• 3 directions:

• organizational unity of all Christians (1-2)
• action for the oppressed (3-6)
• adaptation of Christianity into various cultures (7)

1.    Development of ecumenism

a.    Main points [towards a unity of religion]

• based on biblical teaching (Jn 17:11,22,23) and experience of early church (Ac 1:14, 2:46-47, 4:24,32,33, 5:14)

b.    Levels of ecumenism:

• unity among individual Christians
• unity among Protestant Christian denominations
• unity between Protestants and the Roman Catholic church
• unity among all religions

c.    World Council of Churches (WCC) [unity above doctrine]

• established in 1948, arising from 3 earlier movements
• 6 general assemblies: Amsterdam (1948), Evanston, Illinois (1954), New Delhi (1961), Uppsala, Sweden (1968), Nairobi, Kenya (1975), Vancouver (1983)
• many denominations with wide spectrum of doctrinal positions
• with goals of evangelism at the beginning
• At Uppsala, evangelism not emphasized; adoption of radical positions such as 'anonymous Christianity', salvation as humanization, and universalism; restoration of true manhood in Jesus Christ includes greater justice, freedom and dignity
• At Nairobi, retreat from radical positions; "the whole church bringing the whole gospel to the whole person in the whole world"; whole gospel includes both reconciliation to God and the responsibility to participate in the struggle for justice and human dignity; emphasized both evangelism and social action
• At Vancouver, position even closer to the Lusanne Congress

d.    World Evangelical Fellowship [unity in spreading the gospel]

• established in 1951
• toward unity in love, work, and belief, not administrative unity
• not confronting with other organizations
• seeks to protect orthodox biblical beliefs
• evangelism as the major task
• not discussing social, political, economic, war, racial problems
• regional conferences such as World Chinese Evangelical Conference in Hong Kong in 1976

e.    International Congress on World Evangelism at Lusanne (1974) led by Billy Graham and John Stott:

• attitude of penitence instead of triumphalism, manifest in the expression of Christian social responsibility (behind the vital urgency of the preaching of the gospel to the whole world)
• Grand Rapids, Michigan meeting (1982) produced a statement reaffirming the importance of both evangelism and social responsibility.

f.    International Council of Christian Churches [doctrinal purity above unity]

• established in 1948 in opposition to WCC
• attacks WCC and encourages Christians to leave WCC
• emphasizes various modes of evangelism: literature, broadcasting, and preaching

g.    Evaluation: organizational unity (such as Lusanne Congress) helps world evangelization efforts; should seek a balance between spiritual unity and doctrinal unity; positive trend towards a common position from the first two camps

2.    Roman Catholic Church

a.    proclamation of the doctrine of immaculate (sinless) conception of Mary in 1854:

• doctrine not based on Scripture or tradition (Augustine and Aquinas expressly denied it), but just consensus of contemporary church
• declared by Pope Pius IX, a step toward greater papal authority

b.    Vatican I (1869-1870) [papal infallibility]

• two view: pope as a constitutional monarch (under the authority of the general council of bishops), or as an absolute monarch (validity of general council derived from pope)
• "But if anyone presume to contradict this our definition, let him be anathema."
• "ex cathedra" pronouncements only (as the apostle)
• only in theology and ethics
• infallibility from God, thus not required to consult the church
• tradition can be altered
• proclamation of the doctrine of Mary's assumption to heaven (like Enoch and Elijah) in 1950
• no support from Scripture or tradition, declared by Pope Pius XII using papal authority

c.    Vatican II (1962-1965) [retreat from excesses]

• called by Pope John XXIII to bring church to modern world
• much more progressive than Vatican I
• Council given greater responsibility but only together with the pope
• encouraged translation and reading of Bible, but with caution ("under the watchful care of the church")
• reaffirmed tradition
• rejected religious prosecution, willing to admit past mistakes (such as the Inquisition)

d.    Kung [Catholic rebel]

• theology largely based on the Bible and mostly disapproved by Rome
• studies Barth's doctrine of justification and finds it similar to Catholic faith in the Council of Trent (1545-1563)
• "Infallible? An enquiry" attacks papal infallibility based on the Bible and church traditions.
• argues that infallibility is not possible, rather indefectibility
• the real role of pope is service and pastoral ministry to the whole church, not sovereignty
• Catholic church declared Kung "can no longer be considered a Catholic theologian" in 1979.

e.    Evaluation: recent tendency to retreat from past excesses; regard Protestants as "separated brethren" rather than wicked heretics; still hold many doctrines unacceptable to Protestants (papal infallibility, doctrines related to Mary); the process of merging with the Anglican church being studied

3.    Black theology

a.    Main points [suffering and freedom]

• strong reaction to suffering endured by the black people (slavery, discrimination)
• tries to elevate the social position and political power of the blacks, even by revolution
• against theology of the whites which permits racial discrimination (Christ is the messiah of the black people)
• sufferings of Christ a reflection of the sufferings of the blacks
• against authority as defined by the whites, including biblical authority
• pietism expressed in public worship
• the use of violence to achieve equality
• the ultimate goal of freedom from oppression

b.    Martin Luther King [dream of justice]

• achieving justice not by violence, but by truth force or love force
• True religion seeks not only to integrate men with God but to integrate men with men and each man with himself.
• believes in the redemptive power of innocent suffering (God would use undeserved suffering to bring reconciliation), as exemplified by Jesus
• with an inspired vision of the future

c.    Evaluation: Like liberation theology and feminist theology, the insistence on one major issue overshadows the whole message of the gospel. In addition, biblical principles are sometimes bent to fit human thoughts. The advocation of violence is non biblical.
 

a.    Main points [Christians of the revolution]

• theology from the point of view of the oppressed
• started in Latin America, but can be applied to any oppressed group; each oppressed group must work out its own theology of liberation
• interprets the Bible from this perspective
• deeds (actions) have priority over words
• salvation of Jesus equivalent to liberation of the oppressed from social injustice

b.    Gutierrez [salvation is liberation]

• Roman Catholic
• applies Marxist economic analysis (violent class conflict); class struggle is a fact of Latin America
• The poor are victims of institutional violence
• Christ is the Liberator, with 3 different aspects of the salvation: liberation from oppression, liberation to assuming responsibility for his own destiny, and liberation from sin which is the ultimate root of all disruption of friendship and of all injustice and oppression.
• Evangelism is the proclamation of the good news of the liberation Christ came to bring us.
• Conversion involves a change both of the individual and of society.

c.    Evaluation: lack of emphasis in the forgiveness aspect; biased definition of sin and salvation; the real gospel message of spiritual salvation and the individual's reconciliation with God buried beneath the call for social justice; occasional call for violence and revolution not biblical
 

a.    Main points [hope of the future in God's promise]

• mankind plagued with despair arising from the contradictions between reality and expectation of human existence.
• God's revelation is in the form of promise with a future fulfilment.
• The promise prompts us to develop practical ways of bringing about change in the present, mainly the alleviation of pain and suffering, and the restoration of justice.

b.    Moltmann [mission to transform the world]

• restores eschatology to the centre of theology
• every Christian to have the eschatological outlook
• revelation is interpreted as God's promise
• basis for mission is the transformation of the world in anticipation of the promised new creation
• goal of mission is not merely an individual spiritual salvation but also the realization of the hope of justice, the socializing of humanity, and peace for all creation
• To accomplish the mission, the church needs inner renewal by the spirit of Christ and the power of the coming Kingdom in 4 aspects: the church must be the church of Jesus Christ, a missionary church, an ecumenical church, and a political church.

c.    Evaluation: some values in the concentration on eschatology and hope; lacking in aspects of personal witness and spiritual growth; influences the over-emphasis of social action of the WCC (in Uppsala)
 

a.    Main points [fighting the inequality of the sexes]

• against sexism in the Bible, tries to de-sex the language of worship
• dispense old sexual stereotypes
• rejection of male domination in all aspects of life
• attempt to attain ordination of women

b.    Ruether [promoting full humanity of women]

• Roman Catholic
• God is not male
• Sin is both personal and social, particularly the oppressive relationship between the sexes
• The root idea of Christ is not of personal and other-worldly salvation, but of social and historical salvation from the collective human apostasy.
• opposes the Roman Catholic church's exclusion of women from the ministry
• a new style of family life where child-rearing is to be shared equally by man and woman

c.    Evaluation: a worthy and noble cause; biblical meaning sometimes overstretched by arguing for a different interpretation of salvation; unnecessary revision of the language and content of faith on the basis of feminist experience

7.    Contextualization

a.    Main points [put Christianity into the context of the indigenous culture]

• displace the widespread perception of Christianity coming with imperialism
• accept Christianity without sacrificing the pre-Christian culture

b.    Chow Yi-Fu [Christianity explained in the concepts of Chinese philosophy]

• uses Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist concepts and principles to explain Christianity
• uses biblical principles to compensate the inadequacies of traditional Chinese culture

c.    Tse Fu-Ya [concept of God in Chinese culture]

• defines the concept of religion and of God in Chinese culture
• equates Chinese concepts to biblical concepts

d.    Chang Lit-Sang [Christianity supersedes Chinese culture]

• analyzes the vital concepts in Chinese culture and Christianity
• concludes that there is no contradiction between the two but Christianity should guide the development of the Chinese culture

e.    Hsu Hsiung-Sze [comparison of Christianity and Chinese culture]

• lists the superior aspects of both Chinese culture and Christianity
• compares traditional Chinese religions and Christianity in terms of view of life and religion and concludes that Christianity is superior
• emphasizes the need to retain orthodox Christian beliefs which can then alter Chinese culture and Chinese churches

f.    Koyama [God in a tranquil culture of southeast Asia]

• "Water Buffalo Theology" for southeast Asia
• subordinates great theological thoughts to the needs of the farmers
• expresses Christianity within the context of a culture with a different rhythm of life (e.g. God walks slowly because He is love. If He is not love He would have gone much faster.)

g.    Mbiti [no imported Christianity]

• appreciative but critical of missionary movement in Africa because of the "imported Christianity" -- brought westernized Christianity seeking to impose it on Africa (including dress, music, buildings)
• studies African traditional religions and tries to relate Christianity to them
• ascribes a positive role to traditional religions as a preparation for the gospel
• distinguishes the Christian faith (which is eternal) from Christianity (particular manifestation in a specific culture)
• upholds the need for African Christianity (with genuine African worship, community life, education, and values) not western Christianity
• The gospel does not reject culture but transforms it.

h.    Evaluation: valuable emphasis, especially for those cultures that are threatened; need to preserve orthodox Christian faith; but possible for indigenous forms of practising faith