore, it becomes a
profoundly significant alternative to more traditional understandings of the
mission–unity connection.
Saving the ecumenical heritage All three reactions sketched above break more or less openly with the
learning process of the twentieth century ecumenical movement. Or, more
precisely, they implicitly understand this learning process to lead away
from the peculiar combination of modern and eschatological thinking that
has, in various ways, characterized the movement up to and including the
Missio Dei consensus. According to this implicit understanding, the new
pluralism – both within world Christianity and in the world of cultures and
religions as a whole – and the postmodern experience of the world call for a
new ecumenical theology: one from which the (Enlightenment) notion of
the unity of humankind has disappeared, and in which a narrower focus on
the church or on individual spirituality has become determinative.
The question is, of course, whether this is all there is; whether it is
really impossible to stay close to the ecumenical heritage with regard to
mission and unity and still do justice to the challenges of postmodernism,
pluralism and globalization. As long as churches or denominational families
make use of the key words mission and unity in the hope of constructing a
significant identity and a coherent world view on the basis of those key
words, a possibility to do just that seems at least to be presupposed. It is
worthwhile to explore it. Such an exploration will have to deal with two
major questions. First, on what conditions can the vision of a unity of
humankind be maintained? And second, what do these conditions imply for
the understanding of mission? We will go briefly into each of these
questions.
Unity of humankind as reconciled diversity The eschatology that is an inalienable part of the Christian faith speaks
of the coming of God, of a final unambiguous divine self–revelation, of a
judgment, of a final separation of good and evil, and of the redemption of
the faithful. On the level of the individual it speaks of resurrection and
eternal life; on the cosmic level it speaks of a new heaven and a new earth.
All this has its foundation in the givenness of Christ, in his life, death and
resurrection. The (derivatively so–called) “eschatology” of modernity offers
a perspective of universal understanding, of a humankind beyond pluralism,
at least beyond a pluralism that keeps generating misunderstanding and
violence. This perspective is not annihilated by postmodernism, pluralism
and globalization; it is, rather, implied with new urgency in the counter–
experiences of unreconciled memories and continuing destructive
180 Reformed World Reformed World 181
alienation, and in the disappointments generated by the misleading façade
of new global unities.
Combination of the two “eschatologies” has been attempted in various
ways in modern Christianity, and, as indicated above, it has to a large extent
created and determined the ecumenical movement. But it remains a
precarious enterprise. The term “unity of humankind” – in ecumenical
discourse clearly a fruit of this enterprise – has become associated with the
project of modernity and as such has come under suspicion; it has been used
and still can be used to disguise attempts to “unify” the world on the basis
of a particular ideology. In addition, from a Christian theological point of
view the term “unity of humankind” is often associated with the assumption
that humankind can redeem itself, that the attainment of unity and
reconciliation is an immanent historical process. Does it account adequately
for the biblical notions of judgment and separation?
The notion that comes to mind here – originally generated in the church
unity discussion – is “reconciled diversity”. It takes the insight seriously
that final and decisive unity is unthinkable apart from a reality–
transcending perspective that always implies judgment. “Unity of
humankind” should be understood to unite not only humankind in its
present state, but humankind including its complex histories of alienation,
misunderstanding, hostility, violence. Pluralism of traditions, cultures and
religions contains these complex histories in itself. Unity, reconciliation, the
redemption of pluralism in this broad sense can, therefore, only be
conceived as an eschatological event that encompasses the whole world and
all history; in other words: as a divine initiative. Faith in the “unity of
humankind” is only realistic – so the Christian would argue – if it takes the
form of surrender to the perspective of judgment and forgiveness. And in
that sense – so the ecumenical movement would teach us – it is still
indispensable for an adequate understanding of the mission and unity of the
church.
Mission: a pilgrimage of learning and discovery Mission in the context of the unity of humankind will no longer place a
major emphasis on the conquest of the world by the Christian world view,
nor on determined witness over against the “rival systems” – even though
these elements will continue to play a certain role. Rather, it will seek to
deal constructively with pluralism, practising and encouraging
communication in the perspective of ultimate unity, and restructuring its
own tradition and message in that light. That will require an honest
awareness of the historical place and role of the Christian tradition in the
present world of pluralism and conflict, and an acceptance of the relativity
of that tradition. That is not the same thing as relativism. Acceptance of
relativity corresponds, rather, to the notion of internal eschatological
criticism which is present in the New Testament, and which becomes
visible in Jesus‟ self–relativizing references to the coming kingdom of God
as well as in the distinctions between provisional, partial believing and
final, complete seeing.
Missionary thinking will illuminate the givenness of Christ from the
point of view of an eschaton that engages all traditions, including the
Christian tradition, in a permanent process of mutual learning, and in that
way links them to ultimate unity and truth. For the Christian, of course,
there is no eschatological faith without Christ; but precisely this
eschatological faith – highlighted, emphasized and strengthened by the
challenges of the contemporary experience of the world – precludes final
answers to the question of his significance. Jesus Christ has entered into the
history of a community, which is an ongoing history of remembering,
interpreting, expecting and witnessing – and as such also a history of
engaging in a pilgrimage, together with others, towards Christ.
Understood in this way, mission in the sense of “making Christ known
to the world” is not incompatible with keeping alive the vision of an
ultimate reconciled diversity in a process of learning with and from others.
It is not incompatible, for instance, with the establishment of a conspiracy
of wisdom, in which various cultural and religious traditions pool their
resources for communication and reconciliation, and remind each other of a
higher destiny of the world and of human beings than the one presented by
globalization. For Christian theology, an argument for eschatology,
pilgrimage and dialogue is an argument for an emphasis on the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is the connecting link between the unity of humankind and the
world of today, between the redeemed communion of the human family and
the many unredeemed and unreconciled communities – including churches
and denominations – in which humankind lives. Mission is the effort to
make this connection visible and understandable.
Relating mission and unity to each other Our glance at the learning process of the ecumenical movement has
made clear that “mission” and “unity” are not innocent words. Using these
words in an ecclesial or theological context means almost by definition,
being drawn into a field that is already occupied by a host of meanings,
182 Reformed World Reformed World 183
discussions and references; and being challenged to choose a position in
that field. More specifically, it implies a critical look at the “church focus”,
that is, the tendency to deal with mission and unity as items in a programme
of ecclesial action or self–constitution. Using the words “mission” and
“unity” in the sense in which they have been “charged” by a long
ecumenical history means precisely that one is taken out of the limited
framework of ecclesial or denominational organization; one is challenged to
deal with the issues of ecclesial or denominational identity in the wider
context of a learning process towards reconciled diversity that involves the
whole of humankind.
This implies first of all that one avoids ecclesial shortcuts in the
definition of missionary work, and instead begins to reflect on what is
actually done or intended or implied when a community of Christians
reaches out towards “others”. How does the faith in which the community
lives relate to the ways in which the community experiences the world?
How does it articulate a vision that can establish such a relation? These
profoundly missionary questions impinge upon the identity of a community,
rather than the other way around. In this perspective, the unity of a given
community is not something that precedes missionary activity, so that one
could say a firmly established unity enhances the efficiency of missionary
work; rather, unity is given as communities get involved in the learning
process of mission, in which they rediscover Jesus Christ as the coming one
and learn to appreciate pluralism as a promise. Unity means relating the
faith and action of a community to the unity of humankind.
Prof. Dr Bert Hoedemaker is emeritus professor of Ecumenics and Mission at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and a minister of the Uniting Churches in the Netherlands. He has written extensively on mission in the context of secularization and globalization.
Facing the challenges in Rwanda
An interview with André Karamaga
Jet den Hollander: Dr Karamaga, your country and church have gone
through horrific experiences in recent decades, culminating in the 1994
genocide. Around the world we still cry with you for the victims, for the
perpetrators and for ourselves, because through what happened in Rwanda
we were confronted with ourselves again. Last year the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches together with the John Knox International Reformed
Centre set up the Mission in Unity Project to accompany churches which
are searching for new expressions of mission in unity. Does a project such
as this have any relevance in the current Rwandan situation? Do words like
“mission” and “unity”, already heavy with historical overtones, make
sense for people inside and outside of the churches in Rwanda?
AK: I would say: yes and no. No, in the sense that we certainly cannot
talk of “mission” and “unity” in any easy manner anymore. In a situation
where disunity among people exploded to this terrible extent, unity is not a
something that seems very real or realistic. And the churches saw
themselves as churches with a mission, but ended up being part of the
drama, both as victims and as perpetrators. And yet, people do talk of unity
again, and the churches are trying to rediscover their mission. Rwanda is
known and seen as a broken society within the wider African context. The
main challenge, not just for the church but for all actors in society, is how to
heal this brokenness, how to deal with the loss of self confidence, the
number of orphans and widows, the amount of hatred.
JdH: How has your own church approached this challenge since 1994?
AK: We were very aware that the churches, including the Presbyterian
Church in Rwanda, were part of society, and therefore were broken
themselves. The facts are, firstly, that among those who have killed were
also church members. Second, the churches have historically played a role
in dividing the society into Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. It is well known that
before the colonization of Rwanda at the end of the 18th century, the three
groups were social groups rather than ethnic groups. In the past you were a
Tutsi if you had cattle, and a Hutu if you were in agriculture. And so if you
changed from herding to farming, you changed from Tutsi to Hutu. But
then the myths were brought in that they come from different parts of the
184 Reformed World Reformed World 185
region, and so on. So what was very much a social classification was turned
into a tribal classification in order to divide and rule, and the churches have
been part of that process. And a third painful fact is that during the three
months of the genocide the church on the whole was not heard; she was
silent.
All of this means that today as churches we approach our mission from
a position of weakness, brokenness and humility. The crisis has shown the
superficiality of our conversion, our weakness in that sense. We did not
have the spiritual resources to fight effectively the evil in our midst. The
crisis has also meant that many members and pastors lost their lives. And
this is true for all churches: all were implicated and all were victims.
Therefore the first thing was for us to confess our failure. We got
together with all the Protestant churches and drew up a common statement.
What made the statement credible was that a) it was common and b) it was
a confession.
JdH: How did people respond to this confession?
AK: We found that that confession was a very important element in the
process of starting again, for all of us inside and outside the churches. I was
surprised when I went back to Rwanda in 1995, that people were indeed
still going to the churches. That was of course a big question: will they
continue to go to church? But the churches were full, though of course there
are church buildings which hold such bad memories for people they cannot
go back there. As you know, many of the killings actually took place in
churches. But we began our witness with a confession, which was important
for the victims, and also for the perpetrators of the crimes. And we realized
that people were still expecting the church to play a specific role, namely to
be – so to speak – the glue in the midst of all these divisions and to build
bridges between the different parts of that broken society.
JdH: Following the joint statement, has it been possible to continue
working together as churches?
AK: Yes, we have tried to do mission in unity, and for me that has been
very important. We need to speak with one voice in the face of the evil that
needs to be challenged. We need to distinguish between what is good and
what is bad, and this needs to be cross–denominational. For all of us there is
the challenge of Deuteronomy 30.19: “I call heaven and earth to witness
against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” We
need to find our common voice as churches, and be clear as to what is good
and what is evil; what brings life and what leads to death. Then, apart from
speaking out together, we also try to witness in common action. We cannot
address, as just one denomination, the enormous problems of orphans,
widows and widowers, rape victims, prisoners. We need to work cross–
denominationally, and here and there we are making some progress.
JdH: What would you say are major stumbling blocks in this process?
AK: One is that after 1995 many new churches came into being. There
was a mushrooming of new Christian movements. Some churches were
started in the refugee camps, and when the refugees came back they
continued that particular brand of church. Some NGOs which came to help
after the crisis also started new churches. Others who had lived in exile
abroad returned to Rwanda with the denomination that they had been
attending there. So, on the one hand we drew together in the Protestant
council and tried to develop a common mission, but on the other hand, unity
is not easy with this mushrooming of new groups. It will require a lot of
prayer and struggle to learn to operate in a united way, especially as
disunity is often a matter of human weaknesses: power games, personality
conflicts, ethnic tensions and so on.
Of course, when I talk of unity, I don‟t mean uniformity. We are not
created in series but as individuals and that diversity needs to have space.
But I am convinced that the gospel perspective of mission is to have a
common vision, directed to common action. We know that as Christians we
are going in the same direction and can go hand in hand even if we are
different. Besides, we have limited resources so we need to steward these
faithfully and make the most of what we have.
But another stumbling block in this process of working together and
pooling our resources is that we haven‟t fully recognized that our
denominational divisions are in many cases the result of sinful processes.
And for us in Africa these divisions are very serious at this time, because
they reinforce the many other divisions we have inherited: ethnic, tribal,
divisions because of the colonial languages, the presence of different
religions, and several other things that carve up our societies. In Rwanda
tribalization has been developed to the extent that being Hutu or Tutsi was
more important than being Rwandan or being Christian. So we need to
work on our identity, whereby our Christian identity takes into account our
identity as African, as Rwandan, as Hutu, Tutsi or Twa, but is stronger than
just our tribal identity.
186 Reformed World Reformed World 187
It is such divisions which need to be addressed by the church, but by a
uniting church rather than a church which just mirrors the divisions of the
wider society. So, mission in unity in my view is vital. When we dream of
African unity, of healing the scars, of breaking the barriers and rebuilding
our nation, then we need to practice mission in unity, as Protestant churches
and as Christians generally. And we hope to share with others in the
Reformed family worldwide how we in Rwanda are struggling to make this
vision come true, just as we hope to learn from the wider family how
mission in unity takes shape elsewhere.
Prof. Dr André Karamaga is the president of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda and one of the three vice–presidents of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
Together on the way in Germany
Claudia Währisch–Oblau
The African pastors were sitting down with the general secretary of the
Association for Missionary Services, a large umbrella organization for
churches and groups in Germany who are involved in evangelism. “Can’t
you see that we are like manna from heaven?” one of the African pastors
asked the German. “God has sent us here to help you evangelize Germany.
Why don’t you make use of us?”
The young Korean German woman came to see me at my office. She
had been born and brought up in Germany, but then gone back to Korea for
a while. There, she had married a young theological graduate. Now she has
returned to Germany with him: he was invited to serve as pastor of a
Korean congregation in Essen. “We have to break out of our isolation,”
she said about her congregation. “We know that we have a calling to reach
out and witness to the gospel, not just to Koreans, but also to Germans. So
she came to offer German churches their help: “We have a good choir – we
could go into old people’s homes and other places to sing. We also have
several retired nurses who are still fit and would like to volunteer their
services where they would be needed.”
These are just two examples of the reverse mission movement that has
been reaching Germany from both African and Asian countries. African and
Asian missionaries are coming to Germany in ever growing numbers,
preaching the gospel and establishing churches. They were not invited by
the German churches. Neither did they ask for the German churches‟
permission to start their work here. They did not feel the need for this: they
have been called by the Holy Spirit to do this work, that is enough.
For a long time, this mission movement was not noticed by the German
churches. After all, the evangelism work of the immigrant pastors and
evangelists was not very visible. Mostly, they gathered congregations of
their own nationality and language background, with the odd German
member or two.
Only very recently have German churches started to take notice. In May
2000, the United Evangelical Mission organized a conference under the
theme “From reverse mission to common mission”. The conference brought
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together missionaries from Africa and Asia and church workers from
Germany who wanted to explore ways of doing mission together.
But many German churches remain very critical of the reverse
missionary movement. Rather than receiving it as a godsend, they react
with dismay. The reason for this can be plain racism (“Why should our
country be evangelized by blacks?”) as well as theological rejection (“Why
should we be evangelized by Pentecostals?”). Difficulties also arise from
the very different concepts about what the mission of the church is, about
how evangelism should be conducted, or whether it is needed at all!
How is mission in unity possible in such a situation? I believe that a
practical approach is needed first, and that theological dialogue should
follow practical cooperation rather than precede it. Black Pentecostal and
white mainline churches have fundamentally different ways of doing
theology and fundamentally different hermeneutical paradigms. Dialogue
without common praxis will just lead to misunderstanding. But where
common experiences are the basis of theological dialogue, new insights can
be won.
Some German churches have started out on this difficult path.
Two examples from the Ruhr area 1. The blue and white square building sitting between the highway and
the railway tracks does not look like a church at all. But the Weigle–Haus in
Essen, named after its founding pastor, is a church, albeit a rather unusual
one.
Founded as an inner city youth ministry more than 100 years ago, it has
long since developed into a congregation of sorts, or, in the words of its
current pastor: “into one church with four congregations.” First, there is the
“normal” Sunday morning congregation, consisting mostly of young adults
and older people. Then there is the youth congregation that meets on
Sunday nights. A few years ago, an African congregation asked for rooms
at the Weigle–Haus. It was not just given a place; it has become part of the
whole set–up. And when the German pastor learned that a Tamil
congregation was coming into existence, he specifically invited it to meet at
the Weigle–Haus, too.
There was a reason for this: the Weigle–Haus has long been active in
both social and evangelistic outreach to young people in Essen‟s inner city.
Many of the youth living in the vicinity of the church are the children of
Tamil refugees who have sought asylum in Germany. To help them cope
with their schoolwork and improve their language abilities, the Weigle–
Haus set up an after–school programme. Children and youth can do their
homework at the church under supervision and get help if needed. But the
church also wanted to reach out to the parents – and failed, as most Tamil
refugees speak little or no German. Now the Tamil congregation has taken
over the outreach to the Tamil parents: no more language problems!
The cooperation of the four congregations at the Weigle–Haus is quite
unusual. After all, the German congregations are mainline evangelical (if
with a strong evangelistic impulse), while both the African and the Tamil
congregations are neo–Pentecostal. The differences in theology and style
are acknowledged and talked about on all levels. This way, understanding
slowly grows while each church keeps its characteristics.
Occasionally, all four congregations have a joint worship service. All
congregations love them and would like to have them on a regular basis, but
the pastors and church workers are not quite ready for this yet: “Such
services just take too much time to plan and prepare,” sighs one German
church worker who nevertheless admits that she loves the intercultural
contact with the Africans and the Tamils.
This summer, a black church worker from the African congregation,
who is currently undergoing theological training at a seminary in Belgium,
did a month–long internship at the Weigle–Haus. Together with the
church‟s full–time street worker, he established contacts with immigrant
children and youth hanging out on street corners and game parlours. When
he suggested running a drumming workshop, the response was enthusiastic.
Street kids who had never responded to the German street worker came in
droves and just loved every minute of the sessions. Now, the Weigle–Haus
is thinking of establishing a longer term “united in mission team” of
immigrant and German street workers for this kind of outreach.
2. The Evangelical churches in Oberhausen have long had partnership
relations with churches in South Africa and Tanzania. They are known
throughout the region for their tireless anti–racism work and their long–
term support of the WCC Programme to Combat Racism. Therefore, when
African congregations started to come into existence in the early 1990s, the
churches in Oberhausen opened their buildings and their hearts.
The Markuskirche is one of them. Within the congregation, an interest
in Africa has long existed. The congregation even has its own marimba
group, consisting of Germans of all ages. So when Victory Christians
Ministries, a church of mainly Nigerian refugees, asked for a room to meet,
they were given a warm welcome. The Nigerians use the church for their
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worship services on Sunday afternoons, for their revivals and for their
monthly night prayers. Their other activities take place at one of the two
church centres, where there is always room for a Bible or prayer group or a
committee meeting. Even a small office was found within one church centre
which the Nigerian pastor has been using.
While both congregations remain independent – after all, the Germans
are mainline Protestant and the Nigerians neo–Pentecostal – there is a sense
that they are growing together. Joint Sunday services take place regularly.
When they feature the German marimba group, the church is really rocking!
There are common festivals, meals and even soccer games.
Both the black and the white church are very active in local anti–racism
work. Just recently, they jointly participated in the organization of a big
rally at the Oberhausen city centre. But their common mission does not just
end with political statements: when a woman from the black congregation
was, together with her three small children, threatened by deportation, the
churches jointly organized a church asylum which has now already lasted
five months.
Tolerance as a first step These two examples – the Weigle–Haus in Essen and the Markuskirche
in Oberhausen – have in common that churches started out doing something
together. This way, trust and community were built before difficult
theological issues were tackled. But this approach also needs a lot of
tolerance on both sides, and the willingness to accept the other church as a
sister church, a member in the body of Christ, even if it expresses its faith in
a totally foreign way. The mainline churches had to realize that Pentecostals
are not a sect, even if they drive out demons during their night prayers.
Conversely, the Pentecostal churches had to learn that mainline churches
are not necessarily dead, even if nobody there speaks in tongues. Such
tolerance also means that both churches abstain from crude attempts to
“convert” the other church to its own theology and practices, while at the
same time they acknowledge that their contact and cooperation will
eventually change them both in ways they may not foresee yet.
Such tolerance is no liberal laissez–faire. It is based on the knowledge
that it is Jesus Christ himself who builds his church through the work of the
Holy Spirit. It is formed by the understanding that each church is a corpus
mixtum, that each falls short of its calling in certain ways, but that the Spirit
nevertheless works in them in unexpected ways.
To come back to the scene at the beginning: when the African pastors
offered their help in evangelizing Germany, the German pastor did not
know how to react. There are multiple stumbling blocks to a mission in
unity between immigrant and indigenous churches. To name just a few:
The German Landeskirchen, the former state churches, are still strongly
influenced by an understanding that they are the church in Germany.
They define what a church should look like and how it should work.
(This attitude has, until quite recently, also made life difficult for the so–
called “free churches”, like Baptists or Methodists which are small
minority churches in Germany where about 90% of all Christians are
still members of the main Catholic or Protestant Church.) As former
state churches and present “people‟s churches” (Volkskirchen), they
have actually become ethnic German churches that are only now
beginning to realize that Germany is becoming more multicultural, and
that a people‟s church should reflect this. This coincides with the fact
that German society has until recently denied the fact that Germany is a
country of immigration. Hence, to be able to embark on a mission in
unity with immigrant churches, the German Landeskirchen have to
recognize their own relativity. This is not easy at a time when the
churches are undergoing a deep financial crisis and struggling with
dwindling membership numbers.
Racism is structurally inherent in German society, and the churches are
not free of it. Of course, any accusation of racism is immediately denied
by the churches. Nevertheless, immigrant Christians often face it in their
contact with German congregations: while Korean churches usually
have little difficulty in renting church facilities for their own services,
African or Tamil congregations often find all doors closed in their faces.
German church workers worry about noise, dirt, and generally seem to
distrust people with darker skin.
Anti–free church prejudice is a big problem. German churches have a
hard time understanding why the African church using their rooms has
no “mother church” in Ghana that one could get in contact with. A
church that does not belong to a denomination that is organized along
institutional patterns can only be a sect. There is generally very little
knowledge and understanding of non–mainline churches, their
organization and their theology.
Anti–Pentecostal prejudice adds to this. Especially among the
theologically trained, there seems to be an almost neurotic fear of
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emotion in a worship service. “Strange manifestations” of the Holy
Spirit, trances, speaking in tongues etc. are usually perceived as induced
by manipulation and rejected without any closer understanding. At the
same time, Pentecostal pastors are assumed to be without any “proper”
theological training, and therefore not taken seriously. Hence, while an
African choir might be invited occasionally to add some colour to a
special German Sunday service – but is then only allowed to sing two
songs! – there is very little willingness to let an African Pentecostal
pastor preach.
But stumbling blocks to mission in unity do not exist only on the
German side. They can also be found within the immigrant churches.
Among them are:
Lack of German language ability. This is a big problem especially for
immigrant pastors. While members of the congregation usually learn at
least some German once they have found a job, the pastor‟s work is
usually confined to his own constituency, meaning that there are few
chances to pick up German. Formal language courses are expensive and
take time. And English–speaking immigrants realize that many Germans
understand and speak English well enough, so there is less need for them
to learn the language than there is for French– or Korean–speaking
immigrants, for example.
Lack of understanding of the German churches and society. Mission
needs contextualization, and that means that immigrant missionaries
need to learn about and understand the context in which they operate.
Cooperation in mission is difficult if there is little knowledge of the
situation in which one operates.
Anti–mainline prejudice. Many Pentecostals fear cooperation with
mainline churches because they are afraid that they will be controlled
(this fear is not totally unfounded!). They perceive mainline churches as
more or less dead – how can they have the Holy Spirit if there are no
manifestations of that? – and individual believers as lukewarm at best.
Many Pentecostal immigrant Christians are afraid that the power of the
Spirit they see manifested in their own church will weaken if they adapt
even a little bit to the ways of a mainline church. They sometimes
antagonize German churches with crass attempts at “converting” them to
the “true faith”.
Competition and antagonism among immigrant churches and church
leaders. Unity often remains elusive even among immigrant churches of
a shared background and culture as individuals set up new churches and
“steal” members from existing congregations. Churches and church
leaders who feel threatened by such competition are usually not open to
cooperation, especially as closer contact with German churches can, in
the case of conflict with other immigrant churches or church leaders,
lead to rumours about how that particular church or leader has been
“bought” by the Germans.
It is clear that to achieve mission in unity among immigrant and
indigenous churches in Germany, these stumbling blocks need to be rolled
away one by one. It is also clear that this is far from easy, and cannot be
done quickly.
Programme for cooperation This is where the “Programme for Cooperation between German and
Immigrant Congregations” comes in. It was set up in 1998 by the United
Evangelical Mission1 for its German region, which roughly encompasses
the German states of North Rhine–Westphalia and Hesse as well as some
parts of Lower Saxony, Rhineland–Palatinate and the Saar area. The first
step was a period of research about the presence of immigrant churches, the
second step, some publicity work about the reverse missionary movement
to Germany. Now the groundwork has been laid to go a step further.
Within the programme, we have started to create opportunities for
immigrant and German pastors and church workers to meet, to listen to
each other and to learn from each other. Seminars and study days are being
prepared by an international, open working group which also identifies the
topics that need to be treated. Seminars that were held recently or are being
planned include topics such as “Reading the Bible through the Eyes of
Another”,2 “The Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal movement”, “Evangelism
in Germany” and “Overcoming Racism within the Church”. Within these
seminars, we have started to develop a culture of speaking from one‟s own
experience without assuming that one‟s own view must be shared by all, of
listening very carefully to try and understand what the other is saying, and
of going back to the biblical text. After all, the Bible is the one thing we
1 The United Evangelical Mission is an international partnership of churches in
Germany, Africa and Asia. 2 Actually, this particular title sounded rather off–putting to Pentecostals. The Bible has
to be read with spiritual eyes, and there are no other. Pentecostal participation in this seminar
was therefore almost non–existent.
194 Reformed World Reformed World 195
really have in common, so it makes a good basis to develop contact,
cooperation, community and, in the end, unity.
With the programme we are having the same experience as those
churches which started to work together: cooperation is easier if a concrete,
limited project is in view, and trust grows where concrete projects are
realized together. The Pentecostal/mainline team of six people who
prepared the seminar on the Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal movement
started off with a session where everybody was trying to convince
everybody else that they were reading the Bible in the wrong way. Only
after the plan for a seminar seemed totally in tatters did the group pull
together again, spend a whole day in intensive discussion, and come up
with a timetable and a curriculum for the seminar which was highly
appreciated by both mainline and Pentecostal Christians present. But
without the aim of preparing a seminar together, the discussion within the
preparatory group might well have led to so much friction that no
understanding would have come out of it.
Mission in unity – coming together as the colourful, multicultural body
of Christ in Germany – this is the vision that is shared by a slowly growing
number of Christians in both indigenous German and immigrant churches.
Many steps will still be necessary until this vision becomes reality. But as
the Chinese proverb says: “Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with
the first step.” We have started to walk together on the way.
Rev. Claudia Währisch–Oblau of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland coordinates the programme “Cooperation between German and Immigrant Churches” of the United Evangelical Mission. Her experiences as a migrant comprise more than a dozen years of living and working in different parts of Asia.
The Crisis in Indonesia New context for the mission and witness of the church
Karel Phil Erari
Indonesia today is in crisis. This crisis can be seen in the
unpredictability of our sociopolitical life and especially in the religious
tensions which have led to violence in several areas. This is ironic, when we
consider that for three decades Indonesia has presented itself as a model of
religious harmony.
Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim society. About 87 per cent of the
population of 200 million is Muslim. Christians, including Roman
Catholics, number roughly 10 per cent. The Christian population is,
however, unevenly distributed across the islands and island groups, with the
highest concentrations in Nusengattara Timor, North Sulawesi, the
Malukus, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan.
Constitutionally, the Republic of Indonesia is founded on the Pancasila,
the “five principles”, which include belief in God, humanity, national unity,
consultative democracy and social justice. It is neither a Muslim nor a
secular state. Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and
Confucianism are officially recognized. Other religions are not forbidden. A
government ministerial office oversees the religious life of the country. The
constitution provides for religious freedom for members of the first five of
the six officially recognized religions; and the government generally
respects these provisions, although there are some restrictions on certain
types of religious activity, including that of unrecognized religions. A few
groups are banned explicitly, including the Jehovah‟s Witnesses, whose
adherents may experience difficulties in civil matters like marriage.
Citizens who are members of religions other than the six officially
recognized may be obliged to register as Catholics, Protestants, Muslims
etc., in order to obtain national cards or for other civil purposes.
During President Suharto‟s New Order, the government issued
regulations concerning religious practice which contain restrictions on
churches operating freely in Muslim strongholds like Aceh, South Sumatra,
Madura island and some other parts of the country. In order to erect a
church building, there are certain procedures to follow and conditions to
meet, including having the approval of 100 Muslim families in the
neighbourhood. Many congregations have never been able to gain access to
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get approval, with the result that many Christians are obliged to worship in
private homes on Sundays.
Religious intolerance has led to violence in several regions. Over the
past three decades, more than 800 church buildings have been attacked and
destroyed: 450 during the Suharto government (1965–1998), 80 during BJ
Habibie‟s presidency (1998–1999), and more than 300 during the first year
of the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid (“Gus Dur”).
Migration is a significant factor in the recent wave of interreligious
strife in the Malukus, or former Dutch Spice Islands. Migrants,
predominantly Muslims from Sulawesi, changed the demography of the
islands, previously mainly Christian.
The violence was sparked by a petty dispute on an Ambon bus in
January 1999. This led to a wave of religious killings. The contagion spread
to the islands of Sulawesi and Lombok and on to other regions.
At least 4,000 people in the Malukus and in Sulawesi have lost their
lives, with the victims divided roughly equally between Muslims and
Christians. A total of 400,000 people are internally displaced in these
regions. A handful of mosques were attacked, while 280 churches were
burnt and destroyed. There were no reports that any perpetrators were
punished. Many Christians were forced to convert to Islam.
The Joint Committee on the East Timor Crisis has extended its mandate
to cover other areas in Indonesia and we are now addressing the situation in
the city of Ambon and the neighbouring islands. Christian communities are
continually attacked by Muslim Jihad militias backed by partisan elements
in the Indonesian military (the TNI) and the government. Houses and
churches are targeted for arson and people killed while praying in church. A
nurse in Hatiwe Besar was recently raped and brutally murdered while on
duty in a government clinic to assist the injured people from her village;
Betty died from inhuman treatment while giving humanitarian service.
On Halmahera, a young pastor called Risamasu is reported to have been
assassinated in a local district office. Fifty Christian children on Halmahera
were killed after Sunday school and their bodies dumped offshore at
Tobelo, in the north of Maluku. Two days later, Christian youth leaders
organized a counter–attack and killed 100 Muslims.
This interreligious conflict in the Maluku islands presents an enormous
challenge to the mission of the church in Indonesia. People no longer see
religion as an institution of peace and justice; it is more like a monster.
Muslims hate their Christian relatives, and Christians are afraid to associate
with their Muslim friends.
Churches seeking peace and unity In the context of the current movement of political reform, churches in
Indonesia are challenged to carry out their mission with new approaches
and new themes. The churches should become healing communities and
work towards building peace. We should commit ourselves to church unity
and to addressing social crises as an integral part of our mission. We should
seek new grounds for dialogue with people of other faiths. We are called to
combat conflict in the society by embracing our Muslim friends who are
seeking peace and the unity of the nation.
The Research and Development Board of the Communion of Churches
in Indonesia (CCI) has appealed to Muslim and Christian scholars to make
a joint declaration seeking peace and justice. In September, an annual
seminar on religious issues affirmed the urgency of reconciliation. It
proposed that reconciliation should become a church programme; the need
for sharing on common goals and the threat to national unity might provide
entry points for such efforts.
At its 13th general assembly in March 2000, the CCI called upon the
churches to work for Christian unity in Indonesia by the year 2005. The
majority of CCI member churches are Reformed (28) or Lutheran (10); they
are striving for unity with other Protestant groups and with Roman
Catholics. The assembly recommended establishing a joint secretariat for
Protestants and Catholics. The unity of the churches will be a new platform
for reconciliation among the churches and make a strong moral contribution
to mission for peace and reconciliation in Indonesia.
As part of the decade to overcome violence sponsored by the World
Council of Churches, Indonesian churches are preparing various
programmes to help Christians initiate activities within the congregations
and in Christian educational institutions and enterprises to demonstrate
justice and peace as a genuine Christian presence in the society. This
interreligious and intercommunal crisis must come to an end; and the
Christians of Indonesia are called to be a part of the movement for peace for
all.
Karel Phil Erari of the Evangelical Christian Church in Irian Jaya is a member of the WARC executive committee.
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Southern Africa Mission in Unity Consultation 2000 Common statement
We, 71 delegates representing 19 churches of the Reformed tradition in
Southern Africa, greet you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. From October 19 to 22 2000 we met in Kempton Park,
Johannesburg, under the auspices of the Southern Africa Alliance of
Reformed Churches (SAARC), to reflect on our understanding and practice
of mission in unity as it has been, and as our present times demand.
Celebration We began by recognizing and celebrating the times when the Church
has played a significant role in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Over
the centuries the gospel of abundant life in Christ has flourished and taken
deep root in our countries. We are grateful for the manifold ministries
carried out by Reformed churches, including evangelism, health work,
education and the promotion of social justice. We give thanks for the role
churches have played in processes of political liberation of Southern Africa
during recent decades. And we rejoice with the former Presbyterian Church
of Southern Africa and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of South Africa
as they recently overcame past divisions and formed the Uniting
Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa.
Challenges But we recognize that Christ‟s mission is not yet complete. – we met at
a time when:
the effects of apartheid in South Africa are still deeply felt;
the scars of genocide in Rwanda have not yet healed;
civil wars continue in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo;
unresolved land issues are leading to division and death and are
crippling the economy in Zimbabwe;
economic injustice goes hand in hand with ecological degradation;
and political instability and the pandemic of HIV/AIDS are devastating
the lives of millions.
A time also when:
many of our people have lost the hope and meaning which faith in God
brings;
many of our churches are incomplete as women are denied their place
as equal partners in ministry and mission;
in many instances, our young people are not taken seriously as the
church of today.
Moreover, we recognize that, through all of this, it is often our children who
suffer most.
These realities challenge us to reclaim our heritage, both African and
Reformed, which affirm that God intends abundant life for all and indeed
invites us to share in God‟s mission as demonstrated in Jesus Christ,
especially to those who are impoverished, marginalized, and denied full
humanity.
Invitation to our churches In the light of our discussions at this consultation, we invite our
churches to endorse our common confession, affirmations and commitment.
We confess:
That our tradition and the churches we represent have not fully engaged
in mission in Christ‟s way;
That we have often failed to acknowledge and act on Jesus‟ preferential
option for the poor;
That we are guilty of the sins of disunity and have failed to overcome
the status quo of Reformed divisions;
That there has been a lack of Christ–like charity to one another and to
believers of other traditions.
We affirm:
That Christ calls us to be one in his name and to form one confessing
and witnessing communion;
That our tradition challenges us, and our realities force us, to work and
witness together in order to implement programmes that transform and
contextualize:
1. the ways in which we train and employ our women, men and young
people for ministry and mission;
2. the style and content of our worship;
3. the ways in which we prophetically respond to the needs of the
societies in which we live.
200 Reformed World Reformed World 201
We commit ourselves:
To make known in word and deed, and in ways appropriate to our time
and contexts, the good news of Jesus Christ;
To redress the past wrongs our work and witness have brought about,
and where possible, make restitution and reparation;
To give fuller expression to the oneness given in Christ as locally,
nationally and as the Southern Africa region of the Reformed family of
churches, we urgently seek to heal our divisions;
To reshape and strengthen our churches‟ critical engagement with state
structures and civil society in order to bring about:
1. economic justice and the eradication of poverty in the light of
increasing trade globalization and the mounting debt burden of the
South;
2. responsible stewardship and redemption of the environment;
3. wholeness for individuals and communities affected by AIDS,
violated by sexual and other forms of abuse, displaced by war,
political repression and dispossession of their land, and
disempowered by the uneven access to modern technology.
Ways forward As participants we have identified the following issues requiring urgent
reflection and action:
1. HIV/AIDS – confessional, educational, pastoral and medical
programmes;
2. Poverty reduction, job creation and redistribution of wealth;
3. Gender issues and partnership of women and men;
4. Youth ministry;
5. Evangelization;
6. Theological education – new models, focus areas and target groups;
7. Reconciliation.
We undertake:
To develop in our own communities or areas of work, as we are able,
projects which address one or more of these issues;
To consider for further action in particular the projects for mission
action that were developed by the interdenominational country groups
during the consultation;
To urge the relevant bodies in our churches to take up these issues in
conjunction with other member churches of SAARC, and wherever
possible, also in cooperation with the wider Reformed and ecumenical
family;
To urge the SAARC Executive Committee and Secretary to monitor the
implementation of common projects addressing these issues.
Kempton Park, South Africa, October 22 2000
202 Reformed World Reformed World 203
The Mission in Unity Project 1999–2002
How can Reformed churches credibly communicate God's gift of
reconciliation in Christ? How can they overcome their present divisions and
strengthen their common witness in today's world? The 22nd WARC
general council (Seoul, 1989) called on member churches to engage in a
movement towards a more visible expression of their unity. The 23rd
general council (Debrecen, 1997) reiterated this call, agreeing unanimously
that mission in unity should be a priority for the Alliance.
The present mission in unity project (1999-2002) grew out of a series of
international consultations organized over the ten years from 1988 to 1998
under the aegis of the John Knox International Reformed Centre in Geneva.
On the basis of a proposal submitted by the last consultation in this series
(April 1998), the Alliance agreed with the John Knox Centre to set up a
joint project, initially for a trial period of three years.
Several reports on earlier consultations published in the John Knox
Series serve as points of reference for the project:
Mission and Unity: The Reformed family and its mandate, John Knox
Series No.6 (Geneva: CIRJK,1989);
Mission in Unity: Towards deeper communion between Reformed
churches worldwide, John Knox Series No.8 (Geneva: CIRJK,1993);
Mission in Unity: Ethnicity, migration and the unity of the church, John
Knox Series No.9 (Geneva: CIRJK,1995);
And the Net was not Torn: Report from a consultation on mission in
unity, John Knox Series No.10 (Geneva: CIRJK,1998).
An indispensable tool is the recent publication edited by Jean-Jacques
Bauswein and Lukas Vischer, The Reformed Family Worldwide, A survey
of Reformed churches, theological schools and international organizations
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).
The executive secretary of the project is Jet den Hollander of the
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, who took up the post in September
1999. She has previously worked for the Council for World Mission in
London and, more recently, in Jamaica. The project is guided by an
advisory committee of eleven members, on which the Alliance and the John
Knox Centre are both represented. The project office is located at the John
Knox International Reformed Centre, 27 chemin des Crêts-de-Pregny, 1218
Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland; tel: +41 22 920 3385; fax: +41 22 747 0099,
email: [email protected].
Authors
den Hollander, Jet Introduction ........................................................ 157
Erari, Karel Phil The crisis in Indonesia ........................................ 195
Hoedemaker, Bert Mission, unity and echaton: A triadic relation .... 173
Hollenweger, Walter J Conflict in Corinth .............................................. 160
Hutanuwatr, Pracha Globalization from a Buddhist perspective .......... 89
International Pentecostal–Reformed dialogue
Word and Spirit, church and world .................... 130
Karamaga, André Facing the challenges in Rwanda:
An interview ....................................................... 183
Lee, Chan–Keun Post–crisis agenda for Korea
and global civil society ......................................... 80
Petprasert, Narong The crisis of the Thai economy and the IMF ........ 69
Réamonn, Páraic Introduction .................................................. 49, 101
Schaeffer, Jill Dialogues and conversations .............................. 106
Schaeffer, Jill Introduction ............................................................ 1
Sebastian, J Jayakiran Returning to the sources of life: Baptism
and eucharist in Reformed perspective ............... 119
Währisch-Oblau, Claudia
Together on the way in Germany ....................... 187
REFORMED WORLD
Volume 50 (2000) Index
204 Reformed World Reformed World 205
Titles
Bible studies (Togo) .................................................................. 27
Conflict in Corinth Walter J Hollenweger ............................. 160
Dialogues and conversations Jill Schaeffer ........................................... 106
The Caribbean workshop .................................................................. 32
The crisis in Indonesia Karel Phil Erari....................................... 195
The consequences of economic globalization ............................................. 50
The crisis of the Thai economy and the IMF
Narong Petprasert ..................................... 69
Facing the challenges in Rwanda:
An interview with André Karamaga ................................................... 183
Georges Lombard prize .................................................................. 48
Globalization from a Buddhist perspective
Pracha Hutanuwatr ................................... 89
Introduction Jet den Hollander .................................... 157
Introduction Páraic Réamonn................................ 49, 101
Introduction Jill Schaeffer ............................................... 1
The Mission in Unity Project 1999–2002 .................................................. 202
Mission, unity and eschaton:
A triadic relation Bert Hoedemaker.................................... 173
Post–crisis agenda for Korea
and global civil society Lee Chan–Keun ........................................ 80
Returning to the sources of life: Baptism and eucharist
in Reformed perspective J. Jayakiran Sebastian ............................. 119
Southern Africa Mission in Unity Consultation 2000:
Common statement ................................................................ 198
Together on the Way in Germany
Claudia Währisch-Oblau ........................ 187
The Togo workshop .................................................................... 9
Word and Spirit, church and world
Final report of the international Pentecostal–Reformed dialogue ...... 130