Contextual
Theologies and their approaches in Mission
Introduction
Contextual theology and
mission are sometimes understood as equivalent, particularly because Contextual
theologizing is a means of mission in a particular context. Contextual theology
is also called situational theology, it takes the context, conditions and
situations of the lands, histories and cultures of the people in the society
that church exists as resources for theological reflection and faith
confession; therewith constructing s theology that is able to shape a Christian
identity relevant to its context.[1] The
term “mission” presupposes a sender, a person or persons sent by the sender,
those to whom one is sent, and an assignment.[2]
Black
Theology
Slavery is one aspect
of the origin Black American or African Americans. When enslaved Africans encountered
white Christian missionaries, black’s reinterpreted what they heard. They
created their own form of theology. They discarded the white minister’ command
that Jesus Christ called on blacks to obey their earthly white masters. They
indentified themselves with the ancient Hebrew people who were slaves in Egypt
and how Yahweh heard their cries in the wilderness. The book of Exodus stood as
a paradigm for what the power and love of God would do for the oppressed. The
slavery system did the same for the blacks, merely forcing them into
commodities for white Christian’s profit. African Americans worked for two
hundred forty six years without pay while white Christian accumulated land,
industries, buildings, trade, technology and political offices from the free
labour of the black working class.[3]
Dalit
Theology
Dalit theology, both as
a concept and practice, emerged towards the end of the seventies and during the
first haft of the eighties, a period marked by some of the most violent
communal conflicts, extensive caste riots and barbaric ‘atrocities’ against
scheduled castes (harijans and Dalits) and also scheduled tribes. Literally the
word Dalit means ‘oppressed’ ‘downtrodden’ in many Indian languages. It means
(i) broken, torn, rent, burst, split; (ii) opened, expanded; (iii) bisected;
(iv) driven asunder, dispelled, scattered; (v) trodden down, crushed, all of
which have social references. Dalit theology was first used as a specific
formulation in the Christian Dalit Liberation Movement (CDLM) documents, in 1985
an early 1986. The early church of south India synod of 1986 went on record,
calling upon its members to pledge their support to Dalit. The World Council of
Churches became acquainted with the Christian Dalit question in1986. The
national convention of Catholic Christian in 1986 re-christened ‘Christian of
scheduled caste’ origins ‘Dalit Christian’ and decided to observe the 90s as
the ‘decades of Dalit Christian’ and to work for social justice.[4]
Feminist
Theology
Feminist Theology had
its primary origin and development in the North America. Feminist theology is a
theology where one has to note that it does not deal with separate feminine
theme, rather it seeks to criticize and make right the masculine bias of
traditional Christian theology which has excluded women both from ordained
ministry and theological studies, as mentioned Women have suffered long under
the social and theological stereotyping of their life. Throughout the history
of the church, Christian theology has been done with the exclusion of women and
their experiences. Therefore, classical Christian theology reflects a negative
bias against women in its teachings. Feminist theology thus seeks to analyses
the effects of this exclusion of women and negative anthropology about women in
the shaping of the understanding of God, nature, sin, grace, Christology,
redemption and ecclesiology. Feminist Theology therefore developed a response
and challenge to its traditional Christian theology which excludes and
oppressed women.[5]
Contextual
theologies and its approaches to Mission
In the past, the
theology to a large extent, have reflected the realities of the context of
dominant groups and communities. Almost all the privileges were given to the
dominant groups as the result the concerns of the marginalized were often left
behind in the pattern of reflection and discourse of faith. The perspective of
churches and the elites were normatively influential for the task of
theologizing according to a particular context. This mission concerned about
the context and liberation of marginalized people such as Dalit, indigenous,
tribal people, women etc. The majority of Christian belongs to these marginal
sectors and their experience of oppression and hardship as well as their
spiritualities are vital. The main objectives for this mission are to
facilitate and proclaim the Gospel to all people.[6]
People amidst the
multi-various concepts of mission, challenged by the claims of every faith to
their own authenticity, called to defend the district identity of the church
over against the atrocities of the colonial exploits, today, the church around
the world stands in need of clarity as to her identity and her mission.
Attempts were many to interpret and reinterpret this identity and mission. Such
attempts have resulted in a proliferation of many theologies. Whereas this tool
multiple patterns of theology-making, the end result in the cry for ‘doing
theology context’ from the perspectives of oppressed people. The social,
economic and political implications of the liberation in Christ has got to be
thought out and systematized in terms of liberation Theology and in turn it
should develop its own missiology to spell out their continuing mission to the
oppressed of the world.[7]
Since half of the
Christian population anywhere is female, the concerns of the church in mission
invariable has to deal with the question of women’s liberation, equal rights,
employment opportunities, ordination and employment in the church and the
challenges of Christian gospel in a patriarchal setting. An increasing number
of women have begun to study theology and to seek opportunities to serve in and
through the church. Structures of the church in terms of its committees, its
leadership, its employment, ordination and such are being studied with relevant
openness as part of the emerging trend. Clarity is being sought on the meaning
and implication of what is it to be an emancipated woman in Christ. From this
should emerge the clarity of the role or mission to women as well as both to
women and men; church and society are part of what needs to be developed as the
theology for women.[8]
According to Raimond Pannikar “…people are invited to have a
conversion towards the Cosmotheandric Reality.” The different religions,
incommensurable as they are on the level of lived belief and doctrine, do meet
in the depth of the Cosmotheandric Intuition- It is the house of reality and
everything is understood in cosmos. Antropos is the consciousness and
obejectifying dimension. Theos is the depth dimension. It is the absolute
principle and it interacts with cosmos and anthropos.
S.J.
Samartha further asserted that conversion is
not from one religion to another, but from unbelief in God to belief in God,
and that mission is not the church’s work but God’s own work. According to him
‘We need the conversion of the bishops, priests and religious of India, a
conversion from being rich to being poor, a conversion from working for the
poor to working with the poor, a conversion from being for the poor to being of
the poor.’
According
to Felix Wilfred, Conversion has been one of the ways in which the dalit
selfassertion has found expression. These conversions were not for economic
benefits but were part of the dalit search for human dignity, respect and
equality and thus a new identity. But even within the church they are
discriminated and separated from the higher castes.
K.C.Sen also introduced sacrifices, baptism and Eucharist, mystic dances
and even magic in his teaching and ministries and his holistic missions
approach.
Russell
Chandran asserts that it is a way of
communicating Christ to others, but not a relativisation of the Christian gospel.
In dialogue, there must be a give-and-take attitude in all participating
religions
M.M.
Thomas argues that is the final allegiance
in response to Christ, “at a deeper level are those who accept the divine
mediation or the atonement of the suffering Messiah. At another level there are
those who accept the very person of Jesus as the ultimate model of the Messiah
to come. He sees all these as valid responses to the Christ.
[1] Huang Po ho, “Contextual
Theologies” in Contextual Theologies compiled
by Wati Longchar (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 2.
[2] David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission; Paradigm Shifts in
Theology of Mission (New York: Orbis Books, 2001), 1.
[3] Dwight N. Hopkins, “The Basics
of Black Theology” in Contextual
Theologies compiled by Wati Longchar (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 37-68.
[4] M.E. Prabhakar, “Dalit Theology:
Emergence of a Contextual Theology, in Contextual
Theological Education edited by James Massey (Delhi: ISPCK, 1993), 37-40.
[5] R.L. Hnuni, “Feminist
Theology-Method and Perspectives” in Contextual
Theologies compiled by Wati Longchar (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 38-44.
[6] K.C. Abraham, “Contextual
Theologies” in Contextual Theological
Education edited by James Massey (Delhi: ISPCK, 1993), 15-16.
[7] Ibid., 18.
[8] Ibid.,18-19.
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