Public Theology for Global Witness : Essays in Public Missiology

PUBLIC THEOLOGY FOR GLOBAL WITNESS

ESSAYS IN PUBLIC MISSIOLOGY

Edited by Gregg Okesson and David Thang Moe

PUBLIC THEOLOGY FOR GLOBAL WITNESS

ESSAYS IN PUBLIC MISSIOLOGY

Edited by Gregg Okesson & David ang Moe

9781648171406

Public theology for global witness : essays in public missiology

Edited by Gregg Okesson & David Thang Moe

Published in the U.S.A. by First Fruits Press, ©2023 Digital version at

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Public theology for global witness : essays in public missiology [electronic resource]/ edited by Gregg Okesson & David Thang Moe. – Wilmore, Kentucky : First Fruits Press, [2023].

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1. Public theology. 2. Christianity and culture. 3. Evangelistic work 4. Missions. 5. Church work. I. Okesson, Gregg A. II. Moe, David Thang.

BT83.63 .P82 2023eb 230

Cover design by April Hardman

Introduction

Gregg A. Okesson

This book is a collection of essays dealing with public missiology. The diferent chapters arise from a class I teach every other year. In the course, students are introduced to public theology yet write from within the discipline of missiology. One can think of the course (and thus this edited volume) as the marrying of the two (hence the mention of both disciplines within the title and subtitle). David Thang Moe was my teaching intern for this course, and we decided to publish the fnal papers in this edited volume. I think you will quickly see the high caliber of thought and writing that has gone into them. They are a wonderful contribution to the feld.

The frst reference to “public theology” dates back to Martin Marty in the 1960s, when he was writing about civil religion. Since that time, it has emerged as a discipline, yet with a diverse set of interlocutors from all around the world and no ofcial, agreed-upon defnition. We fnd public theologians within the felds of biblical studies, theological studies, ethics, missiology, as well as historians and practical theologians. What began as a small group of Western theologians writing largely within the context of secularity has now emerged into a diverse array of scholars from around the world engaging themes such as the environment, ethnicity, global confict, globalization, and migration, to mention just a few.

6 | Gregg A. Okesson

I’ve found public theology a helpful discipline for delving into the feld of development studies (which addresses poverty, disease, ecological decay, confict, and a host of other societal and environmental ills). Public theology is concerned with the common good, or human fourishing built upon biblical concepts such as shalom and the kingdom of God. Such theological resources provide helpful lenses for considering the plight of people trapped in poverty, as well as ecological fragility. “Public theology begins wit a theological reading of the cosmos, critiquing the ways publics become unfettered from God’s shalom, while doing so within specifc communities and especially by and for the people most afected by sin in public spaces.”1 While public theologians can be interested in any issue of public life, they are often at their best when dealing with poverty, marginalization, confict, political abuse, and environmental decay.

While I begin with public theology, I quickly bring missiology into the discussion. Missiology is a theological discipline which emphasizes the centrality of the gospel, a robust soteriology built upon the fullness of Jesus Christ, the church (even local congregations) as “the hermeneutic of the gospel,”2 and a predisposition for movement (sending and receiving) through the power of the Holy Spirit into all parts of life. I won’t take the time to unpack each of these. I did so in a previous book.3 I am not arguing that public theology is unconcerned with these areas, only that missiology in dialogue with theology makes both stronger. Is our task (dare I say, mission?) merely to engage the public realm, or does God call us to witness to it through the gospel of Jesus Christ, with the

3 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 104–15.

1 Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology, 99.

2 Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, chapter 18.

fullness of God’s salvation, and through local communities of witness?

What is Public Missiology?

What then is public missiology? What do we mean by public witness? This book brings together two words customarily kept apart. We are well-accustomed to individual witness, and nothing we say in this book should in any way undermine the importance of sharing the gospel with persons. There is a fundamental “for me” feature of the gospel. However, does the gospel of Jesus Christ only pertain to individuals? What about larger aspects of life?

The word public tantalizes us with excitement and possibility. It’s where the cool kids hang out. The broad, plural, and “thick” nature of the public realm only accentuates the appeal. This is especially the case for Christians in the West who have spent an eternity of long nights relegated to a shadowy, privatized existence. Public ofers us the world.

Public titillates with a lurid, bedeviling attraction. At one level, it is where life happens, where we discover infnite possibilities. At another, the fascination with the public borders on the erotic like some forbidden fruit: we want it because we have been denied it. And thus our pathway to public faith is motivated less as a measured response to the privatization of religion and more as a justifcation for our deeper longings.

This fascination of the public has led to the rise of subdisciplines where public occupies a prominent role. In addition to felds of public theology and public missiology, we fnd public leadership, public advocacy, public anthropology, … and the list goes on. Public has become all the rage. And for good reasons.

8 | Gregg A. Okesson

Contemporary publics shape our lives (or at least that is their intention). They orient our identity, time,4 and telos. Particular domains want to claim our souls.

Politics wants to politicize everything, and demands people’s allegiance to particular ideologies. Economics desires to economize everything, often in ways reducible to monetary amounts (we see this in extreme forms where human trafcking reduces a person’s worth to their body, and assigns that person’s body a price tag). However, contemporary publics are not just the sum total of politics and economics but involve the mixing, overlap, or interpenetration of all domains within an integrated whole. We experience them thickly. This makes them more powerful.

The word missiology however tugs in the opposite direction. If public opens the world to us, missiology (to many) slams it shut with a resounding thud. Whereas the word public represents something open and accessible, missiology suggests a closed, archaic realm, like a dusty library with volumes of books stacked in every corner and nary a whisper to be heard. Missiology is for certain people, not for everyone. It suggests a private, super-spiritual domain set apart for the everyday world; or else an ancient era where agents of Western colonialism walked around with pith helmets. This is how the caricature goes.

Hence, public and missiology appear miles apart, with virtually nothing in common. The divide is only accentuated by how some Christians have interpreted the public realm. Public, for them, is ominous, powerful, and sinful, like some foreboding presence that continually threatens their existence.

4 For a good treatment of time, see Andrew Root, The Congregation in a Secular Age.

It’s like the Sirens calling out from the rocky clifs. This particular interpretation of the public realm began long ago but was given new meanings by the rise of the Enlightenment, where the public realm expanded with the rise of science and modern disciplines and religion was relegated to the private realm. Christians of diferent ilk were content to dwell in this privatized existence, far away from the stains of public life. Since that time, Christians continue to interpret the public realm in association with secularism, urbanism, modernity, politics, social media and globalization, and where, in diferent ways, each of these are interpreted as corrupt and corrupting. The public realm is necessary but evil according to this reading.

All of this infuences how Christians interpret the public realm. Some rush forward, wanting everything they feel deprived of. Others run in the opposite direction, worried that the public realm will contaminate their faith, families, and traditions. (I am hyperbolizing here to show the diferent tugs and pulls when dealing with this subject. I beg the reader’s indulgence to appreciate that I am not suggesting that everyone falls neatly within one of these camps.)

Meanwhile, what do we do with the myriad ways publics defne life (human and non-human)? And what do we do with sin in public spaces? If the public realm is experienced thickly, then sin in public places is also thickly interpenetrated. John Wesley hints at this when he speaks of “complicated wickedness” to describe how sin enters into public spaces.

What then is public missiology? Public missiology brings the fullness of the gospel, and the fullness of God’s salvation into the fullness of the world (which is always God’s world) through the fullness of God’s people. That’s a lot of fullness! The Apostle Paul uses similarly creative language when he

| Gregg A. Okesson says regarding Christ, “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who flls everything in every way” (Eph 1:22–3).

When the words public and missiology are brought together, something happens: an explosion; a realization of something new; a crack in the cosmos that emits a brilliant ray of light into the darkness. We begin to see the really real through the lenses of the resurrection. God is, in Christ, reconciling all things to Himself (Eph 1:10). “All things” include more than the sum total of atomized individuals. “All things” take us into God’s created goodness (human and other) as well as everything that emerges from creation (work, family, institutions, etc.). God is in Christ reconciling “all things” to himself through the church, which David Bosch refers to as “the inseparable union of the divine and dusty.”5

I defne public missiology through the imagery of movement (or weaving) as “congregational witness that moves back and forth across all “spaces” of public life to weave a thickness of the persons of the Trinity for the fourishing of all of life.”6 I argue that even as public life is experienced thickly, the church can bring a thick witness through the resources of gospel and movement. Our public missiology working group describes it as the holding together of “two holistic, synoptic discourses—‘public’ and ‘missiology’—in a single frame and within a comprehensive thematic to examine their interaction and to guide (to the limit of its resources) a healthy interaction. This task includes reassessing (1) the aims and world-orientation of mission to the present crisis of public life, (2) the church’s role

5 David Bosch, Transforming Mission, 389. 6 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 95–96.

as sign and agent of God’s mission, (3) the ‘world,’ or ‘public,’ that mission engages, and (4) their intersection and interpenetration.”7

The juxtaposition of these two words serves important purposes. Each acts upon the other, calling it to something new. And by examining their relationship with each other, we may redefne each in the process. Let’s return to public and missiology and consider them in light of the other.

With its taken-for-granted nature, the public realm lulls us into passivity. We believe the lies of its enormity and desperately want to be shaped by its gaze. Like all truly powerful things, it acts upon us at a deeper, clandestine, culture-forming level: informing our identity and giving us a sense of the really real. But the public realm is neither separate from God, nor is it the realm of Satan. It represents large (and small), overlapping spaces in the world where people interact with each other to form common opinions about life. These spaces include domains emerging from human agency, including politics, communication, economics, and the like. Admittedly, some of these spaces get flled with messages laden with hate, lust, or envy. And each of these domains want to overstep their scope into the others. But public spaces are just that: spaces whose weave is open.

Missiology serves an important corrective to the idolatrizing tendencies found in the public realm, reminding it of its ultimate purpose.8 It calls the public realm into account,

7 Ibid., 260.

8 I am defning missiology similar to Stanley Skreslet, as an “integrative, multidisciplinary, academic feld” that attends to God’s mission in the world. See Comprehending Mission: The Questions, Methods, Themes, Problems, and Prospects of Missiology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2012), 14. Skreslet further explains that mission theologians have sometimes shown a predisposition toward the abstract and thus require heightened dialogue with historians, anthropologists, and sociologists

| Gregg A. Okesson

forcing it to answer for its infuence upon human identity, or how it relates to the rest of God’s created world. Missiology witnesses to the public realm. But it doesn’t do it from a high podium with a shrill voice; rather, it enters the open weave in order to sow seeds of the gospel from the interior. This says something about the very nature of missiology. Contrary to the stereotype of the intrepid missionary with the pith helmet, carrying Western culture to the farthest lands, missiology is about translation: the translation of Christ into humanity, thereafter impacting the rest of the world.9 And if translation is going to do its work, it cannot reside merely on the surface of the publics, sitting atop the waters like a foating bottle, but must work its way deeper down into the open weave, where meanings, narratives, and myths lie.

But this is not how most people think of missiology. In the eyes of many, it represents a small, bounded, and obscure entity with a seedy past and a suspect future: something located within a small, demarcated arena (such as the academy or a distant land) and restricted to a set of highly trained persons (called missiologists). What is more, some people think of mission as a distinct, higher calling than what others might have and thus evokes the impression of separateness from others as well as separateness from material afairs (like some gnostic ghoul).

Missiology thus needs the public realm. The public realm helps move mission studies away from its stereotypical preoccupation with exotic, remote cultures10 to focus upon global fows of meaning within large open “spaces” within our to ensure their work is connected with actual realities, not just hypothetical musings (10).

9 Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History, Chapter 3: “The Translation Principle in Christian History.

10 David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991), 492.

world. Public isn’t necessarily a replacement term for culture, but it helps us move beyond older, evolutionary ways of thinking of culture as highly bounded and discrete. Public culture, if we might speak this way, looks not just to the West, but also to how other contexts around the world daily negotiate their way within global fows of meaning. And to the extent that missiology is concerned with theological concepts such as the Trinity, deliverance, justice, incarnation, salvation, and ecclesiology, a focus on the public helps foreground the importance of these topics for the lived experiences of people around the world.

Hence, the two words public and missiology need each other.

In a sense, public missiology makes explicit what has always been the case. No part of the world exists apart from the gospel, despite historical, cultural, and even theological factors that attempt to obscure this reality. At the heart of this project lies the work of Lesslie Newbigin, who frst opened my eyes to the public realm. Through his writings, he consistently and passionately describes the gospel not as private, individual belief, but as public truth. And in those glorious words that frst grabbed me by the scruf of the neck so long ago, Newbigin says,

We are called, I think, to bring our faith into the public arena, to publish it, to put it at risk in the encounter with other faiths and ideologies in open debate and argument, and in the risk business of discovering what Christian obedience means in radically new circumstances and in radically diferent human cultures.11

11 Lesslie Newbigin, Truth To Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 59–60.

| Gregg A. Okesson

This book is an extension of such a calling. It explores what Christian obedience looks like within many diferent contexts around the world. It is public missiology at its fnest.

Outline of this Book

The essays in this edited collection give solidity to what I’ve been describing in this Introduction. Though the authors will interchangeably use the language of “public theology” and “public missiology” you will see they move fuidly between the two disciplines. The essays in this edited volume are trying to bring the two disciplines together, especially in relation to global development.

The next thing that stands out is the incredible diversity of perspectives in this volume. We have scholars writing on Burmese, Romanian, Australian, Czech, as well as Indian and American contexts. We further have multiple perspectives on public issues within India and the United States. The diversity of essays strengthens the missiological nature of public theology, and guards us from associating either discipline from a singular vantage point. Though public theology and public missiology initially emerged as ofcial disciplines from within Western scholarship, this volume serves to broaden the feld of discourse to other parts of the globe.

Finally, one will see a wide variety of topics being discussed. Rob Lim confronts the banking industry in Australia (and around the world); Myra Watkins looks at secularism in post-Christian Czech Republic; John Karankaran explores the dynamics of populism and how it infuences leadership in India; Alexandra Swink delves into music concerts and how they ofer an alternative form of spirituality for American “nones;” Hkun Ja looks at the coup in Myanmar and what this

means for Christian political engagement in the country; Jijo Rajan explores what public theology means for the Indian University; Priya Santhakumar Leela engages the incredibly complex and despicable sex trade in India; Allan Varguese Meloottu approaches public theology through Pentecostalism and spiritual warfare; David Chronic looks at migration in Romania through the lens of ascetic practices; Faith Alexander entertains the prospects of using theater as a means of public witness; and Reinaldo Gracia Figueroa explores what it looks like for a Latino/a Pentecostal Pastor in the US to be a public theologian.

I hope you are as amazed by this list of chapters as I am. I have purposely not arranged the chapters by theme or region, since they are irreducible to simplistic categories. You can either pick-and-choose which to read; or, more preferably, dive right into them in sequential order. David Thang Moe provides a helpful summary at the conclusion of this book.

I welcome you to this volume and hope you will enjoy the essays as much as I have.

Deification of the Housing Market: A Christian Response to the Developed World’s Obsession with Property

Robin Lim

“Going once, going twice, SOLD!” My wife, Ruth and I looked at each other in despair. We had been unsuccessful in yet another auction, exorbitantly outbid as we continued our chronic search to buy our frst home. The winning bidder was dressed in a designer suit, power tie, and pulling out a checkbook whilst on his cell. “Another investor,” I said to Ruth as we walked away.

Despite this taking place in Australia ffteen years ago, this scene is common across the developed world. Soaring house values break records on a metronomic basis as warnings of economic bubbles fall on deaf ears. However, it is not only an issue of excessive prices, but the efect it has on dividing society along socioeconomic lines between the haves

Rob Lim is currently Assistant Professor of Business, and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Asbury University (KY, USA). He is a founding director of MATES for Change, an Australian organization that champions multicultural social entrepreneurship. Previously, he was an industry leader in mortgages as Global Head of Home Lending products at one of the world’s largest banks, accountable for over $300 billion worth of assets. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary (2023).

and have-nots. Bloomberg declares the global housing market broken, the “perennial issue of housing costs has become one of acute housing inequality, and an entire generation is at risk of being left behind.”

1 In the last decade, the IMF observed global housing prices increase by ~25%, exacerbating afordability.2 The OECD has warned of housing being “very stretched” and vulnerable.3 Despite warnings and government intervention, values still rise, defying logic, as people clamor to achieve a dream. Further, it is not only an issue for buyers, but the entire ecosystem: central banks, commercial banks, and brokers are obsessed with this ethereal ideal, placing faith in the old adage, “safe as houses,” as if it had soteriological meaning. It begs the question, perhaps this is not simply an issue of economics, solvable via mechanisms alone. Rather, has the developed world’s obsession with housing become an idol? What worldviews are driving this issue? Specifcally, is public theology capable of informing the church’s engagement with this dilemma, and reorienting it toward human fourishing? To approach these questions, I will frst analyze the housing market for marks of religion, and, if evident, identify both the economic and spiritual role that each stakeholder plays in this public realm. Next, I will review common doctrine-like mantras associated with the housing market and examine their spiritual implications. Finally, once I have identifed the spiritual realities inherent in this public realm, I will suggest

1 Alan Crawford, “The Global Housing Market Is Broken, and It’s Dividing Entire Countries.” in Bloomberg News, September 19, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/features/2021-09-19/global-housing-markets-are-hurting-and-it-s-gettingpolitical

2 IMF, Global House Price Index Data, 2020 Q4. November 2021. Distributed by IMF Data, https://www.imf.org/external/research/housing/data/ GlobalHousePriceIndex.csv

3 OECD (2021), OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2021 Issue 2: Preliminary version, OECD Publishing, Paris. December 1, 2021: 55, https://doi.org/10.1787/66c5ac2cen.

theologically informed solutions to reorient it toward human fourishing.

Who’s Who in the Housing Market Religion

A Forbes journalist wooed, “Doesn’t everyone want to own their own home? That sense of belonging, the feeling that you and your place have somehow adapted to each other.”4 It is this alluring sentiment that I believe has fueled the world’s obsession with housing, as real estate is no longer a practical need but has become a hedonistic desire. Even the notion of the owner and property adapting to one another has pantheistic undertones, as humans are reduced to a piece of furniture to justify the existence of the house. Why is this important to recognize? There is an overwhelming consensus among various observers that the global housing market is fractured. This problem is not new: warnings have been present for decades, failures have been experienced (e.g., the 2008 Financial Crisis), and yet the situation has not changed. What I suggest is there is a deeper force beneath the surface possessing all its stakeholders. Walter Wink comprehends there to be spiritual realities behind everything, and before being addressed they need to be comprehended:

Evil is not just personal, but structural and spiritual. It is not simply the result of human actions, but the consequence of huge systems over which no individual has full control. Only by confronting the spirituality of an institution and its physical manifestations can the total structure be transformed. Any attempt to transform a social

4 Frederick Peters, “The American Dream of Homeownership Is Still Very Much Alive.” in Forbes, April 8, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ fredpeters/2019/04/08/the-american-dream-of-homeownership-is-still-verymuch-alive/?sh=2f80e8103e80.

system without addressing both its spirituality and its outer forms is doomed to failure.5

Thus, I begin by identifying the system and institutions in the market, their outer economic form and their spiritual form: (1) the housing market, (2) banks, (3) brokers and (4) homeowners.

e housing market as god

According to philosopher Emile Durkheim, religions are a social phenomenon, a matrix of inter-social tendencies attempting to provide meaning to gods that afect a society. Deifying a cosmic force which has collective interest for society.6 To a great degree, the housing market is such a force, transcendent over every nation and omnipotent over every economy, a utilitarian complex matrix of competitive relationships that stretches from the Federal Reserve to the local builder. Global property advisory frm, Savills, captures the colossal size of the market:

The value of all the world’s real estate reached $326.5 trillion in 2020 . . . [it is] the world’s most signifcant store of wealth, real estate is more valuable than all global equities and debt securities combined, and almost four times that of global GDP. The value of all gold ever mined pales by comparison at $12.1 trillion, at just 4% the value of global property.7

5 Walter Wink, The Powers That Be – Theology for a New Millennium (New York: Doubleday, 1998), 31.

6 Emile Durkheim, “Religion as a Social Phenomenon” in Philosophy of Religion, Michael Peterson, Williams Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach and David Basinger eds. 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 9.

7 Paul Tostevin, “The Total Value of Global Real Estate” in Savills Market Trends, September 2021. https://www.savills.com/impacts/market-trends/the-totalvalue-of-global-real-estate.html.

It is difcult to comprehend the totality of this behemoth and all of its intricacies. Yet, it is also immanent. Everyone can testify to its existence through their own personal experience, as it permeates our everyday lives, interwoven into daily conversations. We even reside in it, and it is arguably one of the major reasons why people work—to pay of their mortgage. Like a deity, the housing market is revered, wanted, and provides fulflment. Like a deity, it is perceived to never fail and provides shelter for our family. Like a deity, it saves us from the humiliation of being left out, giving us community among other owners. Like a deity, it is given tithes via mortgage repayments. These cultural rhythms have liturgical power that disciple us into a belief system. James Smith explains, these “liturgies work afectively and aesthetically—they grab hold of our guts through the power of image, story, and metaphor.”8 Thus, without even using religious language, these rhythms indoctrinate us with housing creeds, and we are oblivious to it, sucked into its hedonistic belief that everything is done to maximize pleasure even at the exclusion of others. In the process, we advocate for its dominion, since the more property we have and the more it increases in value, the happier we are, thus achieving the purpose of the housing market to ruthlessly dominate culture. What I propose is that society has deifed the housing market.

In contrast, the Triune Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit operate as the three unique persons of God, or hypostases, as evident throughout Scripture. Although there are three hypostases, it is not tritheism, since there is still one God. The early church reconciled this via the concept of homoousias, or one substance, later afrmed at the Council of Nicaea (325). Further, despite being three distinct persons, they share an

8 James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love. (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2016), 46.

interpenetrating communion, or περιχώρησις, conveying their intimate relationship. As Shirley Guthrie describes, “the oneness of God is not the oneness of a distinct, self-contained individual; it is the unity of a community of persons who love each other and live together in harmony,”9 not utilitarian or fueled by competition like the housing market but working together in unity. Further, unlike the housing market, which seeks to dominate the world economy irrespective of the harm it does to others, the Trinity has a unifed agenda, emanating the redemptive economy of salvation (οἰκονομία). There is one outward salvifc plan of one God, yet we recognize the ordered unique work of each of the three distinct God-head persons in the redemption of humanity into the περιχώρησις of the divine embrace of the Trinity.

e bank as savior

Religions have their embodied saviors. For the housing market, I postulate that this is enacted by the banks, who regulate and facilitate credit in the economy. Banks come in two forms: central banks (e.g., the Federal Reserve), and commercial banks (e.g., JP Morgan Chase).

Central banks sit at the apex of a nation’s money supply. They set monetary policy as it pertains to the economy as a whole for the purpose of ensuring its fnancial stability. As such, they are also seen as the lender of last resort, meaning that when there is risk of instability they will help alleviate fnancial collapse (for example, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, which saw the US banking system on the precipice of failure due to a myriad of issues centered on greed). In response the government approved a $700 billion economic stabilization

9 Shirley Guthrie, quoted in Beth Felker Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014), 70.

program,10 portraying the Federal Reserve and specifcally its chairperson at the time, Ben Bernanke, as “the economic redeemer of choice”11 for the Wall Street banks. Yet, this bailout had economic shortcomings, while it appeared redemptive, it simply increased the debt bill for a future generation to solve, whether that be paid back via taxes or issues with infation. In sum, it was limited and temporal.

Commercial banks are the face of the fnancial economy, providing fnancial solutions to the public. For example, while people may desire housing, few have the fnancial means, so they seek out banks for lending to enable their dreams. Thus, banks play the role of savior, aiding the buyer in their time of need. In 2018, the Bank of America released a television commercial where an anonymous man asks, “What would you like the power to do?”12 Against the backdrop of this question, it portrays what appears to be an ordinary, middle-class man, who wakes up, dons his tie, sips his cofee while reading a newspaper, and commutes to work. Personifying a wise sage, he says, “Listening to people answer that question, is how we fnd out what matters most to them,”13 while travelling unnoticed, amid a diverse urban sprawl. Yet, the normality of this image contrasts with who he is, the CEO of Bank of America, an institution with $2.3 trillion assets under management.14 He is positioned as an embodied god-like fgure, omnipotent, yet at the same time Immanuel, humbly walking beside the people

10 US Congress. Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. HR 1424, 110th Cong, Public Law 110-343. https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ343/PLAW110publ343.htm

11 WSJ Opinion, “The False Fed Savior” in Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2010.

12 Bank of America, “Listening to What Matters Most.” Television advertisement. Hill Holliday, 2018.

13 Ibid.

14 Johnson Damian, “America’s 10 Biggest Banks,” MPA Magazine, August 9, 2021. https://www.mpamag.com/us/mortgage-industry/guides/americas-10-biggestbanks/301707

as a shepherd guides their sheep, empowering them to achieve what matters most, akin to an enabling spiritual force, a pneuma. However, what is not stated but implied is the kind of power the banks ofer: money, or, more precisely, debt. Recently, total US household debt grew to the frightening new record of $14.96 trillion.15 Banks like to convey that this equates to gargantuan power; however, it is simply household indebtedness, a greater stress on households. The great unsaid in the commercial is that this power needs to be returned with interest. It is not a free gift. Rather, it is paid back via the liturgical rhythm of making regular mortgage repayments, akin to an ofering made to a deity.

Similarly, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is incarnational amongst the people. However, unlike the CEO, who is only made available to those who pass regulatory checks, have sustainable income levels, and are deemed low risk, Jesus is Immanuel to all. Similarly, while the CEO may attempt to portray himself as a working-class man, in reality he sits in another class of both net worth and power. In contrast, the God-man is the union of two natures in one person. He is both fully divine, with power far greater than the CEO, and fully man, born in a manger to refugees, the son of a carpenter. In His incarnation we see true power embodied, not as defned by Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, but power that is able to “empty Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” Phil. 2:7 (RSV). As Thomas Aquinas states, “Christ’s personhood is as singularly unifed as any one person can be, yet in a profound, mysterious union of humanness and deity.”16 This hypostatic union was necessary to gracefully ofer truly free, grace-flled

15 Federal Bank of NY, Household Debt Report, Q2 2021. https://www.newyorkfed. org/microeconomics/hhdc.

16 Thomas Aquinas quoted in Thomas Oden, Classic Christianity (New York: Harper One, 1992), 302.

salvation to all. “Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could ofer a sacrifce that would take away the sins of the people” Heb. 2:17 (NLT). In contrast, the Federal Reserve and the CEO’s salvifc power is a guise, providing no salvation but rather indebtedness. While it is true that debt enables economic development, it is a temporal and limited resource that is not free but repayable with interest, unlike the salvifc blood of Christ which is eternal and infnite, unable to be earned but given free through grace.

e brokers as intermediating priests

While the banks play a salvifc role, enabling people to buy their properties, it is the brokers who teach and propagate to the lenders rules and standards. Brokers are specifcally instituted by the banks and are intermediaries between them and the prospective borrower, a responsible agent to provide information and guide the home buyer through the process. This can be likened to the way ordained priests act as an intermediary between God and His people, agents of catechesis for converts via doctrine and the issuance of sacraments. Both ofces have trust vested to them via those they guide, whether it be for the right home loan or their personal salvation. Thus, this equates to power, which history teaches us risks malpractice. For brokers, the most prominent example is the 2008 Financial Crisis, where broker fraud was one of the leading causes of this collapse, estimated to cause $137 billion in fraud related settlements against the banks.17 Similarly, in church history there are instances where the ecclesial ofce took advantage of the laity for fnancial gain. For example, Martin Luther’s

17 John Grifen, “Ten Years of Evidence: Was Fraud a Force in the Financial Crisis?” in American Economic Association, July 29, 2020. https://www.aeaweb.org/content/ fle?id=13538, 13.

infamous nailing of the 95 theses at Wittenberg castle in 1517 was against the corrupt practice of simony, and the selling of indulgences. In both examples, malpractice was clear; however, it is also evident that the peoples who were victims of their crimes were overly credulous, and, some would say lacking reason.

In his sermon, The Case of Reason Impartially Considered, John Wesley addresses the issue over being overly credulous, referring to the circumstances where people were not using reason to discern the things they hear, noting that humanity is ultimately fallible. For example, he condemns those who blindly follow the views of the Antinomians, who believed in a hyper grace and did not follow moral guidelines. Instead, he champions reason as a gift from God:

Reason is much the same with understanding. It means a faculty of the human soul; that faculty which exerts itself in three ways;—by simple apprehension, by judgement, and by discourse . . . the faculty of the soul which includes these three operations I here mean by the term reason.18

This reminder to leverage one’s reason is urgent today, as people are overly accepting of charismatic pastors, appealing mortgage brokers, charming politicians, attractive social media, or alarmist news without using reason to discern their claims. Ultimately, we need to recognize that we are fallible, thus desperately needing the Holy Spirit and the community of believers.

18 John Wesley, “Sermon LXX. The Case of Reason Impartially Considered” in The Works of John Wesley 3rd ed. Vol. VI (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984), 353.

e home buyers as worshippers

Consider the fabled American saying attributed to Mark Twain: “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore,”19 or the proclamation from Wall Street billionaire John Paulson, “If you don’t own a home, buy one, if you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”20 Whether it is through folklore or the modern day success story, the gospel of owning a home has relentlessly been preached into the DNA of Americans. US historian Jim Cullen observes, “‘The American Dream of owning a home’ . . . No American Dream has broader appeal, and no American Dream has been quite so widely realized.”21 Yet it is not simply a dream, but a rite of passage, a “‘stake in society’ expected of fully-fedged members in many American communities.”22 However, it would be naïve to think this is only an American dream. The deifcation of housing has transcended national lines. In Australia, a poll conducted by Australian National University found more than three quarters of Australians view home ownership as part of the “Australian way of life.”23 In China, which has the biggest property market in the world, home ownership is “China’s ultimate symbol of

19 Mark Twain quoted in Forbes India “Thoughts on Real Estate” in Forbes, March 29, 2018. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/thoughts/thoughts-on-realestate/49823/1

20 John Paulson quoted in Josh Helmin, “Urgent Advice From Billionaire John Paulson: ‘Buy A House and Gold’” in Forbes, September 29, 2010. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshhelmin/2010/09/29/urgent-advice-frombillionaire-john-paulson-buy-a-house-and-gold-plus-rupert-murdochs-paycut/?sh=4504cc66f183

21 Jim Cullen, The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 136.

22 William M. Rohe, and Harry L. Watson, Chasing the American Dream: New Perspectives on Afordable Homeownership (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007), Preface vii.

23 Australian National University quoted in Ros Bluett, “Australia’s Home Ownership Obsession: A brief History of How It Came to Be” in ABC News,

success, the mark of adulthood, readiness for a family, and ownership of one’s fnancial destiny.”24 In Japan, housing is a rite of passage into middle-class society.25 To some extent, attaining housing functions as a sacrament for the developed world, akin to baptism into its community. Teasing this out further, frst -time home buyers seek to be baptized into it, investors seek to be sanctifed by it, and retirees seek to be glorifed through it. The property is sought for more than simply a home, income, or capital. Rather, it carries an ontological weight, akin to a religious belief. Its adherents implicitly worship the housing deity, as property gives them status, identity, entraps them in debt, lulls them to desire more, and thus orders their daily rhythms.

Similarly, as followers of the Triune God, our faith is a way of life, guiding our daily rhythms and commissioning us to fulfll the commission of Christ. However, unlike the worshippers of the housing deity, we are not followers of a nationalistic ideal, material success or a promise of fnancial destiny. Nor do we seek to be accepted into secular societies and subcultures. Instead, our faith calls us out to be part of His body of believers, the ἐκκλησία, to be discipled, worship, and give witness to God’s Kingdom, not for self-indulgent ideals, but for self-denying ideals.

August 23, 2017. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-23/why-australians-areobsessed-with-owning-property/8830976

24 Peggy Sito and Pearl Liu, “China Property: How the World’s Biggest Housing Market Emerged” in South China Morning Post, November 26, 2018. https://www. scmp.com/business/article/2174886/american-dream-home-ownership-quicklyswept-through-china-was-it-too-much

25 Ann Waswo, Housing in Postwar Japan – A Social History. (New York: Routledge, 2002), 92.

Doctrines of the housing market

Beyond its outer form, we have seen how the housing market exhibits a spiritual form and order that society has promoted to the privileged position of governing their whole reason for being. Charles Taylor would call this a “social imaginary,”26 brought to life via daily rituals and thus replacing any need for a transcendent God. Thus, all parties in this ecosystem adopt the marks of the housing deity: dominant, selfindulgent, competitive, and irrational. As Walter Wink states,

The world is, to a degree at least, the way we imagine it. When we think it to be godless and soulless, it becomes for us precisely that. And we ourselves are then made over into the image of godless and soulless selves. If we want to be made over into the image of God—to become what God created us to be—then we need to purge our souls of materialism and of other worldviews that block us from realizing the life God so eagerly wants us to have.27

Thus, before we ascertain how the church can redeem the housing market, we need to identify the worldviews that are blocking it. There are three which I believe are clogging society, the doctrines of (1) Bigger is better, (2) To get rich is glorious, and (3) Keeping up with the Joneses.

Bigger is better!

Symbolic of our culture’s housing obsession is the McMansion, an excessively big, opulent, and mass-produced mansion. In a play on words, it merges the themes of excess and low-quality associated with McDonalds fast food with the

26 Charles Taylor, Modern Social Imaginaries (Durham: Duke University Press, 2004), 23.

27 Walter Wink, The Powers That Be – Theology for a New Millennium, 14.

luxury of a mansion. Why this oxymoron? This is due to the doctrine of bigger is better and our obsession with big land and big property.

The concept of owning land and property is not foreign to Scripture. In fact, it features prominently in Israel’s history and is fundamental to the covenant God had with Abraham: “Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land’” Gen. 12:7 (RSV). This plays out with Israel inhabiting the promised land and establishing land use regulations and property rights. What is important to appreciate about this story is that Israel initially had no property. Yet, it was the God who declared that “the earth is mine” Ex. 19:5 (RSV), and who promised and gave it to them. God enjoys giving. Yet as this story plays out, Israel’s sin led to landlessness due to their disobedience. One particular sin was the coveting of land, a clear breach of the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet (ḥāmaḏ) your neighbor’s house” Ex. 20:17 (RSV). We fnd illustrations of this in Isa. 5:8 (RSV): “Woe to those who join house to house, who add feld to feld,” as the prophet condemned the wealthy leaders who were wresting property from the poor. Similarly, in Mic. 2:2 (RSV), the prophet decries, “They covet felds, and seize them; and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.” In both situations, we witness the powerful aristocrats coveting the assets of the weak for their own gain, thus breaching the tenth commandment. Note, coveting itself is not a sin. For example, Isa. 53:2 refers to coveting (ḥāmaḏ) the Messiah, or in Ps. 19:10 we are told to covet (ḥāmaḏ) the law of the Lord more than gold or honey. Rather, what God repulses is the coveting from others. Thus, in this context Walter Brueggemann suggests it corresponds directly to the sin of idolatry: “You shall have no other gods before me,” since the coveter desires the

“dignity and worth of neighbor.”

28 In sum, it is a monopolizing of self at the expense of others, as per Augustine’s expression, incurvatas in se, “a heart curved in on itself.”

The Old Testament examples of covetousness pursued by the economically powerful, are comparable to contemporary circumstances. In fact, it has gotten smarter, disguising itself in the doctrine of bigger is better! Today, one of the signifcant factors driving up housing values are hedge fund managers and real estate investment trusts (REIT’s) chasing bigger investment yields to meet the better returns expected by their wealthy clientele. Joe Burns, a US real estate consultant interviewed by the Wall Street Journal states, “You now have permanent capital competing with a young couple trying to buy a house, that’s going to make US housing permanently more expensive.”29 In other words, the powerful frms are coveting the assets of the weak for their own gain. On a smaller scale, we see this being played out with mum and dad investors, who are using their greater borrowing power and existing equity in their housing portfolios to price out frst-time home buyers, or, worst still, people in low-socioeconomic areas. The barrier to entry for home ownership is so high that it is pricing out a generation. Why are mum and dad investors purchasing more property? Quite simply, a bigger property investment portfolio is better, a bigger return is better, a bigger retirement is better. However, both these examples demonstrate that improper coveting always has a negative efect on society at-large and is not simply a privatized matter. As Douglas Smart states, “People able to curtail their wishing, so that it is limited to things they should

28 Walter Brueggemann, The Land, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 143–144.

29 Joe Burns quoted in Ryan Dezember, “If You Sell a House These Days, the Buyer Might Be a Pension Fund” in The Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2021. https://www. wsj.com/articles/if-you-sell-a-house-these-days-the-buyer-might-be-a-pensionfund-11617544801

desire, are people who contribute good to a society; those who want what they cannot properly have undermine a society’s moral fber.”30 Thus, proponents of this doctrine must subscribe to a self-centered utilitarian ideal that is willing to see their own material beneft come at the expense of others, even if it may not be apparent.

To get rich is glorious!

We are entering the Asian Century, driven by the extraordinary ascension of China, from a lowly state to an economic superpower. In 1978, its GDP was the size of Italy, while today it is on the brink of becoming the world’s largest economy.31 How did this occur? Commentators attribute a major part of this to Deng Xiaoping, the former leader, who initiated its economic reform during the 1980s, fueled by the infamous Chinese slogan, “to get rich is glorious!” Still channeling the force of this phrase, China has dominated the modern housing market.

The Hebrew word for wealth is ōšer and conveys an aspect of general abundance. Throughout the Old Testament the term is used positively to denote God giving wealth to certain people in various forms. For instance, “Every man also to whom God has given wealth (ōšer) and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and fnd enjoyment in his toil - this is the gift of God” Ecc. 5:19 (RSV). Is this compatible with Deng’s slogan, “to get rich is glorious”? It could if one approaches it with a naïve eisegesis, imparting our current bastardized concept of

30 Douglas Smart, Exodus: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scriptures. (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2006), Ch. 6.I.

31 Tony Walker, “‘To Get Rich is Glorious’: How Deng Xiaoping Set China on a Path to Rule the World” in The Conversation, July 9, 2021. https://theconversation. com/to-get-rich-is-glorious-how-deng-xiaoping-set-china-on-a-path-to-rulethe-world-156836.

wealth into the text. Therefore, to understand Ecclesiastes we need to appreciate its context. Recall, it was written by Solomon who possessed incomparable ōšer after God had granted it to him without prompting, following Solomon’s request for an understanding and obedient heart so he could discern between good and evil (1 Ki. 3:9-13). It infers that wealth that is regulated by this understanding of wisdom and orientated toward goodness was appropriated in God’s economy. Secondly, specifc to Ecc. 5:19, we cannot ignore the verse preceding it: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be ftting is to eat and drink and fnd enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot.” The key force of this verse is captured in Solomon’s revelation, “Behold, what I have seen.” What did he see? Up to this point in the book, Solomon had been attempting to place a framework around his understanding of life and the world. Yet he had come to no conclusion, only recognizing that humanity is fallen, limited, and full of problems. But God had gifted him the lens by which he should view all of this: the fear of God. As James

Bollhagen

states,

The fear of God is this: Once a person is overwhelmed by life’s difculties and by his own total depravity and incapability, he is dashed to the ground, completely helpless and hopeless. Then and only then can he turn to the one last alternative: the triune God, the Maker of heaven and earth, who would also send his Son to redeem sinful humanity and his Spirit to sanctify and lead his redeemed people.32

Only by recognizing humanity’s limitations and placing our entire reliance on God can we then appreciate Ecc. 5:19. It is not a text about getting wealthy. Instead, it is a text about

32 James Bollhagen, Ecclesiastes (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2011), 209.

glorifying God in what has been given to us with humble hearts that fear Him. In contrast, “to get rich is glorious,” is a hedonistic goal that is unattainable, since to get rich is subjective. According to a 2019 Credit Suisse report, “China was home to more members of the global top 10% than the US for the frst time in history,”33 with property being one of the top three sectors that the ultra-wealthy participated in. However, for the same period China ranks low on the UN Happiness Index, even below war-torn Libya.34 If even quantitative economic measures on happiness do not justify riches, why do so many continue to subscribe to the doctrine of “to get rich is glorious”?

Keeping up with the Joneses

When I was an executive leading a $300 billion home lending division for a bank, we segmented our customers into four groups: (1) First-time home buyers, (2) refnancers, (3) upgraders, and (4) downsizers. Out of these segments, upgraders were the most proftable, and double the volume of frst-time home buyers. What are upgraders? They are property owners that have a house yet desire a bigger and better home, due to practical reasons (e.g., a growing family), or for materialistic reasons, which the maxim “keeping up with the Joneses” conveys. This phrase can be defned as the social pressure one experiences to have a home that keeps up with their peers. If my peers buy a better home, I need one too. This creates a never-ending cycle of comparison to maintain social credibility. Recently, the pandemic has stimulated this segment, as upgraders desire a better house after having time to stare

33 Taylor Rogers, “For the First Time Ever, There Are More Ultra-Wealthy People in China Than the US” in Business Insider, October 22, 2019. https:// www.businessinsider.com/more-rich-people-in-china-than-america-wealthgap-2019-10

34 Chaguan, “Why so Glum, China?” in The Economist, February 16, 2019. https:// www.economist.com/china/2019/02/16/why-so-glum-china

at their own during lockdown and comparing it to their peers. This doctrine is not limited to home buyers either. It manifests among corporations, governments and even churches. This doctrine transcends all nations and cultures.

In contrast, Paul instructs us not to seek social credibility from others but credibility from God: “Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ” Gal 1:10 (RSV). At the root of comparison is a misguided sense of afrmation required from others, driven by our own insecurities and fear of being out of touch. On the opposite side of the comparison to “keep up with the Joneses,” is the sense of boastfulness from those who are the Joneses. This group sources their identity from their own feeting position until they are ultimately overtaken. French Reformer Wolfgang Musculus states, “What should be concluded about those who hypocritically pretend to have certain things to ingratiate themselves in the estimation of others?”35 Ultimately this doctrine can never be achieved. It provides a false sense of security, wrongly believing that you can purchase your way to gratifcation, not realizing that true gratifcation is only in God.

Reorienting the Housing Market Towards Human Flourishing

In a bid to address the US housing dilemma, recently Congress passed a $170 billion plan to inject into the nation’s housing needs as part of the Biden administration’s Build Back

35 Wolfgang Musculus quoted in Reformation Commentary on Scripture. New Testament IXa – 1 Corinthians, Scott M. Manetsch ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017), 75.

Better agenda.36 Its goal is to facilitate economic fourishing via mechanistic tools and impersonal policies. While I acknowledge their eforts, they are merely cosmetic, “lipstick on a pig,” that addresses the outer form of the housing market rather than its inner forms.

As I have proposed, we are dealing with a spiritual force, the deifcation of the housing market. At all levels within this ecosystem, institutions have adopted religious roles that have entrenched this deity, possessed by forces that are counterto the Christian claim. Further, the housing deity’s doctrines, whilst guised in alluring phrases, are centered on covetousness, wealth and comparison. In sum, it is self-centered hedonistic utilitarianism. As Miroslav Volf warns,

When we place pleasure at the center of the good life, when we decouple it from the love of God, the ultimate source of meaning, and when we sever if from love of neighbor and hope for a common future, we are left . . . ‘with no way of organization desire into a structure of meaning.’37

Admittedly, the church has been apathetic on this issue, However, it is essential that it recognize its call to engage this public issue, to reorient the housing market from selffourishing to human fourishing manifesting Matt. 22:37–38 (RSV): “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . love your neighbor as yourself.” I propose three contributions from the church; (1) harness the saints in the housing market, (2) establish counter-

36 House Committee on the Budget, “The Build Back Better Act: Transformative Investments in America’s Families & Economy” in House Committee on the Budget, November 5, 2021. https://budget.house.gov/publications/report/build-backbetter-act-transformative-investments-america-s-families-economy

37 Miroslav Volf, A Public Faith (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2011), 62.

cultural liturgical rhythms, (3) and embody holiness in the housing ecosystem.

Harness the saints in the marketplace

Firstly, our study has demonstrated that the housing market is deifed, with institutions adopting religious forms that are given life by liturgical rhythms. Essentially, these institutions are organized collectives of people—a basic unit of society, orientated around a shared goal—to grow the market for hedonistic utilitarian purposes. Thus, while governments attempt to change institutions as entities, the church can afect institutional change via the saints within it.

How does the church do this? Like housing market institutions, the church too is an organized collective of people, orientated around a collective goal—to seek human fourishing through the love of God. Yet today, much of the church does not harness the potential of those who gather, and thus does not empower them to scatter. Further, I would contend that the local church is a refection of their local context. Thus in an urban setting it is likely that the gathered would be informed in the housing market. Therefore, why does the church not harness the saints in these public realms to engage this issue from within? Greg Okesson states, “Witness is always to persons and their public, through the habitus of the entire local congregation and for the fourishing of all things under the reign of Christ.”38 Thus, the church can reorient the housing market through the saints whom God has already positioned in this ecosystem.

38 Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 256.

38 | Robin Lim

Establish counter-cultural liturgical rhythms

To prepare the saints in the marketplace, it is vital to provide them with counter-cultural rhythms that reorient away from the housing market liturgies which give it life. As we have studied, these rhythms have liturgical power, and if not countered they can sterilize the saints who are exposed to it with no alternative. Thus, the church should develop alternative liturgies to catechize the saints who are positioned in these public realms and reorienting the institutions through them. Furthermore, the liturgies should specifcally defend against the doctrinal beliefs inherent in cultural maxims. For example, earlier we analyzed the slogan “bigger is better,” and identifed that it promotes the sin of covetousness against others. Thus, the liturgies should be shaped to repeatedly expose this deceit. Additionally, it should be ofensive to the hedonistic culture by amplifying the “restorative work of culture-making needs . . . primed by those liturgical traditions that orient our imagination to kingdom come.”39 The liturgies provide a blueprint of kingdom fourishing that is manifest via the sanctifcation of one’s heart via its formative power. Finally, to maximize the power of these liturgies, they need to be practiced communally among the gathered believers, reinforced via the edifcation and accountability of others.

Embody holiness in the housing ecosystem

The church must embody a posture that both models and enacts holiness in the public realm of the housing market. Brueggemann states, “The theological problem in the church is that our gospel is a story believed, shaped, and transmitted by the dispossessed; and we are now a church of possessions.”40

39 James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love, 181.

40 Walter Brueggemann, The Land. 2nd ed., 206.

I am not advocating for those with houses to immediately sell their assets; such a plan is overly simplistic. However, it does call for an embodiment of Solomon’s request, for understanding and an obedient heart to discern between good and evil. It is a call to solidarity with the dispossessed, through the curtailing of our own needs and the advocating of theirs. It is a call to selfdenial rather than self-indulgence. It is a call to seek favor with God rather than to seek the complements of others. It is a call for human fourishing rather than self-fourishing. It is a call to be the house of God, rather than seek gods in houses.

Conclusion

The world’s obsession with housing has transformed it into an all-consuming deity that has deceptively swayed industry participants to be part of its religious system. Its alluring ideology, disguised as cultural maxims have indoctrinated society into its beliefs. Through the resources of public theology, I have exposed these spiritual realities. Yet governments and institutions continue to persist with secular, mechanistic, and economically driven solutions. More lamentably, the church has been widely silent, complicit in its activity. Therefore, it is paramount for the church to reengage this public issue, reclaiming its identity as God’s redemptive people in all spheres of society pursuing human fourishing. Further, it is a demonstration once more of how theology is necessary beyond the private confnes of academic hallways and church pulpits, because it carries a Spirit-flled potency to inform, correct, and reorient the complex public issues of today.

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Wesley, John. “Sermon LXX. The Case of Reason Impartially Considered” in The Works of John Wesley 3rd ed. Vol. VI. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984.

Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be – Theology for a New Millennium. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

WSJ Opinion, “The False Fed Savior” in Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2010. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1000142 4052748704388504575419231591024478

Public Missiology in Post-Christian Czech Society

Myra Watkins Abstract

In the Czech Republic, considered one of the most secular nations in the world, many churches today struggle with how to witness to an increasingly post-Christian society. As the Christian population continues to rapidly decline, Czechs increasingly show interest in supernatural phenomena and spirituality. I explore how Czech national identity formed in opposition to Christianity, public perceptions of the evangelical church, and the mission of Czech evangelical churches.1 In dialogue with former dissident and Czech President Vaclav Havel’s concept of living within the truth, I argue for a Czech public missiology wherein local congregations are a sign and agent of God’s mission existing in and for the fourishing of Czech society. Finally, I present public witness through a Czech congregation, Mozaika.

Myra Watkins has served for decades as a church planter, teacher, and regional representative with Every Nation in Central and Eastern Europe, most recently in Prague, Czech Republic. Soon after the Soviet Union ended, she moved to L’viv, Ukraine with her husband, Michael, to plant a church. Living among Ukrainians through a tumultuous period of tremendous spiritual openness and acute social needs shaped her perspective on life and missions. She is a Ph.D. student in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. Her articles and research interests include public missiology in the European context and the interchange between theology, the church, and society.

1 I am deeply grateful for and indebted to the research of European missiologists and theologians Pavol Bargár, Pavel Černý, Pavel Hošek, Ann-Marie Kool, Peter Kuzmic, and Ivana Noble.

The Czech Republic is considered one of the most atheist, and secular nations in the world.2 Yet if you walked through the center of any city in the country, from Brno to Prague to Liberec, you would see vestiges of a once-living Christian faith. In Prague, tourists meander through towering, ornate cathedrals juxtaposed by Tao tea rooms, shops ofering yoga and astrology, and the occasional neo-pagan festival in squares once flled with people giving homage to monuments of heroes of the Christian faith.

Roughly two-thirds of Czechs say they do not believe in God.3 Since the Czech Republic stands out as an anomaly, an island of irreligion in an archipelago of mostly religious nations, this has captured the attention of Czech sociologists and the emerging feld of Czech missiology. As Pavel Hošek points out, Czechs are not particularly orthodox in their atheism. While Nietzsche foretold God’s death in society, “God is back” or “the gods are back” aptly describes the current situation.4 Czech theologian Ivana Noble says her culture longs to understand the deep sources from which it renews its life yet is hesitant to name them.5

2 In 2017, around seventy-two percent of Czechs described their religion as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.” The Christian population continues to be in decline. “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe,” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, May 10, 2017.

3 “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe,” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, May 10, 2017.

4 Pavel Černý, “Mission in the Czech Republic: A Search for a Relevant Mission

Theology in a Post-Secular Environment,” eds. Corneliu Constantineanu, Marcel V. Măcelaru, Anne-Marie Kool, and Mihai Himcinschi, Mission in Central and Eastern Europe: Realities, Perspectives, Trends (Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series, Volume 4, 2016), 604.

5 Ivana Noble, Theological Interpretation of Culture in Post-Communist Context: Central and East European Search for Roots (Surry, England, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010), 1.

In his poem “Underground Sources,” Czech poet and musician Jaromir Nohavica expresses this longing:6

I walk, I ramble like a silent river

Among all the people. Looking to the ground, trying to understand What awaits me when I lie in the earth.

Underground sources, Unknown streams.

Words are signs Whose meaning we don’t know. We search for roots, Knowing nothing of them. We ramble upon the earth Under the earth we ramble, Hopelessly, yet still we do.

Which one of my loves Managed to break me

And who will hold me now?

Who will again ofer me an arm?

I look into a shop window, Seeing my own outline, Glassy and dull.

I am neither good nor bad, I am both good and bad.

Like Nohavica, many Czechs search for meaning yet are averse to fnding it in religious traditions long associated with

6 Nohavica, Jaromir, “Strange Century: Underground Sources,” Monitor, 1996.

foreign domination and abusive power.7 According to James Payton, religion negatively shaped Czech self-understanding. Derek Sayer calls Bohemia (a region of the Czech Republic) “barren territory for grand narratives.”8 As the nation was caught between opposing political and cultural wars, whether Catholic and Protestant, capitalist and Communist, or democratic and totalitarian, the nation “slipped into a narrative no-man’sland.” People have increasingly spurned institutional religion, fnding it distasteful, and sought other sources for meaning and spirituality. At the same time, Czechs tend to be illiterate concerning the actual Christian ideas they reject.9 Pavel Černý describes the current missional situation as closer to the frst century than four or fve decades ago, as “polytheism, a myriad of mystery cults and various forms of old and new religions” are on the rise.10

Although Czech national identity is seemingly secular in the sense that religion is mostly absent from public life, contested national values are sometimes rich in theological meaning.11 Noble says we need to allow the symbolic religious traditions and the search expressed in contemporary culture to be nourished in diferent ways by our common roots.12 Zdenek Nešpor says Czechs occasionally identify these common roots

7 Ines Angeli Murzaku, ed., Quo vadis eastern Europe? Religion, state and society after communism (Ravenna, 2009), 57.

8 Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998), 15.

9 “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe,” May 10, 2017, 83.

10 Cerny, “Mission in the Czech Republic,” 608.

11 Secularization, derived from saeculum in Latin, means “human age” or “century,” but it also refers to the temporal world. The Reformation and the Enlightenment contributed to secularization along with modern science and the religious wars in Europe during the seventeenth century. In the former Communist bloc, secularization was forced by Marxist-Leninist ideology and the totalitarian regime.

12 Noble, “Theological Interpretation of Culture in Post-Communist Context,” 7.

with “structures of the fragmentary Christian memory tucked in (their) social consciousness.”13

Dissident-turned-president Vaclav Havel’s notion of “living within the truth,” prominent in Czech national discourse, expresses concepts that can be nourished by Christian theology and thus inform the mission of the Church in society.14 Czech Pastor Jakub Limr said the phrase “truth lovers,” referring to Havel’s slogan “truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred,” has become a derogatory term.15 Since the slogan has been used to promote seemingly opposite and often idealistic values, it has lost the meaning Havel intended.

In theological dialogue with Havel’s concept of living within the truth, I argue for a Czech public missiology wherein local congregations are a sign and agent of God’s mission existing in and for the fourishing of Czech society. First, I will explore Czech national identity in relation to Christianity and public perceptions of the evangelical church. Second, I will engage Havel’s concept of living within the truth with Gregg Okesson’s public missiology. Finally, I will present public missiology as a way for Czech evangelical churches to engage in public witness through the example of a Czech congregation, Mozaika.

Czech National Identity vis-à-vis Christianity

Before examining the public witness of the Church, it’s important to understand how Czech national identity formed in relation to Christianity, how the public perceives the Church,

13 Cerny, “Mission in the Czech Republic,” 608.

14 Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless (Vintage Classics, 2018), 62.

15 Jakub Limr in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic interviewed by author, November 6, 2021.

particularly the evangelical church, and how Czech evangelicals understand public witness.

Czech National Identity

Established in 1993, the Czech Republic, along with Slovakia, is a successor nation of Czechoslovakia. After four decades living under the shadow of an atheist, Communist regime, Slovakia is strongly Catholic, but the Czech Republic is more irreligious than any country in Europe, with the exception of Eastern Germany. Andrew Greeley points out that although the two nations have a common language, similar history, and equal historical reasons to dislike the Hapsburgs, the Czech Republic alone defnes itself apart from its Christian past.16 The diference between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, according to Paul Froese, is that Czech nationalism developed in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.17

Benedict Anderson explains that the notion of nationalism appeared in Europe around the end of the eighteenth century when, for various reasons, religious certainties began to erode.18 He proposes that nationalism has to be understood in reference to both the religious community and the dynastic realm out of which and, certainly in the case of Czech nationalism, against which it came into being.19 During the seventeenth century, when Bohemian nobles were forced to choose between their Protestant faith or their homeland, they chose their faith.

16 Andrew M. Greeley, Religion in Europe at the End of the Second Millenium: A Sociological Profle (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2004), 130.

17 Paul Froese, “Secular Czechs and Devout Slovaks: Explaining Religious Diferences,” Review of Religious Research, Vol. 46, no. 3, 2005, 280–81.

18 Anderson defnes nation as an imagined political community. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Refections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Revised edition (London: Verso, 2016), 5.

19 Anderson, 12.

The ensuing war and forced re-Catholicization crippled the economy and decimated the Protestant churches. Eventually, according to Sayer, Viennese hegemony “produced something little short of cultural genocide.”20 Sayer points out,

All those resplendent baroque palaces, churches, and burgher mansions that do so much to defne Prague as “the magical metropolis of old Europe” are testaments to the destruction of the Hussite and Protestant Bohemia on whose ruins they were erected; and a goodly proportion of them were designed by foreigners rather than Czechs.21

Although apathy towards the Christian religion is common today, the recurring pain caused by oppressive foreign powers linked with Christianity lies deep in the memory of Czech society. During the twentieth century, Karl Marx’s way of reinvesting the secular realm with a sense of the sacred was forced on the Czech people. Marx empathized with the plight of those who were oppressed by religion and redefned the sacred as “a radical commitment to liberation without reference to a divine Redeemer.”22 Marxist ideology did not take root in Czech society, but the sense that one can be liberated without a divine Redeemer has taken hold.

After the 1989 “Velvet Revolution” that caused the implosion of the Communist regime in the Czech Republic, churches enjoyed a temporary infux of people due to newfound freedoms and a more positive view of the Church since many pastors and priests sufered for their opposition to the Communist regime. Many pastors and churches were involved in the dissident community with Havel that stood

20 Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia, 50.

21 Ibid., 50.

22 Ovidiu Dorin Druhora, “Secularization, Ecumenism and Christian Witness in Europe,” Mission in Central and Eastern Europe, 100.

Myra Watkins

up for freedom and human rights in the face of persecution. However, long-term political disputes over the restitution of property to the Catholic Church hurt the credibility of Czech churches. Today, the public generally perceives the Catholic Church as a greedy institution.23

According to Černý, Czechs deeply distrust institutions, especially the churches. Elaborating on this, Černý says people expect the church to be humble and ready to serve, modest and self-sacrifcing, but Czech society’s broader suspicion that institutions only pursue self-interests in the form of power and wealth impacts public perceptions of the church as well. Today, most Czechs have negative attitudes towards the church and say they don’t believe in God but are inclined toward various forms of religiosity and spirituality.24 According to the 2011 Czech census, 750,000 people said they consider themselves believers but refuse to associate with any church, making them the second-largest religious group in the country.25

Nespor discovered that belief in supernatural phenomena is not uncommon, even among atheists. Around a ffth of atheists say they believe in fortune tellers, faith healers with “God-given healing powers,” and horoscopes.26 In today’s secular societies, especially in Europe, Charles Taylor says people are not content with institutional religion or exclusive humanism, so they feel cross-pressured. The search for a third way between the two has “set in train a dynamic, something

23 Nate Anderson and Leah Seppanen Anderson, “Under Construction: How Eastern Europe’s Evangelicals Are Restoring the Church’s Vitality,” Christianity Today 49, no. 10, Oct. 2005, 72–77.

24 Černý, “Mission in the Czech Republic,” 605.

25 Ibid., 608.

26 Olga Nesporova and Zdenek R. Nespor. “Religion: An Unsolved Problem for the Modern Czech Nation.” Sociologický Časopis /Czech Sociological Review 45, no. 6 (2009), 1223–1234.

like a nova efect, spawning an ever-widening variety of moral/ spiritual options, across the span of the thinkable and perhaps even beyond.”27 In this search for a third way, Taylor points out that conversions to transcendence and Christianity can occur. Taylor’s nova efect that spawns a widening array of moral and spiritual options seems to accurately describe Czech society, but conversions to Christianity are unlikely to occur within the doors of churches. With high mistrust of the Church, people are simply not going there.

Public Perceptions of the Evangelical Church

While mainstream churches in the Czech Republic are rapidly declining, evangelical denominations, including Pentecostals, are growing.28 Černý points out that Pietistic, Charismatic, Pentecostal, and some Catholic churches seem to succeed in satisfying the hunger in contemporary Czech society for religious experience.29 While this may be a reason for their growth, the question remains regarding how spiritual seekers end up inside these churches.30 Therefore, I will explore public perceptions of the evangelical church and evangelical perspectives on public witness to spark engagement over the mission of the church and vibrant public witness.31

In the Czech Republic, the secular public is the audience and the potential consumer of what churches and

27 Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007), 299.

28 The Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches includes Roman-Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals.

29 Černý, “Mission in Mission in the Czech Republic,” 609.

30 Roman Catholic, Czech Brethren Protestant, and the Hussite Church have lost seventy-fve percent of their adherents over the last twenty years.

31 Pavel Hošek, “Perceptions of the Evangelical Movement in the Post-Communist Czech Republic,” Evangelical Review of Theology, Vol. 38, no. 1, Jan. 2014, 28.

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denominations ofer, so their perceptions of the church matter. Hošek provides insight into public perceptions of the evangelical movement since the Velvet Revolution, noting that public opinion was predominantly negative at frst but has improved during the years leading up to 2014. Even though evangelical churches have enjoyed equal freedoms with other churches since 1989, secular media and infuential fgures from mainstream denominations have painted them in a negative light as “fundamentalist, primitive, and aggressive.”32 The Czech evangelical movement does not represent a signifcant cultural or political force as it does in some parts of the world, so the prejudice and amount of criticism leveled against its “pathologies” have been disproportionate in Hošek’s view.33 At the same time, the accusations have not been entirely unwarranted.

Hošek presents several reasons for suspicion of the Czech evangelical movement. First, many evangelical churches and denominations were formed in protest against the spiritual condition in established churches, which caused hurt and resentment among the established mainstream churches. Second, evangelical approaches to sharing the gospel have often been direct, simplistic, and “sometimes betrayed a serious lack of experience.”34 Third, divisions and problems within the movement became public. Fourth, numerous cases of foreign evangelistic crusades organized by evangelical missionaries with little understanding of the complexities of Czech postCommunist culture contributed to negative public opinion.35

32 Ibid., 26–37

33 Ibid., 26–37

34 Ibid., 24.

35 Ibid., 26.

Noble points out that some of the Pentecostal preachers and healers from America and Germany proclaimed a type of conversion where one aspect of life was taken out of context with the others, and where loving one’s neighbor was conditioned by the neighbor’s faith. They contributed to the negative image of the churches and of Christianity in Central and East Europe. When people failed to fnd a new wholeness and meaning in their lives that outlasted the ecstatic experiences of the mass evangelizations, they felt that their openness to religion was a mistake. When they realized that healing or conversion did not come in the ways they were promised, their conclusions served to strengthen the old cultural prejudice that all Christianity is at best a naïve superstition.36

In her perception, the missionaries made false promises and failed to disciple people concerning a holistic perspective of life that would outlast ecstatic experiences. Finally, Czech evangelicals were negatively afected by foreign stereotypes and caricatures of evangelicals, such as the Christian Right in America.

Evangelical Views on the Mission of the Church

Tomaš Halik says the church’s future depends on its ability to communicate with seekers.37 While the trend toward irreligion may not rapidly turn around, the number of “seekers” or “those who are attracted by various kinds of new spiritual options such as westernized versions of Eastern religions or esoteric spirituality” is increasing in the Czech Republic.

36 Noble, Theological Interpretation of Culture in Post-Communist Context, 166.

37 Pavol Bargár, “Learning about Spirituality Together with ‘Seekers’: Reading Together towards Life in the Czech Postsecular Context,” International Review of Mission, Vol.108, no. 2, Nov. 2019, 326–36.

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Given this environment, the Czech Republic is a signifcant mission feld calling for new ways of thinking about mission and fresh ways for missionaries and indigenous churches to reach out to spiritual seekers and the broader secular public. In recent years, new ways of thinking have started to enter the scene as Czech sociologists have been researching the unsolved problem of religion in their nation, and missiology emerged as a new feld of study in 2004.

Hošek says the tide of public opinion towards evangelicals appears to be changing as Czech evangelicals have started to “think theologically about their ‘secular’ jobs . . . and emphasize broader responsibilities of the church for social, cultural and political conditions of the post-Communist Czech society.”38 Moving forward, he sees the need for Czech evangelicals to develop a theological understanding of Czech culture along with a missiology designed for the contemporary secular context.

Jiri Unger, head of the Czech Evangelical Alliance, says in the aftermath of decades of Communist oppression, the church had turned inward and was incapable of receiving an infux of new Christians:

We were a ghetto that had to preserve Christianity, but we lost a vision for society, how to equip Christians outside the congregation or its meetings. A major goal is to enlarge the vision of the church, because the church is still suspicious of everything public.39

Some evangelical churches are taking more of a public turn seeking to embrace a missiology designed for the contemporary

38 Hošek, 31–32.

39 Anderson and Anderson, “Under Construction,” 75.

Czech context.40 Although the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the oldest evangelical church in the Czech Republic, aspires to engage culture missionally, they tend not to do so. Research regarding the mission of Pentecostal (Apostolic) and Charismatic branches of the evangelical movement seems to be lacking.41

However, Černý points out that the Pentecostal focus on religious experience is relevant in contemporary culture and complements traditional Protestant emphases on rational aspects of Christianity.42 Since Hošek proposes a missiology designed for the contemporary Czech secular context, I will bring a particular view of missiology, Okesson’s public missiology, in dialogue with Havel’s concept of living within the truth.

I argue for a public missiology in dialogue with Havel’s concept of living within the truth wherein local congregations are a sign and agent of God’s mission existing in and for the fourishing of society. Havel’s slogan, “truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred,” that inspired the Czech national motto, “truth prevails,” is anchored in his concept of “living within the truth” with responsibility “to and for the world.” Havel expounded on these values during the Communist

40 In 2015, a Synodal Council for the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren acknowledged the importance of mission not only by proclaiming the gospel in a way that is intelligible to contemporary society (with an emphasis on contextualization and inculturation), but also by way of civic and political involvement and dialogue with as many segments of society as possible.

41 Pavol Bargár, “Mission in the Czech Republic: An Ecumenical Perspective,” Mission in Central and Eastern Europe, 277.

42 Černý, 609.

“Living within the Truth,” Interpreted rough Public Missiology

58 | Myra Watkins regime, but his slogan has been used to promote seemingly opposite values, both as a powerful motto for civil action and as a derogatory slogan for those who oppose immigration, the EU, and a multicultural society and promote nationalism. Based on Anderson’s view that nationality as well as nationalism are cultural artefacts with meanings that “command profound emotional legitimacy,” Havel’s slogan is worthy of theological engagement.43

Living within the truth, according to Havel, means to serve the real aims of life, which for the dissidents posed a threat to the Communist system.44 The real aims, as Havel says, sometimes appear as the basic material or social interests of a group or an individual; at other times, they may appear as certain intellectual and spiritual interests; at still other times, they may be the most fundamental of existential demands, such as the simple longing of people to live their own lives in dignity.45

Once again, precious freedoms of individuals and groups are under threat in Europe. As we see in Russia today, President Vladimir Putin has severely restricted freedom of speech and evangelical worship in pursuit of his nationalistic, imperialist aims. Values of freedom and dignity are rightly protected and deeply engrained in the Czech national ethos. Of all the nations in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech respondents emphatically agreed (87%) that it’s unnecessary to believe in God to have good values.46 This overwhelming response may partly refect Havel’s moral philosophy, since his commitment

43 Anderson, Imagined Communities, 4.

44 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 60.

45 Ibid., 28.

46 “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe,” 120.

to human rights and “the real aims of life” were unconstrained by religious dogma.47 Ultimately, any utopian ideal fails because it does not factor in what John Wesley called “complicated wickedness” and the need for a new creation through Christ’s redemption.

While Havel’s moral philosophy fostered Czech secular ideals, public theologians Charles Mathewes and Duncan Forrester rightly point out his signifcant socio-political contribution. Forrester notes that Havel’s testament “reminds us that theological truth is something to be lived, to be exemplifed, rather than just thought and discussed; it is to be lived together in the life of the church and in society.”48 The dissident community Havel describes, although it included churches, did not gather around any sacred practices or liturgies. However, the dissidents bonded through their allegiance to clearly articulated aims of life and shared persecution for their resistance to “living within a lie,” which meant living under the demands of the Communist system.49 They did not intend to become a “parallel structure” in society. Rather, by serving the truth and defending human rights, they were denied participation in the existing structure of society, so life had to become ordered in some way.50

Okesson describes the totalizing infuence of politics or religion when they “overstep their proper boundaries and cease to function appropriately for the good of society as a whole to the degree that they are made a surrogate for other essential

47 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 62.

48 George R. Hunsberger, “The Missional Voice and Posture of Public Theologizing,” Missiology, 34, no.1 (January 2006), 23.

49 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 60–62.

50 Ibid., 60.

spheres of social life.”51 The Communist regime was such a totalizing structure, but the parallel structure that formed when people chose to live within the truth had its own power to infuence from below and from within society.

The early church that emerged during the Roman Empire under Caesar’s authoritarian rule bears some similarities to the parallel structure. When the disciples declared “Jesus is Lord” over every sphere and began to reorient their lives around his lordship, they were, inadvertently, subversive to the Roman empire. Although they were persecuted, they were witnesses to the gospel from below and from within society, in every place where they worshiped and engaged in life.

Ann-Marie Kool observes a recent shift in missions in Central and Eastern Europe towards the local church as an agent of mission, so Okesson’s public missiology is signifcant in relation to this trend.52 He defnes public missiology as “congregational witness that moves back and forth across all ‘spaces’ of public life in order to weave a thickness of the persons of the Trinity for the fourishing of all of life.”53 He emphasizes a robust soteriology that is lived out in the church and the complex public realm.

Okesson articulates how local congregations can witness within this complexity, starting with the foundation of the Trinity, which he describes as a “thick oneness,” as God reveals himself through movement that leads to an inviting community wherein the love of God is manifest. Using the analogy of

51 Gregg A. Okesson, A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 59.

52 Ann-Marie Kool, “Revolutions in European Mission: What has been achieved in 25 years of East European mission? Mission in Central and Eastern Europe, 46.

53 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 95–96.

multiple threads creating a thick weave, Okesson describes the back and forth movement of the congregation that repeatedly gathers around sacred practices and scatters as witnesses.

Publics, as he explains, are common spaces, whether physical or virtual, where people come together to participate in life and have room to bring in their diferences. In these spaces, people form opinions through various texts, whether written, spoken, or symbolic, that feed a larger, thicker narrative.54 When publics overlap and interpenetrate, like in a pluralist, secular society, there is room for an embodied community of believers to weave in the narrative of salvation through participation in life and dialogue.55

Moving forward, I will highlight two theological themes: First, God’s mission is public truth. Second, the church is a diferent kind of public in and for the world. In Czech society, where the “gods are back,” mistrust in institutional Christianity is high, and grand narratives are scarce, such a holistic and embodied approach to public witness could be fruitful. For each theme, I will interpret Havel’s “Power of the Powerless” through Okesson’s public missiology. Finally, I will present practical examples of why a thick soteriology is needed to witness within the complex public realm.

God’s Mission is Public Truth

Havel rightly describes Christianity as a locus of responsibility to and for the world:

Historical experience teaches us that any genuinely meaningful point of departure in an individual’s life

54 Ibid., 41–42.

55 Ibid., 59.

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usually has an element of universality about it. In other words, it is not something partial, accessible only to a restricted community . . . On the contrary, it must be potentially accessible to everyone; it must foreshadow a general solution and, thus, it is not just the expression of an introverted, selfcontained responsibility that individuals have to and for themselves alone, but responsibility to and for the world. . . Christianity is an example . . . it is a point of departure for me here and now—but only because anyone, anywhere, at any time, may avail themselves of it.56

The missio Dei is the “meaningful point of departure,” the impetus for the mission of the Church. God is the author of the entire story, so we must start here for in his very being the triune God is a missionary.57 According to Scripture, God the Father sends the Son (John 3:17, 1 John 4:9), the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit (John 15:26, Acts 2:33), and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit send the Church into the world (Mat. 28:19-20, Acts 1:8).

Okesson begins here and argues that God’s mission “ofers a thick, public narrative by which to witness to the complexity of the public world.”58 Evangelicals sometimes talk about the Gospel as public truth yet reduce it to a propositional exchange, but God’s mission as public truth implies movement. Okesson explains,

Movement of the divine persons leads to a thickness of community, and in that thickness, others are invited to participate through love. Everything else builds on such a foundation. A trinitarian God calls the world into existence.

56 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 62.

57 Within this, it’s important to stress proclaiming the Gospel, repentance, and new birth through Jesus Christ.

58 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 66.

The world is public because God chose to allow the “interiority” of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be made known publicly in the world. Hence, the starting point for talking about the public realm must begin with God.59

The Trinity moves outward in love, ever inviting and welcoming others to participate and fourish in diverse community, so movement characterizes the Church. God’s great salvation is not just for the individual with indiference towards the welfare of the whole of society. It has universal intent, meaning that, as Havel said, it foreshadows a general solution that is potentially accessible to everyone. In the fullness of time, God’s plan of redemption is to unite all things in Jesus Christ, things in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10). As Okesson says, Jesus Christ is a “new starting point” in human history, which means he reorients all the things arising out of creation, including the use of power, social relationships, economics, and even structures within society.60

Conversely, Havel argues that any point of departure that is not a model solution applicable to others cannot be meaningful for an individual either.61 If Christians live in an introverted, isolated community, concerned only with their personal salvation and well-being, then has the church embraced the full meaning of God’s salvation? Since God is a missionary God, God’s mission is public truth. Within the public realm, Okesson says the diverse community of the church announces through its actions as well as its words “the redemptive presence of the inner life of the Trinity.”62 In this

59 Ibid., 72.

60 Ibid., 68.

61 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 62.

62 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 107.

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way, the church is an agent of God’s mission, but it is also a sign which I will explore in the following theme.

e Church is a Di erent Kind of Public in and for the World

According to Lesslie Newbigin, the Gospel is credible when it is lived out in Christian community, so he calls the local congregation the basic unit of a new society and “the only hermeneutic of the gospel.”63 While both Havel and Okesson express the perils of being an exclusionary “parallel structure” (Havel) or congregation (Okesson) that lives in a privatized ghetto, the church cannot place a greater emphasis on scattering into the public realm or, as Okesson says, it risks losing its Christ-centeredness.64

Okesson says we are tempted in both directions, to retreat into the church where we try to flter out which aspects of the public realm we allow in or go radically public and ignore the sacraments and liturgy that form us in community around the persons of the Trinity. Instead, he says we need to hold together gathering and scattering through back-and-forth movement that “unsettles the pretensions of exclusivist forms of gathering, while cultivating thicker forms of gathering within and for the redemption of the entire world.”65 Considering Unger’s perspective that post-Communist Czech evangelical churches had turned inward and are suspicious of everything public, perhaps some churches may be more inclined to focus on gathering as a congregation.

63 Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 227.

64 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 90.

65 Ibid., 143.

If we move away from Christ as our center, then inevitably we will attach ourselves to some other functional savior, which may be the national myths or social imaginaries that hold sway in society.66 In the early church, Okesson says, Christians were “people of diference” who were “difused witnesses inserted into all aspects of their public worlds.”67

Havel expressed a similar idea, saying, even the most mature form of the parallel polis (dissident community) can only exist—at least in post-totalitarian circumstances—when the individual is at the same time lodged in the “frst,” ofcial structure by a thousand diferent relationships, even though it may only be the fact that one buys what one needs in their stores, uses their money, and obeys their laws.68

Both express the idea of being in but not of the world, of moving in the same cadence with society and participating in the same mundane activities, yet “living within the truth” while doing so (John 17:14–23). By living as people of diference in the “frst” ofcial structure, it is possible to renew “concepts such as love, friendship, compassion, humility, and forgiveness” that, under the Communist regime, Havel says “lost their depths and dimension, and for many of us . . . came to represent only psychological peculiarities, or resemble long-lost greetings from ancient times, a little ridiculous in the era of computers and spaceships.”69

66 CharlesTaylor defnes a social imaginary as “the ways in which (people) imagine their social existence, how they ft together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the expectations which are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underlie these expectations.” Taylor, A Secular Age, 171.

67 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 124.

68 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 62.

69 Vaclav Havel, “New Year’s Address to the Nation,” 1990, 4.

Perhaps the long-lost greetings from ancient times Havel refers to are what Noble calls the deep life-renewing sources her culture longs to understand but is hesitant to name. Perhaps they are the fragments of Christian memory tucked in Czech social consciousness. When the church gathers in community, it cultivates love, friendship, compassion, humility, and forgiveness, for none of these “concepts” exist apart from community. It renders the Gospel credible, winsome, and embodied. It serves as a sign of God’s mission existing in and for the fourishing of society, woven richly through the church’s worship and public witness.

A Way Forward: ick Witness for a Complex Public Realm

Czech secular society, with its plurality and everexpanding forms of spirituality, is unlike the Communist regime that sought to impose a homogeneous atheist society, but the unseen powers are no less real. Deeper social imaginaries and forces underlie national slogans, myths, and institutions, and sometimes they are soul-crushing rather than life-renewing. For Havel, living within the truth stood out in contrast to the behemoth Communist regime, but “living within a lie” in today’s Czech society is more subtle and tantalizing. Still, it can lead to a profound crisis of human identity.70

Witnessing within secular complexity seems more like embodying a new kind of presence rather than attempting to chart a new course in a dense fog. Okesson points out that we need a “thick faith” that is “woven into the fabric of public life.” A thick faith embraces the fulness of God’s salvation for the fourishing of all aspects of life and God’s creation.71

70 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 25.

71 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 33–34.

Havel expresses a similar vision through independent initiatives that “address the hidden sphere; they demonstrate that living within the truth is a human and social alternative and they struggle to expand the space available for that life . . . they shatter the world of appearances and unmask the real nature of power.”72 Living within the truth, pursuing and advocating for the real aims of life in multiple ways through multiple people is similar to Okesson’s “woven fabric.” For Havel and the other dissidents, it proved to be far more impactful than one individual pursuing a singular pathway to change.

Public missiology can help the church witness in the public realm as local congregations demonstrate that living within the truth is a human and social alternative to the myriad of self-help and spiritual options marketed in Czech society and expand the space available for that life. God’s mission is public truth, and the church is a diferent kind of public in and for the world, but local congregations need to work through what it means to be a sign and agent of God’s mission in and for the fourishing of their locality. Okesson proposes that the fullness of God’s salvation can be seen through biblical images such as hospitality, reconciliation, blessing, and adoption when churches gather (through liturgy, worship, preaching, etc.) and when they scatter. I will present what this looks like in Mozaika Church in Hradec Králové.

Public Witness through Mozaika Church

Mozaika Church, planted in Hradec Králové in 2001, is part of the Evangelical Charismatic Christian Fellowship network.73 Between seventy and a hundred people attend their

72 Havel, The Power of the Powerless, 65.

73 The network has around 2,000 adult members in the Czech Republic. For reference, the Pentecostal Apostolic network (Assemblies of God) has from

68

| Myra Watkins

Sunday evening services each week held in an auditorium on the main university campus. With a population of nearly 100,000, Hradec Králové is the region’s cultural center.

The church leadership chose the name Mozaika to be sensitive to nonbelievers who understand “mosaic” as a nonreligious concept that communicates unity with diversity. Their church website states,

Every piece is important in a mosaic. If one is missing, then the picture is no longer complete. We are not talking about any religious endeavors or ceremonies, but about every single person being able to experience key connections in their lives. A mosaic is a colorful puzzle where the individual pieces are joined together. There are several such connections that play an important role in our Christian community and thus form our values.74

Pastor Jakub Limr invited me to visit Mozaika Church, but I have been unable to go there, so I am limited to my conversations with Pastor Limr. When asked about the public witness of Mozaika, he said, “It’s common for churches to look for a need, and in the small towns there are many needs, so people are thankful for what the church does. But our city has high employment. We are a wealthy city and a cultural center, so people don’t see many needs in their lives.” However, the church discovered that the main need in their city is relational connection, and ninety percent of the people come into the church through relationships.

The church leaders build Sundays and other activities around the Gospel, so they communicate the Gospel in

3,000–3,500 adult members, and the largest Evangelical denomination, the Czech Brethren Church, has 10,000 adult members.

74 https://www.mozaika.hk/kdojsme

their words and deeds. Limr said, “We try to create a space outside of the church so people have a safe place to bring their nonbelieving friends.” The church has started several initiatives so that nonbelievers can learn something practical and meaningful for their lives. However, he explained that many Christians struggle with disappointment because it takes so long to help their unbelieving friends get in touch with God. It’s a long journey. Nonbelievers typically come to these spaces outside of the church where they interact with Christians for three to fve years before they ever come to church.

I will describe some of the connections the church ofers in their community. Except for Sundays, the church meets in a cofee shop in the city center that they rebuilt with a welcoming, open venue. They ofer courses and seminars on marriage and relationships during the week where people bring their nonbelieving friends. According to Černý, more than half of all marriages in the Czech Republic end in divorce, so many people and their children live in broken relationships and sufer because of severe loneliness. Černý says people appreciate an incarnational approach when Christians humbly enter into their difcult situations to share in their pains and problems.75 Mozaika Church makes such connections a priority. At their cofee shop venue, the church started a club for high school and university students where counselors are available to mentor them and help them with issues they face. In their advertising, they state the club’s purpose: to be a blessing to students in the community.

The leaders of the church encourage people not only to join activities organized by Mozaika to reach the community but to come up with their own ideas for outreach. Limr said,

75 Černý, “Mission in the Czech Republic,” Mission in Central and Eastern Europe, 612.

| Myra Watkins

“We listen to and celebrate testimonies from people’s daily lives and how they serve others.” A church member who volunteers in a senior home also serves as a bridge to the church so church members can adopt an elderly person and serve them in various ways. They take Christmas packages to them and hold concerts at the senior home. The church also serves at a shelter for women who sufer from domestic abuse. Some of the women who were not believers started coming to church, so the church bought a minivan to serve them. They have baptized former prostitutes from the shelter.

Limr said Czechs have a saying that “every Czech is a musician,” so worship music is a powerful form of witness. At their twentieth church anniversary, they held a Gospel choir outreach in an outdoor theater where a couple of hundred people came. Limr related the story of a university student who brought two nonbelievers to church for the frst time, but one was strongly against coming. After the worship meeting, he said he lost most of his biases against the church because he was touched by what he heard and saw among the people.

As Mozaika Church moves outward into the public spaces in their city, they have discerned that blessing, adoption, hospitality, and reconciliation to God and between people in community are messages of good news connected with God’s salvation. The sermons at Mozaika Church focus on how God’s love, power, and character afect people in everyday life. Limr said, “We always try to present the Bible in very practical ways showing how the Scripture can form not only our spiritual life, but also our thinking, behaving, loving, etc.”

Mozaika Church fts Černý’s depiction of efective new church plants in the Czech Republic in several ways. Mozaika stresses relationships and responds to contemporary citizens’

lack of family life, trusting friendships, and deeper fellowship. Their worship style is fexible and informal. Finally, they form bridges into society in diferent ways from more traditional and established churches and attract university students, families with children, and various generations.76

Conclusion

In conclusion, I will mention a dichotomy that sometimes exists in the mission of the church. George Hunsberger asks if the church should be shaped more by the ecclesial practices by which it is a social ethic or by the missional practices by which it testifes in word and deed to the coming of God’s reign.77 While he proposes that the posture and voice of the church lie within the tension between the two, he goes on to say that the church is a body of people sent, “pressed into the fabric of life, living it in all the public dimensions shared by others.”78

Perhaps it’s a nuance, but to me, this metaphor rings hollow. If you press a patch into a fabric, it’s not integral to the weave of the fabric. We’re in the world but not of the world, yet as difused witnesses we are meant to be part of the weave, integral to the fabric of society, sharing hope in the same struggles with our fellow humanity. Okesson reframes public witness so that any perceived tension is rendered a moot point. When witness moves back and forth across all spaces of public life to weave a thickness of the persons of the Trinity for the fourishing of all of life, then the church gathered and the church sent is not in tension. The interiority of the church moves outward. When I lived in Ukraine, I experienced this reality in the life of the church and discovered its language through Okesson.

76 Černý, “Mission in Central and Eastern Europe,” 616.

77 Hunsberger, “The Missional Voice and Posture of Public Theologizing,” 17–18.

78 Hunsberger, 18.

Myra Watkins

I write as a bit of a wanderer in the lands of Central and Eastern Europe, but I also write as a lover. My husband and I moved to Ukraine in 1993 to plant a church and lived through a broad swath of tumultuous history with the Ukrainian people, intermittently, until 2011, and then moved to Poland in 2016 where we lived for three years, frequently traveling to Romania, Georgia, Armenia, and to the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic captured my heart, then the writings of Havel moved my soul, so I have merely sought to form helpful connections with public missiology, another one of my loves.

The sated moments in my travels have been sitting at the table among “foreign” people with whom I fnd a curious sense of belonging, experiencing the other through the giving of self, fnding joy in their embracing hospitality, and wanting God’s great salvation to heal everything evil has touched in these lands. May God’s mission better be understood as public truth, and may the Church grapple with what it means to be a diferent kind of public in and for their complex new world. Finally, may the fragments of Christian memory in Czech culture that have lost their meaning be re-storied with the efulgent beauty and power of God’s redemptive narrative.

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Refections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised edition. London: Verso, 2016.

Anderson, Nate, and Leah Seppanen Anderson. “Under Construction: How Eastern Europe’s Evangelicals Are Restoring the Church’s Vitality.” Christianity Today 49, no. 10 (October 2005)

Bargár, Pavol. “Learning about Spirituality Together with ‘Seekers’: Reading Together towards Life in the Czech Postsecular Context,” International Review of Mission 108, no. 2 (Nov. 2019): 326–36.

Constantineanu, Corneliu Marcel V. Măcelaru, Anne-Marie Kool and Mihai Himcinschi. Mission in Central and Eastern Europe : Realities, Perspectives, Trends. Regnum, 2016.

Froese, Paul. “Secular Czechs and Devout Slovaks: Explaining Religious Diferences.” Review of Religious Research 46, no. 3 (2005)

Greeley, Andrew M. Religion in Europe at the End of the Second Millenium: A Sociological Profle. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2004.

Havel, Vaclav. The Power of the Powerless. Vintage Classics, 2018.

Hošek, Pavel. “Perceptions of the Evangelical Movement in the Post-Communist Czech Republic.” Evangelical Review of Theology 38, no. 1 (January 2014).

74 | Myra Watkins

Hunsberger, George R. “The Missional Voice and Posture of Public Theologizing.” Missiology 34, no. 1 (January 2006).

Murzaku, Ines Angeli ed. Quo vadis eastern Europe? Religion, state and society after communism. Ediz. multilingue. Ravenna, 2009.

Nesporova, Olga, and Zdenek R. Nespor. “Religion: An Unsolved Problem for the Modern Czech Nation.” Sociologický Časopis / Czech Sociological Review 45, no. 6 (2009):

Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

Noble, Ivana. Theological Interpretation of Culture in PostCommunist Context: Central and East European Search for Roots. Surry, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010.

Okesson, Gregg A. A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. “Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe,” May 10, 2017.

Sayer, Derek. The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.

Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.

Populist Leadership Culture in India and Its Implication for Missional Churches

John Amalraj Karunakaran

Abstract

This essay refects theologically on the culture of populism in the context political of leadership. The thesis is that populism in leadership does not always contribute to the common good and therefore the response of the missional church should be to model a Christ-centered leadership. To arrive at this thesis, frst, the concept of populism is defned to show how this is important for public theology. Second, the paper describes what populism looks like in India and how Indians understand it. Third, the theological refection on populism and leadership culture that seeks to transform the socio-economic justice issues are discussed to draw out the missiological implications for missional churches in India.

John grew up as a pastor’s kid and was actively involved in local church ministries. His education spans across law, management, political science, theology, and intercultural studies. He was privileged to have a ringside view of church, mission, and business leadership. Cross-cultural living and multi-cultural communities are his learning context. Having served with Indian mission organizations in leadership roles for more than twenty-fve years he is now engaged in doctoral research on crosscultural leadership at Asbury Theological Seminary. Along with his wife and two sons, he has lived in four cities in India and Singapore while traveling widely.

| John A. Karunakaran

Introduction

Mohandas K. Gandhi, along with his followers, on April 6, 1930, in the Western coastal town of Dandi, picked up a handful of salt on the shore to demonstrate and protest the British empire’s repressive policy of taxation on the production and sale of salt which was forcing the poor people to sufer.1 This gave birth to the non-violent civil disobedience movement called satyagraha, which gathered momentum and took on the mighty British empire.2 In the following decades, Gandhi became one of the most charismatic leaders across the large Indian nations and strategically used satyagraha as one of the populist ideologies that mobilized the masses to protest nonviolently, leading to Indian independence.3 He was bestowed the honorifc title Mahatma, meaning “the great soul” while his close associates afectionately called him Bapu, meaning “father.” Eventually, he came to be known as the ‘father of the nation’. The charisma of Gandhi was so evident that the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, during the communal riots when India was partitioned into two independent nations in August 1947, called him a “one-man boundary force.”4 The viceroy explained that nearly ffty-fve thousand soldiers were deployed to contain the communal riot in the northern borders while the presence of Gandhi in the eastern city of Calcutta ensured that the Hindus and Muslims in that region were restrained from killing each other.

1 K. Pletcher, “Salt March.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/ event/Salt-March.

2 A Sanskrit and Hindi word meaning “holding onto truth,” “satyagraha.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/satyagrahaphilosophy.

3 Narendra Subramanian, “Populism in India,” The SAIS Review of International Afairs 27, no. 1 (2007): 82.

4 Satinder Dhiman, “Gandhi: ‘A One-Man Boundary Force’!” in Gandhi and Leadership: New Horizons in Exemplary Leadership, ed. Satinder Dhiman (New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2015), 1, https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137492357_1.

Populism is a powerful tool used by leaders to mobilize people, organize movements, and transform society. It is not easy to defne the term. Its usage in diferent cultures and times has evolved to give meaning to what is observed as a phenomenon in history.

It is relevant to theologically refect on how populism in political leadership infuences and impacts the Indian church and missions. The thesis for this essay is that populism in leadership does not contribute to the common good. Therefore, the response of the missional church should be to model a Christ-centered leadership. This refection on populist leadership that seeks to transform socio-economic issues, infuencing the Indian church and missional movements, is the scope for theologizing in the publics.

To argue the above thesis, frst, the concept of populism is defned to show how this is important for public theology and missional response. Secondly, the essay describes what populism looks like in India and how Indians understand it. And fnally, it explores the missiological implications for Christian leadership in India.

In the last few years, we have witnessed the return of populist and charismatic leaders who have been elected to political ofces in diferent parts of the world. This phenomenon of populist leaders emerging within the context of democracy through elections leads to authoritarian regimes.5

5 Vreese, Claes H. de, Frank Esser, Toril Aalberg, Carsten Reinemann, and James Stanyer, “Populism as an Expression of Political Communication Content and Style: A New Perspective.” The International Journal of Press/Politics 23, no. 4 (October 2018): 423–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218790035.

| John A. Karunakaran

In the American context, the alignment of Christian evangelical leaders with the populist Donald Trump during his presidency was controversial. On the other hand, the rise of the right-wing Hindutva movement under the populist leadership of Narendra Modi in India has brought the Indian church and mission movement to face unprecedented harassment and opposition. We see this now as a global phenomenon in the Philippines, Turkey, Brazil, Hungary, United Kingdom, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, and Austria.6 These recent developments warrant a theological response to populism. Kevin Vanhoozer argues that theology encompasses every aspect of our life.7 He suggests that by using faith and studying the word of God, Christian believers are called to read cultural texts and trends. He points out that Christians who read culture should understand it on its terms before discerning the signs of the times to articulate our theological interpretation. Culture is always in public places, which infuences all of us, whether we like it or not. This includes populist leadership in the publics realm.

This then begs the question as to what publics means. Gregg Okesson defnes publics as “common spaces of togetherness where people participate with one another in life and form opinions through the circulation of diferent texts.”8 He further adds that it is inevitable that religion mixes with the publics as political leaders claim divine sanction while religious leaders baptize political ideology with divinity. This shows that the Enlightenment heritage of the dichotomizing of sacred and secular is just on the surface: the publics always interpenetrates

6 Ibid.

7 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson, and Michael J. Sleasman, eds., Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, Cultural exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 16–17.

8 Gregg A. Okesson, A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 41.

the realms of politics, economics, religion, culture, and social interaction.9

If theologizing takes place in the publics, we then need to understand public theology. Harold Breitenberg Jr., in his essay “What is Public Theology?,” summarizes the various defnitions in the literature and writes as follows:

Public theology is theologically informed descriptive and normative public discourse about public issues, institutions, and interactions, addressed to the church or other religious body as well as the larger public or publics, and argued in ways that can be evaluated and judged by publicly available warrants and criteria.10

Breitenberg further argues that even though the term public theology was frst used by Martin Marty, it was Max Stackhouse who with an expansive understanding of publics, explicitly and extensively used the term beyond the confnes of any nation-state or religious tradition. Not all scholars agree with this argument, but there is a consensus that Stackhouse popularized the term in our times. Following this, we need to explore the origin of the term populism and how it is defned in academia.

De nition of Populism

The words populism and popularity seem to have similar meanings, but the Cambridge dictionary defnes populism as “political ideas and activities that are promoted to gain the

9 Ibid., 54–59.

10 E. Harold Breitenberg Jr., “What is Public Theology?” in Public Theology for a Global Society: Essays in Honor of Max L. Stackhouse, edited by Max L. Stackhouse, Deirdre King Hainsworth, and Scott Paeth, eds., (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 4–6.

80 | John A. Karunakaran support of the common people by providing what they demand” and popularity as “someone or something that is liked by many people.”11 However, the etymology of the word populism traces its origin in America during the year 1892 from its Latin version populus, meaning “people.”12 It was frst used by a political party called the US Populist Party, as it raised various issues related to the common people. Later the word in the 1920s came to have a more general meaning as “representing the views of the masses” and in the 1950s as “anti-establishment.”13

The defnition of the term populism since then has been widely discussed in academia. The London School of Economics held the frst academic conference that discussed the concept and arrived at a defnition.14 In May 1967, the conference “To Defne Populism” convened, with more than forty scholars participating by, presenting their views on three main questions: What is and what is not populist ideology? Why is populism a political movement and yet it does not always form into political parties? And what are the diferences between the populism before and after the two world wars in the twentieth century?15 The conference sub-divided itself into four groups, discussing the ideological, political, historical, and general aspects of the defnition with the recognition that there will be overlaps in their discussions. Summarizing these discussions for the academic paper, Isaiah Berlin and others propose a synoptical order that can lead to a conclusion

11 Cambridge Dictionary, s.v. “Populism,” “Popularity,” https://dictionary. cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/.

12 Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v., “Populism,” https://www.etymonline.com/ word/populist

13 Ibid.

14 Isaiah Berlin et al., “To Defne Populism,” Government and Opposition 3, no. 2 (1968): 137.

15 Donald MacRae, Leonard Schapiro, F. W., Deakin, Hugh Seton-Watson, Peter Worsley, Ernest Gellner, and Isaiah Berlin, (1967) Conference on populism: Verbatim Report (London: London School of Economics and Political Science, 1967), 3–4.

of a comprehensive defnition of populism as a concept. They propose fve main types of populism from Russia, North America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The discussions attempt to represent the historic evolution and the uniqueness of populism in these diferent continents and some of the individual countries. John Saul one of the participants in the conference discussing the African literature on populism, points out thay one of the dangers of using the term populism is oversimplifying and making movements monolithic.16 He adds that the interaction between the leaders and people of the mass movements is important and that using the term populism may limit understanding of a complex situation. W. H. Morris Jones, in his discussion on Asian populism suggests that it is not right to look at a series of national populisms, since multiple populist movements can emerge in one country at the same time.17 There can be localized populist movements which have no interactions with movements that embrace larger worldviews, seeking to transform whole societies.

Moving on to identifying the essential elements of populism, S. L. Andreski summarizes six diferent meanings:18 The frst was a movement aimed at the redistribution of wealth; the second, a social protest movement from the lower classes; the third is a protest movement particularly arising from a rural area; the fourth a peasant’s movement according to the traditional pattern; ffth, to preserve the rural way of life; and sixth, was the idolization of the rural peasant’s way of life. Peter Worsley emphasizes that one of the essential elements is that populism is a rural development ideology that focuses on people’s transition from rural to modern society, although populist governments have never been able to achieve these

16 Berlin et al., “To Defne Populism,” 150.

17 Ibid., 152.

18 Ibid., 155.

| John A. Karunakaran

goals.19 Worsley laments that this type of populism has never become the ideology of the masses but appears to be a transition to a more institutionalized revolution. Peter Wiles proposes that populism is a more anti-establishment ideology and describes Russian populism as socialist, the United States as capitalist, and Britain as a compromise concluding that populism cannot exist without religious beliefs.20 We must note that while populist movements argue for their legitimacy by being for the people and against the establishment, they end up being a more onerous form of the establishment using strong coercive power. Kenneth Minogue remarks that secularization is an ideology where religion, that earlier infltrated all areas of life, was removed, making it a presupposition for populism.21

Finally bringing the conference discussions towards a consensus in defning populism Peter Worsley identifes fve common elements: 1) reactions to capitalism and 2) externality, 3) mass movement, 4) looking back to look forward, and 5) an ideology used by the intelligentsia and elite for or on behalf of the masses.22 Ghita Ionescu, one of the key speakers of the conference, points out that there was a controversial issue to decide whether populism was primarily an ideology or a movement but expresses that the majority viewed populism as an ideology.23 He suggests that populism recurs in diferent historical and geographical social contexts. He further adds that populism is characterized by political persecution-mania,

19 Ibid., 157.

20 Ibid., 159.

21 Ibid., 164.

22 Berlin et al., “To Defne Populism,” 168.

23 “Ideologies are by defnition idealist systems. They generate pictures and images which, far from refecting social reality, seek to create and maintain illusions which further the interest of those who beneft from the ideology” Alistair Kee, “Blessed Are the Excluded,” in Storrar and Morton, Public Theology, (359). Quoted by Gregg Okesson, Public Missiology, 62.

branding unidentifable conspiracy theories against people, and a unique kind of negativism leading to xenophobio and blind hatred of the other. When there are threats to national security, populist governments increase the threat narrative, taking advantage to assume greater coercive power. Ionescu also said that populism worships people, especially peasants, leading to socialism, nationalism, or peasantism. The conference fnally agreed on this defnition of populist movements:

Populist movements are movements aimed at power for the beneft of the people as a whole which result from the reaction of those, usually intellectuals, alienated from the existing power structure to the stresses of rapid economic, social, cultural, or political change. These movements are characterized by a belief in return to, or adaptation of, more simple and traditional forms and values emanating from the people, particularly the more archaic sections of the people who are taken to be the repository of virtue.24

The conference participants recognize that this defnition is limited and hope that it will be the initiation for more insights into understanding the phenomenon.

In 2016, when Donald Trump surprised the world by being elected US president, scholars began to debate the comeback of populism into the political realm.25 In 2017, the annual conference of the Bavarian American Academy brought together political scientists, historians, and cultural studies scholars for a conversation. The outcome of this was the publication of The Comeback of Populism. In the introduction, Heike Paul surveys the various defnitions in the literature and

24 Berlin et al., “To Defne Populism,” 178–79.

25 Heike Paul, Ursula Prutsch, and Jürgen Gebhardt, eds., The Comeback of Populism: Transatlantic Perspectives, Publikationen der Bayerischen AmerikaAkademie volume 21 (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2019), 2–3.

84 | John A. Karunakaran comments that populism remains a very ambiguous concept. Quoting various authors, she suggests that populism has been called a style of political communication, a language, logic, syndrome, thin ideology, polarizing political strategy and method, populist imaginary, authenticity, and a transposition of people’s will that satisfes a longing for simplicity in solutions.26 Paul posits that “the criterion for defning populism is form and not the content.”27 There are family resemblances among populisms in Europe and the Americas, and the focus is on the use and misuse of political language that creates a direct relationship between the masses and the leadership fgure at the cost of democratic institutions.28

Hans Vorländer, in the chapter “Populism and Modern Democracy—An Outline,” comments that there is no connection between populism and democracy, even though they may appear to have a similar reference to people.29 He argues for a descriptive defnition that is open to history and context, as populisms difer in substance, structures, and historical, cultural, and institutional frameworks, having the commonality of a specifc political mobilization strategy. He ofers fve characteristics of populisms: frst, an explicit reference to people or the common man by constructing a mechanism of inclusion and exclusion; second, constitute fundamental binaries with the rhetoric of “us” and “them,” “inside” and “outside;” third, construct a social and political entity of “the people”; fourth, claim the social, economic, cultural, and political homogeneity of the people erasing any diversity; and

26 Ibid., 2–3.

27 Ibid., 3.

28 Paul Heike, “Authoritarian Populism, White Supremacy, and VolkskörperSentimentalism,” in The Comeback of Populism, 127–132.

29 Paul, Prutsch, and Gebhardt, The Comeback of Populism, 13–14.

ffth, establish a mobilizing political structure for charismatic leaders and their followers.30

Comparing the attempts to defne the term populism in the frst academic conference in 1967 and the most recent conference after fve decades in 2017, we can conclude that the term populism continues to be ambiguous. Both the conferences seem to have concluded that defning the term is challenging as it is a phenomenon and not a science. We can agree that populisms may share family resemblances, but they must be understood within each historical and cultural context. Even though populism emerged promoting the ideology and the interest of the masses, it has a nebulous relationship to the masses. Populism, as the recent defnition shows has become an issue of language and semantics and a political tool for mobilizing supporters for a leader.

Fifty years ago, scholars focused more on the mobilization of the masses through populist ideologies and eforts to remove the infuences of religion through secularization. However, now scholars are studying the infuence of communication strategies that creates a loyal fan base and the comeback of religious rhetoric that aids populist leaders. These stark negative developments are challenges for churches in formulating a theological response to this phenomenon. Now we move on to explore how populism is seen in the Indian context.

Populism in Indian Culture

During the decade between 2010 to 2020, the Indian politics has signifcantly. Most commentators talked about the right-wing Hindutva movement led by Narendra Modi sweeping

30 Hans Vorländer, “Populism and Modern Democracy – An Outline,” in The Comeback of Populism, 16–17.

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the national polls in 2014 and, against all odds, repeating in 2019 as an important milestone in Indian democracy. However, Ruhi Tiwari, a news editor of a leading online news channel writes:

Not Modi’s rise, not Rahul’s fall. Arvind Kejriwal is this decade’s biggest political story - With zero political base, no prior experience with elections, and no afliation to any established outft, Arvind Kejriwal’s performance has been a breakout.31

Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of the National Capital of India, New Delhi, and has since become a household name in India.32 He came to the limelight in 2011 as an anti-corruption crusader, joining hands with other non-political crusaders. Kejriwal, coming from a middle-class family, was a government ofcer in the revenue department who resigned from his position to become a civil activist. He had no political connections or experience in grassroots mobilization. Andrew Wyatt, in his article, rates his leadership positively, acknowledging Kejriwal’s entrepreneurial skills that drew the public’s attention to corruption and governance. But Wyatt points out that Kejriwal’s performance as a political party leader was not always consistent, and he seems to have geographical limitations in the but has been successful in electoral politics in the national capital against all odds.33

Populist leaders and movements are not new to India. The struggle for independence in the early twentieth century led by Mohandas Gandhi used non-violence as an ideological tool for populist political mobilization. Narendra Modi and Arvind

31 Ruhi Tewari, “Arwind Kejriwal is this decades biggest political story”, The Print, December 30, 2020, https://theprint.in/opinion/politricks/arvind-kejriwal-isthis-decades-biggest-political-story/576082/

32Andrew Wyatt (2015), “Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party”, Contemporary South Asia, 23:2, 167-180, DOI: 10.1080/09584935.2015.1025038

33 Ibid.

Kejriwal, who have seen electoral successes using populist strategies, are but a poor comparison to what Gandhi achieved in his days. Narendra Subramanian writes that populism was apparent in Gandhi’s anti-modernist rhetoric that mobilized peasants in rural areas into an anti-colonial movement against the British empire.34 He further states that populism came back under the leadership of Indira Gandhi in the late 1960 and 1970s. This was followed in subsequent decades by Jayaprakash Narayan and other socialists who mobilized the lowest castes: Dalits and tribals. Regional political outfts used language and social reform against existing caste dominance combining it with populist measures. The right-wing Hindutva movement, through its electoral success, shows how a nationalistic ideology along with creating an identity based on linguistics, ethnicity, race, and religion, has brought populism into the limelight. Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal, riding on the political success of his anti-corruption crusade, has gained a foothold in national mainstream politics. These events are reminiscent of Mohandas Gandhi’s experiments with truth or rather his experiments with Hindu spirituality, that was an integral part of his political activities in the form of fasting, prayer meetings, and ascetic lifestyle.

Subramanian argues that the term populism is used inconsistently in the public and academic circles. He proposes that any defnition should be broad enough to incorporate various roles economic ideologies and political regimes play. Subramanian defnes populism as follows:

The term “populism” is used to characterize movements, parties, and regimes which distinguish between the “people”, who are said to have limited access to spheres of infuence, and the elite, considered dominant in these spheres

34 Subramanian, “Populism in India,” 81–82.

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and culturally distinct from the masses. Populists claim to represent the will of the “people” to overcome their subordination.35

He points out that this understanding of populism is applicable to cases where people are being diferentiated to strategically mobilize mass movements. He adds that populists use categories like language, dialect, skin color, occupation, educational level, and patterns of worship to create distinct binary identities. Using this analysis, he points out how Indian politicians in the past fve decades have used anti-elite discourse to mobilize the masses pledging to end poverty, caste dominance, and corruption. While Indira Gandhi used her political ancestry to her advantage to provide populist leadership, others used their ethnicity and linguistic-cultural identities to mobilize the masses. In the 1960s and ‘70s, theater and movies became a communication tool to propagate populist ideologies to the extent that popular flm stars were able to win regional elections. In recent times, the Hindutva movement has taken advantage of social media and alternative media to propagate right-wing ideologies.

The rise of Hindu populism in the past two decades has redefned the political space India. Ideologically based populism has given way to identity-centered populism. The end of the twentieth century brought to the fore politicians using caste-based identities to mobilize the masses. A in the frst two decades of the twenty-frst century, the majority religion identity is being used. The caste system has religious sanctions but leads to socio-economic disparities that create a gulf of inequality between the haves and the have-nots.

Arvind Rajagopal writes that the public sphere in India refects diverse types of populism.36 It is a space where both identity and interests are used to mobilize the masses, and often an isolated confict between two individuals can transform into a communal dispute over caste, class, religion, or other issues, aided by mass media and social media. He argues that the nationalists built on the existing collective identities using the media along with public demonstrations to mobilize the masses to support their political causes. During the years leading up to Indian independence, there were eforts to provide for representation from diferent religions in government. This made religion a subcategory of political discourse until, toward the end of the political negotiations for independence, it resulted in a de facto partition of India along religious lines with Pakistan with a Muslim-majority population and India with a Hindu-majority population. The communal riots at that time and the need for harmony tended to keep religious identity from playing a major role in political discourse for some decades. In the frst few decades of independence, secularism in India, even though not fully understood by the masses, seemed to dominate media discussions without the need for it to be translated into local languages or cultural contexts.

Rajagopal further comments that in the 1980s the political narrative started to change as the governing party and the opposition used religious identity as a vote bank giving rise to Hindu populism.37 This coincided with the media becoming a major political actor and dominating national discourse. Television broadcasts, using satellite technology on the heels of US-sponsored globalization of communication technology, provided a platform for a teleserial on Ramayan, a Hindu

36 Arvind Rajagopal, “The Rise of Hindu Populism in India’s Public Sphere,” Current History 115, no. 780 (2016): 124.

37 Ibid., 126–128.

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mythology by the national television channel, which captured the public imagination of an epic golden age of the Hindu regime. The past became present through communication technology and soon Hindu religious populism was adopted openly by the then right-wing opposition party, who reaped the benefts of appropriating it as their political manifesto. The landslide victory of Narendra Modi in the 2014 elections, which was repeated in 2019, showed clearly that a Hindu constituency and public exclusion of other religious identities was now the norm. Rajagopal posits that these changes show that “Indian society is democratizing, but in a Hindu way.”38 He concludes by observing that Hindu identity is more of an opportunistic language and not a core ideology for right-wing populism as it is about image and spectacle than rational debate and discussion. Hindu populism has been formally sanctifed by the democratic process whereby Hindu majoritarianism is here to stay for a while.

Prashanth Bhatt explores the anti-media populist views of the right-wing alternative news media in India, which seemingly owes its allegiance to the Hindutva movement.39 He states that the presence of Hindu populism loyalists is seen in the digital footsteps of news websites, television channels, and popular social media platforms. They consistently “troll” the mainstream media with criticisms using sarcasm and irony to counter the narrative of the traditional media outlets. Bhatt concludes that Hindu nationalists accuse the mainstream media of a liberal bias and express their distrust often in rhetoric that is not always based on facts but on populist narratives. They create an enemy of religious minorities, Muslims and Christianity,

38 Ibid., 128.

39 Prashanth, Bhat, “Anti-Media Populism: Media Criticism by Right-Wing Alternative Media in India.” PhD dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, 2020.

and any other political dissenters so that the majority Hindu identity can be mobilized for their political gains.

The above discussion shows how populism in India which once emerged as a nationalist ideology during the anticolonial struggle, has now become a populism that is based on Hindu religious identity. The rise of Hindu populism through the democratic process, with the aid of alternative media, is a challenge to other minority religions like Islam and Christianity. To summarize, populist leadership in India is closely linked to religious identity, leading to the mass mobilization of people for political power. This calls for a theological refection on populism that can help to create an adequate missional response by the Indian church.

eological Re ection on Populism

Amos Yong confesses that as a Pentecostal Christian he assumed that being political contradicted his beliefs.40 Moreover, as a theological lecturer he did not give any attention to political matters or was aware of the developing feld of political theology. Yong’s honest confession is an illustration of not just theologians but Christians from diverse backgrounds who have naively bought into the perspective that politics and theology are not related to each other. This dichotomy goes back to the sacred-secular divide of the Enlightenment, which Yong attempts to rectify by defning politics as referring to “human life in the public square, where the various dimensions of religion, culture, society, economics, and government converge and interface.”41

40 Amos Yong, In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology, The Cadbury lectures 2009 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), prologue.

41 Ibid.

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Okesson takes this further with a missiological perspective and proposes that public theology assists in contexts where solutions to problems cannot be found by individuals.42 He classifes public theologies into diferent types based on how some scholars focus on theological writings, others on activities, and yet others on function within public life. He further adds that they all share common characteristics “rooted in specifc contexts; sensitive to justice issues; and speaking in a language accessible to the public realm.”43

Through these theologians and missiologists, we can regard on populism as a sub-category of political theology. In defning populism, we examined how populism is specifc to local contexts,takes advantage of justice issues, and often speaks the common language of the masses. Yong, summarizing the issues and challenges of theologizing in public spaces, observes that the Bible presents multiple political postures, structures, and models, resulting in diverse beliefs and practices in church history.44 Second, he observes that politics in Israel and during the time of Jesus were strongly linked to economic concerns. Finally, he notes that there have been nearly seventeen hundred years of debate on the relationship between theology and politics from church fathers like Augustine to reformers like Luther and others although they may not have used the term political theology. These facts help us to know that our theologizing follows biblical history and that of the early church and reformers.

Hungarian scholar Andrew Arato, in an article discussing how populism is being theologized in contemporary academia, writes that Carl Schmitt is acknowledged as the father of

42 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 99.

43 Ibid.

44 Yong, In the Days of Caesar, 82.

political theology using sovereignty and the constituent power as political theological concepts.45 Arato argues that some political concepts are secularized theological terms and major religiouspolitical concepts are theologized as profane. He illustrates how concepts like territory and people can be theologized as “sacred land” and “the people.”46 Yong critiques Schmitt’s claim that all political concepts are theological and not practical. He states that politicians cannot become theologians and follows it up by questioning the role of the political in theology, answering that there is both independence in each of the spheres and interdependence in certain respects.47 Populism attempts to coopt religion and often uses religious symbolism to communicate that the populist leader or ideology is on God’s side. In the context of these conversations, Arato points out that “religion in politics can play diferent and even contrary roles” to the extent that theology can serve and disguise authoritarian politics.48 He cautions that populism endows human actors with sacredness and divinity which then constructs the dehumanization of all dissenters as enemies leading to authoritarian suppression.

Mohandas Gandhi was never apologetic in using religion as a populist measure in the political struggle against colonialism. His “experiments with truth” were his way of practicing his Hindu spirituality in the public space. The nonviolent satyagraha movement included peace marches, public and private fasting, prayer meetings, the practice of silence, voluntarily accepting sufering, and choosing an ascetic lifestyle that had religious overtones. The tragic history of India’s partition in 1947 based on religious identity scarred the psyche of a young nation attempting to identify itself as secular and

45 Andrew Arato, “Political Theology and Populism,” Social Research 80, no. 1 (2013): 143.

46 Ibid.

47 Yong, In the Days of Caesar Location 999-1005.

48 Arato, “Political Theology and Populism,” 166–67.

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keeping religion out of politics. This dream was never realized as politicians in the following generations continued to use religion as a populist measure especially in protecting religious minority rights and restricting religious conversions in certain regions. In contemporary politics, we have seen that populism is closely related to the majority religion. The theological task is to formulate a response from the standpoint of a minority religion that needs to hold on to its freedom to worship but at the same time witness a political reality that brings our faith convictions into the public realm of debate and discussion. The Indian church’s response to Hindu populism has often been critiqued as the response of a minority group seeking to secure its freedom rather than prophetically engaging with the powers to be.

There are two aspects of populism that emerge in the preceding discussions that are relevant for our theological refection. The frst is political leadership and the second is to transform economics for the common good. Politics is a complex reality that struggles with issues of exercising power and authority over others. Okesson summarizing other scholars, positing that power in humans refects the image of a God who is all-powerful.49 Yet this mandate given to humans is characterized by stewardship and must be used as God would want us to use it for the common good. It is the power to be creative in fnding solutions to the complex problems we face. This requires further theological refection on what power is and how it relates to God and is subsequently shared with humans.

Max Weber, in his seminal lecture on “Politics as a Vocation,” proposes three basic legitimations of “domination,” or power exercised over others: the traditional patron-client 49 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 80–82.

(patriarch and patrimonial), the charismatic domination, and legality and rational.50 Weber comments that domination is not always exercised with pure motives and then describes charisma as the gift of grace as a calling in its highest expression.

Populist leadership is closely related to charisma but not in the sense it is used in scripture or for that matter used by Weber as a vocation. In today’s context, many other factors contribute to charismatic leadership, including heroism, achievements, image, or persona created by mass media that expects from followers’ unconditional loyalty, devotion, and submission. Whatever forms populism takes, the patron-client relationships undergirds the context.

Populist leaders believe that sovereign power comes from the people’s will, but at the same time they claim divine status as representing God himself. Loren Rotner discusses how American political leadership was once popular but has now become populist. In this interesting analysis of the history of popular presidents, the author argues that often presidents claimed popular sovereignty through the democratic process, but the presidency has become corrupted.51 Rotner argues that the term populism is a useful concept to describe a bad form of politics in modern democracies as politicians seek authoritarianism and lack accountability but are encouraged by fattery. Populist leaders want to give the appearance of being of the people but often are very authoritarian, which then calls us to refect deeper into how power is understood, exercised, and shared. Consequently, Rotner posits that a

50 Max Weber and John Dreijmanis, Max Weber’s Complete Writings on Academic and Political Vocations (New York: Algora, 2008), 157–58.

51 Loren Justin Rotner, “Popular Leadership without Populism? A View from the Founding,” PhD dissertation (Claremont University, 2017), 2.

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popular leader may enjoy de facto legitimacy according to his institutional position, but his real legitimacy comes from holding the correct opinions about the real fountain of power, the moral imagination of the sovereign people.52

Rotner further examines John Quincy Adams’s treatise, Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory, to show how in America the doctrine of responsible popular leadership is the dream but that it failed to consider dangerous extra-institutional popular leadership.53

A leader who follows Jesus Christ draws his legitimacy from receiving God’s call which makes him a responsible leader whose strength is derived from being accountable to the people of God. Henri Nouwen writes that the way of a Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross.54 It is not about relevance, popularity, power, or spectacular achievements but a gift of grace, a charisma, to be a humble servant who shares his power with others as Jesus modeled for the disciples (John 13:12–16; 21:18–19). It is counter-cultural leadership that comes with God’s call to use power and authority for the common good of all people.

The second issue for our refection is how populism and populist leaders seek to transform economics, which has often become the bandwagon for many populist movements. In defning populism, we observed how the origin of the term is traced to revolutionary peasant movements in Russia and the emergence of a political party in the US that raised issues

52 Ibid., 5.

53 Ibid., 19–20.

54 Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Refections on Christian Leadership (Mumbai: St. Paul’s, 1997), 58.

representing the views of the masses related to the demand for socio-economic justice. Our scripture teaches us that the economy is a moral system established by God. Justice holds together the moral system of economics established upon God’s character: integration (shalom). It involves the Sabbath (cease labor; trust God), land ownership (all should own land; God ultimately owns all land), jubilee (guarding money or land against being an absolute value; giving people a fresh start on life), tithes, oferings, taxes (re-orienting or re-valuing wealth: we can worship through wealth), gleaning practices (leave extra for others, don’t hoard) and justice for the vulnerable: orphans, widows, strangers, and the poor (Deut. 14:29).55

The prophets of the Old Testament repeatedly communicated God’s condemnation of economic injustice among his own chosen people. Jesus’ public ministry was defned through his reading of the prophet Isaiah, the “Nazareth Manifesto” that imagined socio-economic justice for the people (Luke 4:16–30).

Unlike many populist movements that catch the popular imagination of the masses, culminating in protests, revolutions, electoral victory, or defeat, Jesus was rejected as a populist leader. An interesting incident that many ignore in above mentioned Lukan narrative is the conversation that goes on after Jesus reads the scripture. Jesus is rejected and not recognized as a prophet in his hometown and ends up being driven out of the town and almost thrown of of a clif.

As we noted, populism rides on the socio-economic justice bandwagon for popular leaders to assume power. Populist movements attribute their momentum to the grass-

55 Gregg Okesson, “Holistic Mission – How do we approach economics/business,” Powerpoint presentation, MS655, Asbury Theological Seminary, n.d.

root aspiration of the poor, and oppressed. The leaders of these movements claim to represent voices from below and promise to be a catalyst for changing the systems for the common good. It is a diferent story but important to note that many of the successful populist movements advocating for transformation have only been able to bring incremental changes and then fade away. Sajjan Kumar, an Indian political analyst, comments that post-independence India witnessed a sequence of populist governments from the 1970s when the Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) slogan was popularized to win elections that devolved into various kinds of populism without achieving signifcant changes.56 He succinctly states that “a charismatic leader mesmerizes the electorate, strikes an emotional chord, and blurs the distinction between the leader and the led.”57 A leader who follows Jesus Christ cares for the vulnerable, oppressed, and marginalized, responding in holistic witness that challenges the structures and systems that cause distress. The theological response for Christian leaders is not to be carried away by populist movements but to bring transformation within the society through the holistic ministry of the community of faith.

Missiological Implications

The established denominational leadership in India have become administrators of institutions, property, and people rather than shepherding the congregations to face spiritual and socio-economic challenges. Gnana Robinson, a renowned theological educator who served as the head of two leading seminaries in India, shares his impressions and refections on the “Silver Jubilee Session of the Synod of the

56 Sajjan Kumar, “The Limits of Populism,” The Hindu, (India), April 18, 2019, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-limits-of-populism/ article26867609.ece.

57 Ibid.

Church of South India” (the largest protestant denomination in India) held in January 1996, by asking a pertinent question: What does the church have to share with others?58 He quotes the Synod moderator’s address in which the realities of the leadership were described. The moderator had pointed out that casteism, regionalism, and languages caused painful divisions in the life of the church along with group conficts based on power, position, and money that resulted in litigations against one another becoming the norm. This shows how the church’s leadership was being infuenced by the political culture rather than the culture being infuenced by the Church.

The emerging charismatic church leaders in India are entrepreneurs who are focused on growth and expansion at the expense of discipling their congregations to be witnesses in the public sphere. These leaders often resemble business entrepreneurs rather than the leadership modeled by the apostles of Jesus Christ. The Indian mission movement’s leadership also seems to be mirroring the church leadership in their institutional contexts. It is not a surprise that wherever populist leaders emerge within the church and mission context we see more negative impacts than positive. Populist leadership and movements do not always bring efective transformation to society. Churches and missions are God-inspired institutions that survive through several generations amidst persecution and other challenges. Andy Crouch argues that if power is a gift, then institutions are also a gift and can create an environment where image-bearers fourish as God intended.59 He points out that the danger is that institutional leadership can be the cause of injustice and oppression rather than human fourishing.

58 Gnana Robinson, A Voice in the Wilderness (Chennai: Christian Literature Society, 2000), 89–90.

59 Andy Crouch, Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2013), 169–70.

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Gary Yukl and William L. Gardner, discuss the implications for organizations, concluding that charismatic leadership is risky and implies radical changes in the strategy and culture.60 They further posit that giving too much power to individual leaders results in misuse of power and empty dreams, and historical accounts suggest charismatic leaders fail in implementing their radical vision ending in their exit to birth a new organization. Bryant Myers writes that transformational development in the context of Christian witness results in changed people and changed relationships that impact socioeconomic contexts signifcantly.61 This is where we see the critical diference between populist charismatic leadership and leadership with a Christian character. The preceding discussions on defning populist leadership and the theological refection show that as Christians we are called to witness counter-culturally. It is the local congregations who bring social changes if they are envisioned through intentional discipleship that results in action.

In Advocacing for Justice, the authors write that historical avoidance of political institutions and the public realm by evangelicals has revealed that some of our theologies follow political ideologies instead of the church giving its agenda to those exercising political power.62 They add that the lack of unity among Christians has led to inefective witnesses. In response, they frst argue that the Triune God is the foundation for our theological refection on public spaces.63 Second, they

60 Gary Yukl and William L. Gardner, Leadership in Organizations, 9th ed. (London: Pearson, 2020), 234.

61 Bryant L. Myers, Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development, rev. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011), 316.

62 Stephen Ofutt, F. David Bronkema, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Robb Davis, and Gregg Okesson, Advocating for Justice: An Evangelical Vision for Transforming Systems and Structures (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), 174.

63 Ibid., 175–177.

call on the church to recognize the corporate and structural form of sin that has invaded the institutions that were created for common good. We need to redeem these institutions to bring them under the lordship of Jesus. Third, we are called to be God’s witnesses to those in power, advocating for justice. The church has been given the stewardship to be God’s instrument of bringing transformation in this world and not populist leaders or movements. As the church realizes its calling, we can fulfll the vision of Newbigin to become the “basic unit of [a] new society” under the reign of God, as echoed by Okesson.64 In summary, leadership is a calling and a gift from God for the common good of the people and not for any individuals.

Conclusion

During the last decade of the twentieth century, there was a furry of what I would call populist mission and church growth programs like “AD 2000” and “10/40 Window,” promoted by Western nations in India with an eschatological paradigm of preaching the gospel before the end of the world. There were hundreds of consultations, conferences, and networking activities across the country organized to fulfll this vision. Although there was signifcant mobilization of a prayer movement, mission feld research, and networking the dream of fulflling the Great Commission before the end of the millennium was unsuccessful. Robert Coote attributes this to the misplaced understanding of the theory of biblical interpretation.65 This is an example of how populist programs and leadership in churches and missions do not always usher in the kingdom of God, but rather it is the witness of the

64 Okesson, A Public Missiology, 256.

65 Robert Coote, “‘AD 2000’ and the ‘10/40 Window’: A Preliminary Assessment.”

In International Bulletin of Missionary Research 24:4, (October 2000), 160–166.

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community of faith living out the Great Commission among their neighbors that will make a diference.

This essay refected theologically on the culture of populism in political leadership. Populism does not always contribute to the common good, and therefore the response of the missional church should be to model a Christ-centered leadership. Second, it described what populism looks like in India and how Indians understand it. Third, theological refection on populist leadership that seeks to transform economics was discussed to draw out the missiological implications for missional churches in India. The call for faithful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the community of faith among their neighbors is the antidote for populist leadership.

Arato, Andrew. “Political Theology and Populism.” Social Research 80, no. 1 (2013): 143–172.

Berlin, Isaiah, Richard Hofstadter, Donald MacRae, Leonard Schapiro, Hugh Seton-Watson, Alain Touraine, F. Venturi, Andrzej Walicki, and Peter Worsley. “To Defne Populism.” Government and Opposition 3, no. 2 (1968): 137–179.

Crouch, Andy. Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2013.

Coote, Robert. “‘AD 2000’ and the ‘10/40 Window’: A Preliminary Assessment.” In International Bulletin of Missionary Research 24:4. (October 2000): 160-166.

Dhiman, Satinder. “Gandhi: ‘A One-Man Boundary Force!’” In Gandhi and Leadership: New Horizons in Exemplary Leadership, edited by Satinder Dhiman, 1–14. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2015. https://doi. org/10.1057/9781137492357_1.

Myers, Bryant L. Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. Revised edition. Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 2011.

Nouwen, Henri J. M. In the Name of Jesus: Refections on Christian Leadership. Mumbai, India: St. Pauls, 1997.

Ofutt, Stephen, Bronkema, F. David, Vaillancourt Murphy, Krisanne, Davis, Robb, and Okesson, Gregg. Advocating

104 | John A. Karunakaran for Justice: An Evangelical Vision for Transforming Systems and Structures. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

Okesson, Gregg A. A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

Paul, Heike, Ursula Prutsch, and Jürgen Gebhardt, editons. The Comeback of Populism: Transatlantic Perspectives. Publikationen der Bayerischen Amerika-Akademie volume 21. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2019.

Rajagopal, Arvind. “The Rise of Hindu Populism in India’s Public Sphere.” Current History 115, no. 780 (2016): 123–129.

Robinson, Gnana. A Voice in the Wilderness. Chennai: Christian Literature Society, 2000.

Rotner, Loren Justin. “Popular Leadership without Populism? A View from the Founding.” PhD Dissertations, The Claremont Graduate University, 2017.

Stackhouse, Max L., Deirdre King Hainsworth, and Scott Paeth, editions. Public Theology for a Global Society: Essays in Honor of Max L. Stackhouse. Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans, 2010.

Subramanian, Narendra. “Populism in India.” The SAIS Review of International Afairs 27, no. 1 (2007): 81–91.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J., Charles A. Anderson, and Michael J. Sleasman, editions. Everyday Theology: How to Read

Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends. Cultural exegesis. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Weber, Max, and John Dreijmanis. Max Weber’s Complete Writings on Academic and Political Vocations. New York: Algora, 2008.

Yong, Amos. In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology. The Cadbury Lectures 2009. Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans, 2010.

Yukl, Gary, and William L. Gardner. Leadership in Organizations. Ninth edition.London: Pearson, 2020.

Considering Secular Concerts as a Spiritual Experience for an Increasing Religious ‘Nones’ Population and its Implications for Public Theology

Alexandra Swink

Abstract

In today’s Western culture, religion is continuously put under a microscope for analysis and critique. Many Western Millennial and Generation Z individuals have stepped away from traditional Christianity to reexamine and deconstruct the religion they grew up knowing. The Western Church has left many youths with a bad taste in their mouths as they dissociate from a religion that claims love but has demonstrated hate, according to their experiences. These

Alexandra Swink was born and raised in Holland, MI. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She then pursued higher education receiving a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in 2022. Alex continuously looks for unifying factors among people while also celebrating uniqueness in diversity. She now works at a refugee resettlement agency providing case management for immigrant children under fve years old and running three after school clubs in Chicagoland, Illinois.

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experiences have left a large population classifed as religious “nones,” but the name does not forsake their spiritual identity. Though a large number of Western Millennial and Gen Z individuals do not claim a religion, around 36% according to one study, they still experience spirituality through other means (Religious Landscape Study, 2014). A shift away from specifc religiosity towards general spirituality has begun to take place. One sphere where the religious “nones” experience spirituality is through secular concerts. Through secular concerts, the largely religious “nones” youth population experience spirituality, community, connection, forgiveness, and belonging. Since there is a strong opinion to push religion out of the public sphere, Christians must thoughtfully consider how to engage religious “nones” concertgoers to carefully demonstrate the power of a spiritual life aligned with Christ. Therefore, this paper seeks to frst provide context to the socio-cultural meaning behind spirituality and concerts in the Global West. Then it will analyze the theological concepts witnessed in concert culture that could potentially provide avenues to witness to others. This paper will fnish by suggesting ways for Christians to thoughtfully engage with concert culture. The hope is this paper will be used as a resource to educate and produce meaningful relationships with a generation that is spiritually starving.

In 1966, John Lennon, lead singer of the Beatles, once said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go frst, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.” At the height of his popularity, Lennon said something that shocked the nations. He claimed infamy that surpassed Jesus Christ. His opinion that rock and roll may outlast Christianity sparked a conversation over the efects of music and religion. Music, in a sense, became a new religion. Music seemed to captivate the young masses more than any religion could. Those fortunate enough to make it to the spotlight became the idols of a unique form of worship: loyalty, desire, and the need to see the magic for themselves. As time progressed, technology spread the reach of all genres of music to every corner of the world. Instead of turning to the Church, more and more youth of today are turning to music as well as musicians for answers, community, and as a means to shape their lives.

Western Millennials and Gen Z individuals are more skeptical of the Church than previous generations. Many grew up in the church and have since come to distrust a religion that claims to promote love and instead tends to demonstrate hate. Their distrust of the truth claims of the Church has thus propelled them on a journey toward deconstruction and discovery of the truth. Today, more and more individuals hope to push religion, especially Christianity, out of the public sphere. Whether this is from historical or personal burns, Christianity is avoided and often viewed as hostile, traditionalist, or unaccepting. In fact, only 56% of younger millennials consider themselves Christians, 8% practice non-Christian faiths, and

36% are unafliated or religious “nones.”1 Religious “nones” refers to those who are self-identifed atheists, agnostics, or involved in a religion of “nothing in particular,” which “now make up roughly 23% of the US adult population, a 7% increase from the Religious Landscape Study population in 2007.”2 The percentage of millennial religious “nones” continues to increase as the years advance. And “nearly one-in-fve Americans (18%) have moved in the other direction, saying that they were raised as Christians or members of another faith but that they now have no religious afliation.”3

Religion has since lost its signifcance to the youths of today. According to a Religious Landscape Study in 2014, of the thirty-fve thousand younger Millennial participants, 38% said religion was very important in their lives with 17% said it was not too important, and 16% claimed it was not important at all.4 Also, 46% of the younger Millennial population said they were guided on right or wrong by common sense versus the 23% who claimed they were guided by religion.5 In other words, the role of religion in the lives of Millennials and Gen Z individuals has little importance in their lives, little impact on their decision-making, and little impact on their sense of right and wrong. Although this population may not embrace spirituality through religion, they are highly spiritual and give spiritual meaning to other aspects of public life, including secular music and concerts. This begs the question: If Millennials and Gen Z

1 Religious Landscape Study, “Younger Millennials: Religious Composition of Younger Millennials,” Pew Research Center, 2014, https://www.pewforum.org/ religious-landscape-study/generational-cohort/younger-millennial/.

2 Michael Lipka, “A Closer Look at America’s Rapidly Growing Religious ‘Nones’,” Pew Research Center, May 13, 2015, https://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2015/05/13/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones/.

3 Michael Lipka, “A Closer Look.”

4 Religious Landscape Study, “Younger Millennials: Religious Composition.”

5 Ibid.

individuals do not connect with Christianity, what is it about secular music or concerts that draw this population nearer? Christianity has lost its favor with the youth of today, leaving them lost and searching for new avenues of knowledge, truth, community, and self-discovery. It is through secular music and concerts that they fnd answers to life’s most difcult questions.

Unlike Christianity, individuals connect to themselves and others in unexplainable ways at secular concerts or music festivals. To the spiritual non-religious individual, concerts are a way to experience spirituality and phenomena outside of themselves. At concerts, people fnd community, thick connection, deep forgiveness, and an overwhelming sense of belonging. The challenge for Christians today is to understand this experience and fgure out how to witness to the people within this context. As religion is distanced from the public sphere, Christians must think of how to critically engage concert-goers and build connections to witness the Good News of Jesus unobtrusively and intentionally. This paper will provide a socio-cultural analysis of spirituality and secular concerts to then argue, given this meaning, that there is a dire need for Christians to engage with concert culture to present the gospel and convey the theological truths of Christianity.

An Examination into the Socio-cultural Meaning of Spirituality and Secular Concerts

To begin, this frst section will address and examine the socio-cultural meanings behind spirituality and secular concerts, which will later provide insight into the necessity of Christian engagement. Specifcally, it will answer a few questions: What draws Millennials and Gen Z individuals to secular concert experiences over religion, specifcally Christianity? What is the culture behind secular concerts? What do secular concerts,

artists, and music ofer this population that Christianity does not? This section will begin by analyzing the key characteristics of secular concert culture. Then it will distinguish between the defnitions of religion and spirituality. Following the defnition of spirituality is an analysis of secular concerts as a spiritual experience, looking into the deifcation of band members and their hand in discipleship.

Secular Concert Culture

One of life’s biggest quests is self-discovery, looking to answer the question; Who am I and how do I ft into society? During this time of self-discovery, everyone is searching for meaning and how they connect to their fellow humans. Individuals begin to shape their identity around criteria like gender, sexual orientation, religion, and occupation. These identity markers can also be unifers. Shared characteristics, hobbies, or experiences bring people together, unifying humanity. One such experience that unites people under one identity is the concert experience. After considering the information gathered from a variety of sources, one common theme emerged as a key contributor to concert culture: unity in community. Those gathered at concerts felt seen, free, and part of a community unlike any other. They describe in great detail the beauty of diverse communities united under one love of music. The experience of unity in community at concerts leaves people wanting more. From this desire derives a newfound motivation to seek additional opportunities to encounter those with a similar devotion to music, including places like the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington.

The Experience Music Project is a museum and concert hall devoted to music. At its center is the Sky Church, an area designed by Paul Allen and inspired by the famous guitarist,

Jimi Hendrix, “who envisioned that one day there would be a place where people from all diferent backgrounds could gather and talk about, listen to, and celebrate music.”

6 The Sky Church was to be a place where people from all walks of life could gather and enjoy music in fellowship. However, for those who understand, it does not take a building like the Sky Church to “remind music fans that attending a concert is very much a spiritual experience,” where people gather together to “hear and experience music in a close, intimate, and often spiritual way.”7 Though the Sky Church is the vessel to a rich experience, it is not the location that matters, but the intimate, spiritual experience of music alongside people who understand its power. To these people, music is unifying. One individual puts it this way: “We were all lost in the moment, lost in ourselves, and joined together in our love and excitement of being in the same room as [the] band.”

8 The culture of secular concerts is defned by community and unity.

Leigh Robshaw, a once Catholic and now atheist writer and journalist, discusses the topic of rock concerts as a spiritual experience in a blog post “When rock concerts are a spiritual experience.” She described how she used to fnd comfort in the gathering of believers in the Catholic church, but as she grew older, she began to challenge the beliefs of the Church. Therefore, instead of fnding a connection with the people at her church, she found a more authentic community among concert-goers like herself. She wrote that concerts were a place where “the audience becomes united with the musicians

6 Beth Winegarner, “The Mystic in the Arena: The Concert as a Spiritual Journey,” Medium, March 10, 2020, https://bethwinegarner.medium.com/the-mystic-inthe-arena-the-concert-as-a-spiritual-journey-fdc935ce5768.

7 Beth Winegarner, “The Mystic in the Arena.”

8 Erin Bisesti, “The Spirituality in Concerts: What I discovered at a Florence and The Machine concert,” The Odyssey Online, May 24, 2016, https://www. theodysseyonline.com/the-spirituality-in-concerts.

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and you can feel a palpable sense of connection to the entire universe—or at least something greater than yourself—through the music.”9 Here, Robshaw illustrates her understanding of community as a concert culture marker in her description of the connection and purpose found under a united audience. Robshaw, as with many others, places value and meaning on her identity as a concert-goer. Again, Robshaw’s perception of concerts further proves the theory that Millennials and Gen Z individuals encounter the spiritual world without practicing a certain religious tradition.

Not only does this population understand one another in indescribable ways while attending a concert, but there is also a spiritual element. A rather large population of those who attend secular concerts and view them as a spiritual experience are those who grew up in the Church and have since left. Although this population does not classify themselves as religious, they still have a high regard for spirituality and often continue their relationship with the spiritual world after leaving the Church. One author describes her separation from the Church but not spirituality as follows: “Admittedly, like many adults who grew up spending more days than not in church, I would defne myself as more spiritual than religious on the grand spectrum of beliefs.”10 Now, Millennials and Gen Z individuals are classifying themselves as spiritual but not religious. This begs the question, what is the diference between religion and spirituality?

9 Leigh Robshaw, “When Rock Concerts Are a Spiritual Experience,” blog, March 18, 2013, https://www.leighrobshaw.net/when-rock-concerts-are-a-spiritualexperience/.

10 Erica Hawkins, “Losing my Religion and Finding Music: After I stopped going to church, concerts became my religious ritual,” Nylon Magazine, January 4, 2019, https://www.nylon.com/religion-music-concerts.

Religion versus Spirituality

Religion and spirituality live in the same vein of existence; however, there are a few distinguishing factors between the two. One source refers to religion as an “organized approach to the supernatural reality through human activities, which are mostly spiritual and usually encompass a set of narratives, beliefs, and practices.”

11 Religion looks into ultimate meaning, expresses those values, and is characterized by faith. Over time, and due to some infuence by modernization and secularization, the practice of organized religion has decreased as spirituality has increased. Whereas religion typically speaks to a structured belief system devoted to the will of a God or gods, spirituality, according to one source, is a “multiform search for a transcendent meaning of life based on the refection of our human experience on the level of being” where people are conscious of a connection with all of creation.

12 In other words, religion is considered an organized faith system while spirituality refers specifcally to spiritual experiences and the fow of energy. The main diference between the two, as described by one author, is that “spirituality does not imply a doctrinal belief whereas religion claims an awareness of God that is institutionalized and supported by a rational doctrine.”

13 Though some may disagree with this diferentiation, it is important to distinguish between the two as more Millennials and Gen Z individuals claim to be spiritual but not religious. To many of today’s youth, religion and spirituality are not one and the same.

11 Paul de Blot, “Religion and Spirituality,” In Bouckaert L., Zsolnai L. (eds) Handbook of Spirituality and Business, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230321458_2.

12 Paul de Blot, “Losing my Religion and Finding Music.”

13 Ibid.

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Secular Concerts as a Spiritual Experience

After reviewing the information on the diference between religion and spirituality, one can understand how this population witnesses spirituality in their secular concert experiences. For some, the spiritual realities they face in secular concerts are far greater than in the Church. Kate Ryan, in an opinion piece for Elite Daily magazine titled “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion And God to More Rock Concerts,” wrote, “Last night was the most spiritual experience of my life. I wasn’t at church or kneeling in front of an altar; I was at a rock concert.”14 In just a few words, Ryan expressed the spiritual reality of secular concerts that many face. Spiritual experiences are almost expected now for concert attendees. For many, “attending a concert, whether [as] an avid fan or just a quiet observer, opens up a door to connectivity and magic comparable to attending a worship service.”15 In other words, attending a concert can lead to a spiritual encounter that is on par with a religious worship service. Some claim to feel “something even greater than God at [a] concert, and . . . [operate] on some sort of higher plane for weeks afterwards.”16 The spiritual encounters impress upon the hearts of concert-goers and ofer long-lasting efects that cannot be shaken. Again, this population engages with a spiritual realm that they believe is not necessarily connected to a certain religion. Why do these individuals turn from the Holy Spirit found in Christianity to a general spirituality?

Michael Graziano, professor of neuroscience at Princeton University, ofers a diferent perspective on music as a spiritual experience with a scientifc lens. Graziano is a self-proclaimed

14 Kate Ryan, “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion And God to More Rock Concerts,” March 10, 2016, Elite Daily, https://www.elitedaily.com/music/ditchreligion-more-rock-concerts/1416547.

15 Erin Bisesti, “The Spirituality in Concerts.”

16 Leigh Robshaw, “When Rock Concerts are a Spiritual Experience.”

scientifc atheist with empathy for religion and high regard for emotional reverence. In his research, Graziano found that the human brain can process sounds and perceive the syntax of music, but recognizes that this does not explain the spiritual element of music. Graziano asks the question, What is the relationship between music and spiritual encounters? There are many common themes between religion and music, according to Graziano, but music seems to intensify emotions. Again, this is a simple explanation for a complex question. He writes that it is “something else harder to put into words, something that goes beyond cultural impact, [that] unites music and religion,” which he believes may be reverence and awe.17 Although listeners experience a higher power, many are hesitant to name the power as God. Science cannot fully explain the connection between religion or spirituality and music to the listener, though there is a deep correlation between the two, even for atheists or those in the religious “nones” category.

The responsibility for cultivating spiritual experiences at secular concerts in part falls on the artists. The musicians are the ones who perform and control the energy of the room. They are the ones who can tap “into the collective sense of alienation many people feel in life, and [do] it in such a highly artistic way it becomes transcendental. They do it in a way that relieves the alienation and connects people.”18 Musicians are signifcant players in the spiritualization of secular concert experiences. Often, the musicians are then deifed and sought after as examples of how to live a good life.

17 Michael Graziano, “Why is Music a Religious Experience,” Hufpost, June 15, 2011, https://www.hufpost.com/entry/why-is-mozart-a-religious_b_875352.

18 Leigh Robshaw, “When Rock Concerts are a Spiritual Experience.”

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Deifcation of Band Members and Discipleship

As concert attendees encounter spirituality at concerts, they look for the source of its happenstance; therefore, the role of the musician transitions to one of a spiritual guide. As spiritual guides, they are charged with the responsibility to care for and guide the crowd. Some musicians act as a spiritual guide for the betterment of those attending their concert, while others take advantage of the power given to them. For example, the lead singer of the band Live, Ed Kowalczyk, was a Tibetan Buddhist who performed with powerful energy. His songs relayed his “own theological and spiritual thoughts and experiences,” which formulated energy among the crowds that was not always one of fourishing.19 Kowalczyk is criticized for using this energy unwisely and with a lack of respect, which contradicts the use of energy for good that other musicians practice, including Tori Amos. Amos claims to have been taught how to sense energy, shape energy, and use it for growth and understanding.20 The energy that the musicians wield can be used for good or evil, according to spiritual individuals. Wielding and using crowd energy is but one role musicians fll as spiritual guides.

Not only do they have the responsibility to create the mood of a show, but they are also viewed as a source of wisdom and advice. There are times when, “a community relies upon its mystic,” in this case, the musicians, “to bring it new information and enlightenment; although the mystic most often exists on the perimeter of the community, he or she is seen as its spiritual leader.”21 Musicians are placed in the spotlight and constantly observed by fans over their every move. Their infuence in

19 Beth Winegarner, “The Mystic in the Arena.”

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

defning a worthy life hints at the power they are given to disciple people. The concert attendees look toward their music icons for an example to follow on how to act, what to think, and how to live life well. In a sense, “the musician becomes the mystic, leading listeners to bliss, to dark and dangerous places, to enlightenment or disaster. Some musicians know what they are doing, and use their position to create a unity, a group experience; others unknowingly wield this power, some for better, and some for worse.”22

Erin Bisesti in her article, “The Spirituality in Concerts,” provides the example of Florence from Florence and The Machine as a musician who was viewed as a spiritual guide. Bisesti described the otherworldly qualities of the lead singer’s actions as follows:

She gave fowers to fans on the edge of the General Admissions area and stopped to let people touch her and say hello. I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t really the fan’s reactions that caught me by surprise, it was the way in which they interacted with her. It was reverence over being starstruck, and instead of wanting selfes with her, they really just wanted to reach out and touch her. Everyone was unabashedly worshiping her.23

Florence was a spiritual leader to the concertgoers. She was seen and treated as a higher power that would bring blessing if they could only touch her. At one point during the concert, “the spotlight shone directly on her, almost too bright for the darkness of the stadium and she spread her arms out wide, casting a cross-like shadow across the stage.”24 This is another example of how Bisesti and others have spiritualized musicians,

22 Ibid.

23 Erin Bisesti, “The Spirituality in Concerts.”

24 Ibid.

lifting them into higher positions of power and using Biblical language to describe their infuence. Equally important to their sovereignty is the musicians’ humility. Robshaw writes that it is a musician’s job to use their “connection with people on a heart and soul level, [to show their] humanness . . . showing people they are just like [them]. That . . . rather than priests on pulpits in robes, is what being truly spiritual is all about.”25 To be a spiritual guide is to connect with people in humility with their humanity.

What Secular Music Experiences O er that the Church Does Not

In her blog post on rock concerts as a spiritual experience, Robshaw also wrote, “I don’t go to church. For me, a good rock concert is more of a spiritual experience than church.”26 Why do Millennials and Gen Z concert attendees connect spiritually with secular concerts more than they do with the Church and a relationship with God? What is it that secular concerts ofer that Christianity does not? In a world where both the secular and the sacred are vying for attention, what distinguishes mainstream spirituality from religious spirituality?

As previously mentioned, there is a signifcant correlation between music and spirituality. According to a New York Times article, there are also similar health benefts of religious attendance as with listening to music, including a boost in the immune system, a decrease in blood pressure, and an increase in life expectancy.27 Despite the similar health benefts of regular religious attendance and listening to music, there are a variety of things the Church does not ofer that the world of music does, according to the voices of non-Christian

25 Leigh Robshaw, “When Rock Concerts are a Spiritual Experience.”

26 Ibid.

27 Erica Hawkins, “Losing my Religion and Finding Music.”

concert attendees. One area where secular concerts provide something over the Church is open dialogue. Many people feel they cannot openly discuss their struggles or addictions without facing ridicule by the Church. In an interview with Kristy Guilbault, Erin Hawkins wrote how Guilbault found she was “able to talk candidly about her anxiety and depression, two topics that her church didn’t seem as comfortable with her sharing.”28 The secular world of music was able to address and discuss uncomfortable topics that the Church was unable or unwilling to discuss.

Self-proclaimed atheist, Kate Ryan, in her article “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion And God to More Rock Concerts” on Elite Daily shared her reasons for turning to concerts over religion. To Ryan, spirituality is not as straightforward as some claim it to be, it is instead malleable: “While I don’t believe in some old white dude watching everything I do (creepy) or adhere to any organized religion’s rules, I’m not as godless as you might think.”29 She describes herself as a spiritual person who believes in the bondage of energy between and among people. Ryan believes that the only chance at salvation is through rock concerts, that only music can provide the replenishment the soul needs.30 She uses blunt language that does not shy away from her disdain for organized religion. Ryan fnds her answers to life’s mysteries in music. She describes how the song “Sunday” by Iggy Pop is a song about “feeling apathetic in a spiritually vacant consumer culture with the lyrics that are more truthful than any Bible verse.”31 She concludes her opinion piece by saying, “Neither does the church of rock discriminate based on race, gender, sexuality or class. You go for the pure joy of it, stay

28 Ibid.

29 Kate Ryan, “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion.”

30 Ibid.

31 Kate Ryan, “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion.”

for the transformative sounds and leave with a renewed sense of humanity’s possibility.”

32 Essentially, to Ryan, the “church of rock” ofers a freedom of expression, support of identity, and joy unlike what the Church of Christ can ofer. Through music, this population feels they can talk about their issues openly and be met with support from an all-inclusive community that understands their struggles. This is what the Church aims to do but is unsuccessful in implementing, which is why young people are turning to other communities for acceptance and answers.

eological Engagement

After assessing the socio-cultural meanings between spirituality and secular concert experiences, this next section will engage with the material to analyze the theological connections. It will draw connections between theological themes Millennial and Gen Z concertgoers experience and address the truth behind the theological themes found in Christianity. This section will critique the spiritual claims of secular concert experiences and describe the theological truths of Christianity to counteract those claims. This section will argue that the concepts of community and discipleship are best understood in theological terms within the context of a relationship with Christ found in Christianity instead of in secular concert culture.

Community

As previously mentioned, unity in community is a signifcant marker of secular concert culture. Through the secular concert community, individuals become more comfortable with their identity and feel accepted by a

diverse group that resonates with their challenges in life. The community surrounding secular concert culture is beautiful; however, it is not a complete image. Christian communities grounded in Scripture that step into the will of God in His already-not-yet kingdom and are unifed under one identity as children of God are the best examples of a community right with God. God created people to be with one another in community.

In the beginning, Eve was created from Adam because it was “not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). God saw it was not good for Adam to be alone, so he made Eve so the two could live together in a harmonious community in the garden of Eden. Therefore, from the beginning, God created humans to be social beings. After the Fall, the perfect refection of a godly community was destroyed. The community of humanity would never be the same until the day of Jesus’s second coming, and they continually strove to be God. After the Fall, the people on earth tried to build a tower, the tower of Babel, in an attempt to glorify and make a name for themselves. God saw the accomplishments of these people and their desire to do the impossible, so He scattered them throughout the earth and confused their languages (Gen. 11:1–9). This is arguably where God further developed the concept of diversity within humanity. The scattering of humanity led to a diversity of people, giftings, and perspectives of the faith. Despite the signifcant array of diferences over time between people groups, Christians around the world unite under their identity as children of God: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). God loved his people so much that he sent his Son to solidify their relationship with Him as children of God.

Therefore, the diferences between the children of God are building blocks, not stumbling blocks. In 1 Corinthians 12,

Paul provides an account for the unity and diversity of the body of believers. The frst few verses describe how “just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Cor. 12:12–13). Christians are a part of a diverse community of believers whose diferences help build the Church. The diversity of the Church should be a unifying factor as well as something that encourages learning and conversations about the diferent elements of faith. However, in our humanity, Christians have come to hold diferences for what they are: diferences. This broken image of Christian community as one that is not unifed or embracing of the other is why so many young Millennials and Gen Z individuals turn from the Church and run to secular concerts. Therefore, what should be a united, diverse community devoted to a posture of embrace as imaged by the Father from the very beginning, is perceived as intolerant and bigoted by younger generations. To combat this perception, Christians must reclaim the truth of community and live out its standards as outlined by God.

Leadership and Discipleship

In addition to the concept of community, leadership and discipleship must also be reclaimed to reach the younger generation of secular concert attendees. As previously mentioned, the spiritualization of band members as spiritual leaders who guide their fans in discipleship is a cheap interpretation of the true leadership and discipleship found under God and Christ the Son. The leaders of this world are cheap imitations of the one, true God. The author of 1 Corinthians writes,

So then, about eating food sacrifced to idols: We know that ‘An idol is nothing at all in the world’ and that ‘There is no God but one.’ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Cor. 8:4–6).

Though this passage was a response to the sacrifce of food to idols, Paul reminds the audience of the identity of the one God, the Father, and the one Lord, Jesus Christ. Outside of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no other god. The musicians of this world are idols and are thus deifed, but there is only one true God and that is God the Father. Similarly, there is only one way to salvation, and that is through Christ the Son.

Kate Ryan described the path toward salvation as one paved by rock concerts; however, this is simply untrue if someone is a Christian. Christians understand that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. John 14:6–7 reminds Christians of this reality: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Jesus is the only way to truth and a life with God the Father. The leaders of this world, including mainstream musicians, will be spiritualized and deifed, thus promoting the idea that following them will bring clarity and salvation. However, Jesus is the only way to salvation and the perfect example of how to live as a holy human being. Jesus was fully God and fully human, and he lived a perfect life that should be modeled. In Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross

and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Christians are charged to deny themselves and follow Jesus’ example, not the examples of this earth. Therefore, those who look to leaders of this world for guidance, including secular musicians, will be led astray since Jesus is the only way to salvation and the only example of how to live a perfect life.

Implications for Interacting with is Population as Christians

Can the distorted understandings of community, leadership, and discipleship in secular concert culture be redeemed? Can God work through secular music to reveal the Gospel and the story of his love to non-Christians? In short, if God can draw people toward him through creation and revelation, he can do it through secular music. There is no stopping God. So how can God use his followers to engage this population and preach the gospel in a non-intrusive way? This fnal section will suggest ways that Christians can engage with this population to ultimately share the Good News. It will frst focus on the role of the local Church in worship services and then move on to suggest ways that Christian musicians in the secular music industry can share the gospel in word and deed.

Local Church Worship Services

One of the biggest ways Christians can engage with and teach the truth of the Gospel to Millennial and Gen Z religious “nones” who fnd their community at concerts is through the local church and their worship services. The local Church provides an opportunity to help this population connect to God through music. However, there has been the temptation within churches to only focus on the mechanics of the musical performance, and they thus lose sight of Jesus along the way.

Modern worship uses similar tools as rock concerts to engage a certain audience; however, an important question to ask is, Does the local church use these tools solely to draw people in? “The truth is that if we only look to draw a crowd, we miss the richness of the process of reaching people with the gospel.”33 A captivating musical worship experience must strive to reach people with the gospel above anything else.

In his article, “5 Ways a Rock Concert is Like a Good Worship Service,” Rich Kirkpatrick shares fve movements in traditional Christian worship and their comparison to rock concerts. These fve movements provide insight as to how the local church can reach non-Christian concert attendees. Kirkpatrick begins by describing the sacrality of the church worship gathering and the concert gathering. Both events are sacred. A band prepares the audience for the night and the sacred atmosphere of the gathering can never be recreated. The same sense of sacrality is evident but sometimes missing from churches. Kirkpatrick encourages his readers to question whether or not they believe worship services are sacred gatherings. He writes, “When we program our digital lighting rig, are we thinking of a holy gathering, or attracting crowds? The transcendent experience of being together with others on a spiritual pilgrimage is our expectation of our gatherings. How do we keep our space holy? . . . Is our aim to attract, as well as create a sacred space?”34 The answers to these questions will guide how a church should engage religious “nones.” If the answer to these questions focuses solely on the captivation of a crowd without fostering sacrality that leads to an admiration of God and experiencing intimacy with Him, then churches

33 Rich Kirkpatrick, “5 Ways a Rock Concert is Like a Good Worship Service,” ShareFaith Magazine, (2016), https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2016/12/rockconcert-worship-service/.

34 Ibid.

are missing the point. Churches must develop their worship services with the hope of fostering a sacred space and holy gathering.

The second movement in traditional Christian worship and its comparison to rock concerts considers the power of stories. Kirkpatrick asks, “In our worship, do we call people to see themselves before God as they are? At a good concert, the artist sings songs with stories that we all can personally relate to . . . Our core self connects to the story, and we are exposed in a spiritual sense.”35 Church worship services have moved from meeting people where they are to expecting appropriate behavior. Now, “in a worship service, often our stories are told in a way to inform how we should behave, rather than reveal our true selves.”36 Kirkpatrick argues that we must encourage people to worship God as they are, to accept themselves as imperfect, and worship the God who is perfect. The local church can engage the religious “nones” by eliminating the perception of perfection and embracing the messy reality of humanity.

The third movement assesses the incorporation of inclusivity at church and rock concerts. Similar to the previous movement which discussed the signifcance of authentically embracing people where they are, Kirkpatrick turns to share how the church must not only embrace others but also invite them into the worship experience. A concert brings people closer to an artist, unites them in their identities as fans, and invites them to participate in a sacramental moment. The concert attendees are encouraged to engage with this community and its sacraments. Kirkpatrick asks, “Do we invite people to belong with us and with Christ in our worship? While the ‘table’ ofered at a rock concert is an experience, we invite

people to walk in the promise of the presence of our Creator.”37 The local church needs to invite others into the presence of a body of believers and the Creator to best engage the religious “nones” in a conversation on the gospel. However, Christians must also not negate the power of going outside the church to be a witness to non-Christians in the public sphere. There must be both the invitation into the church and the sending out of the church.

The fnal two movements analyze initiation and missional living. Initiation implies an invitation into a group and something that solidifes a sense of belonging. Within Christianity, baptism serves as an event that solidifes a relationship with God. For the secular concert culture, “When you belong to the tribe of a particular band, the mission is to let others know about the experience that band gave you. The mission of a rock band essentially is not to draw a crowd, but to serve the crowd by ofering a fantastic and authentic experience.”38 Sharing is a knee-jerk response to a life-altering event. Therefore, in Christianity, followers of Christ share the Good News as an outpouring of love and obedience to a loving God. The challenge for the local church, then, is to express the signifcance of baptism and share the Good News about God to others as an outpouring of love and obedience to Him.

Kirkpatrick summarizes the role of the local church in engaging the secular music audience: “The experience of our Christian worship is deeper because of who we gather to meet with. Imagine if we could be and bring our true selves to a sacred place. And, imagine if we add to that meeting with Christ.”39

Experiences in Christian worship are deepened by

the shared sacred atmosphere among Christ-followers as they encounter God.

e Role of Christian Musicians in the Secular Music Industry.

Another way to engage with the Millennial and Gen Z religious “nones” is for popular Christian musicians to serve as witnesses of the gospel in the secular music industry. There is a need for a ministry that teaches those in the secular music industry about the gospel. Christian musicians can use their platform to witness to the people around them, including their bandmates and audience. All Christians are called to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, including those in the music industry. When making disciples and sharing the Good News, it does not necessarily mean Christian musicians must stay under a contract with a Christian label. Christian musicians, or in some cases, musicians who are Christian, can and should produce music in the secular music industry.

One example of a band that have recorded under both a mainstream and Christian record label is Switchfoot. Switchfoot “released their frst album, The Legend of Chin, as one of the frst bands signed to Rethink Records, a label formed to distribute the work of Christian musicians beyond a strictly Christian audience. Soon after, Rethink Records was bought out by Sparrow Records, a staple in the Christian music market.”40 At frst, Switchfoot was a part of the record label, Rethink Records, which was intentional about producing music that individuals outside of the typical Christian audience would enjoy. Then Rethink Records was bought and run by the Christian label, Sparrow Records, which only released Switchfoot’s music to Christian vendors and to radio

40 Ronald F. Barnett, “The Rise of the Christian-Secular Band. Veritas, October 11, 2015, https://veritas.enc.edu/2015/10/11/rise-christian-secular-band/.

stations that catered to a Christian audience. The lead singer of Switchfoot, Jon Foreman, commented, “When Sparrow bought out Rethink, half of who we were was lost . . . As a Christian, I have a lot to say within the walls of the church. But also, as a Christian, I’ve got a lot to say just about life in general.’”41 Foreman did not want to be stuck under a label that produced Christian music solely for a Christian audience. He understood the signifcance of reaching religious “nones” with his relatable music that happened to have theological underpinnings.

Another strong example of a band with Christian members that produces music in the secular world is Twenty One Pilots. Twenty One Pilots is an extremely popular alternative hip hop music duo that most listeners would not realize were Christians. Twenty One Pilots is popular in large for their relatability on mental health issues. The masses are drawn to their music because they can relate to the words. Twenty One Pilots creates music that discusses themes like depression and insecurities while also emphasizing hope. What makes Twenty One Pilots diferent from other Christian musicians performing in the secular music realm is their attitude on explicitly sharing their religious beliefs in music. The lead singer, Tyler Joseph, said, “We don’t want to get on stage and tell people what they should believe . . . We want you to think . . . to fgure out these questions. If any one person was helped or encouraged in any way by our music, then our careers are completely justifed.”42 They could be critiqued for not using their platform to fulfll their calling of the Great Commission, but their posture of presenting the material and letting others fgure out the meaning for themselves is commendable. Often, Millennials and Gen Z individuals do not want to be told what to believe, as they were subject to that growing up. Instead, they 41

want to fgure out the truth for themselves, so as they analyze the meanings behind Twenty One Pilot songs, they will fnd truths from the Gospel.

Many bands that have Christian members do not want to be labeled as a “Christian band” because it puts them in a box and most non-Christians would immediately change the channel. Some people “see a band labeled as a ‘Christian band’ and decide they don’t want to listen to them because they’re Christian. So . . . some of these bands decide not to label themselves ‘Christian’ in order to reach another group of people.’”43 Being involved in the public realm, then, opens up conversations to people who have not heard the gospel before. It also provides opportunities for discipleship among band members and songs with implicit theological meanings.

Christian artists can use their platform to minister in an unobtrusive way to their audience, band members, and industry. They can use their platform to produce relatable music that hints at the hope found in Jesus Christ as well as to evangelize to those around them. Christian musicians also step onto the mission feld when they perform in the public realm. Bob Kaufin, in his article “Can Christian Musicians Play Secular Music for God’s Glory,” summarizes it best when he writes, “Christian musicians in the general marketplace have the opportunity to infuence non-Christians not only with their music but with their lives. God may give them opportunities to share the Gospel with others who may never be reached otherwise.”44 The music industry is a unique mission feld that needs more Christian musicians willing to engage with

43 Ibid.

44 Bob Kaufin, “Can Christian Musicians Play Secular Music for God’s Glory? Worship Matters: Resources for Music, Worship, & More, January 18, 2008, https:// worshipmatters.com/2008/01/18/can-christian-musicians-play-secular-musicfor-gods-glory/.

its community members. As they engage with the Millennial and Gen Z religious “nones” concert-goers, they can share how God is the one they experience during concerts, not simply a generic spiritual energy.

Conclusion

This paper served to relay the importance of Christian engagement with Millennial and Gen Z religious “none” concert-goers. It frst examined the socio-cultural meaning of spirituality and secular concerts. In this section, the key characteristics of secular concert culture were presented as well as the diference between religion and spirituality, concerts as a spiritual experience looking to the deifcation of band members, and what secular music experiences ofer that the Church does not. The next section took a theological approach to defning and correcting the theological misconceptions of community, leadership, and discipleship among this population. To conclude, the fnal section provided realistic ways that Christians can engage with secular concert attendees, including interactive, intentional local church worship services and by sending popular Christian musicians into the mission feld of the secular music realm. Although there is some evidence that John Lennon may have been correct when he said Christianity will go and essentially be replaced by rock music, Christians must enter the conversation to avoid this trajectory. Christians must enter the secular music world to engage younger generations who have turned from the church and embraced a general spirituality that does not fully bless like a relationship with the Father would.

Barnett, Ronald F. “The Rise of the Christian-Secular Band.” Veritas. October 11, 2015. https://veritas.enc.edu/2015/10/11/ rise-christian-secular-band/.

Bisesti, Eric. “The Spirituality in Concerts: What I discovered at a Florence and The Machine concert.” The Odyssey Online. May 24, 2016. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/ the-spirituality-in-concerts.

de Blot, Paul. “Religion and Spirituality.” In: Bouckaert L., Zsolnai L. (eds) Handbook of Spirituality and Business. (2011). https:// doi.org/10.1057/9780230321458_2.

Graziano, Michael. “Why is Music a Religious Experience.” Hufpost. June 15, 2011. https://www.hufpost.com/entry/ why-is-mozart-a-religious_b_875352.

Hawkins, Eric. “Losing my Religion and Finding Music: After I Stopped Going to Church, Concerts Became My Religious Ritual.” Nylon Magazine. January 4, 2019. https://www. nylon.com/religion-music-concerts.

Kaufin, Bob. “Can Christian Musicians Play Secular Music for God’s Glory?” Worship Matters: Resources for Music, Worship, & More. January 18, 2008. https://worshipmatters. com/2008/01/18/can-christian-musicians-play-secularmusic-for-gods-glory/.

Kirkpatrick, Rich. “5 Ways a Rock Concert is Like a Good Worship Service.” ShareFaith Magazine. 2016. https:// www.sharefaith.com/blog/2016/12/rock-concert-worshipservice/.

Lipka, Michael. “A Closer Look at America’s Rapidly Growing Religious ‘Nones’.” Pew Research Center. May 13, 2015,

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/13/acloser-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religiousnones/.

Religious Landscape Study. “Younger Millennials: Religious Composition of Younger Millennials.” Pew Research Center. 2014. https://www.pewforum.org/religiouslandscape-study/generational-cohort/youngermillennial/.

Robshaw, Leigh. “When Rock Concerts Are a Spiritual Experience.” March 18, 2013. https://www.leighrobshaw. net/when-rock-concerts-are-a-spiritual-experience/.

Ryan, Kate. “Here’s Why You Should Ditch Religion And God to More Rock Concerts.” Elite Daily. March 10, 2016.

https://www.elitedaily.com/music/ditch-religion-morerock-concerts/1416547.

Winegarner, Beth. “The Mystic in the Arena: The Concert as a Spiritual Journey.” Medium. March 10, 2020. https:// bethwinegarner.medium.com/the-mystic-in-the-arenathe-concert-as-a-spiritual-journey-fdc935ce5768.

Exploring the Public Role of the Church in Contemporary Politics of Myanmar

Hkun Ja

Introduction

February 1, 2021 is an unforgettable yet unpleasant memory for the people of Myanmar. It was the day that the Burmese military, known as Tatmadaw, reclaimed its authoritarian political power by regressing to the practice of military coups already endured by the nation in 1958, 1962, and 1990. On February 2 the military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, created the State Administration Council (SAC), which was comprised of senior military ofcials and a few pro-military politicians to control the state. Meanwhile, Hlaing arrested the democratically elected president, members of parliament, and pro-democracy political leaders and cracked down violently on political parties that opposed the military.

Hkun Ja is a doctoral student in intercultural studies at Asbury

Theological Seminary. He frmly believes peace cannot be achieved by violent means, but only through dialogue and mutual respect. He was involved in the teaching ministry in Myanmar. His ministry in Myanmar included peace and reconciliation, and development work. He was born and raised during the Civil War. He lost his biological father in the Civil War when he was fve years old, and his younger brother was one.

Protests against the coup were not unexpected. But the magnitude of the young protest population and the forms of resistance surprised the Tatmadaw. The resistance was creative and diverse and ranged from peaceful rallies and civil disobedience movements to armed resistance. Initially, the protests were peaceful. Thousands of civilians assembled in streets across the country and demanded for the release of Suu Kyi, ministers, politicians and for the restoration of the NLD government.1 The Tatmadaw responded to the unarmed protesters with shooting and brutal repression.2 More than 1,560 protesters, primarily youths, have been killed under the Tatmadaw’s violent suppression since the beginning of the coup.3

Christians in Myanmar have responded in diferent ways to this military coup, and these reactions can be broadly categorized into four groups. The frst group has cooperated with the Tatmadaw. Many of the leaders of the SAC in Kachin, Karen, Karenni, and Chin States are Christians, and some inner circles of the SAC in the ethnic states are also Christians whose support is largely driven by either their business interests or personal advantages they might receive. The second group is Christians who resisted the Tatmadaw publicly but peacefully. Some protesters were government staf working at diferent departments, although most of them were from health and education ministries. Christian ministers did not emerge into

1 Jason Slokin, “Tens of Thousands Rally in Myanmar Protesting Military Coup,” National Public Radio, February 7, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/02/07/965097259/ tens-of-thousands-rally-in-myanmar-protesting-military-coup.

2 Helen Regan, and Jessie Yeung, “Myanmar’s military is killing peaceful protesters. Here’s what you need to know,” Cable News Network, March 25, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/asia/myanmar-protesting-coup-explainer-intlhnk/index.html.

3 Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, “Political Prisoners Post-Coup,” Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, February 21, 2022, https://aappb.org.

leading roles but instead took supporting roles. However, some pastors in Kachin, Karenni, and Chin States surfaced on the frontlines for a few days but fell into a supporting role. The third group of Christians chose a neutral stance. Many Christians in this group decided to keep their jobs for fnancial security. Others were forced to work with the SAC because the Tatmadaw threatened to harm their family members. Although Christians in this group seem loyal to the Tatmadaw, in reality they do not support the Tatmadaw or the protests. Their main concern is simply to sustain their own lives and the lives of their family members. Some Christians kept silent on the protest due to their frm belief of religious seclusion. The fnal group is Christians who responded to the Tatmadaw with armed resistance.

The question remains, therefore, regarding which of the above groups represents the most appropriate response for Christians to these tragic events that have occurred in Myanmar. This paper calls for Christians’ active engagement in responding to the Tatmadaw’s military coup. The paper argues that Christians are to resist this worldly power with the love of Christ rather than retreating entirely from the challenges or confronting them with armed resistance. The response of Jesus Christ toward the Roman Empire with its own military might is a model for contemporary Christians in Myanmar. To support this claim, the present paper will establish the historical context of the recent coup, investigate the continuity of the Tatmadaw’s military power, refect of the variegated reaction of Christians toward the recent coup, and draw attention to why Christians in Myanmar should adopt the model of Jesus Christ in responding to the Tatmadaw’s military power.

Understanding the Context: e Military Coup

The Tatmadaw deceived the world in the 2010 general election, telling the world that Myanmar was transitioning into a democratic governance. The Tatmadaw-backed political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), won the most seats in the parliament through electoral fraud, and, the military general Thein Sein became president. Despite the electoral dispute, the international community nevertheless perceived the Tatmadaw-controlled election result as an initial step toward a transition to democracy. For example, US President Barack Obama welcomed Myanmar President Thein Sein to the White House in 2013, and the meeting marked the frst visit to the White House from a high ranking Myanmar ofcial in ffty years.4 The United States and the European Union eased many economic sanctions imposed during the military dictatorships as a supportive reaction to the Tatmadaw’s political transforming program.5 Foreign investment, development aids, and humanitarian aids fooded into the country to support the eforts toward democracy. The international community had been a good neighbor to Myanmar by helping the country’s economic and democratic development. Nevertheless, the international community underestimated the Tatmadaw’s greed for power.

The 2008 constitution and the USDP party are the two hands of Tatmadaw that sustain its frm control in politics. The 2008 constitution made by Tatmadaw has sustained the Tatmadaw’s military power. The constitution grants the Tatmadaw power to control the legislative and governmental

4 Megan Slack, “President Obama Meets with President Thein Sein of Myanmar,” The White House, March 20, 2013, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ blog/2013/05/20/president-obama-meets-president-thein-sein-myanmar.

5 British Broadcasting Cooperation, “Reforms in Myanmar,” BBC, July 8, 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16546688.

bodies. For instance, the Tatmadaw occupies 25% of the seats in the two houses of parliament without an election and directly appoints the vice president and the ministers of defense, home afairs, and borders.6 Additionally, the constitution gives the commander-in-chief the authority to suspend parliament and acquire the state’s power in a national emergency.7 Thus, the “disciplined democracy” introduced by the Tatmadaw in 2010 is instead a political system that allows the Tatmadaw to maneuver its military power in the government.

The USDP party is the shadow political institution of the Tatmadaw. It is common knowledge for the people of Myanmar that the Tatmadaw sustains its power in politics through the USDP party, mainly in the executive and legislative branches. However, after the 2010 general election, the USDP party has never defeated Aung San Suu Kyi and National League for Democracy (NLD) in electoral contests. The Suu Kyi-led NLD party won a majority seats out of 1,117 seats, while the USDP attained 115 seats in 2015 and 71 seats in the 2020 elections.8 The Tatmadaw took the Suu Kyi-led NLD party as a threat to its political power when the USDP party lost in two sequential elections. The Tatmadaw’s concern over their increasingly dwindling power compelled them to initiate a coup.

The Tatmadaw leader, Min Aung Hlaing snatched the state’s sovereignty from the legitimately elected government on February 1, 2021.9 The coup was carried out by arresting President U Myint Win, Suu Kyi, government ministers, NLD

6 Marwaan Macan Markar, “Myanmar: Is the Age of Military Juntas Over?” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 47, No. 18 (May 5, 2012), 16.

7 Markar, “Myanmar: Is the Age of Military Juntas Over?” 16.

8 Robert H. Taylor, “Myanmar in 2020: Aung San Suu Kyi Once More Triumphant,” Yusof Ishak Institute, Southeast Asian Afairs, (2021), 211.

9 Russel Goldman, “Myanmar’s Coup Explained,” The New York Time, February 1, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/article/myanmar-news-protests-coup.html

leaders, and other anti-military politicians.10 The Tatmadaw has repeatedly justifed the coup by indicating that the November 2020 electoral fraud required them to step in to protect the people’s will and ensure a free and fair election.11

e Continuity of the Tatmadaw’s Power

The Tatmadaw’s power refers to the strength of the Tatmadaw institution, its dominance in politics, its monopoly in economics, and its infuence in social structures. These four elements are the primary sources of the Tatmadaw’s military power. Each element is tightly interconnected like a spider’s web. Through the correlation of these elements, the Tatmadaw strengthens and sustains its military power.

General Aung San, the father of Suu Kyi, founded the Anti-British Burma Independence Army in 1942.12 One year later, in 1943, the Army was renamed the Burma National Army. In 1945, the Burma National Army fought against Japanese troops and helped liberate lower Burma from British colonists.13 After gaining independence, the Burma National Army, known as the Tatmadaw, reformed its institution as a Burmese ethnocentric army by eliminating non-Burmese ethnicities from high-ranking positions and deterring nonBurmese ethnicities and non-Buddhist military personnel from attaining leadership positions in the army. Another reform is its constant development of the military strength by upgrading their technology, equipment, combat skills, and size.

10 Ibid.

11 Iselin Frydenlund, Pum Za Mang, Phyo Wai, and Susan Hayward, “Religious Responses to the Military Coup in Myanmar,” The Review of Faith and International Afairs, Vol.19, no.3 (August 31, 2021), 78.

12 David I. Steinberg, Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford: Oxford University, 2013), 38.

13 Ibid, 39.

Irrawaddy reporter Zaw Tu Seng estimates that the Tatmadaw currently has 350,000 military personnel.14 The size of the military members and their advanced military equipment, which surpasses ethnic armed-resistance groups, establishes the Tatmadaw as the most powerful armed institution in the country. Without external intervention, the growing military power has permeated politics, economics, and a society.

The coup was an entry point for the Tatmadaw to establish its military power in politics. Over the course of the last sixty-two years, Myanmar has experienced military coups four times, in 1958, 1962, 1990, and 2021. Mon Mon Myat is right in saying that Myanmar was mostly under authoritarian rule after the independence.15 When the Tatmadaw seized the country’s sovereignty, it took absolute control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Tatmadaw’s authoritative attitudes also refect the Burmese monarchy. Myat quotes Myanmar scholar Maung Maung Gyi in arguing that the Tatmadaw’s administrative practices were similar to the Burmese monarchal system in regards to arbitrary actions, the monopoly of power, and the use of violence.16 Although it appears as though the military leaders retain their power from the authoritative system, their power is intertwined and sustained through the sayar-tabae, which is similar in nature

14 Zaw Tu Seng, “Myanmar Military’s Superior Size Means Less When the People Are United Against it,” The Irrawaddy, August 20, 2021, https://www.irrawaddy. com/opinion/myanmar-militarys-superior-size-means-less-when-the-peopleare-united-against-it.html.

15 Mon Mon Myat, “Buddhist Morality in Myanmar: Religious Nationalism and Solidarity after the Coup,” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Afairs, March 15, 2021, https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/buddhistmorality-in-myanmar-religious-nationalism-and-solidarity-after-the-coup.

16 Myat, “Buddhist Morality in Myanmar: Religious Nationalism and Solidarity after the Coup,” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Afairs, March 15, 2021, https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/buddhist-morality-inmyanmar-religious-nationalism-and-solidarity-after-the-coup.

144 | Hkun Ja to patron-client relationships.17 In the context of the Tatmadaw hierarchy, the Burmese term sayar refers to a senior or highranking ofcer, while tabae refers to a junior or low-ranking staf.18 Through the sayar-tabae relationship, the military leaders sustain their infuence inside the military, and, the sayar-tabae relationship becomes a signifcant factor for validating its usurped power and sustaining it in politics.

The Tatmadaw abuses its political power to infuence economic policies that exclusively beneft the Tatmadaw institution and its inner circles. The Tatmadaw’s economic dominance in state industries became apparent after the 1988 coup. After the coup, unlike the coup in 1958 and 1962, the Tatmadaw privatized all of the industries of the states, abandoned socialist economic practices, and adopted a market economy. The Tatmadaw introduced foreign investment laws that protected foreign investors and invited foreign frms to explore oil, gas, and other natural resources.19 However, all foreign investment and cooperation were directed exclusively to the Tatmadaw-owned frms. Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) are two giant Tatmadaw-owned corporations that monopolize the state’s industries.20 Several sub-companies, in industries such as mining, banking, commodities, food supplies, electronic products, construction, logistics, cosmetics, entertainment, and service sectors, operate under the MEHL and MEC. Based on the fnding of Amnesty International, the Aljazeera news agency disclosed that the MEHL gave $18 billion US Dollar

17 Win Win, “Looking Inside the Burmese Military,” Asian Survey, Vol.48, no.6 (November/December, 2008), 1020.

18 Win Win, “Looking Inside the Burmese Military,” 1,020.

19 Steinberg, Burma/ Myanmar, 86–87.

20 Joshua Cheetham, “Myanmar coup: The shadowy business empire funding Tatmadaw,” BBC News, March 9, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/worldasia-56133766.

annually to the Tatmadaw. 21 According to Vithal Rajan, the Tatmadaw received about $2 billion US dollars from gas and oil sales to Thailand.22 Additionally, the Global Witness report claimed that the Tatmadaw profted $180 million US dollars in 2014 and $100 million US dollars in 2013 from selling jade.23

Although some income sources and the amount of the Tatmadaw’s income are known, it is hard to trace the exact amount of net income of Tatmadaw. The Tatmadaw’s fnancial support comes from the state budget and its business frms, the MEHL and MEC. The state budget for the Tatmadaw has been disclosed to the public since 2012. The study on the Tatmadaw’s expenditure from 2012–2019 indicates that its spending amounts to 14% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).24 The government’s expenditure on education and on health is 1.5% and 0.5% respectively of the GDP.25 Major-General Myint Nwe, a deputy minister of defense, requested approval from parliament for a $2.22 billion military budget for the 2019–2020 fscal year.26 The military budgets before 2010 were even larger than recent ones. For example, the Tatmadaw spent $32 billion in 2005 and another $32 billion in 2004.27 The Tatmadaw’s expenditure has

21 Aljazeera, “Myanmar military gets billions from proftable business: Amnesty,” Aljazeera, September 20, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/10/ myanmar-military-gets-billions-from-proftable-business-amnesty.

22 Vithal Rajan, “Oil, Guns, and Rubies: A Burmese Tragedy,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 47 (November 24–30, 2007), 10.

23 Global Witness, Jade: Myanmar’s Big State Secret (London: Global Witness, 2015), 11.

24 Nan Lwin, “Myanmar Military Proposes Larger Budget for ‘Stronger’ Armed Forces,” The Irrawaddy, July 22, 2019, https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ myanmar-military-proposes-larger-budget-for-stronger-armed-forces.html.

25 Steinberg, Burma/ Myanmar, 97.

26 Nan Lwin, “Myanmar Military Proposes Larger Budget for ‘Stronger’ Armed Forces,” The Irrawaddy, July 22, 2019, https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ myanmar-military-proposes-larger-budget-for-stronger-armed-forces.html.

27 “World Bank Group Data,” Military Expenditure (current USD)- Myanmar, accessed December 7, 2021, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.

always taken an immense amount of the country’s total budget since its establishment.

The MEHL and MEC have never revealed how much they funded the Tatmadaw. However, local and international news agencies estimate that the MEHL and MEC cooperations are the main stream of wealth for Tatmadaw. 28 The military leaders and personnel are all economically connected to the MEHL and MEC. Although the economic benefts may vary according to the military ranks, the truth is that the benefts go mostly to military families. The MEHL and MEC either give or sell their shares exclusively to military family members. Thus, most shareholders of the MEHL and MEC are military personnel. Further, Amnesty International’s fndings reveal that “MEHL is owned by 381,636 individual shareholders, who are all serving or retired military personnel, and 1,803 institutional shareholders, consisting of regional commands, divisions, battalions, troops, war veteran associations.29 Apparently, the senior ofcers receive more benefts. Min Aung Hlaing, the military coup leader, received a high percentage from the net profts of the business projects that collaborate with the MEHL and MEC.30 The leaked information also suggests that the Tatmadaw uses the MEHL and MEC shares as a mechanism for reward and punishment. Amnesty International found in their study that

XPND.CD?locations=MM.

28 Matt Davis and Anne Worthington, “Uncovering the shadowy business empire bankrolling Myanmar’s military generals,” American Broadcasting Company, July 28, 2021, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-29/the-shadowy-business-empirepropping-up-myanmar-military-junta/100328162.

29 Aljazeera, “Myanmar military gets billions from proftable business: Amnesty,” Aljazeera, September 20, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/10/ myanmar-military-gets-billions-from-proftable-business-amnesty.

30 Justice for Myanmar, “Who Proft from a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice for Myanmar, January 30, 2021, https://www. justiceformyanmar.org/stories/who-profts-from-a-coup-the-power-and-greedof-senior-general-min-aung-hlaing.

thirty-fve names of the military personnel were erased from the shareholder lists of the business frms as a punishment.31

The Tatmadaw also portrays itself as a protector of Buddhist nationalism. The Tatmadaw has established its unequivocal role in the public domain by propagating the ideology of one nation and one religion. The propaganda is repeatedly echoed and dispersed through the Tatmadaw-owned media, Myawaddy TV, Myanmar Radio and Television, Thazin FM Radio, and Myanmar Alin Newspaper. The propaganda has infuenced most Buddhist Burmese to believe that the state and Buddhism must have a mutually benefcial relationship.32 The emergence of a Buddhist religious organization, MaBaTha, comprising Buddhist monks, nuns, and laypeople, reveals one of the results of the propaganda. The teachings of MaBaTha on Buddhism and Burmese nationalism are extreme, and its attitudes are aggressive toward non-Buddhist religions and non-Burmese ethnicities. MaBaTha also allies itself with the junta and advocates the Tatmadaw as a defender of Buddhist nationalism in public domains, while also blaming Suu Kyi’s government for neglecting Buddhist nationalism and endorsing religious pluralism. The Tatmadaw is a camoufaged string-puller behind MaBaTha. MaBaTha may not realize that the Tatmadaw is using her as one of the political tools to manipulate society and buy loyalty and support from Buddhists. The Tatmadaw will insist on dispersing the ideas of Buddhist nationalism in the community to sustain its political interest.

31 Joshua Cheetham, “Myanmar coup: The shadowy business empire funding Tatmadaw,” BBC News, March 9, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/worldasia-56133766.

32 International Crisis Group, “Buddhist Nationalism in Myanmar and the Region,” Crisis Group Asia Report, September 5, 2017, https://www.jstor.org/stable/ resrep314465.

Re ecting on the Church’s Response to the Recent Military Coup

The principle of the separation of church and state relegates churches in Myanmar to remain active in resisting the military coup. Christian ministers and leaders are enormously careful to keep the boundary between church and state. This emphasis on the separation of church and state has hindered them from providing clear and decisive leadership to Christians who are desperate for guidance during the anti-military protests. Many pastors in ethnic states, such as Kachin, Karenni, and Chin, cooperated with their congregations individually in the frst two weeks of the protests. The commitment of individual pastors at the regional level could not mobilize all Christians to resist the coup at a national level efectively without the involvement of the entire body of churches in Myanmar. Although most Kachin, Karenni, and Chin pastors have insisted on remaining active in resisting the coup, other Christian ministers have become silent as time has passed. The failure of Christian ministers to give leadership amid social and political turmoil has had the efect of prolonging the military coup. Although the separation of church and state has overall had the efect of discouraging congregations, there is nevertheless a spirit of resistance that continues to grow fervently in the hearts of many Christians.

Christians in Myanmar have lived most of their lives under military rule. They have been living with fear, insecurity, and poverty since 1958. No law enforcement prevents the Tatmadaw from exploiting the people, violating human rights, and threatening their lives. Non-Buddhist Burmese ethnicities, such as Kachin, Karen, Karenni, and Chin, have experienced a double oppression. That is, those individuals who are both an ethnic minority and also Christians simultaneously face ethnic and religious oppression. Despite experiencing varied forms

of oppression, however, the ethnic minority Christians have continued to resist the military rule in daily life.

James Scott, in Domination and the Arts of Resistance illustrates how oppressed people resist the suppression of rulers. Scott highlights two forms of resistance: public transcripts and hidden transcripts.33 According to Scott, public transcripts are acts of deference conducted by oppressed people superfcially in addressing oppressive rulers or superiors as a means of conforming to the established structure of domination to sustain themselves under the oppressive circumstances.34 In contrast, hidden transcripts describes the oppressed’s reciprocal actions or reactive behaviors, including gestures, speech, and practices at the back of oppressive rulers or superiors.35 The hidden transcripts are backstage, where the oppressed accumulate their sentiments and courage to break the wall of suppression. Scott says that the explosion of public defance and resistance fueled by the hidden transcripts is the buildup of bitter life experiences and collective conversations of oppressed men and women of diferent social locations.36 The hidden transcripts emerge on the surface of the public in diferent forms of resistance when charismatic persons trigger an explosion of anger and disappointment of the oppressed.

Similarly, the invisible defant attitudes of Christians against the military rule were transformed into visible forms of resistance. A peaceful protest was the frst form of resistance led by young generations. Esther Ze Naw, a Kachin Christian woman, was one of the prominent young leaders who took the initiative and led the frst anti-Tatmadaw protest on the

33 James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance (New Heaven: Yale University, 1990), 17–45.

34 Ibid, 24–33.

35 Ibid, 27–44.

36 Ibid, 224–227.

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front line.37 The nonviolent protests include peaceful rallies, the civil disobedience movement (CDM), and the boycotting of Tatmadaw products and commercial services. Numerous Christian youths, adults, and older people occupied many essential streets in Yangon, Mandalay, and Naypyidaw and protested thes Tatmadaw fve days after the coup began. The campaign of the CDM, which was organized by medical workers (including many Christians), increased the spirit of resistance and extended the protest across the country. The principal objective of the CDM is to solicit civil servants to stop working for the military junta. The CDM has convinced a large number of engineers, teachers, bankers, lawyers, railway workers, transport workers, and healthcare workers across the nation.38 The campaign successfully persuaded thousands of civil servants to quit their occupations,39 and approximately 1,500 soldiers defected from the Tatmadaw. 40 The CDM has signifcantly weakened the Tatmadaw’s capacity to govern the country. Many banks, government hospitals, schools, post ofces, and transportation services stopped functioning properly.41

37 Mi Mi Aye, “Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung,” The New York Time, September 15, 2021, https://time.com/collection/100-most-infuentialpeople-2021/6095960/esther-ze-naw-bamvo-ei-thinzar-maung.

38 Tommy Walker, “How Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement Is Pushing Back Against the Coup,” Voice of America, February 27, 2021, https://www.voanews. com/a/east-asia-pacifc_how-myanmars-civil-disobedience-movement-pushingback-against-coup/6202637.html.

39 New Mandala, “The Centrality of the Civil Disobedience Movement in Myanmar’s Post-Coup Era,” New Mandala, October 19, 2021, https://www. newmandala.org/the-centrality-of-the-civil-disobedience-movement-inmyanmars-post-coup-era.

40 Myanmar Now, “‘Around 1,500’ Soldiers Have Defected and Joined the Civil Disobedience Movement since Coup,” Myanmar Now, August 17, 2021, https:// www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/around-1500-soldiers-have-defected-andjoined-the-civil-disobedience-movement-since-coup.

41 Aye Min Than and Yan Aung, “How the CDM Can Win,” Frontier, March 4, 2021, https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/how-the-cdm-can-win.

Another type of protest is boycotting Tatmadaw-associated products, for which Christians have actively called. This boycott includes food, beverage, cosmetics, construction material, interior and exterior accessories, banks, health services, transportation, education services, telecommunication, media, entertainment, manufacturing, and tourism.42 The political activist, Way Way Nay has developed apps that enable the public to detect military-related companies easily.43 Way Nay listed 250 military-owned business frms in these apps, which were downloaded over 100,000 times within ten days.44 Protesters in the Kachin State also wore shirts which read, “Do not buy military-linked products.”45 The boycott later extended to persuading retailers and merchants to not sell Tatmadaw products and commercial services. The campaign has overall been very successful. Many private shops and restaurants in Yangon and Mandalay cities and Kachin and Karen States have put a notice in front of the shop declaring, “We do not sell to the military personnel and police.”46 It is the frst time in Myanmar history that Christians have publicly shamed the Tatmadaw.

The Tatmadaw’s violent oppression of unarmed civilians has pressured some Christians into an armed resistance. The Tatmadaw initially used police force to crack down on the

42 “Burma Campaign UK,” Military Product Boycott Lists, accessed December 7, 2021, https://burmacampaign.org.uk/military-products-boycott-list-updated.

43 KrAsia, “Myanmar Protestors Use Apps to Boycott Military-linked Product and Businesses,” KrAsia, March 8, 2021, https://kr-asia.com/myanmar-protestors-useapps-to-boycott-military-linked-products-and-businesses.

44 KrAsia, “Myanmar Protestors Use Apps to Boycott Military-linked Product and Businesses,” KrAsia, March 8, 2021, https://kr-asia.com/myanmar-protestors-useapps-to-boycott-military-linked-products-and-businesses.

45 The Irrawaddy, “Growing Number of Businesses Shun Myanmar MilitaryLinked Goods, Services,” The Irrawaddy, February 25, 2021, https://www. irrawaddy.com/news/burma/growing-number-businesses-shun-myanmarmilitary-linked-goods-services.html.

46 Ibid.

protests. At the start of the protests, the police assaulted the crowds with water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas.47 The wearied police force was later reinforced by military personnel to break down the fervent protesters.48 In an efort to scare of the protesters, military personnel eventually began shooting the crowd. For instance, military personnel gunned down eightytwo unarmed protesters in Bago city alone on April 9.49 The increased attacks of the Tatmadaw have displaced thousands of people, causing massive destruction and fatalities in Sagaing, Magwi, Chin, Karen, Karenni, and Kachin regions. Some Christian youth began to conclude that armed resistance is required to protect civilians from the brutal repressive reaction of the Tatmadaw. Christians who promoted the idea of armed resistance are primarily Chin youth living in the western part of Myanmar. The Chin youth established the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) on April 4, 2021.50 The objectives of the CDF are to protect the people from the military’s violent repression, to abolish the 2008 constitution, to terminate dictatorship, and to establish a federal democracy.51 Three months after the CDF’s formation, 125 separate People Defense Forces (PDF) were established in urban and rural regions across the country with similar objectives to the CDF.52 Some PDFs function under the supervision of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity

47 The Economist, “The Shooting Starts,” The Economist, March 4, 2021, https:// www.economist.com/asia/2021/03/06/the-armys-response-to-protests-inmyanmar-is-growing-more-brutal.

48 Ibid.

49 Joyce Sohyun Lee, Shibani Mathani, Meg Kelly, and Atthar Mirza, “Anatomy of a Crackdown,” The Washington Post, August 25, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost. com/world/interactive/2021/myanmar-crackdown-military-coup.

50 “Who Are the Chinland Defense Force, Chin Myanmar,” Myanmar Speaks, accessed February 25, 2022, https://www.myanmarspeaks.com/posts/who-arethe-chin-defence-force-myanmar.

51 Ibid.

52 Anthony Davis, “Prospects for a people’s war in Myanmar,” Asia Times, August 6, 2021, https://asiatimes.com/2021/08/prospects-for-a-peoples-war-in-myanmar.

of Government (NUG), while others resist the Tatmadaw independently.53

Rede ning the Role of the Church in Contemporary Politics in Light of the Gospel of Luke

Christians have maintained diferent responses to the recent military coup even among those within the same denomination and with the same ethnic background. Many of the responses to the coup has regrettably stood at odds with the example Christ has provided in the Gospel of Luke. Christians are morally obligated to abstain from committing evil deeds and are required to restore wrongdoers (Galatians 6:1). Cooperating with evil people, especially when it goes against one’s conscience, is sinful. Likewise, protesting against unjust sociopolitical structures while failing to extend Christlike love to evildoers is equally sinful. Seeking personal piety by ignoring the needs of neighbors is hypocricy. Similarly, pursuing justice and liberty with violence creates more violence. Christ did not respond to his persecutors with violence. Christ commanded Peter to put away his sword when he cut of the right ear of Malchus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:52). Christians are called not to be separated from the physical realm and wicked people but are commissioned to the sinners and physical realm to actualize the reign of God through Christian witness. Thus, Christians must model themselves after Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus Christ began his public ministry declaring that He was the fulfllment of Isaiah 61. Christ said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty 53 Ibid.

those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18–19).54 Christ’s ministry throughout the Gospel of Luke emphasizes caring for the poor (6:20, 16:22), liberating those who were oppressed and held captive by the devil (4:31–35, 11:24–26, 13:12–14, 8:26–39, 9:37–42), giving sight to the blind (18:35) and healing sickness (Luke 4:38–41, 5:12–14, 5:17–25, 14:1–4).

The Gospel of Luke also describes the confrontation between Jesus Christ and Rome. Jesus Christ confronted Roman political power, not to replace it with another type of political system, but to restore God’s kingdom. Luke’s account of Jesus Christ’s interactions with the high priest, Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas in the trials explicitly portrays Christ’s restorative work as transcending political power. The chief priests perceived Jesus Christ as a potential threat to their religious power and desired to kill him. The high priests and religious council were desperate in their eforts to fnd evidence to set Christ against the Roman political power. Luke describes how the high priests set a trap in their question, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” And they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips” (22:70–71).

As the high priests heard Christ’s reply, they told each other that they had adequate evidence to charge Jesus as a politically rebellious person against Rome. When the high priests reached Pilate, they accused Christ by saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king” (23:2). Pilate asked Christ, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (23:3).

Christ responded, “You have said so” (23:3). When Pilate learned Christ was a Galilean, he sent him to Herod (23:6–7). Herod

54 All translations taken from the RSV unless otherwise specifed.

provoked Christ to give some sign, but Christ was silent and endured all humiliation. Jesus Christ’s response to the Roman political authoritative fgures was submission to God. Christ was silent throughout the trial except witnessing to the truth. His identity as the Son of God and restorative work of God’s Kingdom is the truth to which Christ testifed. Christ carried out the truth at the cost of his life. As the Son of God, Christ could use his power to prove himself innocent. The gospel of Luke describes that Pilate was eager to release Christ since it records that he declared Christ innocent three times (Luke 23). Herod also favored Christ’s release.55 Pilate and Herod could have set Christ free if he had cooperated with them. Additionally, Christ could have used his popularity and infuences to provoke his followers to take armed resistance against Roman political power like the Zealots.56 But Christ opted to endure contempt, mockery, and agony for the cause of God’s reign in the world. In other words, Christ purposefully took up the sufering to liberate sufering people and persecutors.

Jesus Christ also received sinners. Christ claimed that he received sinners to ofer them the opportunity to repent (5:31–32). The Gospel of Luke tells us that Christ associated with outcasts. Although some outcasts were the victims of social injustice, others, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, were rejected in society due to the consequence of their own choices (5:27–32, 7:36–50). However, Christ’s command of repentance was not restrained to outcasts, but it extended to all people, including his persecutors. The marginalized, outcast, blind, demon-possessed, and lame were immediately restored to society. The “conduct outcasts,”57 tax-collectors and prostitutes

55 Richard J. Cassidy, Jesus Politics and Society: A Study of Luke’s Gospel (New York: Orbis, 1978), 71.

56 Cassidy, Jesus Politics and Society, 75-76.

57 Jefrey E. Miller, “Jesus Among Luke’s Marginalized” (DMin diss., Divinity School of Duke University, North Carolina, 2017), 2.

went through the process of repentance before their sins were forgiven. Similarly, Christ extended the opportunity of repentance to Pharisees, Sadducees, and high priests through dialogue and teaching.

The Gospel of Luke summarizes all these characteristics of Jesus Christ as a liberator, suferer, and receiver in the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:25–35). The traditional interpretation of the Good Samaritan tends to focus more on the Samaritan as the main agent, refecting Christ’s characteristic of healing and liberating the oppressed. In contrast, Asian liberation theologian Suh Nam Dong proposes reading Christ’s attribute as a suferer for the oppressed from the position of the victim struck by robbers.58 Additionally, David Thang Moe ofers a new methodological reading of the Good Samaritan, a lens which embraces the Samaritan and the victim together.59 Moe argues that emphasizing one over the other loses the fuller meaning of the Lukan parable.60 Moe also claims that the innkeeper plays an equally signifcant role in the parable.61 The innkeeper, who received the Samaritan and the victim, is as essential as the Samaritan and the victim because he refects the character of Christ as a receiver. Thus, the three agents, the Samaritan, the victim, and the innkeeper, embody Jesus Christ.

The three roles of Jesus Christ refected in the parable are the model that churches in Myanmar should adopt

58 Suh Nam Dong, Exploring Minjung Theology (Seoul: Hangil, 1983), 107–108.

59 David Thang Moe, “A Cross-Cultural and Liberative Hermeneutics of Luke 10:25–37 in Asian and Asian-American Perspective: Reading One Text through the Two Lenses,” The Expository Times, Vol. 130 (October 2019), 440.

60 Moe, “A Cross-Cultural and Liberative Hermeneutics of Luke 10:25–37 in Asian and Asian-American Perspective: Reading One Text through the Two Lenses,” 440.

61 Moe, “A New Reading of Luke 10:25–37 for the Three Models of the Church in the Chin Context and Beyond,” Chin Christian Journal, vol. 7 (May 2020), 11.

to respond to the military power. In taking the role of the Samaritan, churches reach out to marginalized, oppressed, and victims of injustice, particularly the civilians suppressed by the Tatmadaw. Many civilians require material support, healthcare services, emotional support, and spiritual guidance in ongoing conficts. Churches can reach out to each location that requires assistance.

The second model is to victimize oneself to liberate the victim. Both the oppressed civilians and the oppressor, the Tatmadaw, are the victim. As the civilians are the victim of the Tatmadaw, the Tatmadaw per se is the victim of its own greed. Churches must liberate the oppressed and the oppressor concurrently. However, violence and aggressive behaviors are not a means for churches to transform the Tatmadaw. Nor are churches fghting for a particular political party against the Tatmadaw. Instead, churches work to free the oppressed from the Tatmadaw’s oppression and the Tatmadaw from its obsession of evil power through promoting God’s dominion in this world. The Kingdom of God, which is for all people, is built on love and sacrifcial services. Likewise, the principalities and power that entangle the Tatmadaw can only be redeemed by expanding the Kingdom of God in society. In taking the role of the innkeeper, Myanmar churches are to receive the oppressed and the oppressor. All people are sinners (Romans 3:10, 23). Despite this, God loves everyone (5:8). Dietrich Bonhoefer correctly said, “Christ belongs both to the wicked and to the good; He belongs to them only as sinners, that is to say, as men who in their wickedness and goodness have fallen away from the origin. He summons them back to the origin so that they shall no longer be good and evil but justifed and sanctifed sinners.”62 Lesslie Newbigin observes that the church is the chosen community that bears the foretaste of the Kingdom of

62 Dietrich Bonhoefer, Ethics (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955), 63.

God.63 As churches are the sanctifed communities witnessing the good news of Christ’s forgiveness, they embrace all sinners for everyone to repent of their sins. Similarly, churches in Myanmar embrace the oppressed and the Tatmadaw and invite them to repent for their sins instead of imposing punishments and rejecting them. Churches are consecrated to receive sinners like the innkeeper.

Churches are not a motionless entity that only takes care of the needy and receives sinners from those oppressing them. But churches are called to be sent into the public sphere beyond the church walls. Missiologist Gregg Okesson defnes churches as a public entity that exists in and for community.64 The church is public in that congregations are scattered and gathered by being a life-transforming agent and a reconciler to diferent aspects of life in a community.65 Similarly, churches in Myanmar, bearing the characteristics of the Good Samaritan, victim, and innkeeper, are called to go into the public sphere and preach the Gospel in and for the community where they live. In other words, teachers, nurses, medical doctors, and civil servants in government ministries must keep their occupations and be life-transforming agents and reconcilers through their professions within their working communities instead of quitting their careers and initiating a Civil Disobedient Movement that cuts of a relationship with the Tatmadaw’s SAC. Christian politicians serving as state ministers, economic and political advisors, and members of the SAC under the Tatmadaw must convince and persuade the Tatmadaw to stop committing atrocities against civilians by being salt and light with sacrifcial love instead of seeking

63 Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 134.

64 Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to A Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2020), 253.

65 Ibid., 239–43.

personal advantages by cooperating with the Tatmadaw at the cost of civilian lives. In place of holding deadly weapons in selfdefense and revenge, Christian youth must bring forgiveness and love to the Tatmadaw as Christ has forgiven their sins and loved them unconditionally. Church leaders and pastors must empower congregations to name public injustices caused by the Tatmadaw’s military power and redeem it from self-indulgence. Churches can redeem the greed-driven military power with the collective witnesses of God’s image-bearers within and for the Tatmadaw.

Hence, Christ in the Gospel of Luke explicitly saysthat Churches are designed to be yeast in a community. Being yeast for the community, Myanmar churches are meant to be in and for the community. Particularly, churches must not separate themselves from interaction with the Tatmadaw; rather, churches must engage with the Tatmadaw and embrace and transform it with loves.

Conclusion

The recent military coup in Myanmar results from the Tatmadaw’s power struggle for domination in politics, economics, and the public sphere by stressing its military power over civilians. Christians have responded to the coup in varied ways, from non-violence to armed confrontation. The Tatmadaw’s cruel suppression of the protests exacerbated the conficts. Consequently, violence, atrocities, and grief have dispersed across the country. In the midst of the conficts and despair, Churches in Myanmar must be sensitive to realize their God-given responsibilities and be decisive in carrying out those responsibilities.

The God-given responsibilities for churches in Myanmar are nothing other than to imitate Christ’s public ministry. Like Christ, churches are called to go into the public sphere and witness the Gospel holistically in and for the community with love in words and action. In other words, churches must engage the public and the Tatmadaw’s military power by identifying silent injustice and oppression that undermines the reign of God and transforms the evil-driven military power by witnessing in and for the Tatmadaw collectively with the characteristics of the Good Samaritan, victim, and innkeeper.

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https://www.npr.org/2021/02/07/965097259/tens-ofthousands-rally-in- myanmar-protesting-military-coup.

Slack, Megan. “President Obama Meets with President Thein Sein of Myanmar.” The White House, March 20, 2013.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/05/20/ president-obama- meets- president-thein-sein-myanmar.

Than, Aye Min and Yan Aung. “How the CDM Can Win.” Frontier, March 4, 2021. https://www.frontiermyanmar. net/en/how-the-cdm-can-win.

Taylor, Robert H. “Myanmar in 2020: Aung San Suu Kyi Once More Triumphant.” Yusof Ishak Institute, Southeast Asian Afairs, (2021): 205–222.

Win, Win. “Looking Inside the Burmese Military.” Asian Survey, Vol.48, no.6 (November/December, 2008), 1018–1037.

Walker, Tommy. “How Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement Is Pushing Back Against the Coup.” Voice of America, February 27, 2021.

https://www.voanews.com/a/ east-asia-pacific_how-myanmars-civildisobediencemovement-pushing-back-against-coup/6202637.html.

Engaging the University:1

A Public Theology for the Indian Universities

Jijo Rajan

Introduction

India has 4,381 universities according to a data from July 2020, which is the greatest number of universities in the world,2 and a total enrollment in 2019–20, of 38 million.3 From a sheer numerical perspective, its signifcance for India is inconceivable. Universities are an integral part of any nation and play a signifcant role in its development and growth. The census of 2011 revealed that 74.3%4 of Christians in the country are literate and 8.85% of them are graduate level and above.5 While this might not look like a big percentage, the numbers involved here are enormous. These Christian students can have a signifcant impact on the world of the university as Christians,

1 “Engaging the University” is a phrase probably coined by Vinoth Ramachandra, but as he acknowledges it has been the vision of IFES; it means to demonstrate the practical relevance of the Gospel to all that goes on in a university. https:// www.universityresources.org/node/1

2https://www.statista.com/statistics/918403/number-of-universities-worldwideby-country/

3https://www.business-standard.com/article/education/india-s-gross-enrolmentin-higher-education-rose-marginally-in-2019-20-121061001249_1.html

4 https://thewire.in/education/census-literacy-religion

5https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jains-have-highest-percentage-ofliterates-census-data/articleshow/53942863.cms

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but unfortunately, most of them have compartmentalized their faith and their academics neatly into boxes that do not intersect at any point, which is inherently unbiblical. There is a substantial need for “Christian integrity, and a greater Christian credibility in the university and society,” Vinoth Ramachandra pertinently points out.6 This lack of intersection hinders the Christian university students to participate in the redemption of their academic disciplines and ultimately engage in the task of nation-building as an outcome of their faith.

Hence, this paper will attempt to elucidate a public theology on how the Christian academia in secular universities should engage in their felds as Christians and redeem their academic disciplines and the universities to usher in the kingdom values and thereby playing their part in building the nation. Therefore, the focus of the paper is on Bible-believing, Christian students in the universities and their engagement with their non-theological academic disciplines.

In this paper, I will look at some features of the university followed by a brief history of the university in India. Subsequently, I will examine briefy how Christian mission has theologized and engaged the university historically. Further, I will focus on the current situation of universities in India, especially their contribution to nation-building. Finally, I will attempt to formulate a public theology for engagement in the context of Indian universities, focusing particularly on how Christians can play their part in redeeming their academic disciplines, the universities, and ultimately contribute to the nation.

6https://meetjesusatuni.com/2013/09/04/vinoth-ramachandra-interview-part-2

e University’s Features and Purpose:

The word university can have diferent connotations in diferent contexts. In some countries, it includes all levels of college, while in some places it means only post-graduate school. This paper will treat the word with a broad defnition that includes all forms and categories of higher learning institutions.

Universities have existed for centuries in various forms and have had a massive infuence in spreading ideas and developing societies and nations. Henry Newman calls the university, “a Stadium Générale’ or “School of Universal Learning.”7 It is a place where a human community gathers in learning. Universities were established with a civic mission of contributing to society by scholarship and research. However, this civic mission of the university has been challenged by a more utilitarian mindset wherein the purpose of higher education has become a way to “acquire new knowledge to prepare one for the workforce.”8 This challenge has posed a constant predicament about the purpose and function of higher education in the twenty-frst century.9 The situation in India and the world is more or less similar when it comes to higher education. Much of the focus is on producing graduates who are trained to get jobs. Roy Y. Chan notes that today’s labor demand requires highly skilled personnel, and to meet this need, universities redefne their curriculum and pedagogy so that students acquire the desired skills and competency

7 John Moses, “On the University,” in Theology the University and the Modern World, edited by Pail A. B. Clarke and Andrew Linzey (London: Lester Crook Academic Publishing, 1988), 70.

8 Roy Y. Chan, “Understanding the Purpose of Higher Education: An Analysis of the Economic and Social Benefts for Completing a College Degree,” JEPPA, 6, No. 5 (2016): 2.

9 Ibid.

for the global economy.10 While succumbing to this need by the universities can be justifed to some extent, the danger is that because of this outlook many universities and students engage in academics with highly selfsh ambitio`ns and fail to contribute to the community at large.

Almost two centuries ago, Henry Tappan, the renowned President of the University of Michigan, rightly identifed a signifcant purpose of the university: Of all mere human institutions there are none so important and mighty in their infuence as universities; because when rightly constituted, they are made up of the most enlightened, and the choicest spirits of our race; they embrace the means of all human culture, and they act directly upon the fresh and upspringing manhood [sic] of a nation. To them must be traced science, literature, and art; the furniture of religious faith; the lights of industry; the moving forces of civilization; and the brotherly unity of humanity.11 Tappan’s quote explicates one of the prominent features of universities. It does not exist just for the production of scholars or intellectuals, but primarily to contribute to the well-being of the society. Scholars like John Dewey and Cardinal Newman also viewed higher education as a place that stimulates nationbuilding and socialization, and something that extends beyond individual and economic realms to the social and societal dimensions.12 A careful reading of the history of the university in India also reveals this notion that the universities were founded with the purpose of contributing to the advancement of society and nation-building. The following section will provide a brief overview of the history of the university in India.

10 Ibid.

11 Jerry Pillay, “Historical Theology at Public Universities Matter,” in HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies, 73, No. 1 (September 2017): 1.

12 Chan, 6.

History

It is not feasible to cover the history of the university in India in detail due to the paucity of space. Hence, this will be a brief general overview of how the concept of the university evolved from Ancient India to its current form.

A Brief History of University in India

Universities did not start in India in the recent centuries. Indian historians and scholars claim that the concept of higher education can be traced as early as the Vedic period, generally dated as 1500 to 800 BCE in ancient India.13 A. J. Coleman also suggests that higher education existed in many parts of India as early as the 6th century.14 There were primarily two types of centers of higher education during the period; the great monasteries, in which the scholars of diferent religions lived and studied together; and the ashramas, which were religious in nature and from which the gurukul system of education developed.15 This system of education was characterized by love, fellowship and education was seen as a life process.16 This led to the holistic development of the students, who integrated their learnings to life and society as a whole. While the higher education of those times most likely did not resemble the universities that exist today, it is apparent that the concept of higher education is something that has existed for a long time.

13 Suresh Chandra Ghosh, The History of Higher Education in Ancient India (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2001), 12.

14 A.J. Coleman, The Task of the Christian in the University (New York: Association Press, 1947), 25.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

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| Jijo Rajan

In ancient India, two broad movements of higher education existed, the Brahminical and Buddhist systems.17 The Brahminical system was monopolized by the so-called higher Brahmin caste, and it relegated women to the background.18 But the Buddhist education system in contrast was open to all people, regardless of caste background, but was restricted for slaves, army-deserters, the disabled, and the sick.19 The Buddhist system was in many ways secular and can be probably compared to contemporary universities. A few signifcant universities in Ancient India include Nalanda, Vikramshila, Takshshila, and Vallabhai. Nalanda University was known for its Buddhist studies and attracted students from China, Nepal, Tibet, and Korea.20 While the majority of the teaching dealt with Buddhism, the university also included Brahminical subjects.21 Ancient India had a strong tradition of higher education with a religious nature. Higher education, however, had a focus on transmitting knowledge to society (mainly the upper castes in the case of the Brahminical schools).

Higher education in medieval India (ninth to early eighteenth century) is another major phase of the history of education in India. Despite diverse religions and cultures, education centers played a vital role in the process of integration and coexistence of various peoples.22 Madrasas (Islamic Colleges) surfaced as the key centers of education which peacefully coexisted with the earlier traditions of education, and subjects

17 Ghosh, The History of Higher Education in Ancient India, 12–13.

18 D. M. Jha, “Higher education in Ancient India,” in Higher Education in India: Retrospect and Prospect, edited by M. Raza (New Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 1991), 1.

19 Ibid., 2–3.

20 Ibid., 5.

21 Ibid.

22 Muzafar Alam, “Higher Education in Medieval India,” in Higher Education in India: Retrospect and Prospect (New Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 1991), 10.

like agriculture, accountancy, astrology, astronomy, history, geography, mathematics, and Islamic law were included.23 Muzafar Alam points out that medieval intellectuals learned to live together despite religious and cultural diversities and played an important part in ensuring peace and unity among diferent social groups.24 This demonstrates that despite great diversity, higher education played a signifcant role in society especially by creating a harmonious social environment in the medieval period.

The British in the colonial period brought in their own form of education and university system, and it is generally acknowledged that the current educational system is highly infuenced by them. However, they did not impose their system on the country for a long time and only started doing so when they needed English-speaking, Western educated workers who could act as the link with the general population.25 This introduction of Western education was generally aimed at creating a professional class who could fulfll the needs of the colonialists, and education was available mostly for higher caste people.

Kuvalayamala attacks British imperialism, which she says was fundamentally Christian. She makes the accusation that they used their education system to control the country.26 She continues by stating that the education system was used to condition the modern-day Indians, and it has negatively

23 Suresh Chandra Ghosh, The History of Education in Medieval India: 1192 A.D. –1757 A.D. (Delhi: Originals, 2001), 22.

24 Alam, 21.

25 Aparna Basu, “Higher Education in Colonial India,”in Higher Education in India: Retrospect and Prospect, Edited by M. Raza (New Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 1991), 22.

26https://medium.com/@Kuvalayamala/christian-missionaries-hijacked-anddenationalised-indias-education-system

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impacted the country because it has resulted in them drifting away from the “underlying values of the dharma of the Indic civilization and alienation from the collective consciousness of the nation.”27

While Kuvalayamala might be partly true it is an undeniable fact that it is the Christianity she attacks that made education so widely available to the so-called “lowcaste” and the marginalized of the Indian society, and this has irrefutably contributed a lot to the development of India as a nation. Missionaries played an important role in making education accessible for common people during the period and there was a signifcant improvement in the level of education in the country. Christian missionaries established quality educational institutions. One great example is the Senate of Serampore College which was granted the status of university in the country in 1829, was established by Christian missionaries; Joshua Marshman, William Carey, and William Ward, also known as the Serampore Trio. R. L. Rawat, in his book History of Indian Education, rightly states that India will be forever indebted to the missionaries for their contribution to the education system in India.28 Rudolph C. Heredia afrms the contribution of Christian missionaries and suggests that it was they who introduced the western education system, and what began in colonial times has shown lasting remarkable impact.29 Nevertheless, modernization and Westernization of the university system also led to a lot of changes. One primary impact was the product of the Enlightenment, the divide of

27 https://medium.com/@Kuvalayamala/christian-missionaries-hijacked-anddenationalised-indias-education-system

28 https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacstranscripts-and-maps/christian-impact-india-history

29 Rudolf C. Heredia, “Interrogating Christian Education-Excellence and Relevance in Independent India,” in Songs of Silence: Christians in Nation Building, edited by S. Arokiasamy and J. Chathanatt (Delhi: Media House, 2000), 139.

sacred and secular in education. While Indian education always integrated the two, the new system brought in the era of rationalization, wherein religion and spirituality were severed of from science and academics, primarily by the colonial education system.

Post- independence university education was still shaped in the colonial pattern. Under the leadership of leaders like Nehru, Sardar Patel, Radhakrishnan many reforms took place. Nonetheless, the process of globalization and liberalization commercialized most of the contemporary universities into factories that produce professionals seeking comfortable job placements. Today, the marketization of higher education is promoted by the nexus between universities and the market’s demand for professional service providers, making knowledge a product subjected to market powers. Hence, students have become consumers of knowledge, and teachers and universities have become service providers, all with the aim of proftmaking.30 The noble notions of service to society in pursuing higher education in universities are lost in the process. As Heredia notes, universities are alienating themselves from social realities and needs.31 Higher education has unfortunately divorced itself from all its religious infuences, including civic and moral responsibilities it brings. Education got divided into secular and sacred. Eventually, even Christian students put their faith and academics in separate boxes and failed to realize the fact that God is present and active in their felds of education as well.

30 Navpreet Kaur, “Privatization and Commercialization of Higher Education,” in International Journal of Academic Research and Development, 3, No. s1 (2018): 456. 31 Heredia, 148.

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An Assessment of the History of Indian Christian Missions in the University Context

India has numerous organizations that work among university students, and several of these movements have been in the country since the mid-1900s or even before. This section will briefy look at a few organizations that focused on mission among university students and how mission in the university has historically transpired. The focus will be on whether the given organization was able to bridge this divide of sacred and secular in education through their ministry, and if they were able to provide the needed theological foundation to the students to look at their academic disciplines Christianly.

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is probably the oldest Christian mission that was started for ministry among young people. In 1886 they initiated work among students with the aim to reach out to college students.32 The work which started with a noble vision of helping young people grow in spirit, mind, and body33 has gradually neglected the spirit. While Bible studies and prayer fellowships were initiated for university students, they slowly took a backseat. The movement now has become almost totally secular with not much spiritual engagement with society, let alone the university.

Another major movement with an explicit focus on the campuses is India Campus Crusade for Christ (ICCC). ICCC started as an interdenominational Christian movement in 1968

32 https://www.ymca.int/member/ymca-in-asia-and-pacifc/ymca-india/

33 https://www.ymca.ca/Who-We-Are/YMCA-History#:~:text=1844%20

%E2%80%93%20The%20YMCA%20is%20founded,on%20by%20the%20 Industrial%20Revolution.

with the aim to reach university campuses.34 The movement started with the three primary goals: “to win others to Christ, build them in the faith, train them to be His disciples, and send them to proclaim the good news to everyone, everywhere.”35 They continue to raise up ‘spiritual communities’ on campuses so that every student “hears about Jesus.”36 But they fail to engage with the holistic needs of students, thereby reinforcing the sacred spiritual divide among the students they minister to.

The Student Christian Movement India (SCM), an afliated wing of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), is a youth ecumenical movement for university students which was formed in pre-independent India in 1912.37 SCM is a movement that has been historically committed to translate the Christian faith into action. They aim to help students be committed believers, involved in the “total life of the university,” “involved in the struggles for fuller humanity,” and “participate in the life of the church for its mission, renewal, and unity.”38 This movement has historically been involved in social action, community development, and nation-building activities along with the Bible studies and spiritual nourishment of students.

The Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI) was founded in 1948 with the vision to see, transformed students impacting campuses and the nation as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.39 UESI was started by people involved in SCM earlier and who were disappointed by SCM’s over-emphasis on the social gospel. Hence, UESI since its beginning has strongly

34 https://www.campuscrusade.in/history/

35 Ibid.

36 https://www.campuscrusade.in/student-led-movement/

37 https://communicationscmi.wordpress.com/page/2/

38 http://scmindia.org/aims.html

39 https://uesi.in/about/

stressed evangelism and the spiritual nourishment of university students.

There are numerous other Christian organizations in the country who have focused on university ministry. Some are heavily focused on the spiritual nourishment of Christian students. Some stress social engagement as Christians. And others are outrightly evangelistic and focused on reaching out to non-Christians with the Gospel. While all these dimensions are very signifcant for Christian missions to universities, as Vinoth Ramachandra pertinently points out, most of these organizations have failed to help students engage Christianly with their academic disciplines and to a large extent have not been able to help university students studying secular subjects to have a Christian mind.40 This has set an unhealthy precedent wherein Christian students in the universities have compartmentalized their faith and their academics into diferent arenas, and these arenas rarely, if ever, intersect with each other. Ramachandra poignantly asserts that Christian ministry in the university should have been about breaking down these profoundly unbiblical compartments that were erected: worship, justice, faith- action, spiritual- material, prayer and research.41 This sacred and secular divide has hindered students’ engagement with their disciplines Christianly, further hindering them from the mission mandate of participating in the mission of the redemption of the whole creation through their academics.

An issue of The Student Outlook in 1944 prophetically stated these words: “The Christian professors should consider

40 Vinoth Ramachandra, “God’s Call and the University,” in Why Study? Exploring the Face of God in the Academy, (Singapore: Fellowship of Evangelical Students, 2017), 12–13.

41https://meetjesusatuni.com/2013/09/04/vinoth-ramachandra-interview-part-2

it their special obligation to re-orientate the teaching of their subject on Christian bases . . . to bring about a re-integration of all departments of knowledge with Christian faith as its underlying unity.”42 The author of this article was accurate in their conclusion: Christ is the unifying factor of everything in the universe, including all knowledge. Sadly, ministers to university campuses have failed to realize this basic tenet of Christian faith in the context of universities. Our missions to the universities have not lived up to the calling by failing to help Christian students comprehend the fact that God is present in the academic disciplines they study and that we as Christians have a signifcant part to play in the redemption of these academic disciplines. Hence, as Sathish Joseph Simon rightly asserts, university ministries also got neatly divided into realms of sacred and secular, where Bible studies, prayer cells, evangelistic camps, discipleship, and mission camps fell into the sacred box and studies, assignments, research, debates, discussions, other extracurricular activities all fell into the secular box which the Christian missions failed to touch.43 These missions generally continued to meet in their Christian bubbles, having a negligible connection with what goes on in the general life of a university campus, thereby creating two separate environments for the students, a spiritual environment, where things of faith are discussed: and an academic environment. Almost all missions to the universities have reinforced the sacred/ secular divide by not guiding the students to realize that academics is not a secular subject which is out of God’s concern, and that God is involved in the life of the university and all that goes in there as much as He is involved in the Bible studies and other spiritual activities. One negative

42 A.J. Coleman, The Task of the Christian in the University, (New York: A. J. Association Press, 1947), 8–9.

43 Sathish Joseph Simon, “Spiritual Formation as Discipling the Mind,” in Public Theology: Exploring Expressions of the Christian Faith, edited by Bonnie Miriam Jacob (New Delhi: Primalogue, 2020), 172.

impact of this has been the failure of Christian students to see their academic calling as a calling from God and to aspire to excel in it, to realize that God has called them to worship Him through their engagement in their feld of academics. Simon alludes to Charles Malik, who justifably points out that because of the failure to celebrate the mind, Evangelicals have failed to “stand up to great secular or naturalistic or atheistic scholars on their own terms of scholarship and research.”44 Unfortunately, the history of Christian mission to universities only substantiates this assessment. As Malik notes, much of the missions to these universities was focused on “winning the souls” and the mind was left to secular teachers. The soul got reserved for the spiritual activities and the mind for the secular.

While students continue to make a huge impact in their felds of study, the university, and the nation, how Christian students as academicians play this role is something that needs to be pondered. This does not mean that Christian students are not contributing to the university or their academics, but the essential question is, do they see this as mission? Or in other words, do they realize that the academic realm is a realm where God was and is active? Secular universities are a realm of the public sphere where God is calling us to engage in because, as noted, this sphere has been much neglected as if it is a place where God does not have anything to say or do. The ministries engaged in the university world to a large extent failed to provide the students the tools to articulate a theology that facilitates their engagement with their academics Christianly and motivates them to work as kingdom agents for the redemption of their respective felds, the universities, and ultimately the nation.

e University’s Role in India Today: eir Role in Nation Building

Universities contribute immensely to the building of the nation. Mohammad Ahzam notes that, with twenty-eight percent of the country being youth, it is at the college level where the nation gathers momentum of its potential.45 Historically, universities have played a signifcant role in nation-building with the production of skilled labor essential for the development of the country and raising up a group of responsible citizens who care for the wellbeing of their nation. Universities like Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia University are a few notable names among the many that stand out for their role in activist work, especially standing up against injustice and oppression. Kamalesh Sharma, the ex-secretarygeneral for the Commonwealth of Nations, puts it clearly when he states, “An overarching truth is that universities have been at the core of the development of nations.”46 Sharma’s statement is not an exaggeration, and it is refected through the role students played in the recent farmer’s protest in India against the three draconian laws passed by the current government.

The Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper of the country reports that thousands of students from various universities like Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Punjab University, Jamia Milia Islamia, and Ambedkar University, joined the revolutionary protest with the farmers.47 Sukhwinder Singh, a post-graduate student of history who

45 Mohammad Ahzam, “What Role do Universities Have in Nation Building?” in The Education Daily, June 11, 2021. https://theeducationdaily.com/2021/06/ universities-have-nation-building.

46http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/1119/2010_Ali_Role_Universities_ Transcript.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

47https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/students-join-farmers-in-protest-atdelhi-s-borders/story-UCYW9CRn1uf16XgTaNCU3N.html

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protested along with the farmers, says that he was not there with the farmers protesting because he had family members associated with farming but because he wanted to stand against injustice.48 Thousands of students from numerous universities of the country stood along with the farmers for weeks and months protesting against unjust laws and were successful in forcing the government to repeal the laws. This is just one recent instance of how students can play a major role in the shaping and building of the country. Therefore, Christian students and the ministries involved in university missions need to formulate a public theology that enables students to interact with their contexts Christianly so that they can participate in the mission of God.

A Public eology for Universities in Indian Context

The infuence the student population has on the nation is tremendous, and historically Christian missions to the universities have fallen short. Hence a public theology for the university context is essential for ministries focusing on students but moreso for Christian students on the campus. As Coleman says, Christian missions have struggled to mediate Christian faith in the university context.49 He continues to suggest that “the gravest secularization of Western education has been the covert assumptions concerning the two basic factors truth and man have been non-religious. And they have been false.”50 It is under the same false assumption that Christian students have fallen, not recognizing that all truth is God’s truth, and that God is present and active in their academic disciplines from the time of creation. Unfortunately, even after decades have passed and

48https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/students-join-farmers-in-protest-atdelhi-s-borders/story-UCYW9CRn1uf16XgTaNCU3N.html

49 A.J. Coleman, 38.

50 Ibid.

despite the tremendous growth of Christianity and theological teaching in the country, the problem remains. Hence a robust public theology in the context of Christian academia in the universities is necessary. As Charles Malik asserts, Christian students must be encouraged to apply the “God-question,” asking, examining, and contributing to what God is doing in the world.51 This “God-question” is to a large extent missing in the life of Christian students in the universities of India.

eological Basis

Christian faith has something vital to contribute across every discipline, whether it is politics, economics, science, ethics, education, or arts. Christian students, as the disciples of Jesus, need to authentically engage in all aspects of campus life, academics, and conversations so that the Gospel transforms every part of the university and eventually the whole creation. Christian students in universities need to pray and work toward the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the universities where they have been placed, through which they contribute to the building of the nation. Christian students need to realize that they can have a comprehensive view of the world only in relation to the Triune God revealed fully in the person of Jesus Christ.52 As Paul writes,

He is the image of the invisible God, the frst-born of all creation; for in him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the frst-born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

51 Pillay, 11.

52 Ramachandra, Why Study, 14.

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For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col. 1:15-20)

The Kingship of Christ is applied to personal, spiritual spaces by many Christians. This in itself is not a problem, but the problem is massive when we do not fully comprehend the scope of Jesus’ lordship. Jesus is the source, the sustainer, and the goal of all things.53 Malik points out that, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3) is not a statement about individual loyalty, but it is “a set of claims- about who Jesus is.”54 Likewise, Gregg Okesson refers to C. S. Lewis who says, “Christianity is not merely what a man does with his solitude. It is not even what God does with His solitude. It tells of God descending into the coarse publicity of history and there enacting what can-and must-be talked about.”55 Okesson rightly states that God’s truth is “for all people, in all places, and for all aspects of public life.”56 Jesus is Lord of all spaces which includes academic disciplines, the university, the nation. Ramachandra also emphasizes that Jesus is not a mere sage but the “One who holds all created reality together.”57 Christ the Lord thereby has all authority and dominion of truth, knowledge, and wisdom, in this world and out of this world; everything there is under His lordship. Christian students under this lordship of Christ need to usher in the Kingdom of God into the universities God has placed them in. David Bosch says, that the ultimate aim of mission is bound with God’s cosmic-historical plan for redeeming the world.58 Or in other words, God’s plan is to reconcile to His

53 Charles Malik, The Two Tasks (Illinois: EMIS, 2000), 14.

54 Ibid., 15.

55 Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology- How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 67.

56 Ibid, 67–68.

57 Ramachandra, Why Study, 13.

58 David Bosch, Transforming Mission, (New York: Orbis Books, 2011), 180–181.

kingdom every inch of His creation, and the academic world is not outside God’s redemption plan.

The Kingdom of God is the main motif of Jesus’ life and ministry. This is evident throughout the New Testament. Bosch states that we cannot apply Jesus’ understanding and practice of the Kingdom directly as it is in today’s context, but we can deduce principles to our own world in an “imaginative and creative way amid changed historical conditions.”59 However, “God’s reign and His kingdom need to be interpreted as the expression of God’s caring authority over the whole of life.”60 Al Tizon encapsulates the scope of the kingdom of God. He writes, “The reign of God has a boundless and all-encompassing efect on the whole of existence, from the domain of the human heart to the cosmos and everything in between.”61 Jesus, in the preaching of His kingdom did not leave out any aspect of the kingdom but preached and lived a holistic life. Tizon continues that this kingdom “brings glad tidings for the whole of the created order and nothing less than the shalom of God.62

Hence, the question Christian students need to ask is what does this shalom look like in their academic context?

How do they usher in the Kingdom of God into the university? These students who are the agents of this reign of God and His kingdom must acknowledge the sovereignty of God in their academic felds and strive to excel, contribute, and redeem their academic disciplines. Gavin D’ Costa encourages students to pursue knowledge primarily out of the love for the world as an object of God’s creation, and only secondarily for instrumental or functional needs. Only through the primary can the

59 Ibid., 35.

60 Ibid.

61 Al Tizon, whole and Reconciled (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), 78.

62 Ibid., 80.

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secondary be best determined. In this sense, the primary end of all forms of knowledge is contemplation of and glory to God, and love of God.63 A proper theological grounding of the scope of God’s redemption plan, His Lordship, and Kingdom is the primary basis on which a public theology for the university needs to be built upon. Christian university students then will begin to delve into the Lordship of Christ in their academics; recognizing the fact that the academic realm is also a realm of God’s creation that He cares for and comes under the purview of His redemption plan. Christian scholars need to realize that they are called as academicians to be the redeeming infuence in their feld of academics in the universities God has placed them in.

e Way Forward

Christian students need to efectively “engage in the university” to redeem their academics and their universities for nation-building. While this is a noble concept and a task, the pertinent question is how does it materialize in the “real world”? What are the ways that Christian students can engage in their universities? The following section will elucidate two practical ways that can help this idea take shape.

Engaging in Conversations in the University

Students, as disciples of Jesus, need to authentically engage in all aspects of campus life, especially the conversations. They need to converse with the changing cultures and philosophy of the university, joining the constant dialogues that characterize a modern university. Mike Higton quotes Nicholas Wolterstorf who suggests that the postmodern situation is that Christians

63 Gavin D’ Costa, Theology in The Public Square: Church, Academy and Nation (Oxford: Blackwell publishing, 2005), 188.

need to enter the conversation of science (by which he means academic scholarship in general) as Christians.64 He further states,

“For we have learned that the practice of science is not some purely and generically human enterprise, nor some autonomous self-governing and self-sustaining enterprise, but an eminently concrete social-historical enterprise incorporating goals and standard and intuitions and values that people bring to it and that emerge from their interaction with each other after their induction into the practice…We do not shed all our ordinary convictions and commitments at the door of the conversation room of science and enter as nakedly human…We enter as who we are, and we begin conversing on whatever is the topic in hand.65

Christian students need to enter into these conversations as Christians. These conversations allow the students to test and refne their faith too. Ramachandra asserts that conversations in the university have a two-way efect; while the students play their role in the redemption of the academic discipline, the process matures their faith as well.

Conversation in a secular context is intimidating for a Christian student as it confronts their faith while difcult questions are asked. It becomes even more challenging in a context like India, where there is much hostility against Christians. Paul’s experience in Athens is perhaps a perfect model of how we should engage in conversation with people who are not believers of Christ. Acts 17:16–34 gives us the account of how Paul engaged in a deep conversation with

64 Mike Higton, A Theology of Higher Education (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 114–115.

65 Ibid.

190 | Jijo Rajan the philosophers of Athens and how he was able to use their philosophical literature to convey his message.66

Joshua W. Jipp suggests that there are numerous interpretations of Paul’s Areopagus discourse that range from seeing it as a “placid pantheistic sermon on natural theology all the way to seeing it as a scathing demonization of Gentile religion”; both he says have strong arguments to support their claim.67 While there might be various interpretations of the narrative, there is a general agreement regarding Paul’s efcient use of Athenian literature to convey his message. Paul, like a Greek philosopher, goes to the marketplace and publicly debates the scholars of Athens. “Luke’s narrative exposes a fundamental clash of worldviews between Paul and his audience,” and Paul is able to manage through that to convey the gospel.68 This demonstrates that Paul was willing to take risks and enter into difcult conversations.

Luke identifes two Athenian philosophical schools, the Stoics and the Epicureans. Dean E. Flemming says that the identifcation of both these schools is critical because Paul interacts with them in his conversation.69 His conversation is radical because “he co-opts—one might say takes over and transforms the cultural script—the best aspects of Hellenistic philosophy and claims that they can be found only in the Christian movement.”70 He is able to present his arguments

67 Ramachandra, Why Study, 14.

67 Joshua W. Jipp, “Paul’s Areopagus Speech of Acts 17:16–34 as Both Critique and Propaganda,” in Journal of Biblical Literature, 131, No. 3 (2012): 567.https://doi. org/10.2307/23488255.

68 Dean E. Flemming, “Contextualizing the Gospel in Athens: Paul’s Areopagus Address as a Paradigm for Missionary Communication,” Missiology 30, no. 2 (April 2002):200.

69 Ibid.

70 Jipp, 568.

which make a point of contact with Hellenistic philosophers and uses their literature which they acknowledged as valid. Paul recognizes the common ground with the writings of the Greek poets and uses them to connect with his conversation partners.71 However, Jipp rightly points out that Paul’s speech was not just a discourse of mutually shared ideas of God, though he does include that in his speech; but Paul, like Socrates, could stand before the most revered tribunal in the ancient world and demonstrate that the movement he spoke about was “apologetically legitimate and philosophically superior.”72 It is interesting that Eckhard J. Schnabel calls Athens an “old university town.”73 Paul, through this encounter ,perhaps lays down a model of how Christians can engage with the academicians.

Paul could stand up to the renowned scholars of his world, debate, and converse with them. Charles Malik decries that because of the failure of Christians to celebrate the mind, especially Evangelicals, we have not been able to stand up to the great secular, “naturalistic, atheistic scholars on their own terms of scholarship and research.”74 The call for conversations demands excellence in scholarship. Christian students need to master their feld of study with an awareness that excellence in their area helps them to act as competent servants for the Kingdom of God.

71 Flemming, 202.

72 Jipp, 574.

73 Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Contextualizing Paul in Athens: The Proclamation of the Gospel before Pagan Audiences in the Graeco-Roman World,” Religion & Theology 12, no. 2 (2005):172.

74 Simon, 173.

The university is a place where we fnd people in search of knowledge and accomplishment, but in many cases academics does not fully satisfy, and they seek meaning and fulfllment

in life and sometimes have an altar to an “unknown god.” Like Paul, Christian students need to enter conversations. The conversation could be on various ethical issues, music, sports, movies, people, values, etc. Through these conversations, students bring in biblical values and refreshing perspectives that motivate others to think and be inspired. While doing so, students also refect Jesus and in other words share the gospel story. Missions involved in the universities have a signifcant role to play here by providing sound theological training and the tools for the students that enables them to engage with their context with sound theological foundation.

Another practical way the students can engage in the university is through study forums.

Study Forums

Study forums are meetings where students can meet to discuss the connections of their faith and their feld of academics. This does not necessarily mean that they have to forcefully impose a Christian worldview upon their feld or construct a religious version of their subject. Instead, it involves learning to discover what the discipline would look like in the Kingdom of God under the reign of Christ.

The organization we were involved with had study forums as part of the ministry engagement. Students presented papers on numerous aspects of their respective felds of study. The students were encouraged to start with issues and ideas within one’s discipline and locate a pressing problem to which the claims of Christianity would contribute insights. They then asked the question, how could the Christian faith contribute and transform that area of the discipline? For example, a student of agricultural economics, while looking at the issue of

agricultural economic policies and their impacts on the poor, is encouraged to assess their research to see whom does it beneft more? How did their faith engage in this assessment? This practice worked as a great launchpad for students to develop a Christian lens for their academic disciples. This was their frst small step toward the redemption of their academic disciples and their university.

While they are in the universities Christian students play an active role in the missio dei. The onus lies on the missions involved in the respective campuses to initiate such discussions and provide the right training that would stimulate and encourage such forums. Once they catch this vision and go out of the university as agriculturists, bankers, civil servants, economists, scientists, physicists, engineers, doctors, educationalists, and so on, they excel in their felds and are a public witness in all those realms outside their campuses too.

“Being frm in faith and making the Reign of God concrete in their life, this Christian community holds on to the Gospel values in shaping a humane society and building the nation.”75 They continue to engage in their felds as Christians and usher in the kingdom values in their vocations, thereby playing their part in the building of the Kingdom of God and the redemption of the whole creation in India.

Conclusion

I would like to borrow the example Vinoth Ramachandra uses in his discussion on the topic Engaging the University in Dubai in 2009. He says, “The novelist Madeleine L’Engle once told a student who wished to become a ‘Christian writer’ that ‘if she is truly and deeply a Christian, what she writes is going

75 Anthoniraj Thumma and Alphonse D. Sahayam Eds., Christian Commitment to Nation Building (Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications,2003), 243.

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to be Christian, whether she mentions Jesus or not. And if she is not, in the most profound sense, Christian, then what she writes is not going to be Christian, no matter how many times she invokes the name of the Lord.’ To be ‘in the most profound sense, Christian’ is surely the challenge we need to be presenting before our students.”76 To be profoundly Christian in the university context is the need of the hour. Only if students learn to be profoundly Christian will they be able to participate in the redemption of their academic disciplines, their universities, their nation, and ultimately the whole creation.

76 “Engaging the University Today,” Vinoth Ramachandra, Discussion paper for SLT in Dubai, May 15–20, 2009.

Alam, Muzafar. “Higher Education in Medieval India.” In Higher Education in India: Retrospect and Prospect. New Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 1991.

Ahzam, Mohammad. “What Role do Universities Have in Nation Building?” In The Education Daily, June 11, 2021. https://theeducationdaily.com/2021/06/universities-havenation-building.

Basu, Aparna. “Higher Education in Colonial India.” In Higher Education in India: Retrospect and Prospect. Edited by M. Raza. New Delhi: Association of Indian Universities, 1991.

Bosch, David. Transforming Mission. New York: Orbis Books, 2011.

Chan, Roy Y. “Understanding the Purpose of Higher Education: An Analysis of the Economic and Social Benefts for Completing a College Degree.” JEPPA, 6, No. 5 (2016): 1–41.

Costa, Gavin D. Theology in The Public Square: Church, Academy and Nation. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005.

Coleman, A.J. The Task of the Christian in the University. New York: Association Press, 1947.

Flemming, Dean E. “Contextualizing the Gospel in Athens: Paul’s Areopagus Address as a Paradigm for Missionary Communication.” Missiology 30, no. 2 (April 2002): 199–214.

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Ghosh, Suresh Chandra. The History of Higher Education in Ancient India. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2001.

Ghosh, Suresh Chandra. The History of Education in Medieval India: 1192 A.D. – 1757 A.D. Delhi: Originals, 2001.

Heredia, Rudolf C. “Interrogating Christian EducationExcellence and Relevance in Independent India.” In Songs of Silence: Christians in Nation Building. Edited by S. Arokiasamy and J. Chathanatt. Delhi: Media House, 2000.

Higton, Mike. A Theology of Higher Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Jipp, Joshua W. “Paul’s Areopagus Speech of Acts 17:16— 34 as Both Critique and Propaganda.” In Journal of Biblical Literature 131, No. 3 (2012): 567–88. https://doi. org/10.2307/23488255.

Kaur, Navpreet and Navneet Kaur. “Privatization and Commercialization of Higher Education.” In International Journal of Academic Research and Development, 3, No.1 (2018): 456–458.

Malik, Charles. The Two Tasks. Illinois: EMIS, 2000.

Moses, John. “On the University” In Theology the University and the Modern World. Eedited by Pail A. B. Clarke and Andrew Linzey. London: Lester Crook Academic Publishing, 1988.

Okesson, Gregg. A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

Pillay, Jerry. “Historical Theology at Public Universities Matter.” In HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies. 73, No. 1, (September 2017):1–12.

Ramachandra, Vinoth. “God’s Call and the University.” In Why Study? Exploring the Face of God in the Academy. Singapore: Fellowship of Evangelical Students, 2017.

Schnabel, Eckhard J. “Contextualizing Paul in Athens: The Proclamation of the Gospel before Pagan Audiences in the Graeco-Roman World.” Religion & Theology 12, no. 2 (2005): 172–90.

Simon, Sathish Joseph. “Spiritual Formation as Discipling the Mind.” In Public Theology: Exploring Expressions of the Christian Faith. Edited by Bonnie Miriam Jacob. New Delhi: Primalogue, 2020.

Thumma, Anthoniraj, and Alphonse D. Sahayam, editors. Christian Commitment to Nation Building. Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 2003.

Tizon, Al. Whole and Reconciled. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.

https://www.ymca.int/member/ymca-in-asia-and-pacifc/ ymca-india/

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https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopediasalmanacs-transcripts-and-maps/christian-impact-indiahistory

https://medium.com/@Kuvalayamala/christian-missionarieshijacked-and-denationalised-indias-education-system

https://medium.com/@Kuvalayamala/christian-missionarieshijacked-and-denationalised-indias-education-system

https://www.statista.com/statistics/918403/number-ofuniversities-worldwide-by-country/

https://www.business-standard.com/article/education/india-sgross-enrolment-in-higher-education-rose-marginallyin-2019-20-121061001249_1.html

https://thewire.in/education/census-literacy-religion

https://timesofndia.indiatimes.com/india/jains-havehighest-percentage-of-literates-census-data/ articleshow/53942863.cms

https://meetjesusatuni.com/2013/09/04/vinoth-ramachandrainterview-part-2

https://www.ymca.ca/Who-We-Are/YMCAHistory#:~:text=1844%20%E2%80%93%20The%20

YMCA%20is%20founded,on%20by%20the%20 Industrial%20Revolution.

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https://meetjesusatuni.com/2013/09/04/vinoth-ramachandrainterview-part-2

http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/1119/2010_Ali_Role_ Universities_Transcript.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/students-joinfarmers-in-protest-at-delhi-s-borders/storyUCYW9CRn1uf16XgTaNCU3N.html

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/students-joinfarmers-in-protest-at-delhi-s-borders/storyUCYW9CRn1uf16XgTaNCU3N.html

From Soiled Brothels to Sprawling

Mansions: Theologizing at the Global Market for Indian Sex Trafficking

Priya Santhakumar Leela

Introduction

“Beta, apne ghar aayi hai tu” (Daughter, you have reached your home). Those words would mean the world to a seventeenyear-old girl from a remote Indian village who was dragged into a flthy brothel in a metropolis. They put Sonia in a bubble of hope. However, in a moment, this bubble popped into fear and vulnerability as she realized that the one who called her daughter and reassured her of being home is the pimp who designed her traumatizing journey into the world of global sex trafcking that ended in a high-rise in the city Los Angeles. This is a scene from the Hindi movie Love Sonia, directed by Tabrez Noorani. While this movie depicts the real-life journey of a girl from her poverty-stricken father’s garden to a city for the sex trade, this is also the story of millions of Indian women pushed into the global market of sex trafcking. This paper is an attempt to theologize in this context the thick enmeshment between sex trafcking of Indian women and the global market. Although there are multiple ways of approaching this convergence, this study will analyze this from an economic perspective. Before engaging in this conversation, this paper briefy examines the phrase sex trafcking, the issue of sex trafcking of women in

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India, its causative factors, and its interconnectedness with the global market. The analysis of this interconnectedness will be done through a consumer-centered approach, since most of the existing scholarship on this issue takes a victim-centered approach. Consequently, this paper will investigate the three characteristics of these consumers. Theologizing in this context will be done to address these characteristics in the global sex trafcking of Indian women. Throughout the paper economic terms like demand, product, consumption will be employed while describing the economic phenomenon of global sex trafcking.

Sex Tra cking: e De nition

Before venturing into the issue of sex trafcking in India it is crucial to perceive what sex trafcking is. The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime defnes sex trafcking as follows:

Trafcking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, utilizing the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments or benefts to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation.1

1 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafcking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, art. 3, Dec. 25, 2003, 2237 U.N.T.S. 319, available at http://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/UNTS/Volume%202237/v2237.pdf. Accessed on 11/20/21.

This defnition exposes the role of the trafcked, the trafcker, and the transition involved in the process of sex

trafcking. Kempadoo argues that sex trafcking is “not the enslavement of women, but a trade and exploitation of labor under conditions of coercion and force.”2 While Kempadoo sees sex trafcking as a problem of the market, Mary Crawford rightly afrms that this problem of the market is driven by the local contexts. Crawford maintains that trafcking in girls and women is a result of the social composition of gender and other aspects of power and status within a certain culture and at a particular historical moment.3 Therefore the issue of sex trafcking in India must be understood contextually.

Sex Tra cking: Demographics in India

The intensity of sex trafcking in India was brought to the daylight through an intervention by the Supreme court of India in 2019, which ordered the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to scrutinize the data on missing persons, specifcally children and women in the country. As per the SC orders, the NCRB prepared a comprehensive report centered on crime data for three years (2016–2018) titled “Report on Missing Women and Children in India.”4 According to the NCRB report on missing persons on crime in India, the sum of persons missing in “2016, 2017, and 2018 were 290,439, 305,267, and 347,524, respectively.”5 A major percentage of those reported missing were women and children. However, the actual number of missing women would be much higher than the reported cases as many cases

2 Kempadoo, Trafcking and prostitution reconsidered: new perspectives on migration, sex work, and human rights (Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2005), viii.

3 Mary Crawford, Sex Trafcking in South Asia: Telling Maya’s Story (London: Routledge, 2010), 15

4 Usha Rana, “Understanding the Hidden Aspects of Sex Trafcking of Girl Children in Central India,” Journal of International Women’s Studies 22, no 9 (2021), 256

5 Rodrigues, Savio. 2020. “What happened to the 5,86,024 women missing in India?” Goa Chronicles (India), 17th September 2020. https://goachronicle.com/ what-happened-to-the-586024-women-missing-in-india/

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escape records. A report by Goa Chronicles in September 2020 suggests that trafcking is the primary cause of a high number of missing women and children.6 This is confrmed through the fact that due to this huge number of recorded cases of trafcking, particularly sex trafcking, India maintains her Tier 2 status in the list of Human Trafcking in Persons Report 2019. 7 Since the issue of sex trafcking of women in India is a giant, it is important to enquire into the causes of this. Scholars have categorized two important factors that are causative of the issue of sex trafcking in India.

Sex Tra cking in India: e Causes

Two major factors that require attention are the push and pull factors that drive the industry. Push factors are those force woman into being vulnerable to being trafcked and the pull factors are the external factors that create the opportunity and space for sex trafcking. Usha Rana articulates that there are several push factors, including “patriarchy, poverty, illiteracy, and some social malpractices that encourage the whole environment for trafcking in the country.”8 Other scholars in the same feld have also confrmed that these are the major push factors in India. Vimal Vidushy observes that the push factors include poor socio-economic conditions of a large number of families, poverty coupled with frequent, almost annual natural disasters like foods leading to virtual destitution of some people, lack of education, skill, and income opportunities for women (and for their family

6 Rodrigues, Savio. “What Happened to the 5,86,024 Women Missing in India?” Goa Chronicles, September 17th, 2020. https://goachronicle.com/what-happenedto-the-586024-women-missing-in-india/.

7 US Department of State, Trafcking in Persons Report, 2019 https://www.state. gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafcking-in-Persons-Report.pdf.

8 Rana, 258.

members) in rural areas, absence of awareness about the activities of trafckers, pressure to collect money for dowries which leads to sending daughters to distant places for work, dysfunctional family life, domestic violence against women, low status of girl children, etc.9

While the push factors are a combination of systemic corruptions and unavoidable natural calamities. The underlying pull factors are often preventable components within a corrupt society. Vidushy describes the pull factors in India as lucrative employment propositions in big cities, easy money, the promise of better pay and a comfortable life by the trafcking touts and agents, the demand of young girls for marriage in other regions, demand low-paid and underage sweatshop labor, growing demand of young kids for adoption, rise in demand for women in the rapidly expanding sex industry.10

Siddharth Kara confrms this as he postulates that “all sex trafcking crimes have two components; slave trading and slavery; slave trading represents the supply side of sex trafcking industry and slavery represents the demand side.”11 Therefore, it is evident that pull factors are factors that exist outside the trafcked women’s lifestyle and each of them is connected to the market. The pull factors facilitate sex trafcking to enter the marketplace. While many studies deal with the push factors that force women into the sex industry, there are very few that explore the pull factors that make this phenomenon an economic issue. The pull factors introduce sex trafcking into the marketplace and the industry thrives in India. Moreover,

9 Vimal Vidushy, “Human trafcking In India: An Analysis.” International Journal of Applied Research 2, no 6 (2016): 169.

10 Ibid.

11 Siddharth Kara, Sex Trafcking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (New York: Columbia University Press), 7.

the industry does not miss out on the new arenas of business that the global market has introduced. Therefore, it is crucial to study this issue through the lens of the market economy.

Sex Tra cking in India and the Global Market

Over the past few decades, citizens from various parts of the world have become more symbiotic and more closely linked in many ways due to globalization. Globalization is best explained by the very spread of the term as Anthony Giddens states, “The global spread of the term is the evidence of the very change it describes.”12 Globalization has numerous components, and one of those is the globalization of the market that facilitates business activities to transcend national borders. Globalization has opened many roads to marketing opportunities. This novel phenomenon painted by globalization has impacted nearly every aspect of human life in India and continues to transform global economic transaction. Central among the goals of globalization is the building up of a global privatized market economy to which local Indian market economies are linked. In such a market system the state plays a lesser role in the economy and when there is a crisis the cost of the economic crisis is borne often by women.13 In any society the most vulnerable bear the brunt of economic crisis. This interconnectedness and symbiosis of trade that the global market has opened have contributed to the international sex trafcking of women. It is estimated that among women and children who are trafcked each year through international borders, 80% end up in forced sex work.14 Another study in

12 Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives (London: Routledge, 2000), 1.

13 Kathryn Farr, Sex Trafcking: The Global Market in Women and Children (New York, Word Publisher, 2005), 140.

14 US Department of States: Trafcking in Persons Report, Country narratives: India, 2007.

2020 by the United Nations calculated that trafcking for sexual exploitation accounts for over ffty percent of all found trafcking cases around the globe.15 Both these studies point to the fact that sex trafcking accounts for a larger percentage of human trafcking. India has demonstrated this through its role in the global sex trafcking of women. Kara’s study confrms that India is a global player in the sex trafcking industry where women from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh are trafcked to the Gulf States, England, Korea, and the Philippines for CSE. As well, the United Nations reported trafcking for CSE from India to Western Asia (the most prevalent), Kenya, The United Arab Emirates, The United States of America, and to a lesser extent to Bahrain, Bhutan, Canada, France, Germany, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, The United Kingdom, and The United Republic of Tanzania.16

This is confrmed by the report by the United Nations stating that “a few alarming trends that have emerged in recent years are sexual exploitation through sex tourism, child sex tourism, pedophilia, prostitution in pilgrim towns and other tourist destinations, and cross-border trafcking.”17 While discussing the features of India’s sex industry in the global

15 “Global Report on Trafcking in Persons.” A Report by United Nations Ofce on Drugs and Crime, 2020. 10, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/tip/2021/GLOTiP_2020_15jan_web.pdf

16 Edward Mills, Michel Jofres et. al, “Sexual Slavery without Borders: Trafcking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation in India” International Journal for Equity in Health 7, no 2 (September 2008), 5.

17 To Prevent and Combat Trafcking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women, India Country Report in the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 2008) https://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/publications/India%20 Country%20Report.pdf.

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market, Kara states that sex slaves are moved from “a rural area into an urban center and then selected to be transported internationally.” The reason for such steps according to him is to break the slave completely before being transported internationally so that she would be accepting of the life that she would get in the international space.18 These are stages in their move from the soiled brothels of India to the sprawling mansions in the economically richer parts of the world. These studies confrm that while the global market facilitates sex trafcking, India has become the source, transit, and destination of global sex trafcking. Such a position of India in the global sex market demands an exploration of the economy of this industry.

An Exploration into the Economics of India’s Global Sex Market

This section will explore the issue of sex trafcking in India in the global market economy. Such an exploration is called for because this industry has come to dominate a strategic and vital spot in the growth of the international market while gradually taking on the guise of a normal sector of the economy.”19 Such a disguise must be uncovered to expose the moral decay behind its economy. This explanation will take a consumer-centered approach formulating appropriate theological responses and suggesting possible interventions applicable to the Indian context. A consumer-centered study demands attention to three important features infuenced by the power of consumers: pressing demand, the purchasable

18 Kara, 10–11.

19 Richard Poulin, “Globalization and the Sex Trade: Trafcking and the Commodifcation of Women and Children.” Canadian Woman Studies 22, no 3 (2003): 38.

‘product,’ and the persistent abuse in the global market of Indian sex trafcking.

Pressing Demand in the Global Economy for Sex Trafcking

Demand is the lifeblood of any market. No market can exist without adequate demand. While multiple factors contribute to constructing a sense of demand, it is the consumer who creates demand. However, economics, since its establishment as a scientifc feld during the nineteenth century, has dedicated more interest to the supply side of the economic problem than to the demand side. Nevertheless, that an economy cannot exist without demand makes it crucial to give “demand” deserved attention. Therefore, in the global market of India’s sex slaves, like any other market, it is the consumer who is primarily responsible for the sustenance of the market. Trafckers and pimps engage in trafcking to make money. While discussing how demand acts as the driving force of the sex industry, Donna Hughes states that demand is the guiding force behind trafcking because the trafcking procedure begins when consumers and pimps in countries like India create the demand for women and girls to be used.20 Therefore, demand not only creates the market for global sex trafcking for Indian women but also is the starting point of the trafcking process. Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter explain that without the demand for the sexual benefts of the trafcked women from the consumer there would not be sex trafcking at the local, national, or international level.21 An absence or decline in demand would crash this market, but the demand exists, and it is vast. The vastness of this demand is refected

20 Donna M. Hughes “The Demand: The Driving Force of Sex Trafcking: The Human Rights Challenge of Globalization in Asia-Pacifc-U.S,” Globalization Research Center, University of Hawaii, November 13–15, 2002, 2.

21 Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, The Slave Next Door: Human Trafcking and Slavery in America Today (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 85.

in the proft it creates. Kara postulates that this industry has generated billions of dollars of proft in 2007, much higher than the proft generated by any other industry in the world.22 He illustrates this by stating that “the sale of trafcked sex slaves to brothel owners and pimps generated revenues of $1.0 billion in 2007 or a global average sale price of $1,895 per slave. After costs, these sales generated approximately $600 million in profts.”23 Therefore, this industry creates a proft exponentially higher than legitimate companies. Furthermore, Kara adds that these profts have continued to grow, and in 2011 the industry’s suggested annual returns amounted to “$56.7 billion.”24 As shown by the above data, the sex trade is one of the world’s most lucrative businesses, and it continues to thrive. This thriving depends on the consumer’s demand for sexual services, its lifeblood. While the demand is centered in a body that someone can control for their own pleasure and power, it is also deeper in how one thinks of the “other,” revealing issues of power and control. So individual buying decisions and the power of consumer’s agency facilitate the need for a “product” to be purchased.

The Purchasable “Product” in the Global Economy of Sex Trafcking

While demand drives this industry, it creates the space for a “purchasable product.” It is into this space that the vulnerable Indian women subjected to the push factors are dragged. They therefore become the “product” that is sold in this market. The role of the consumer here is driven by their power to purchase. Here, sex trafcking moves from a problem of poverty to a problem of prosperity, from a problem of powerlessness to

22 Kara, 16.

23 Ibid., 19.

24 Ibid.

a problem of power. It is this power to purchase the desired “product” for pleasure that commodifes these women. Karl Marx’s view of commodity clarifes the perspective behind this commodifcation. Marx states,

A commodity is, in the frst place, an object outside of us, a thing that by its properties satisfes human wants of some sort or another. The nature of such wants, whether, for instance, they spring from the stomach or fancy, makes no diference. Neither are we here concerned to know how the object satisfes these wants, whether directly as means of subsistence, or indirectly as means of production.25

Marx’s expression captures the philosophy of commodifcation that lies behind the Indian sex trafcking industry, where the consumer views women as mere objects that satisfy wants that stem from their fancies. Kathleen Barry rightly describes this by using the term “industrialization of sex,” by stating that, “industrialization of sex” here refer to the production of a product—sex—that involves making or manufacturing that product from and in the human self, constructing it into that which it was not (selves are not originally sexed or prostituted) for market exchange. Sex industrialization is massive commodity production.” The consumer here is unconcerned about the woman who is viewed as a “product” purchasable with her/his status, prosperity, and power. In the global market for trafcking, the purchasing power of the population of consumers pushes these women into a state of mere “commodity” whose “use,” therefore, is the consumers’ prerogative. This leads to constant abuses.

25 Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, edited by Frederick L. Bender (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1988), 45.

212

The

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Persistent Abuse in the Global Economy of Sex Trafcking

Of the many contributions of the global market to the sex trafcking industry in India, one that needs attention here is the consumers’ sense of ownership of the “product” that the market creates and therefore the power to use these women as the consumer desires. Once bought, the consumer decides the way they will treat these women. In commodifcation, the value of these women for their consumers becomes equal to the value of money with which they are bought. The money spent, therefore, demands the maximum utility of the “product” in the consumers’ desired manner. This is the intolerable paradox of this industry, where the consumer is considered a higher being with power who is worthy enough to be meeting their fantasies of pleasure while the women are commodifed and treated as lesser humans or even as non-human entities that can be abused. Kara notes that “slaves are raped, tortured, starved, humiliated, and drugged.”26 These are some of the cruel treatments these women face during their slavery. Often the justifcation behind these exploitative treatments is based on the presumed freedom of choice these women have to enter the industry. However, the concept of freedom of choice as rightly described by F. Perter underscores that freedom of choice practically never posits consent, and it would be so only if the person took part in the deciding of the choice.27 Therefore, amidst the push and pull factors behind sex trafcking in India, these women almost never have had the “freedom” to choose, as there are always coercions in the forms of push and pull factors involved. Moreover, the consumer here is not a fgure who is a passive receiver of ofers coming from the market. Furthermore, neither freedom of the women nor the

26 Kara, 11.

27 F. Peter (“Choice, consent and the legitimacy of market transactions”, Economics and Philosophy, 20, 2004),

consumers’ purchasing power justifes this complicated malice of inhuman exploitations and abuse of these women.

Studying the economy of global sex trafcking for Indian women from a consumer-centered approach exposes the impacts that consumers make on the market. Their economic decisions have far reaching ethical efects. These three major infuences of the consumers on this industry point to the reality of interconnectedness of economics and ethics. Such interaction of economics and ethics raises a fundamental theological question: how can we theologize in the global market of sex trafcking? Public theology must engage in this economic sphere as Jürgen Moltmann asserts that Christian theology “must engage with the political, cultural, educational, economic, and ecological spheres of life, not just with the private and ecclesial spheres.”28

God in the Soiled Brothels and Sprawling Mansions: eologizing at Global market of Sex tra cking

The economy of the global sex trade for Indian women exposes the ethical issues behind the market when viewed through a consumer-centered approach. The pressing demand, the “purchasable products,” and the persistent abuse point to three attributes of the consumer involved in this trade: their self-perception, the perception of the other’s being, and the perception of power relationship with others. These attributes uncover the Fall and deprivation that undergirds them. It is in the specifc context of these three manifestations of the Fall in relationships with oneself, others, and power in the public space of global sex trafcking, that makes theologizing necessary. Moltmann asserts that Christian theology is public theology

28 C. Marshall, “What Language Shall I Borrow?: The Bilingual Dilemma of Public Theology,” Stimulus 13, no 3 (2005), 11.

because it is the theology of the kingdom of God.29 Therefore, the task of theologizing in this nexus of theology and the global sex market is to strive for the kingdom, which is to strive for the original created purpose of God for human beings’ being and relating. While it is extremely difcult to theologize in this space of complicated wickedness, it is theology’s call today to struggle to address these deprivations and align these broken relationships to the prelapsarian understanding of self, others, and power.

The Pressing Demand: A Refection of the Fallen Relationship with Oneself

Unlike theologizing from a victim-centered perspective, the challenge in theologizing while taking a consumer-centered approach is the unidentifable nature of the people addressed. The question of who these people are who enslave these women cannot be answered with precision; they are everywhere within and outside the church. They go by several euphemistic names and are ubiquitous and have been for ages. Yet, the pressing demand, which is the life of this market, exposes the consumer’s probable self-perception as one who can meet their sexual desires in the utmost perverted ways. Thus, this demand is a complex problem that can be intimidating to consider. However, the complexity should not stop the church from engaging. Gregg Okesson postulates that complexity is a gift arising from the Trinity and fows into the world to create fruitfulness for all lives.30 Theologizing in this context of the global market starts with realizing the issue of pressing demand as rooted in sexual sin which is deprivation from God’s creative purpose of sex. Sex was God’s original intention solely for marriage, instituted in the

29 Marshall, 11.

30 Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 8.

Garden of Eden on the sixth day of creation when God created Adam and Eve. The Hebrew words for “man” and “woman” in Gen 2:23 are ’iš and ’iššah, which also mean husband and wife, respectively. The following verse in 2:24 also assets that the husband “cleaved” to his wife. These underscore a long-lasting commitment. They engaged in “very personal concern, fdelity, and involvement.”31 Therefore, this unity of two human beings for sexual satisfaction fnds its rightful expression only within the boundaries of marriage. Hence the persisting demand of these consumers is a deviation from this God-intended means for sexual gratifcation.

Theologizing calls us to understand the sexual sin that creates the demand for sex trafcking and alienation from God. Paul provides insights regarding the dangers of sexual immorality and what it might entail. The Corinthians probably discarded sexual immorality as a sin like other sins that are outside the body. But Paul corrects them to demonstrate that sexual immorality is a sin against one’s own body. Paul clarifes the non-duality by stating that, while all other sins are beyond the body, sexual immorality is an action that sins against the body (1 Cor 6:18). Gordon Fee says, “Lay to rest the implicit dualism of so much that has been passed of as Christian, where the body is rejected, subdued, or indulged because it is of no signifcance for—or is even hindrance to—‘real salvation,’ which has to do with the ‘soul.”32 Therefore, theologizing in this space must move away from such body-soul dualism as contested by Paul.

31 Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11: A Continental Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994), 234.

32 Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014), 277.

Furthermore, doing theology in this space emphasizes the eschatological signifcance of sex. Alister May aptly states the “eschatological fate of the believer also places a demand on his physical existence.”33 Therefore, while one violates oneself in sexual sins, their future in the kingdom is afected. Therefore, sexual sin is a sin that one commits against one’s whole being, which has eschatological signifcance. This eschatological impact of sexual sin points to the need for repentance and forgiveness that can restore one to right relationship with God.

This is true with global consumers, of whom many “identify” as Christians. While working on their sexual desires based on their probable self-perceptions, they sin against God and defle themselves in a way that has eschatological implications. Therefore, this requires missional engagement by the church to call for repentance. Millard Erickson defnes repentance as “godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.”34 In the New Testament, repentance is expressed by two words, metanoia (change of heart) and metamelomai (experiencing remorse).35 Therefore, it is a lifechanging principle. While the church engages in theologizing through the call for repentance, it rebuilds the sinner to God.

The Church must also engage in theologizing while addressing the demand by sensitizing the public about the consequences of their actions, as their demand is the foundational cause of the abuse of millions of these women, depriving them of basic human rights. Such theologizing is a courageous act that may cause difculties in relationships, given

33 Alistair Scott May, “‘The Body for the Lord’: Sex and Identity in 1 Corinthians 5–7,” JSNT 278, no 12 (2004), 110.

34 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 950.

35 Gerhard Kittel, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985).

the political environment in India today, but it is an essential one. This self-perception also bleeds into how they view the other’s personhood.

“Purchasable Product”: A Refection of Fallen Relationships with the Other

The purchase of the “product” in the sex market seeps into the way consumers view women’s personhood. This is evidenced through the way a woman is seen as a mere commodity for consumption in the trafcking industry. Such a view of the personhood of a woman points to a failure in realizing the image of God in the other. Here, the woman is the image of God who is being commodifed. This is a vile crime against humanity and God. It treats human life as if they were only a commodity. Being created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27) conveys the ultimate value of a person. Therefore, the ofense of sex trafcking is primarily an ofense against the image of God, expressed through the commodifcation of thousands of women in the world. The image of God, which refects His justice, mercy, and equality is violated when a woman’s body is commodifed as a “product” to be used. The consumer in the commodifcation of these women seeks to destroy God’s image in them and corrupt His purposes for them. These women are bought and sold and used and discarded as if they are merely things and not image-bearers of God. Denigrating and dehumanizing a person’s worth to the extent that they are viewed as objects thereby corrupts the imago Dei. Such a view of the others’ personhood explains the way these consumers view the relationship with these women.

Theologizing in the global sex market must focus on the restoration of the image of God in women and consumers. A theology that stresses the image of God must invite both these

women and the perpetrators to restore that image. According to Matthew Henry,

Of other creatures, it is said that they were created and made; but of man [human] that he was formed, which denotes a gradual process in the work with great accuracy and exactness. To express the creation of this new thing, he takes a new word, a word (some think) borrowed from the potter’s forming his vessel upon the wheel; for we are the clay, and God the potter.36

This diference in the way human beings are created extends into the image of God humans share and the responsibilities of being image-bearers. Erickson writes, “The image of God is intrinsic to humankind. We would not be human without it. Of all creation, we alone are capable of having a conscious personal relationship with the Creator and of responding to him.”37 This conscious relationship with God is broken in the context of sex trafcking. This brokenness in relationships and responsibilities to each other is a brokenness in the image of God in these consumers. Andreas Kostenberger writes, “By placing his image on the man and the woman and by setting them in a particular environment, therefore, God assigns to them the mandate of representative rule.”38 This representative ruling is broken in the chains of global sex trafcking markets where both the consumer’s and the woman’s responsibilities as image-bearers are distorted, as any mistreatment of others is in essence mistreatment of God and his rule and reign over the entire cosmos. Restoration is made possible through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Charles

36 Matthew Henry, Genesis to Ruth, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), 14.

37 Millard Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 165.

38 Andreas Kostenberger, God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 33.

Sherlock, in The Doctrine of Humanity, describes healing as possible through the imago Dei: “Christ as the image of God restores all the relationships corrupted in and by sin.”39 Christ’s death transforms and continually gives humankind another chance. This restoration of the image moves these women to a life that afrms their dignity, thereby moving closer to the image of God in them. Dawn A. Beamish, while discussing the role of the image of God in the context of trafcking postulates,

The imago Dei provides a template of hope and restoration for persons caught up in sex trafcking, be they victims, survivors, or perpetrators. Understanding the imago Dei is essential for restoration and healing. God has created all in his image and each had dignity. Having been created with dignity in the imago Dei underscores that dehumanization is a perversion of humanity and the reversal, the re-humanization of persons in the imago Dei. restores them through God’s grace and power and makes healing and wholeness possible.40

This reminder of the image would ignite hope, reversing the dehumanization that these women go through. Therefore, doing theology in this space within and outside the church calls for transforming the victimized of this crime to become survivors and live and experience the abundance of life for which they were created in the image of God.

Persisting Abuse, a Refection of Fallen Power Relationships

Persistent abuse is an indicator of the way these consumers perceive power in relationships. These women are

39 Charles Sherlock, The Doctrine of Humanity: Contours of Christian Theology (Downers Grove, lL: InterVarsity, 1996), 69.

40 Dawn A. Beamish, “For Such a Time as This: Ecclesiastical Response to Human Sexual Trafcking in North America.” Ph.D. thesis (Asbury Theological Seminary, 2016), 205.

violated in multitudes of ways for the sake of the consumers’ pleasure. Momentary pleasure and greed cause others to sufer, and relationships are broken and marred due to this abuse of power. The way these consumers relate with these women seeps from the “am I my brother’s/sister’s keeper” attitude in Genesis 4:1-13. A “brother’s/sister’s keeper” is one who uses their power to loyally cares for their brother or sister. In this passage, Yahweh asks Cain a simple question about where Abel is. Cain replies that he does not know but then adds another question which expects a negative answer. Paul A. Riemann states that “the participle ‘keeper’ and other forms of the same verb were used frequently of the protective custody of the deity.”41 Therefore, Cain was intending to deny his responsibility within his power to provide protective custody of his brother. Cain here not only denies what he has done to his brother but also denies any guilt for the abuse of the power to be responsible for his brother. This shows an utter lack of compassion and guilt and goes beyond that to show how Cain misused his power of being responsible for his brother’s well-being to abuse him. This is what is seen in the way these consumers relate with these women while they use their power to subjugate them to violent abuses. The economic power is translated into a misconceived sense of the power of “ownership,” creating broken power relationships of persisting abuse.

Theologizing must aim to restore these broken power relationships that refect an “am I brother’s/sister’s keeper” attitude. This restoration demands justice and to stands for the cause of justice for these women. One of the ways this can be achieved is by advocating for the cause of these women which comes from the very nature of God:

41 Paul A. Riemann, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” Interpretation 24, no 4 (October 1970), 483.

God’s advocacy begins with the person of the Trinity and only thereafter relates to how God engages the world. Hence advocacy is not something new that barges into the scene after sin enters the world rather advocacy remains part of God’s nature for all eternity . . . . Trinity as a polis, a community of being who perfectly represent goodness, love, and beauty.42

Therefore, advocacy rooted in the very nature of God demonstrates how power within relationships of all sorts needs to be based on how power within a community is founded on goodness, love, and beauty.43 This entails engaging in advocacy for the rights of these women and the penalizations of the preparators and thereby witnessing in this public sphere of the global sex market. This advocacy is about living into the Kingdom of God, living out the lordship of Jesus Christ, and must base its witness on its own experience. These eforts will facilitate the restoration of justice for these women by freeing them from these abuses of power and keeping their rights in perspective. As Nicholas Wolterstorf rightly postulates, these rights are grounded in worth, value, and dignity of these human beings. “Rights are ways of being treated that are required by the respect of worth.”44 The worth, value, and dignity that they have as being the image of God stands in opposition to these abusive power relationships but afrms that acquired or given power by virtue of any means calls us to be our brother’s or sister’s keepers.

42 Stephen Ofutt, F David Bronkema, et al., Advocacy for Justice: An Evangelical Vision for Transforming Systems and Structures (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 57–58.

43 Ofutt, 111–113.

44 Nicholas P Wolterstorf, Journey towards Justice: Personal Encounter in the Global South (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 57–58.

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Theologizing in the global market for India’s sex trafcking calls for acknowledging the fallenness of relationships with oneself, with the other, and with power within relationships. Doing theology must highlight a deep impression of demand on the existence and survival of the market and dehumanizing of these women, the gross impact of the evil of commodifcation of human beings into “purchasable products,” and the misconceived perception of economic power. This recognition of the fallenness of this market requires theologizing to strive to restore these relationships. Hence, theologizing must move past recognizing the evil impacts of this market to striking the very market at its root through engagements against the commodifcation and abuse of these women by active advocacies, rescues, and rehabilitation.

Conclusion

A consumer-centered study of the global economy of sex trafcking of Indian women exposes a new set of features of this market which includes constant commodifcation and abuse as they are moved from soiled brothels of India to sprawling mansions in economically stable nations. These features of the market demand a consumer-centered theological analysis in the global space done with the sex-trafcked women and “for” the consumers to facilitate the recognition of the fallenness of this market and restoration of relationships within it. This is an important and inevitable engagement in this sphere as God loves the victimized and the preparators equally and expects His image to be restored to them. This engagement could be seen as a reversal of Sonia’s move from her Garden to the City as this theologizing calls us to strive for a move from the city to the Garden, a life of brokenness in the sex market in the cities to a life of restoration as designed by God in the Garden.

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Pentecostals, Spiritual Warfare, and Public Witness: Towards a Pentecostal Paradigm for Public Engagement

Allan Varghese Meloottu

In November 2020, Paula White, the spiritual advisor to President Donald Trump, made headlines for her impassioned prayers, hoping for the re-election of President Trump. In one of the prayers, along with the continuous speaking in tongues, “Paula White claimed that ‘demonic’ elements are seeking to “hijack the will of God to hijack what God has already Allan Varghese Meloottu is a doctoral student (Intercultural Studies) at Asbury Theological Seminary. His current research interests are in the intersection of Pentecostalism, social engagement, and public witness. His work on Kerala Pentecostalism has been published in Nidan: The International Journal of Indian Studies (2019). Prior to academic work, he has been involved in cross cultural social work and pastoral care ministries, especially serving with Hillsong London, Kids Company London, and with World Relief in Durham, North Carolina. He holds a Certifcate in Theological Studies (University of Oxford), BA in Economics, Political Science, Sociology (Christ University), Masters in Social Work (Christ University, Bangalore), MA in Integrative Psychotherapy (London School of Theology/Middlesex University) and a Masters in Theological Studies (Duke University).

230 | Allan Varghese established in the Earth.’”1 The allusion to spiritual warfare language in the prayer in such a politically heightened time reignited the conversation on “the mainstreaming of American Pentecostalism”2 and the role Pentecostals and Charismatics are playing in recent American politics.3 It has also brought forward the notion of spiritual warfare to the forefront and its conduciveness while engaging with the public realm, notably, in the context of seeing the political “other as an enemy to be defeated through spiritual warfare rather than a neighbor to be loved and cared for as part of a shared common life.”4

5

1 Frederick Clarkson, “Beneath The ‘Wacky’ Paula White Video is a Dark and Deeply Undemocratic World Propping up the President” Religion Dispatches. November 17, 2020. https://religiondispatches.org/beneath-the-wacky-paulawhite-video-is-a-dark-and-deeply-undemocratic-world-propping-up-thepresident/.

2 Daniel G. Hummel, “Paula White and the Mainstreaming of American Pentecostalism” Religion News. November 8, 2019. https://religionnews. com/2019/11/08/paula-white-and-the-mainstreaming-of-americanpentecostalism/.

3 Erica Ramirez and Leah Payne, “President Trump’s Hidden Religious Base: Pentecostal-Charismatic Celebrities” Religion News. August 27, 2020. https:// religionnews.com/2020/08/27/president-trumps-rnc-religious-base-pentecostalcharismatic-kari-jobe-paula-white/.

4 Luke, Bretherton, Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019), 80.

5 In this paper, the word Pentecostal is used to denote a wider community of Christians who belong to denominationally Pentecostal communities. The main rationale for this broad characterization is to acknowledge the infuence of Pentecostalism on other existing denominations. Pentecostalism has prompted various existing Christian traditions toward a process of what Amos Yong calls, “Charismatization and . . . Pentecostalization” (Yong, 58), where Protestant and

Therefore, this paper critically examines the concept of spiritual warfare, familiar to Pentecostals and charismatics, and argues for a nuanced spiritual warfare paradigm to serve as an efective method to imagine a Pentecostal theology of public engagement.

To arrive at that objective, frst, I shall briefy explore the broad Pentecostal understanding of spiritual warfare with its relevance in bringing spiritual liberation, although it has been limited in scope in engaging in the public realm. Second, I shall critically analyze the strategic-level spiritual warfare (SLSW) framework that has been popular among Pentecostal and charismatic circles highlighting its problematic ‘triumphant’ public theology. Subsequently, I shall also critically engage with Walter Wink’s world-systems warfare approach as a corrective toward the Pentecostal triumphant theology of public witness. Finally, I will propose an intermediatory model of spiritual warfare that positions itself in between the strategic-level and world systems paradigms to re-imagine a Pentecostal public theology that discerns the real enemy who is “not against fesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12) and doesn’t see the other as an enemy to be defeated but as a neighbor to be loved and cared for and to work in partnership with as part of a shared common life. I will also conclude by suggesting two public engagement practices, considering them as weapons of spiritual warfare. In doing so, the chapter envisions the spiritual warfare paradigm to serve as a theological directive for Pentecostals to engage in the public sphere as resisting “the powers of politics and market, . . . characterized by critical discussion between equal participants, free from constraint, threat, and self-interest,”6 and works toward the common good.

Catholic traditions have been renewed as it gave rise to numerous denominational Pentecostal and indigenous independent charismatic movements worldwide.

6 Dirk Jacobus, Smit, “Notions of the Public and Doing Theology.” International Journal of Public Theology 1, no 3 (2007), 433.

Spiritual Warfare, Pentecostals, and sInterventionist eology

In a broad sense, as Kimberly Marshall and Andreana Prichard note, “Spiritual warfare is a collection of rituals, practices and discourses that aim to do battle with (typically) invisible supernatural threats.”7 In the non-Western world, irrespective of religious afliation, such beliefs of supernatural threats are part of the social imaginary and are undergirded by an ontological orientation that “the supernatural is indissolubly connected with the natural.”8 Hence it is normal to assume that “nefarious non-human actors [are] able to ‘intervene’ in the afairs of humans.”9 Consequently, when individuals face impediments such as fnancial loss, sickness, and strained relationships, they are understood to have been caused by a cosmic disharmony understood as an attack by the spirits.10 The reasons for spiritual disturbances could vary from human encroachment into the spirit’s territories to a strategic attack from a neighboring village spirit. Consequently, traditional healers or spiritual specialists are consulted to perform propitiatory sacrifcial rites and ceremonies to appease spirits and reclaim harmony.11 In such a spirit-interfered reality, although the phrase “spiritual warfare” is generally referred to as a Christian theme, the concept is very familiar to other religious adherents worldwide.

7 Kimberly Jenkins, Marshall, and Andreana Prichard, “Spiritual Warfare in Circulation.” Religions 11, no 7 (2020), 2.

8 Mircea, Eliade, “The Sacredness of Nature and Cosmic Religion” in An Anthology of Living Religions, edited by Mary Pat Fisher and Lee W. Bailey, 2nd ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008), 7.

9 Marshall and Prichard 2020, 2.

10 Although “spirits” are interpreted diferently by diferent people groups and religions, I am using “spirits” here in a general sense to emphasize exclusively the disturbances often manifested as a result of “spirit” attacks.

11 Lalsangkima, Pachuau, Indian and Christian: Historical Accounts of Christianity and Theological Refections in India (Delhi: ISPCK, 2019), 133.

Even though traditionally such an understanding of spiritual reality was considered as part of the “excluded middle” reality in the Western world,12 with the rise of Pentecostal Christianity globally, there has been a framing of the Pentecostal imaginary to see “the world as a space that contains many unfamiliar territories”13 that are infuenced by invisible demonic forces that Pentecostals claim to be able to uncover. Notwithstanding the gulf of cultural diferences between countries in the global South and North along with the diversity within global Pentecostalism, as Birgit Meyer notes, “Pentecostals share a view of the world as the site of a spiritual war between demonic forces and God.”14 Consequently, the Pentecostal emphasis has been to discern and “see” the operations of the demonic, which may well be found operating in a person’s body or public spaces or institutions. Such a common theme among Pentecostals globally to see the demonic and the warfare against it led some scholars to characterize spiritual warfare as “Pentecostal universalism.”15

However, in parts of the global South, Pentecostal Christianity, with such a unique way of seeing the world, was able to do what western missionary Christianity could not, that is, to demonstrate how belief in Jesus Christ can keep people safe from the evil spirits and meet their everyday needs. In other words, the “interventionist theology,” as AsomoahGyadu puts it, of Pentecostal Christianity afrms the “spiritual

12 Paul G. Hiebert, “The Flaw of the Excluded Middle.” Missiology 10, no 1 (1982).

13 Birgit Meyer, “Pentecostalism and Globalization,” in Studying Global Pentecostalism: Theories and Methods, edited by Allan Anderson, Michael Bergunder, Andre Droogers and Cornelis Van Der Laan. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010), 117.

14 Meyer, 117.

15 Knut Rio, Michelle MacCarthy and Ruy Blanes. “Introduction,” in Pentecostalism and Witchcraft: Spiritual Warfare in Africa and Melanesia, edited by Michelle MacCarthy, Ruy Llera Blanes, and Knut Mikjel Rio. (Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), 7.

middle” worldview prominent in the non-western world and shows people how Jesus Christ can deliver and protect them by defeating evil powers.16

On the one hand, in the context where people believe that malevolent spirits impact their lives, Pentecostal soteriology is presented as participating in the divine life through the flling of the Holy Spirit, “the most benevolent Spirit.”17 Such a Spiritcentered salvation message enables people to experience Jesus Christ as an exorcist,18 victor,19 and healer.20 On the other hand, in the context of the global South, where daily struggles of poverty and inequality are prominent,21 such a Pentecostal soteriology also leads to envisioning the “materiality of salvation,” where the Gospel is not only for the transformation of the inner human being but also for “bodily human existence.”22 This interventionist approach of Pentecostal soteriology experiences the Holy Spirit as the benevolent Spirit (as opposed to malevolent spirits) and embraces the Gospel for the solution of their material needs and is evident among charismatics /Pentecostals globally—in

16 J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Mission to ‘Set the Captives Free’: Healing, Deliverance, and Generational Curses in Ghanaian Pentecostalism,” International Review of Mission 93, no 370–71 (2004), 392.

17 Lalsangkima Pachuau, “Primal Spirituality as the Substructure of Christian Spirituality: The Case of Mizo Christianity in India,” Journal of African Christian Thought, 11 no. 2 (2008), 9–14.

18 Abraham, Shaibu.“Jesus the Exorcist: The Emerging Pentecostal Christology in India,” in Pentecostalism: Polyphonic Discourse, edited by Rajeevan Mathew Thomas and Josfn Raj, (Kerala: New Life Bible Seminary, 2019), 123-148.

19 Pachuau 2019, 146 & Pachuau 2008.

20 Simon Chan, Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2014), 108–110.

21 Pachuau 2019, 114.

22 Miroslav Volf, “Materiality of Salvation: An Investigation in the Soteriologies of Liberation and Pentecostal Theologies,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 26 no. 3 (1989), 448.

parts of Asia,23 Africa,24 and Latin America.25 In this way, as Alan Anderson notes, “Salvation (sometimes called ‘full salvation’) is an all-embracing term,”26 encompassing the forgiveness of sin, deliverance from evil powers, healing from sickness, earthly blessings, and eternal rescue from damnation.

More notably, such spiritual intervention has been efective due to the Pentecostal cosmology of seeing the world through a spiritual warfare framework. Themes such as overcoming, conquering, or defeating evil powers became familiar in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity.27 For the grassroots believer who lives in the spiritual reality of spirits and spiritual rites, such a spiritual warfare framework enables them to envision God’s immanent presence,28 defeating the evil spirits and providing healing and material blessings. Such emphasis on healing and deliverance within the spiritual warfare framework has undoubtedly led to believers’ empowerment and spiritual liberation.29 Even though Pentecostals in the global South and North approach their faith through a diferent cultural lens,

23 Shaibu Abraham, “Holy Spirit in Pentecostal Mission Praxis in India: A Paradigm for Mission in Pluralistic Context,” in The Holy Spirit and Christian Mission in a Pluralistic Context, edited by Roji T. George (Bangalore: Saiacs Press, 2017), 84–104.

24 J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Pulling down Strongholds: Evangelism, Principalities and Powers and the African Pentecostal Imagination.” International Review of Mission 96, (2007), 306–17.

25 Wilma Wells Davies, The Embattled but Empowered Community: Comparing Understandings of Spiritual Power in Argentine Popular and Pentecostal Cosmologies, (Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2010); René Holvast, Spiritual Mapping in the United States and Argentina, 1989–2005: A Geography of Fear, (Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2008).

26 Alan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 228.

27 Asomoah-Gyadu, 306.

28 Shaibu Abraham, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Paradigm of Liberation (New Delhi, Christian World Imprints, 2020), 28–30.

29 Chan, 103.

the themes of God’s immanent presence in the form of Spirit baptisms and manifestations and the consequent spiritual liberation has been common across the global community of Pentecostals.30

However, spiritual liberation has not always translated to a Pentecostal public witness, advocating for the socially oppressed and economically poor. Although for some, their spiritual liberation motivated them to break away from oppressive patterns of behavior and achieve an upward socioeconomic movement,31 social liberation has not been a Pentecostal priority. To that extent, Pentecostal public social engagements throughout history32 have taken “an incremental approach to social change by addressing the human needs that confront them on a daily basis”33 than a more political advocacy approach to “directly challenge the existing sociopolitical order.”34

30 As Cheryl Bridges Johns writes, “In places such as African and Brazil there is greater fusion of God with the phenomological; while in the West, Pentecostal believers tend toward a more dichotomized world-view between the natural and supernatural. Yet, in spite of the distinctions there is a unique world-view that is Pentecostal. This view may be characterized as seeing God at work in all of life, the revelation of God unfolding in human history.” (Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Prayer, Evangelization and Spiritual Warfare: A Pentecostal Perspective,” in Pentecostal Ecclesiology, edited by Chris Green (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 237.

31 Miller, Donald E., and Tetsunao Yamamori. Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement. (California: University of California Press, 2007) 160-183.

32 Satyavrata, Ivan. “Power to the Poor: the Pentecostal Tradition of Social Engagement.” Paper presented at the WAPTE Consultation: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2013. https://wapte.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IvanSatyavrata-Power-to-the-Poor.pdf ; Duncan, Kent. “Emerging Engagement: The Growing Social Conscience of Pentecostalism,” Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal Ministry 7 (2010). Accessed online on March 33, 2022. https://legacy.agts.edu/ encounter/articles/2010summer/duncan.htm#_edn22

33 Miller and Yamamori 2010, 216.

34 Chan 2014, 40.

At the same time, recently Pentecostals and charismatics have been making news for their public (political) presence (as indicated in the introduction); such engagement has been with the overtone of taking “dominion” over the worldly realm.35 While such a dominionist attitude could fnd its theological premise in Genesis 1:27, it is also strongly infuenced by “Kingdom Now” theology36 and the strategic-level spiritual warfare (SLSW) framework, giving rise to a kind of public witness that polarizes and at times demonizes non-Christians. Therefore, as I seek to propose a theoretical framework of spiritual warfare conducive for a public witness that considers the common good, it is frst essential to critically analyze the SLSW framework and explore its limitations to social and public engagement.

Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare (SLSW) and its eology of Public Witness

In the 1980s, Pentecostal interventionist theology and dominionist public theology received vital inspiration from the American charismatic movement in the form of strategiclevel spiritual warfare as part of the third wave of Pentecostal renewal.37

35 Cox, Harvey Gallagher. Fire From Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-frst Century, (Cambridge, M.A.: Da Capo Press, 1995), 289.

36 For Pentecostals in America, Kingdom Now theological teaching came as a replacement to the earlier Pentecostal teaching of Latter Rain revival that held frmly that “Jesus would return soon” in their lifetime. As Harvey Cox notes, “It is true that the Latter Rain preachers did not advocate political action. They believed the spiritual purifcation and renewal of the church itself would accomplish the transformation of the world. In any case the Latter Rain revival did not last long, perhaps a decade, but it laid the theological groundwork for what has now become the Kingdom Now movement with its passionate activism and its intention to reestablish civil society along biblically mandated lines.” Cox , 294.

37 Wonsuk Ma, “In Jesus’ Name! Power Encounter from an Asian Pentecostal Perspective,” in Principalities and Powers: Refections in the Asian Context. (Manila:

For third wavers, there are various levels of spiritual warfares based on the nature of Satanic infuence. In personal matters, ground-level spiritual warfare is warranted. Furthermore, while occult-level spiritual warfare deals with other religions, strategic-level spiritual warfare (SLSW) deals with the “territorial spirits” that are assigned to geographical territories and social institutions.38 Although Pentecostals and charismatics use all three levels of warfare interchangeably in their practice, the third level, strategic-level spiritual warfare, received widespread attention in the global south, especially when it comes to matters in the public sphere.

Third wavers believe that territorial spirits are assigned to “keep large numbers of humans . . . in spiritual captivity. Results of this oppression include but are not limited to rampant injustice, oppression, misery, hunger, disease, natural disasters, racism, human trafcking, economic greed, wars, and the like.”39 Subsequently, combat with these territorial spirits is essential. Along with intercessions, authoritative prayers, prayer walks, prophetic decrees, and power encounters, “spiritual mapping”

OMF Literature, 2007), 29; Wonsuk Ma, “A ‘First Waver’ Looks at the ‘Third Wave’: A Pentecostal Refection on Charles Kraft’s Power Encounter Terminology.” Pneuma 19 no 2 (1997). The term third wave is used as it claimed to be a “further evolution of the two earlier Pentecostal/charismatic movements: classical Pentecostalism (the ‘First Wave,’ from the 1900s) and the charismatic movement (the ‘Second Wave,’ from the 1960s). Such a third wave movement, as Ruth Marshall writes, is intimately associated with the project of global evangelism, developed using theanthropologica methods of the evangelical Church Growth movement of the 1950s.’” Marshall, 98. More importantly the missionaries framed “spiritual warfare as a distinct doctrinal paradigm and evangelical technique was articulated as the basis of a new missiology from the late 1970s by American evangelicals refecting on their mission experiences amongst peoples of the global south.” Marshall, 98.

38 C. Peter Wagner and Rebecca Greenwood, “The Strategic-level Deliverance Model,” in Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views, edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012) 179.

39 Wagner and Greenwood, 179.

was introduced as a warfare method.40 Spiritual mapping is seen as spirit-led research to identify the local historical and geographical factors that feed into the land’s oppressive spiritual condition. More importantly, spiritual mapping aids one to engage in more targeted prayer combat against specifc Satanic territorial spirits. Such is the strategic approach to spiritual warfare put forth by the third-wave Pentecostals.

Due to its correlations with indigenous spiritual engagement methods,41 the SLSW found its popularity among neo-Pentecostals in the global South. For example, such resonance gave rise to nuanced demonology such as “witchdemonology” among African Pentecostals,42 providing ways to map the advanced nature of demon possession through witchcraft. In addition, due to the SLSW teaching, various African Pentecostal deliverance ministries started to use “deliverance questionnaires,” which act as a spiritual mapping practice that provides the information “to all aspects of life . . . [and] to aid the process of diagnosis through which the presumed source of a person’s problems may be established.”43 Within the already existing spiritual reality in Africa, the use of questionnaires also resonated as a kind of “divination procedure,” which traditional healers used to identify malevolent spirits. Subsequently, pastors engage in

40 Marguerite G. Kraft, Understanding Spiritual Power: A Forgotten Dimension of Cross-Cultural Mission and Ministry (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2003), 193.

41 For an example of such correlation with indigenous spiritual engagements, see Hio-kee Ooi, “A Study of Strategic Level Spiritual Welfare from a Chinese Perspective,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 9 no 1 (2006). While Hio-kee Ooi provides critique of the “strategic-level spiritual warfare,” he gives a helpful analysis of how such a “spiritual warfare” language has been integrated by Pentecostals in the traditional Chinese context.

42 See Opoku Onyinah, “Contemporary ‘Witchdemonology’ in Africa,” International Review of Mission 93 (2004), 330–45.

43 Asomoah-Gyadu, 401.

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long warfare prayers to cast out demons to bring healing and deliverance.44

Although the spiritual worldview in the global South enables Pentecostals to employ the spiritual warfare language in communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ more experientially, the teachings of SLSW raise a few concerns. Some of these concerns are at the forefront for classical Pentecostals who remain reluctant to embrace such spiritual warfare teachings.45 Wonsuk Ma46 and Opoku Onyinah47 highlight some of the adverse theological and pastoral implications of SLSW teachings. Hence, it is not necessary to reiterate such concerns here. Nonetheless, as we seek to construct a warfare framework for public witness, it is important to highlight two public implications of strategic-level spiritual warfare.

Critical Analysis of the Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare Approach

First, the over-reliance on the various forms of SLSW has contributed to individualized Pentecostal spirituality, leaving public dimensions (socioeconomic and political) of spirituality lagging.

Although on the academic level, Pentecostal theologians afrm that Pentecostal soteriology provides “cosmopolitan deliverance,” “merging spheres of individuals enmeshed in social relations and networks comprising everyday activities across cultural, political, religious, economic and institutional

44 For an account of how the deliverance meetings are done, namely from an African context, see Onyinah 2004.

45 See Holvast and Ma.

46 Ma.

47 Opoku Onyinah, “Spiritual warfare: The Cosmic Confict between Good and Evil,” in The Routledge Handbook of Pentecostal Theology. edited by Wolfgang Vondey (New York: Routledge, 2020), 321–330.

territories,”48 on a grassroots level, there is a lapse in extending the liberating power of the Holy Spirit to socioeconomic structures using the warfare idiom. Consequently, the teachings of SLSW only contribute to the individual’s freedom from oppression. Pentecostal churches carry out worship services to anoint people for prosperity, protection, and healing. However, such fervor is lacking in dealing with public issues. Theologian David Tonghou Ngang communicates this discrepancy well. According to Ngang,

The understanding here is that critical problems in people’s lives such as poverty, unavailability of opportunities for people to make their lives better, illnesses, and others, have a spiritual provenance. Thus it appears that if the spiritual provenance of the impediments to human progress is addressed, people can go on to live fourishing lives even when society in general has not created the atmosphere necessary for this to happen.49

In summation, while Pentecostal intervention into the existing spiritual worldview has led people to see the material dimension of salvation, it has also led to an individualized fourishing without any regard for common fourishing.

Secondly, if proponents of SLSW make any claims to impact the public realm, the imagined socioeconomic and political impact is of a triumphalist nature.

48 Wolfgang Vondey, Pentecostal Theology: Living the Full Gospel. Systematic Pentecostal and Charismatic Theology. (London: T & T Clark, 2017), 201.

49 David Tonghou Ngong, The Holy Spirit and Salvation in African Christian Theology: Imagining a More Hopeful Future for Africa. Bible & Theology in Africa. (New York: Peter Lang Inc, 2010), 128.

As indicated above, the infuence of dominionist theology, which proposes that Christians “have dominion” over all things (Gen 1:27), is evident in SLSW teachings. Whenever warfare prayers are done, proclaiming Jesus’ Lordship over all things, there is a strong assumption that “all ‘things’ includes the land, the environment, politics, education, science, medicine, healthcare, the arts, space, economics, social justice, and all the humanities.”50 Furthermore, there is a sense that the beneft of having dominion over all things by proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus is for those who are engaging the SLSW. Therefore, prayers are often for a particular Christian political leader to be in power so that the policies will be favorable for Christians. Concerns for non-Christians or the common good are not considered in such a spiritual warfare framework. Spiritual mapping and prayer walks are explicitly organized for their desired political candidate’s victory. Subsequently, anyone who stands against such a vision of structural impact, whether it be the non-Christian religious or political other, becomes personifed as the demonic enemy of God.51

For Gregory Boyd, this tone strikes as “triumphant theology” with “a new twist on the old Constantinian paradigm the church has been aficted with” in the past.52 Since Constantine, as Boyd notes, when “the church embraced the notion that they were to ‘manage the land,’” the all-important mandate of the New Testament to imitate Jesus by humbly

50 Wagner and Greenwood, 192.

51 For a critical analysis on such demonizing Pentecostal/charismatic rhetoric, see Tony Richie, “Demonization, Discernment, and Deliverance in Interreligious Encounters” in Interdisciplinary and Religiou-cultural Discourses on a Spirit-flled World, edited by Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Kirsteen Kim and Amos Yong (New York: Pelgrave Macmillan, 2013) 171–184.

52 Gregory Boyd, “The Ground Level Delivery Model,” in Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views, edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 214.

serving the world tragically began to fade. Instead, the church of the crucifed Savior became the church “militant and triumphant.”53

Therefore, for Pentecostals, who are very much at home with spiritual warfare language, there is a need to reimagine spiritual warfare, especially as a response to the triumphalist model of socio-political change initiated through the SLSW model. Pentecostals require a view of spiritual warfare that not only enables them to recognize the demonic in public structures but also provides a way “to protest and resist the social and cultural manifestations of evil” to bring change for the common good.54 Therefore, in the next section, I turn to reimagining spiritual warfare so that a vision for the public witness can be laid out.

Walter Wink’s World Systems Model of Warfare

In looking to re-imagine spiritual warfare that is conducive for public witness, although not a Pentecostal thinker, Walter Wink’s warfare model, the world systems model,55 is widely acknowledged to provide a structural interpretation. Wink understands the principalities and powers, or demons, as the spiritual dimension of this-worldly institutions and structures “that have betrayed their divine vocations.”56 Wink writes, “The foundation for understanding the principalities and powers is

53 Boyd, 214.

54 Vondey, 203.

55 Wink, Walter (edited by Gareth Higgins). “The World Systems Model,” in Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views. Edited by James K. Beilby and, Paul R. Eddy. (Michigan: Baker Academic, 2012), 47-71.

56 Walter Wink, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 27.

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that they are fundamentally, essentially good.”57 Subsequently, for Wink, the present powers and principalities— that is, institutions, systems, and structures—are distorted due to their fallen-ness and, more specifcally, they are demonic “not because it has been seized by some external force, but [because] it abandons its divine vocation.”58 In other words, Wink refuses to see the New Testament language of powers as “personal free agents” but understands it as the “interior reality” of people groups or social structures or institutions.

Consequently, deliverance from oppression means transforming institutions, structures, and systems toward their divine-ordered vocation. In pursuit of such transformation, the church’s responsibility is to “name, unmask, and engage” these structures.59 However, deliverance is not a matter of trying to cast out any malevolent beings or force these institutions to be something they never were. Instead, it is “a matter of calling them back to the vocation that they had at their foundation.”60

In one sense, Wink’s understanding of institutions and structures as non-demonic or evil should be heeded. They are God-given institutions for human fourishing and, therefore, are good. Consequently, any warfare is not to demolish the structures but to bring them back to their divine vocation. However, in another sense, it will be challenging to integrate Wink’s attempt to depersonalize the demonic with the Pentecostal worldview, where demons are understood to be

57 Walter Wink, “Principalities and Powers: A Diferent Worldview,” Church & Society 85, no 5 (1995), 19.

58 Wink, 26.

59 James K. Beilby, and Paul R. Eddy, “Introduction,” in Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views, edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 32.

60 Winks, 26.

personal. Furthermore, it also fails to represent the biblical attribution of specifc being-ness to Satan.

Evaluation of Wink’s World Systems Model

In the Pentecostal context, Paul’s words, “For our struggle not against enemies of blood and fesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12, NRSV), are taken as a clear reminder of spiritual warfare.61 The verse read broadly within the New Testament context, provides further evidence toward a spiritual warfare framework that understands Satan as a spiritual being who is the force of evil. As Gregory Boyd writes, Satan is still viewed as “the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), “the ruler of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) who heads up a rebel kingdom (Rev 9:7-11) and through whom he still controls “the whole world (1 Jn 5:19). He is the “adversary” who “like a roaring lion…prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).62

Ephesians 6:12 only further amplifes such an understanding of Satan, as a spiritual being trying to devour those who belong to the kingdom of God.

61 For a discussion on approaching Ephesians 6: 10-18 with Pentecostal spirituality, see J Ayodeji Adewuya 2012, “The Spiritual Powers of Ephesians 6:10-18 in the Light of African Pentecostal Spirituality.” Bulletin for Biblical Research 22, no 2 (2012). For a discussion on the various hermeneutical approaches to understanding the evil powers in Ephesians, see Annang Asumang, “Powers of Darkness: An Evaluation of Three Hermeneutical Approaches to the Evil Powers in Ephesians,” Conspectus 5 (March 2008)

62 Gregory A. Boyd, God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Confict. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 276.

Furthermore, the reputation of the city of Ephesus in the New Testament adds more reason to see Satan as an independent being. Scholars have noted that the city of Ephesus was known as a center for magical practices,63 with “the temple of the goddess Diana looming high over the city.”64 In this city, the seven sons of Sceva were unable to exorcise the demons (Acts 19:15, 17), indicating the city’s heavy demonic presence. Moreover, as Paul begins the book of Ephesians, his exhortation communicates his awareness of demonic presence. Consequently, Paul establishes that Jesus has won the victory over “all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church” (Eph 1:21, 22, NRSV).

Subsequently, in Ephesians 6, while the “spiritual and malevolent nature of the evil powers is emphasized,”65 Paul urges them to engage in spiritual warfare through “Christian life.”66 The armor of God is given to the believer to engage in spiritual warfare to resist the enemy who is not fesh and blood but the invisible Satan (Eph 6: 13–17). In other words, there are real spiritual satanic powers. If they are not and “were merely this-worldly,” as Esther Acolatse puts it, “the invitation to shore oneself up with the whole armor of God would be an act of overdressing!”67

63 Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 149.

64 Asumang, 3.

65 Ibid., 6.

66 Arnold, 153.

67 Esther Acolatse, Powers, Principalities, and the Spirit: Biblical Realism in Africa and the West. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 198.

While it is essential to recognize that this world’s social structures and institutions have a spiritual nature that is oppressive, as Wink rightly notes, it is also equally important to note that such an oppressive nature is due to the cosmic spiritual battle of Satan against God’s kingdom. Even though Satan does not have fesh and blood, its being-ness is afrmed in the New Testament. From this perspective, as Asumang notes, “where Wink erred was to deny any particular infuence of personal spirits in implementing the stratagems of the evil powers. In so doing, not only is the teaching in Ephesians undermined, the negative efects of increased spiritism, witchcraft, and occultism in some societies are ignored.”68 Consequently, for the Pentecostals, Wink’s understanding of the powers as world structures would require further modifcation to incorporate it as a spiritual warfare framework.

Toward an Intermediary Approach of Spiritual Warfare for Pentecostal Public Engagement

In light of the above discussion on SLSW, it is important to recognize the errors of third wavers who often over-emphasize Satan’s being-ness in the worldly realm. If the third wavers have leaned too far into acknowledging the being-ness of demons and demonic presence in the world, Wink has gone too far the other way, failing to recognize demonic being-ness. However, an intermediate approach between the SLSW model and world systems model not only does justice to the New Testament understanding of cosmic powers but is also acceptable for global Pentecostals who are at home with the idiom of spiritual warfare. In such an approach, we not only acknowledge the being-ness of Satan and demonic infuence in the public realm, but we do so without giving unnecessary attention to Satan, which Opoku Onyinah identifes as a “serious problem” among 68 Asumang,

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Pentecostals who advocate for ‘SLSW teachings.69 In other words, a robust Pentecostal understanding of spiritual warfare that is carved through the middle of the SLSW model and the world systems model acknowledges that, to use Onyinah’s words,

The defeat of the demonic realm was demonstrated in Jesus’ ministry of exorcism and climaxed in his death and resurrection. [Therefore] Believers have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and have been transferred into the kingdom of Christ. Yet the devil and his cohort are active and work through schemes. Christians are not to be afraid of them but rather to resist them through the application of the word of God and praying in the Spirit.70

Consequently, the various methods of public witnesses by Pentecostals become part of spiritual warfare, meaning their Christian presence and engagement becomes part of the warfare strategy of resisting the a) unseen satanic beings who actively scheme to derail God’s plans and b) the seen oppressive social, political structures, and policies that perpetuate oppression, inequality, and abuse of power.

However, the church’s presence and activities in spiritual warfare should be seen in light of Christian eschatology. Like other non-Pentecostal Christians, the Pentecostals see “themselves as the eschatological people of God,”71 where they believe that the inaugurated reality of the Kingdom of God commenced in the resurrection of the crucifed Christ

69 Onyinah, 324.

70 Onyinah, 329.

71 Ngang, 127.

“but awaits its fnal consummation in the future Parousia.”72 Therefore, today’s church lives in the already not yet stage.

Subsequently, as the church awaits the full consummation, Pentecostal inaugurated eschatology leads the church not to be inward oriented but to proclaim the nature of the coming Kingdom of God. In doing so, the church becomes a change agent. As Brian Myers notes, the church accepts people, “knowing that the Spirit of God celebrates the good, unmasks the evil, and calls for the most fundamental change in everyone.”73 However, as Mark Catledge notes, the church’s approach to change is “in a dual action of blessing and resisting,”74 blessing the world with various means of healing and deliverance brought by the Holy Spirit as a foretaste of what is to come, and resisting oppression in anticipation of the fullness of the coming kingdom. For Pentecostals, such a dual action (blessing and resisting) in light of its eschatological vision becomes acts of warfare against Satan, especially within the Pentecostal cosmology that views sin and demonic forces as the primary source of oppression and pain. In such a spiritual warfare framework, on one end, the social welfare actions can be seen as acts of blessing. On the other, the church’s various advocacy eforts and liturgical practice in the context of injustice can also be taken as acts of resistance. Through both practices of blessings and resistance, the ecclesial community wages war against unseen satanic begin who attempt to derail people from God’s plan of life and redemption.

72 Mark J. Cartledge, “Renewal Theology and the ‘Common Good.’” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 25, no 1 (2016), 101. For a discussion on the Pentecostal take on eschatology, see Peter Althouse, “‘Left behind’ - Fact or Fiction: Ecumenical Dilemmas of the Fundamentalist Millenarian Tensions within Pentecostalism,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 13, no 2 (2005), 201.

73 Bryant L. Myers, Walking With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. rev. ed. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011), 85.

74 Cartledge, 102.

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Social Engagement as Blessing the Public within the Spiritual Warfare Framework

In numerous parts of the world, socially compassionate actions went hand in hand with Pentecostals. However, from a spiritual warfare framework, such acts of social engagement can be reimagined as a fght against the spiritual forces perpetuating oppressive conditions. Ephesians 6: 13–17 provides a scriptural rationale for a Christian lifestyle of spiritual warfare where every believer is life indicates truth, righteousness, and the Gospel of peace, and salvation is an ofensive weapon of God’s armor to stand against the enemy. Therefore, any socially compassionate action from a believer to alleviate pain and bring life in accordance with truth, righteousness, and peace becomes an assailing force against satanic spiritual power that operates to keep people under oppressive conditions.

Furthermore, any social action by the church will inevitably demonstrate the character of the kingdom of God as “an alternative lifestyle in (and for) the world.”75 The local church’s character and mission, which is modeled after the life of Jesus Christ, follow “the law of love as it advocates with and for others as God advocates for the world.”76 In this pursuit, the church’s existence and any social action eforts to bless anyone become part of spiritual warfare against unseen satanic spirits that infuence visible social structures to be dominant and oppressive forces.

75 Stephen F. Ofutt, David Bronkema, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Robb Davis, and Gregg Okesson, Advocating for Justice: An Evangelical Vision for Transforming Systems and Structures. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 112.

76 Ofutt et al., 112.

Social Advocacy and Pentecostal Liturgical Practices as Public Resistance within a Spiritual Warfare Framework

At the same time, Pentecostal public engagement can also be in the form of resisting visible social structures that perpetuate oppression. Though advocacy attempts by Pentecostals seem to lag, in the context of spiritual warfare, such an approach, will present the world with a foretaste of the awaiting justice of the kingdom of God in the eschaton. Such an act of public resistance could include engaging in public protests, writing letters to lawmakers calling for repealing an unjust policy, engaging in public debates on social issues, and others. These advocacy actions can be done with the “expectation that the confrontation of the public social world fnds its culmination in the coming kingdom.”77 Such an eschatological vision also provides hope that even if the alleviation of oppression was not fulflled immediately, the act of resisting is not wasted. It will fnd its culmination in the eschaton.

In addition to such public advocacy measures, the common Pentecostal liturgical practices of intercessory prayers, long hours of healing and deliverance prayers, exuberant charismatic worship services, and prophetic utterances can also be understood as public engagement. In dealing with spiritual warfare on a social and public level, these practices can be seen as a “cosmopolitical praxis of resistance”78 against the demonic power that infuences social structures. Yong writes, “With these [worship] practices, Pentecostals are not only engaging with God, but also with the spiritual realm of the principalities and powers—taking authority over the turmoil in their personal lives, the devastations of their economies, and the challenges

77 Vondey, 223.

78 Amos Yong, In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 151.

252 | Allan Varghese in the public domain.”79 Through these liturgical practices, Pentecostals are fghting in the invisible spiritual realm frst before engaging in any social advocacy measures to challenge visible social structures.

For Pentecostals, the practice of speaking in tongues in worship and prayer can also serve as “a discourse of resistance” in spiritual warfare.80 Tongue-speech becomes language against the “powers-that-be, and such speech is indicative of a kind of eschatological resistance to the powers.”81 Through praying and worshipping in tongues, the Pentecostals are not only being equipped for their fght against injustice on a social structural level but are already waging warfare in the spiritual realm, resisting the demonic powers that infuence social structure. In this sense, prayer, as Walter Wink puts it, “is a spiritual war of attrition,” expecting the gradual weakening of the enemy’s hold on social structures.82 Subsequently, when pentecostals intervene on a social level, advocacy acts to initiate structural changes can occur without much opposition.

The Pentecostal practice of prophetic utterances can also play a vital role in spiritual warfare on a social structural level. For Pentecostals, who rely on the Spirit’s leading in mission, prophecy plays an important role. Here, prophecy is understood more as “a forth-telling of God’s word than as the foretelling of future events. At times, predictions for the future are embedded in the forth-telling, but in more common use and understanding,

79 Yong, 156.

80 Smith, James K. A. “Tongues as ‘Resistance Discourse’- A Philosophical Perspective,” in Speaking in Tongues: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives, edited by Mark J. Cartledge. (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Press, 2006), 107.

81 Smith, 107.

82 Wink,196.

they are not.”83 In engaging with social powers, prophecy can be a liturgical practice that will help discern the real nature of social illness and help construct an adequate resistance against social powers. In doing so, one could call the prophet a critic, visionary, storyteller, technical analyst, orpolicymaker.84 Therefore, the prophet may use “interdisciplinary and scientifc tools to diagnose the root causes of situations of crisis,”85 use creative manners of communication, and evoke the vision of the just coming kingdom of God to enable people to resist and overcome the social structures of oppression. Through it all, the prophetic calling directs the church to engage in spiritual warfare by resisting the demonic powers that give rise to oppressive social systems.

Conclusion

This chapter’s primary task was to provide a renewed understanding of spiritual warfare in order to envision a Pentecostal public engagement model. Often when Pentecostals attempt to engage in public, it ends up othering the non-Christian or political other as “an enemy to be defeated through spiritual warfare rather than a neighbor to be loved and cared for as part of a shared common life.”86 Luke Bretherton sees such othering as a Pentecostal “mimetic rivalry with other groups who are seen as subject to demonic

83 Margret M. Poloma and Matthew T. Lee. “Prophecy, Empowerment, and Godly Love” in Spirit and Power: The Growth and Global Impact of Pentecostalism, edited by Donald E. Miller, Kimon H. Sargeant, and Richard Flory (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 282.

84 Nico Koopman, “Public Theology as Prophetic Theology: More than Utopianism and Criticism?” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 134 (July 2009).

85 Ngong, 144.

86 Bretherton, Luke. Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019), 80.

254 | Allan Varghese powers.”87 Such a Pentecostal “mimetic rivalry” has been recently noted by Pentecostal scholars, and some have called for re-imagining the spiritual warfare framework.88 In a similar vein, this chapter has attempted to re-imagine a Pentecostal spiritual warfare framework by critically analyzing the SLSW model and the world system model. Consequently, for an efective Pentecostal model of public witness, an intermediate approach is proposed between the Pentecostal worldview of “overcoming, conquering, dominating, or defeating evil powers”89 and a close reading of Ephesians 6:12. In such an intermediate spiritual warfare framework, I identifed two broad Pentecostal categories to engage with the public. The church, as a Pentecostal eschatological community, can consider their social welfare actions for the oppressed and the vulnerable as blessing the public and engage in social advocacy practices and imagine pentecostal liturgical practices as public practices of resistance.

In doing so, the chapter has proposed a renewed spiritual warfare paradigm to serve as a theological directive for Pentecostals to engage in the public sphere to bless the oppressed and resist the demonic forces infuencing oppressive social structures. At the same time, in these two-fold spiritual warfare practices (to bless and to resist), one should remain alert for the enemy’s attack against the church to deter them from God’s mission. As Boyd puts it beautifully, “We are to always be on guard against our enemy who perpetually seeks to lure us into sin and lull us into compromise. We are to crucify ourselves daily . . . We are to live with the singular mission of advancing God’s kingdom by the unique way we live, the self-sacrifcial

87 Bretherton 2019, 80.

88 For example, see, Joseph Quayesi-Amakye. “The problematic of exorcism and spiritual warfare: a dialogue with Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah,” Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association, 37:1 (2017), 68-79.

89 Asamoah-Gyagu 2007, 308.

way we love, the humble way we serve, and the power we demonstrate against oppressive forces.”90 The call for alertness is not only to be aware of the enemy’s attack on the church but also on a social and public level so that we may speak truth against oppression and show the love of Jesus Christ in the midst of pain. 90 Boyds, 151.

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Finding Resources to Stay: Christian Ascetic Practices as Resistance to Romanian Emigration

David Chronic

Positives and Negatives of Romanian Emigration

In the short flm The Way of the Danube, a Romanian boy is seen being raised by his grandfather after being left by his parents who are working abroad.1 Although he has friends and a caring grandfather, he is tormented by a longing to be with his parents. The parents send him clothes and toys, along with a letter to say that they are not coming home as promised. In desperation, the young boy fnds a motorboat and heads west on the Danube, following the path of Romanian emigration in search of his parents. The flm depicts the way emigration is marking Romania, especially its negative efects.

Migration is a complex phenomenon that countries across the world are facing today. The issue is particularly acute

David Chronic has served with his wife, Lenuta, for over 20 years among vulnerable families in Romania with Word Made Flesh (WMF), an international Christian community working in development. He continues to serve as part of the Caretaker team for WMF while he pursues doctoral studies on child theology and international development at Asbury Theological Seminary

1 The Way of the Danube, Short Film, CINEPUB, 2015, https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=vtzt2esZ-fM.

in Romania. At the fall of communism in 1989, the population of Romania was 23,206,720.2 The Romanian Institute for Statistics estimates that thse population in 2021 is 19,186,000.3 The most recent census, taken in 2011, states that Romania lost 2.68 million inhabitants to emigration since the previous census in 2001.4 Almost 20% of working age Romanians have emigrated.5 In the period 2005–2015, Romania had the second highest migration in the world at 7.3%, second only to Syria which was at war.6 Overall, according to the United Nation’s Migration Report from 2018, approximately 3.4 million Romanians have emigrated.7 Romanian immigrant population is now the ffth highest in the world.8

Some view migration through a positive lens.9 In a report by the Romanian Regional Development Program, published by the World Bank, the European Union, and the government

2 Adriana Veronica Litra, “The Demographic Changes of the Last Quarter of Century in Romania,” Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Series V: Economic Sciences 8, no. 2 (September 2015): 356

3 “Indicator - RO - Populaţia | Institutul Național de Statistică,” https://insse.ro/ cms/ro/content/indicator-ro-popula%C5%A3ia.

4 “Rezultate | Recensamant 2011,” n.d., http://www.recensamantromania.ro/ rezultate-2/.

5 “Romania: One in Five Workers Lives Abroad,” Eurotopics.Net, https://www. eurotopics.net/en/200259/romania-one-in-fve-workers-lives-abroad.

6 Sergiu Celac and Angheluta Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030 (Bucuresti: Paideia, 2018), 99.

7 “3.4 Million Romanians Left the Country in the Last 10 Years; Second Highest Emigration Growth Rate After Syria,” Business Review, February 26, 2018, http:// business-review.eu/news/3-4-million-romanians-left-the-country-in-the-last-10years-second-highest-emigration-rate-after-syria-159038. This is likely a gross underestimation of the real number of emigrants.

8 “Romania’s Emigrant Population is the Fifth Largest in the World and Growing, OECD Report Finds,” Business Review, July 16, 2019, http://business-review.eu/ news/romanias-emigrant-population-is-the-fifth-largest-in-the-world-andgrowing-oecd-report-fnds-203223.

9 See Daniela Danacica, “Characteristics of Migration in Romania,” AnnalsEconomy Series 2 (June 1, 2010): 198.

of Romania, the authors claim that migrating from “lagging to leading places” has positive efects on the lagging area as “most migrants maintain strong links to their home communities, bringing back capital, skills, and expectations of functioning institutions.”10 Emigrants usually beneft their place of origin by sending back remittances and bringing back business connections.11 Furthermore, the authors state that migration decreases labor capital and pressures wages to rise in home communities.12 The authors do not believe that Romanians migrate because their place of origin lacks development; rather, they credit it to people making rational choices about accessing professional opportunities.13 To support their view, they cite how almost every Western European economy had high emigration rates in the past. Many of these countries have high emigration rates today as well, which shows that it is not necessarily a sign of a poor economy.14 Taking this macro and long-term view, the authors say that government policies should resist the “myths about the negative impact of emigration.”15 They advocate for emigration policies that allow people to realize their potential and that create opportunity for a person to be most productive.16 This view holds that an equilibrium between those staying and those emigrating is found in the long run. However, contrary to their argument, inequalities are not shrinking but growing.17

10 Marcel Ionescu-Heroiu et al., Competitive Cities: Reshaping the Economic Geography of Romania, 2013, 40.

11 Ibid., 44.

12 Ibid., 40.

13 Ibid., 43.

14 Ibid., 44.

15 Ibid., 45.

16 Ibid., 44 and 150. While I will critique below the materialist values evident in this proposal, the claims themselves should be questioned. Much of Romanian emigration is for higher wages, not employment. Thus, productivity of migrant workers is not necessarily higher.

17 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 23. Here they are using the GINI coefcient.

Also, while these authors claim that migrants return home with skills and relationships, Cătălin Zamfr’s research shows that “return migration” is not yet a feature of Romanian migration.18

The positive aspects of emigration should certainly be recognized. Moving for higher wages may be the best option for those sufering from poverty in Romania. Others may emigrate to be close to family members who have moved abroad. Some may have a sense of vocation to work for the sake of a particular foreign location. There may be educational opportunities in other countries that are not available in Romania. Another positive efect of emigrating is the acquisition of cross-cultural acumen, which broadens horizons and creates bridges between cultures.

These positive aspects of emigration notwithstanding, it is also important to give attention to some of the negative efects of migration. These include migrant workers being subjected to poor living conditions. There are social repercussions of “migrant orphans”—children left with family members by parents who work abroad, as depicted in The Way of the Danube. 19 While some see the positives of increased productivity through migration, others see Romania’s loss of skills and labor as a negative. With each high school graduate who emigrates, Romania loses approximately ffty thousand dollars that has been invested with public funding in the student’s education.20

A report by the World Bank states that, since the 2000s Romania has sufered one of the largest “brain drains”—the loss of

18 Cătălin Zamfr, “How Good or Bad Was the Romanian Strategy of Transition,” Sociologie Românească 19, no. 1 (May 18, 2021): 37.

19 Ionescu-Heroiu et al., Competitive Cities, 45.

20 “ReThink România: Cum va arăta România peste 30 de ani? 36 din 42 de județe au mai mulți pensionari decât tineri,” Forbes.ro, last modifed October 20, 2021, https://www.forbes.ro/rethink-romania-cum-va-arata-romania-peste-30-de-ani36-din-42-de-judete-au-mai-multi-pensionari-decat-tineri-234306.

human and labor capital of its highly skilled citizens.21 The loss of highly skilled citizens is signifcant,22 but it is also felt in the loss of general labor and population as well. While population data is afected by the decreased birth rate and increased life expectancy,23 it is also afected by emigration.24 Each year, the Romanian population declines by an average of 140,000 inhabitants.25 As the work force emigrates, thirty six of the forty two Romanian counties have more pensioners than youth with the average age of the population now at forty two years old. These are serious problems that afect Romanian society.

The Romanian government has created strategic plans to address the issue of emigration. In this essay, I describe some ways that the government hopes to do this through the Romanian National Strategy of Development for 2030. While this strategy does address some of the root causes of emigration, I argue that it is insufcient. I then suggest that the Christian tradition has resources to resist materialist motivations for emigration. While emigration is an issue that challenges the entire Romanian public, I ofer Christian ideas and practices as “possibilities for consideration within the [Christian] community and for the

21 World Bank, From Uneven Growth to Inclusive Development: Romania’s Path to Shared Prosperity (Washington, DC: World Bank, June 4, 2018), 17, https:// openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29864.

22 Zamfr, “How Good or Bad Was the Romanian Strategy of Transition, 36.” Zamfr states that the emigration of highly educated citizens continues as an intense phenomenon, citing the migration of physicians as being of particular public concern.

23 Litra, “The Demographic Changes of the Last Quarter of Century in Romania.”

24 Rotariu Traian, “Notes on the Demographic Transformations in Postcommunist Romania,” Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia, no. 1 (2019): 6. While the nomenclature specifes types of migration—“temporary migrants,” and “permanent migration,” “repeat migration,” “seasonal migration,” and “circular migration”—the data used here refers to those that are not “usually resident” in Romania, having changed their domicile.

25 “ReThink România.”

sake of the society.”26 Specifcally, I argue that Christian ascetic practices and desert spirituality can both cooperate with and critique the goals outlined in Romania’s National Strategy of Development. While Christian practices and spirituality may primarily infuence Christians in Romania, it may also serve as public theology, providing models, values, and practices that help the Romanian public to resist emigration trends.

e National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Romania and Implications for Emigration

Migration is a public issue, and attempts have been made to address it through public policy. Before I discuss the ways that Christian ascetic practices can address materialist motivations for emigration, allow me to describe a policy approach articulated by the Romanian government in their development strategy. The National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Romania (NSD) projects that by 2030 Romania will be “a powerful member of the European Union in which the disparities among the countries will be reduced, and Romanian citizens will be able to live in a country in which the state serves the needs of each citizen in an equitable and efcient way, with increasing and constant preoccupation for a clean environment.”27 While this statement rings of government propaganda and platitudes,28 it does resonate with the aspirations of Romanians who have migrated or plan to

26 Scott Paeth, “Whose Public? Which Theology? Signposts on the Way to a 21st Century Public Theology,” International Journal of Public Theology 10, no. 4 (2016): 42.

27 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 18.

28 Ruxandra Trandafoiu asserts that “state-led initiatives and policies to address mass emigration are largely absent in Eastern Europe. Instead, we see attempts to solve post festum some of the more observable efects of emigration and usually those which have a higher traction in the media or are weaponized by political opponents.” Ruxandra Trandafoiu, The Politics of Migration and Diaspora

leave. The standard by which the NSD measures development indicators is the European Union (EU) average.29 Diminishing the disparity between Romania and Western Europe and increasing equity for every citizen would address major causes for emigration as Romanians have been pulled abroad by more developed markets that demand both high and low skilled labor. Conversely, the comparatively under-developed economy of Romania is driving Romanians out. The minimum net salary is about $320 per month, which is fve to six times less than minimum salaries in the western EU.30 Although there is a growing middle class in Romania, over a third of the country’s children live below the poverty line, with 21.5% living in severe material deprivation.31 Romanian emigrants repeatedly say that they would rather be in their home country and would return if the political and economic environment improved.32

in Eastern Europe: Media, Public Discourse and Policy (New York: Routledge, 2022), 41.

29 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 21.

30 “Living Conditions in Europe - Income Distribution and Income Inequality - Statistics Explained,”

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/ index.php/Living_conditions_in_Europe_-_income_distribution_and_income_ inequality#Income_distribution.

31 “Poverty Rates Are High among Children in Romania, Report Finds,” Romania Insider, https://www.romania-insider.com/children-poverty-romania-report.

32 “Am întrebat 100 de români dacă vor să se întoarcă în România,” Republica,https:// republica.ro/am-intrebat-100-de-romani-daca-vor-sa-se-intoarca-in-romania.

“La întrebarea privind motivele pentru care nu iau în calcul întoarcerea în România, cele mai frecvente răspunsuri au fost: corupția (47,41%), situația economică a țării (23,27%), situația-politico-economică (20,86%), nivelul scăzut de trai (16,37%), problemele din sistemul de sănătate (7,75%) și lipsa oportunităților (5,17%).” “Of the 100 Romanian emigrants surveyed about their motives for not returning to Romania, “the most frequent answers were: corruption (47.41%), the country’s economic situation (23.27%), the political-economic situation (20.86%), the low standard of living (16.37%), problems with the health care system (7.75%), and lack of opportunities (5.17%)” [my translation].

In response to these realities, the NSD focuses on the individual human who is the primary actor for his or her own development.33 The individual, as a free citizen, collaborates with the state in creating the conditions in which his or her aspirations can be achieved. Because inequalities are seen as a major hindrance to development, the NSD addresses this in the state’s adoption of legal measures.34 These include periodic increases to the minimum wage (Law nr. 196/2016), social assistance for those at risk of poverty or social exclusion (Law nr. 292/2011), and a legal structure for developing a social economy that focuses on employment for vulnerable groups (Law nr. 219/2015). The strategy also seeks to ameliorate inequality by providing funding for vulnerable children and their families, establishing quality standards for sustainable services, and developing a national system of indicators of social inclusion.35

It is not only the inequality felt by low wages, material poverty, and social exclusion but also perceptions about life in the West and the “American Dream” that drive emigration.36 Because poverty is interpreted as something more than the lack of income, a “consensual approach” allows public opinion to determine what are the “necessities” of life, rather than experts or norms.3738 The consensual approach views poverty as multi-dimensional and dynamic. For example, where a computer (durable good) or a vacation (social inclusion) were

33 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 13.

34 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 23–25.

35 Ibid., 24–25.

36 Danacica, “Characteristics of Migration in Romania,” 193.

37 Iulian Stanescu and M. Dumitru, “Poverty and Social Exclusion in Romania: A Consensual Approach to Material Deprivation,” Calitatea Vietii 28 (January 1, 2017): 12.

38 Cosmin Briciu, “Poverty In Romania: Dimensions of Poverty and Landmarks of Poverty Research,” Journal of Community Positive Practices, no. 3 (2014): 11–14.

not seen as necessities by past generation of Romanians, they are considered necessary today for a decent standard of living.39 In this regard, the NSD also proposes the reduction of “relative poverty,” which is understood according to “national defnitions.”40 Although the NSD recognizes that perceptions of poverty needs to be addressed, it has no suggestion of how to infuence these perceptions. Where the strategy does speak to shifting paradigms and mentalities, it is in reference to consumer behavior, which the NSD believes it can change through education.41 Yet lacking a proposal for engaging perceptions about poverty and livelihood is a shortcoming of the NSD.

Along with severe poverty and relative poverty, corruption is also a major motivation for emigration. Corruption remains endemic to the Romanian political system. Currently, Romania rates 61 out of 180 countries on the corruption index.42 Of course, corruption exists in the countries to which Romanians emigrate. Yet, there are two important diferences. First, corruption in Romania represents a signifcant cause of inequality in Romania. Property that had been confscated by the communist government was re-privatized after 1990. This was “the main source of a complex corruption system that swallowed the entire state . . . establishing the new rich class.”43 Tom Gallagher calls this massive transfer of wealth in Romania as the “theft of a nation.”44 Second, corruption in Romania subverts notions of

39 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 21.

40 Ibid., 23.

41 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 78–80.

42 “Transparency International - Romania,” https://www.transparency.org/ country/ROU.

43 Stanescu and Dumitru, “Poverty and Social Exclusion in Romania,” 129.

44 Tom Gallagher, Modern Romania: The End of Communism, the Failure of Democratic Reform, and the Theft of a Nation (New York: New York University Press, 2005).

society being a meritocracy. In a meritocratic society, citizens have access to achieving their aspirations through intelligence, education, creativity, and adaptability.45 Romanians perceive that other countries have a relatively more stable political environment and that there is higher meritocracy.46 Due to corruption, Romanians emigrate to societies where higher income can be earned through individual will and work.

Because corruption is a leading cause of emigration, the NSD discusses emigration under its goals for “peace, justice, and efcient institutions.” The NSD calls for improved judicial systems that include improving the quality of acts of justice that ensure transparency and accessibility to the citizenry.47 However, no concrete specifcities for increased transparency are proposed.

The NSD realizes that unless demographic trends are changed, Romania’s population may be under eleven million by 2100. The loss of population means less human capital contributing to Romania’s development. The NSD calls for the creation and implementation of a national strategy for demographic growth but provides no details on what this involves.48 The NSD’s explicit policy proposals that do relate to migration are those that support Romanian citizens working abroad by ensuring legal non-discriminatory treatment through state authorities. Through these protections, government policies maintain connections with emigrants. Cynically, one might view these political measures as a way to court the Romanian emigrant vote and to encourage ongoing remittances. What is lacking from the NSD is any proposal for

45 Danacica, “Characteristics of Migration in Romania,” 191.

46 Ibid., 190–91.

47 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 99.

48 Ibid., 100.

using public funding to keep Romanians from emigrating or for tax incentives to encourage emigrants to invest in Romania.

To summarize aspects of the NSD that relate to emigration, it focuses on the individual citizen as the central actor for development. The powerful members of the EU are held as the standard for development by which Romania is measured. The NSD acknowledges both severe and perceived poverty, which are addressed through legal measures that provide income and material support for those in the lower class. However, this does not infuence perceptions of poverty and livelihood. The only way that the NSD seeks to change mentalities is through education on changing consumer behavior. The NSD speaks to the issue of corruption, which is another major motivation for emigration. However, other than vague plans for transparency and easier access to judicial systems, the NSD does not propose laws to limit corruption. In general, the NSD attempts to provide material solutions for material causes of emigration. Yet, even with state actions, emigration continues. Although some emigrants returned to Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey estimates that 730,000 plan to emigrate in 2022, stating relatively low wages and corruption as their primary reasons.49

The NSD does mention religious groups as entities in a multicultural society and as a potential partner for the transmitting of values needed to create a more equitable and sustainable world.50 I contend that religious groups— specifcally Christian communities—can contribute much

49 “Studiu: 730.000 de români spun că vor să emigreze în 2022. „Probabil unii dintre ei sunt cu bagajele făcute”,” Libertatea, last modifed November 19, 2021, https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/studiu-730-000-de-romani-spun-ca-vor-saemigreze-in-2022-probabil-unii-dintre-ei-sunt-cu-bagajele-facute-3843987.

50 Celac and Vadineanu, Strategia Naţională pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă a României 2030, 98.

more than this to the partnership. I suggest that Christian ascetic perspectives and practices can cooperate with and critique the NSD’s proposals, specifcally in response to materialist motivations for emigration.

Ascetic Practices for Resisting Emigration

When we think of ascetic practices, we may have images of those intentionally subjecting themselves to austerity, repression, or even bodily harm. The Christian tradition is rich with a diferent vision of asceticism which can shape one’s perspective and desires and, I argue, can provide resources to resist material motivations for emigration. Before exploring resources in Christian asceticism, I will frst look at our contemporary understanding of asceticism, which has been greatly infuenced by Friedrich Nietzsche and Max Weber. After incorporating important lessons from them, I will then apply Christian ascetic practices as ways to resist motivations for emigration.

Nietzsche perceives asceticism both positively and negatively. In a positive sense, Nietzsche understands asceticism as humans’ need to curtail their “natural” or “animal” instincts. “Nietzsche’s ‘natural asceticism’ involves . . . a struggle of ‘nature’ with and against itself.”51 This is not a denial of the natural body but a disciplining of it for power. He likens this asceticism to the struggle of an athlete who exercises in order to gain strength. This involves the sufering of the self for the sake of oneself. Asceticism is practiced perhaps most exemplary in the philosopher. Nietzsche’s fctional character Zarathustra is an example of a philosopher who ascetically withdraws from

51 Tyler T Roberts, “‘This Art of Transfguration Is Philosophy’: Nietzsche’s Asceticism,” The Journal of Religion 76, no. 3 (July 1996): 406.

society in order to be a free thinker and to avoid following the herd.52

This positive view of asceticism is in stark contrast to Nietzsche’s critique of the “ascetic ideal.” While Nietzsche’s thought is complex, I look at two important features from the third essay in his Genealogy of Morals: asceticism as rejection of this world for the sake of the future world and asceticism as a means of power over the weak.

Nietzsche believes that the “ascetic ideal” was introduced by Christianity. Nietzsche thinks that Christians interpret the sufering of unfulflled desires as a means for attaining eternal life, salvation, and immortality. Nietzsche believes that this asceticism—in its practices of poverty, chastity, fasting, sufering, and denying pleasure—negates this world for the sake of the future world. In her analysis of Nietzsche’s view of asceticism, Tylor Roberts says that this is Nietzsche’s primary problem with the “ascetic ideal.” He thinks that Christians refuse the reality of sufering by framing confict as one between this world and the next. As self-abnegation and self-castigation, Nietzsche views this religious asceticism as “unnatural” and ultimately self-destructive and opposed to life.53 Against this, Nietzsche sees confict as occurring “within nature at the heart of the human soul.”54

52 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche and Walter Arnold Kaufmann, Thus Spoke

Zarathustra: A Book for All and None (New York: Modern Library, 1995); Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, “On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic: By Way of Clarifcation and Supplement to My Last Book, Beyond Good and Evil” (Oxford University Press, 1996), 114.

53 Nietzsche, “On the Genealogy of Morals,” 79, 94. See also the Introduction, xviii.

54 Roberts, “‘This Art of Transfguration Is Philosophy,’” 407.

Nietzsche criticizes the “ascetic ideal” not only for undermining ideals that celebrate the earth, the body, and the self but also for oppressing the weak.55 He thinks that priests have coopted asceticism. Instead of seeing their sufering as a result of the actions of the powerful, the weak are taught by the priests that they are responsible for their own sufering. Because humans are born in sin, as some Christians teach, sufering is deserved. In the midst of sin and sufering, ascetic practices become a means of power by which the weak can acquire eternal life. Being convinced that sufering is their own responsibility, the weak accept life-denying ideals with the hope of receiving eternal life and, consequently, any ideas of vengeance toward the strong are assuaged.56

While we may not agree with Nietzsche’s reading of Christian asceticism, we can draw at least two important lessons from his critique that are relevant to any proposal for ascetic practice. First, asceticism cannot be based on repression or on the rejection of the world; rather, it must be motivated by an afrmation of life. This positive view of asceticism acknowledges struggle, but it is a struggle within and for this world. Second, ascetic practices cannot be imposed but rather adopted through one’s own agency. Otherwise, the proposal for asceticism becomes an oppressive system.

Another thinker who has infuenced contemporary understandings of asceticism is Max Weber. Weber brings two features important to our discussion about asceticism: a this-worldly focus and its relationship to modern capitalism. Himself a reader of Nietzsche, Weber observes that the “ascetic

55 Nietzsche, “On the Genealogy of Morals,” 96.

56 Ibid., 101–104, 114. See also Introduction, xviii.

ideal” is transformed by Protestantism.57 Asceticism had been understood within medieval Catholicism as the privilege of the monastics (mystics) who denied themselves and the world, following the consilia evangelica (chastity, poverty, and obedience) for the sake of the “otherworld.”58 Following the Reformation, asceticism, according to Weber, became a “this-worldly” practice of frugality, industriousness, and the reinvestment of proft. Ascetic self-denial is not practiced merely for the coming world (as per Nietzche’s critique) but functions for the sake of this world. This “Protestant ethic” was practiced in daily activities with the hope that good behavior and labor would result in prosperity, which would signify God’s favor and election for eternal life.59 While holding to justifcation by faith and grace and not by works, Protestants believed they were “proving one’s faith through worldly activity.”60 Thus, a prosperous life was a sign of grace.

In Weber’s understanding, Protestants view “the pursuit of wealth as an end in itself [as being] reprehensible,” but believe that attaining fruits through one’s labor is a sign of God’s blessing.61 In this way, material possessions are viewed positively. While detached from monastic life, asceticism is still practiced by Protestants but through hard work, by delaying the spontaneous enjoyment of wealth, and, instead of consuming profts, wealth is reinvested so as to multiply. Luxury and unjust gain are denounced as is leisure that leads to indulgence.62 However, Weber says that after capitalism is up and running, the use of wealth no longer needs to be informed by a religious

57 Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Kindle Edition. (Charles River Editors, 2011), loc. 101.

58 Ibid, loc. 579 and 1023.

59 Ibid, loc. 912, 1516, and 1525.

60 Ibid, loc 1039.

61 Ibid, loc. 1649.

62 Ibid, loc. 1631.

motivation and meaning. As the dominant means of economic exchange, capitalism forces people to “adapt to its behavioral dictates.”63 This is what Weber famously termed the “iron cage” that traps individuals, condemning them to commodifed labor, exploitation for the sake of proft, and the rationalization of production as an end in itself. The “bureaucratic, legal, and economic calculation and control is a deliberate attempt to separate moral questions from political and economic ones.”64 While in no ways advocating for religion, Weber describes those living in the cage as giving themselves to “mundane passions,” sensualism, and emptiness.65

While there are various implications from Weber’s perspective on Protestant asceticism, he understands asceticism as a restriction not on the acquisition of wealth but on its inappropriate use. Also, Protestant asceticism, according to Weber, is not practiced through withdrawal but by engaging society and capitalist markets. This-worldly asceticism discourages impulsive avarice and covetousness and encourages hard work, delayed gratifcation, and reinvestment of profts. Through the ascetic use of wealth, resulting prosperity in this world is viewed as a sign of blessings to come in the next world. However, as the capitalist economy is detached from religion and from hopes for the next world, it becomes an “iron cage” in which its inhabitants are trapped by materialism. Without entering the debates about Weber’s thesis, I follow Kathryn Tanner’s observation that the capitalist market is “conduct forming,” but religious beliefs also have practical efcacy through the lived values, attitudes, and actions that can “undermine rather than support” “fnance-dominated

63 Kathryn Tanner, Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2021), 26.

64 Luke Bretherton, Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019), 38.

65 Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, loc. 1764-1773.

capitalism.”66 Instead of advocating for ascetic practices as a means to wealth, we will propose that these practices can cultivate resistance to market pressures and to the iron cage.

As do many people today, Nietzsche and Weber understand asceticism as repression or austerity. Although this antagonism toward the body and world-denying posture can be found in church history,67 the vision of asceticism in the New Testament is just the opposite, where the ability to go without is because there is more than enough. Jesus tells his disciples to give to those in need (Matt. 6:2) and to give even to those who take from them (Matt. 5:40–42) because the Father has abundantly provided for all their needs just as he has adorned the lilies of the feld and fed the birds of the air (Matt. 6:25–33).

As David Bentley Hart points out, asceticism does not mean “prudent moderation” but rather extravagance.68 According to the Christian vision, asceticism “presumes an inexhaustible plentitude” where “anxiety over scarcity of resources . . . is something of a sin.”69 Based on the abundant provision of God, the Christian ascetic is a “giving of the self without reserve.”70

I will now look at Christian practices of asceticism to identify ways in which it can address motivations for emigration and critique the proposal of the NSD.

In order to share out of plenitude, one needs to have the capacity to see it.71 Sarah Coakley views asceticism as

66 Tanner, Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism, 4–28.

67 Employing Nietzsche’s terminology, Ware calls this “unnatural asceticism.” Kallistos Ware, “The Way of The Ascetics Ware,” Scribd, 7–9, https://www.scribd. com/document/123585359/4458163-The-Way-of-the-AsceticsKallistos-Ware-pdf.

68 David Bentley Hart, The Hidden and the Manifest: Essays in Theology and Metaphysics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 295.

69 Ibid., 297.

70 Ibid., 295.

71 Sarah Coakley, God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay “on the Trinity” (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 20.

the cultivation of the senses so that, among other things, the abundance can be seen. This ability to see, however, is not immediate. Against expectations of asceticism to produce “instant, commodifable efects,” this cultivation takes time.72 We can this process by adapting for heuristic purposes the traditional language of mystical theology: purgation, illumination, and union.73 The purgative period is one in which the neophyte delineates the diferences between Christian and non-Christian life. Regarding our discussion on seeing abundance, this is a period of recognizing the provision of God. The illuminative period is one in which the Christian does not only imitate Christ but recognizes him in the poor and stranger and in which rules cease being tools of judgment and become means of fourishing. Here there is awareness that the provision of God is not only for oneself but is given to be shared with those in need. The path to union is made by waiting on God to act on them by the Spirit through the ongoing practices of prayer, contemplation, and worship.74 Through continued ascetic practice, one has glimpses of fulflled union and of the abundance provided by God.

In Coakley’s discussion on asceticism, the ability to see is related to how one desires. Desire is a fundamental aspect of the human self, which when misdirected is sin and when properly directed is fulflled in God,75 who is the “the source and goal of all human desire.”76 Through ascetic practices,

72 Sarah Coakley, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for God (Bloomsbury Continuum, 2015), loc. 1704–1705.

73 This is used heuristically rather than prescriptively as we do not suppose that this path is necessarily linear or chronological, but circular and messy.

74 Sarah Coakley, “Deepening Practices: Perspectives from Ascetical and Mystical Theology,” in Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 92–93.

75 Coakley, God, Sexuality and the Self, 59.

76 Coakley, The New Asceticism, loc. 334–335.

especially contemplative prayer, desire is surrendered to God who reorders it.77 This formation of desire also implies that appropriate dissatisfactions are cultivated.

Each follower of Christ is responsible for their own asceticism, yet as Coakley also points out, the practices do not guarantee proper sight or proper desire. She contends that “everything depends on the context, tenor, freedom and fruits of the community in which they are produced and maintained, and the notion of God that inspires and sustains the whole.”78 This means that while the individual is of central importance for asceticism, they need a community with whom to practice. Together, ascetics direct desires to God and identify and share abundant provision with one another and especially to those in need.

The efects of a community’s ascetic practices lead us to discuss their efect on the public life. Charles Mathewes thinks that the Christian participation in public life is itself an ascetical process. He views the citizenship of Christians in society as “a means of training . . . in their fundamental vocation as citizens of the kingdom of heaven.”79 This involves critically analyzing the challenges for engaging public life, such as the “the fuidity and increasing marketization of our occupations, our relationships, and even our identities.”80 Mathewes suggests that Christians confront these challenges, which are often inescapable, by enduring them. One endures the world with hope—which may never be fulflled in this lifetime—by “waiting properly”

77 Coakley, “Deepening Practices: Perspectives from Ascetical and Mystical Theology,” 343.

78 Coakley, The New Asceticism, loc. 536–540.

79 Charles T. Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life, Cambridge studies in Christian doctrine 17 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 2.

80 bid., 10.

with God until our longings are ultimately satisfed by God.81 This ascetical hoping and enduring of society builds our ftness for the New Creation.82

Engaging public life as an ascetic practice presupposes vulnerability, a “learning to sufer in the right way.”

83 By inhabiting the tension in public life between love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self, one is vulnerable to others, open to their points of view, and refuses to impose one’s own ideals on others.84 In this way, asceticism is the learning to live with other people in society where one is purged of the temptation to instrumentalize others.85 Through ascetic engagement with public life, one’s perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors are chastened and shaped.

Having discussed Nietzsche’s and Weber’s infuence on our understandings of asceticism and contemporary views on the Christian ascetic tradition, I will now identify some implications for the issue of emigration. Nietzsche’s critique must be heard: ascetic practices cannot be imposed. Any potential emigrant who adopts ascetic practices must freely choose them. Moreover, ascetic practices are not to be understood as the rejection or repression of the world or body. Rather, they are freely chosen and grounded in the faith that God’s provision is abundant. The ascetic struggle is a discipline

81 Ibid., 11–13.

82 The New Creation is not understood as an ethereal experience in the heavens or simply a future reality but the age that is already inaugurated by the incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit as frst fruits of the New Creation in creation, and especially the church, that anticipate its consummation.

83 Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life, 11.

84 Ibid., 303–304.

85 Ibid., 304.

with and for the self (the struggle of potential immigrants to stay) and the world (in their Romanian community).

From Weber, we see how ascetic practices connect to the capitalist market. However, if the market is not informed by a “religious ethic” or theological vision, it becomes an end in itself, trapping its inhabitants in a cage of materialism.86 This poses a question to potential emigrants: is moving to a more opportune economy motivated by something more than material gain? Can religious beliefs and practices of potential emigrants infuence the way they see and engage the market? Weber’s analysis may also serve to critique the NSD, which provides nothing more than a materialist response to perceived materialist needs. Without a deeper vision to support human fourishing, the strategy does not respond to a fuller spectrum of human need and desires.

Taking up Coakley’s and Mathewes’ proposals for Christian ascetic practices, we see that they ofer a way to form the practitioner’s vision, desires, and behavior. Embarking on the ascetic journey through regular disciplines of prayer and communal worship, one consents to the action of God who shapes vision and desires. For the potential emigrant, this may lead to not only seeing the obvious defciencies of their homeland but being able to recognize its assets and possibilities. This is a place where Christian asceticism can contribute to the insufciencies of the NSD’s consideration of the consensual approach to understanding relative poverty. While it is important to identify needs and to help one another meet needs, Christian asceticism stands to change perceptions by seeing resources and by not simply desiring what others are

86 I am not assuming that Weber’s reading is correct or that capitalism as practiced in a particular time by Protestants was an ideal. I am contending that Christian faith and practices can inform the way one interacts with the market.

perceived to have. Christian asceticism also opens one’s eyes to see others. So, ascetic practices lead potential emigrants to not only consider their own needs but the needs of others and how their staying or going may afect them.

Afections are also shaped by God through ascetic practices. Disciplines that deny self-gratifcation make one aware of what is desired. For the potential emigrant, this is an invitation to explore their desires and motivations and recognize that moving (or staying) for materialistic gain will not ultimately satisfy. Because only God can fulfll one’s ultimate longings, one is freed from the frustration of being unsatisfed by one’s homeland and from the expectation that they will be satisfed abroad.

The NSD’s focus on the individual coheres with the individual choice and responsibility of practicing Christian asceticism. However, as Coakley states, these practices are sustained and guided by a community of ascetic practitioners. While asceticism does not guarantee whether one emigrates or not, it points to the need for communal Christian refection and discernment of motivations, desires, and behavior.

This Christian perspective also sees engagement with society as an ascetic practice. Instead of being dissatisfed with society and choosing to leave, the potential emigrant can see engaging society, the challenges of loving others, and the inability to efectuate change as an opportunity to grow in ftness for the New Creation. In this way, rather than viewing society as something to fee, it can be perceived as a “good” in the ways that it shapes oneself by engaging it 87

87 I am not suggesting here that engaging society now is only a “good” for what it can do for those who engage it, but that we need to learn to see society as a “good.”

Christian ascetic practices can help resist motivations to migrate by helping one to see existing resources in one’s homeland, by shaping desires so as to not be driven by materialistic gain or by what others have, and by forming the practitioner through enduring the world and its attempts to reduce one to materialist component or its temptations to instrumentalize others. We now turn to how Christian asceticism also provides a vision for engaging society from which many want to take fight.

Desert Spirituality for Making Society

Having identifed ways that Christian ascetic practices help to shape one’s motivations, I now turn to see how they can help engage society rather than fee from it. Some of the popular images of asceticism depict solitaries living in the desert. The movement into the desert does feature in Christian Scriptures and tradition. While often understood as a withdrawal from society, I suggest that this can serve as a model for engaging the world by identifying desolate places, challenging the “demons” that deprive human fourishing, and acting in ways that make society.88

The journey into the desert is a paradigmatic story featured in the Christian Bible. In the book of Exodus, God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness to “sacrifce to the Lord our God” (Exod. 3:18). This journey of worship last forty years—a time in which the Israelites learn

88 Often, the journeys in the desert are used for theologies of migration, but I am appealing to them as a theology for habitation and for remaining. See Peter C. Phan, ed., Christian Theology in the Age of Migration: Implications for World Christianity (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2020), 33–50, 101–128; Daniel G. Groody and Gioacchino Campese, eds., A Promised Land, a Perilous Journey: Theological Perspectives on Migration (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008), 62–75.

to live by God’s hand and not by bread alone (Deut. 8:3), learn to not put God to test for provision (Exod. 17; Deut. 6:16), and to worship the Lord only instead of other gods (Exod. 32; Deut. 6:13).

This journey to the wilderness is also taken by Jesus,89 who is led by the Spirit to battle with Satan for forty days (Matt. 4:1; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:12). Satan tempts Jesus with bread from stones (security and survival), miraculous saving from a public leap of the temple’s pinnacle (prestige), and the world’s kingdoms (power and possessions).90 Where Israel had succumbed to the temptations, Jesus is victorious. Satan fees, and Jesus communes with angels and animals—an anticipatory sign of the restoral of all creation (Mark 1:13; Matt. 4:11; Luke 4:13).

Following the path of Israel and Jesus, some early Christians went to dwell in the wilderness. Often called the Desert Fathers and Mothers, these Christians battled demonic temptations through solitude, silence, and prayer. Popular writers on spirituality, like Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen, interpreted the move to the desert as a fight from society.91 Others, however, have a diferent historical reading. Rather than feeing civilization, the desert ascetics move into

89 Although there is not room for discussion in this paper, it is important to note John the Baptist’s ministry in the desert and his inspiration for desert spirituality.

90 Henri Nouwen relates these temptations to one’s existential identity: I am what I do, I am what others say about me, and I am what I have (Life of the Beloved). Thomas Keating calls them false programs of happiness through security and survival, afection and esteem, and power and control (Human Condition).

91 Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert: Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century (New York: New Directions, 1960), 3–4; Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry, (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991).

the desolate areas that are occupied by the demonic in order to build society.

Athanasios Papathanasiou says that in the Ancient Near East culture, the wilderness (as well as ruined cities) was not uninhabited but was considered the dwelling place of wild animals and demons.92 Seen in this light, Christian ascetics are pioneers, penetrating the enemy’s territory. St. Antony, one of the frst and most famous Desert Fathers, was reportedly attacked by a demon who said, “Get of our domain.”93 When St. Antony “came to attain the heights of ascesis, the demons went away from him and the wild animals became peaceful towards him.”94 The mission of the desert ascetics was not to “reject contaminated Creation, but seek its purifcation.”95 The desert dwellers are inspired by scriptural texts like: “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations” (Is. 58:12). Isaiah also prophecies that “the desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Is. 35:1). St. Athanasius says that the “desert was turned into a city by monks.”96 While this hagiography may paint an overly idealized picture of the desert, it nonetheless speaks to the intentions and efects of Christian engagement with desolate places that are antagonistic to human fourishing.97

92 Athanasios N. Papathanasiou, Future, the Background of History: Essays on Church Mission in an Age of Globalization, Orthodoxy in Dialogue with the Modern World; (Alexander Press, 2005), 65. For example, see Isaiah 13:21, 34:13-14, Jeremiah 27:39, Zephaniah 2:14, Baruch 4:35.

93 bid., 68.

94 bid.

95 bid., 72.

96 bid., 75.

97 One may be tempted to criticize the ascetic life described here as movement into the desert by social elites, but we could also take examples from quotidian lives of Christians in urban centers in the early centuries. Rodney Stark reports on how Christians remained in cities and cared for others sufering from flth, crime, disorder, and disease—even at the cost of their own lives. Rodney Stark,

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This spirituality stands as a model for perceiving and moving into the desert, whether it be desolate cities or places of “death, loneliness, alienation, lack of love, starvation, war, pollution, heresies . . . [that] try to dominate human life.”98 Desert spirituality is a Christian resource for moving into (or staying in) broken society instead of feeing it and for challenging aspects that are antithetical to life.

In the narrations of the Israelites, Jesus, and the Desert Ascetics, the powerful infuences hostile to human fourishing are personifed as idols or demons. While this language may seem antiquated or mythological to modern ears, it has been adapted and applied to contemporary society by those like Walter Wink and Jacques Ellul.

Ellul uses the language of “new demons” to describe the features of today’s “desacralized” societies, such as wealth, power, commercial growth, science, technology, and sexuality. They merit this religious terminology because, according to Ellul, they receive human allegiance. They are demonic in as much as they have destructive efects on humanity. These harms may be manifest in alienation (i.e., from others, from nature, from self), exclusion (i.e., of the enemies of political ideologies),99 commodifying people (i.e., exploitation of labor),100 or polluting the environment (i.e., production and consumerism).101 These forces are often “veiled, hidden, and secret gods, who besiege and seduce all the more efectively because they do not openly declare themselves as gods.”102 A task of desert spirituality is to

The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion (New York: Harper One, 2012), 106–119.

98 Papathanasiou, Future, the Background of History, 85.

99 Jacques Ellul, The New Demons (New York: Seabury Press, 1975), 200–201.

100 Ibid., 197.

101 Ibid., 204.

102 Ibid., 227.

name these “new demons,” unmask their seductive disguises, and engage them.103

While not ascribing any intentionality to these powers, Wink does not view them as evil. Rather, they are created by God as good; they are fallen; and they must be redeemed.104 Similar to Ellul, Wink sees that the powers represent “political, economic, and cultural institutions.”105 When they betray their divine vocation to serve God’s creation in pursuit of its own goals, forming a network of powers organized around idolatrous values, Wink calls them a “domination system.”106

Following Ellul and Wink, we can follow the steps of naming, unmasking, and engaging powers that infuence emigration in negative ways. A demonic power may be the market itself, which promises increased income but, in the name of maximizing proft, serves to exploit migrant workers. What presents itself as a good for humanity may in efect be part of the “domination system.”

Another demon is materialism. This is seen in The Way of the Danube flm, as emigrant parents mail western goods and toys home to their son but fail to meet his longing to be with them. While material gain is a primary reason why Romanians emigrate, and while it may momentarily satisfy, it does not meet deeper relational needs of communion and may in fact impede relationship. Moreover, responding to material needs with

103 This follows the language of Wink’s trilogy: Walter Wink, Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984); Walter Wink, Unmasking the Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984); Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination, The Powers v. 3 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1992).

104 Wink, Engaging the Powers, 10.

105 Ibid., 6.

106 Ibid., 72.

material goods is inadequate. Because most of the proposals of the NSD are materialistic, materialism must be named and unmasked as insufcient for human needs and potentially destructive.

Another demon to be named and unmasked is corruption—itself a primary reason for Romanian emigration. Corruption must be addressed through legislative and judicial systems, bringing those who exploit others to account. While corruption may be easy to identify when politicians embezzle public funds or bosses solicit bribes, it may be less evident when we look at ourselves. Mathewes comments on the common reading of corruption as a sense of victimization by political realities. However, he points out that this superfcial perspective may mask the exposure of one’s own ideals as self-interested.107 Mathewes’ critique does not skirt the need to confront political and social corruption, but naming and unmasking corruption in society is an occasion in which we also evaluate our own “selfsh proclivities towards instrumentalizing” others.108 This may take the form of “small” acts of thievery or lying to neighbors or workplace colleagues—often “justifed” by their unjust treatment of us. It can also take the form of actions, such as emigration itself, that may beneft the individual but bring negative efects on the local community, even if not immediately perceivable. Corruption is identifed not simply as an evil out in society but one with which each person is likely complicit and one that must be faced whether one stays or departs.

Deciding to move into the deserted places rather than feeing from them also involves participating in changing

107 Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life, 304.

108 Ibid. This does not mean that there is an equivalence of all corrupt behaviors and desires; rather, we recognize that corruption is not only a problem “out there” but is also within each person.

society for the better. While Christian Scriptures provide visions for a world transformed (i.e., Is. 65, Rev. 21, 1 Cor. 15), it is God who brings this transformation. In the interim, humans may not bring radical change, but they can identify places where society is broken, the “non-society,” and take modest steps to make society. Haddon Willmer identifes the “non-society” where society ceases to function healthily, where “the form of society is not truly there for others [and] for those in need.”109 “Non-society occurs within societies,” not just on their margins but running through them.110

Christians follow the example of Jesus who makes society in desolate places “where there is non-society.”

111 Jesus does not simply heal the leper or forgive the sinner but also deals with the efects of their social exclusion. By touching the marginalized and dining with the outsider, Jesus creates society. He also addresses the systems that cause marginalization, exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the corruption of the temple, and the weakness of Rome. The culmination of Jesus’ act of unmasking claims to society as “non-society” is the cross. There he also observes the “non-society” of his grieving mother and summons disciples to care for her, thus creating community in the face of loss.

Willmer’s proposal for making society is grounded not only in hope for a better future but in love, which is the active care for others.112 The love taught be Jesus is not merely love for one’s own people “(i.e., reciprocated love or love under the commonly accepted discipline of the duty of reciprocation)

109 Haddon Willmer, “Transforming Society – or Merely Making It: A Theological Discussion with the Bible in One Hand and a Very Particular Newspaper in the Other,” Society for the Study of Theology (March 1995): 6.

110 Ibid.

111 Ibid., 13.

112 Ibid., 6.

but love of the stranger-neighbor and love of enemy (societymaking love).”113 This is an ascetic action for the sake of others. Christians are called to pay attention to these “points where society gives out” and, in ascetic fashion, be willing to bear the costs of imperfection, inconvenience, and loss but work so that society functions for those in need.114 It is a space of compromise with those of opposing views and surrendering ideals of utopia. There is no expectation of utopia but of modest actions of care for those afected by broken society. While imperfect, human planning and action for society is “a calling on God,” a prayer for God to bring life to the desolate places.115

While resisting idealistic notions of transformed society, those who move into the deserted places must be sustained by joy. Living in desolate places is hard and ascetic practices are challenging. Yet it is in these places where joy can be discovered. This may be through momentary victories over the demons, imperfect gestures of sharing and caring for others. Even when the hoped-for society is not in sight, ascetics must fnd joy in the current moment.116 Joy provides energy for the long work of making society where it is not.

By assuming the need for development, the NSD implicitly identifes locations in Romania where there is “non-society.” Its response is to construct a society modeled after Western countries, particularly in the EU, that addresses causes of emigration, like corruption and the undeveloped economy. Questioning the viability of this idealistic proposal, I take desert spirituality as an alternative. While the intuitive response to desolate places may be emigrating from them,

113 Ibid., 13.

114 Ibid., 6.

115 Ibid., 12.

116 Ibid., 9.

desert spirituality inhabits them, knowing that “non-society” is where Jesus makes society. In the Christian tradition, the ascetics in the desert are depicted as wrestling with demons for their own personal formation. But naming, unmasking, and engaging the demons facing oneself and society can lead to it becoming a fruitful place for others. For the potential emigrant, this means that staying may be enormously challenging, but it also may result in exceptional benefts to others.

Conclusion

I have taken the National Strategy for Development as an example of Romanian public policy that addresses, inter alia, emigration issues. The NSD can be compared to the emigrant parents who left their child in Romania in The Way of the Danube. Just as they send their son gifts, the NSD ofers material proposals. But just as the gifts do not satisfy the deeper longings of their child, so the NSD ofers little to address the deepest human needs and desires. Because of this, the NSD’s actions show no real sign of addressing problems related to emigration—a trend that has many negative efects on the Romanian population.

While there are positive reasons for emigrating, in this paper, I have suggested that ascetic practices rooted in the Christian tradition can address materialist motivations for emigration by altering desires, perceived resources, and perceived poverty. Let me recapitulate the argument. I identifed important lessons to be drawn from Nietzsche. Proper ascetic practices help to avoid herd mentality and serve to afrm (and not deny) life through the struggle, but they must be freely chosen and not oppressively imposed. From Weber, I noted how ascetic practices are connected to the market. Unlike Weber, I pointed to the potential for religious beliefs and practices

to shape behavior that can resist the push and pull forces of capitalist power on migration. Contrary to Nietzsche, Weber, and its use in much of contemporary discourse, I asserted that ascetic practices be understood as actions from God’s abundant provision (and not self-abnegation or masochism). Ascetic practices help a community to see abundance and to cultivate desires that resist materialist motivations.

Along with ascetic practices that help resist impulses to emigrate, I have also drawn on the desert spirituality of the Christian tradition as a model for moving into desolate places and making society. This involves learning to name, unmask, and engage demons, such as exploitive markets, materialism, and corruption. Although the engagement with society is fraught with challenges, this interaction can positively shape a person, and making society where there is “non-society” can bring benefts to others.

A proposal based on Christian asceticism may be criticized as being a possibility available only to Christians. In Romania, over eighty-fve percent of the population selfidentify as Christian.117 Additionally, the Romanian Orthodox Church has a rich history of asceticism both in its monasticism and it regular practices of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, inter alia. Sadly, there is no reported diference between emigration trends of Christians or non-Christians.118 Therefore, a proposal of Christian practices for Romania is not irrelevant. Furthermore, as Christians choose ascetic practices, increasingly see the

117 “Christianity-Fullreport-Web.Pdf,” n.d., https://assets.pewresearch.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf. This Pew study rates Orthodox Christians in Romania at 87.3% and, together with Christians from all traditions, the total reaches 99.5%.

118 Suite 800 Pew Research Center, “Christian Migrants,” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, March 8, 2012, https://www.pewforum.org/2012/03/08/ religious-migration-christian-migrants/.

abundance in their homeland, cultivate desires that are critical of materialism, name and engage the “new demons,” and make society where those are sufering from non-society, this can attract those who do not identify as Christians to discover diferent values, practices, and perspectives that inspire them to resist emigration trends as well.

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Theater and Public Theology

Faith Alexander

For many Christians, the world of theater is seen as the antithesis of Christianity and the Bible as a whole. To be fair, this is the historical view, and the church and theater have shared a tenuous relationship for centuries. This may have to do with the fact that, according to Kevin J. Vanhoozer, the only time that theater is explicitly mentioned in the New Testament is in Acts 19:31, where Paul’s friends urged him to not become involved with the theater in Ephesus. Of course, the reason his friends urged Paul against the local theater is because that is where riots against Paul’s missionary activities were being held.1 Even though there have been tumultuous times between the church and theater, philosopher Paul Woodruf observes that theater and religion are intertwined with one another.

Faith Alexander is a current student at Asbury Theological Seminary, pursuing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with an emphasis in social ethics. Before attending Asbury Seminary, Faith spent many years studying and working in various aspects of theater, receiving a Bachelor’s of Arts in theater from Brevard College in 2018. After graduation, she worked in the theater industry until the COVID-19 pandemic. Since starting seminary in 2021, Faith is excited to be following the current call God has placed on her life to combine her of love of theater and ministry.

1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 17.

Theatre is everywhere in human culture, as widely practiced as religion. This should be no surprise: most expressions of religion belong to theatre. Like religion, theatre seems sometimes to be on the way out, but keeps coming back in unexpected disguises–some horrible, some wonderful.2

This is why theater is a fantastic avenue for public theology if utilized properly. Good theater allows for refection and introspection because for a small period, life has slowed down. Not only can theater inspire change in oneself, but it is also able to form close knit communities. Theology and theater can be intimately intertwined, and theater can be used as an efective tool by Christians to spread the Gospel as well as to help bring awareness to issues that, as Christians, we cannot ignore.

A eatrical Gospel

At frst glance, it might be hard to imagine how theater and the Bible could correlate together, and that is exactly why author Kevin J. Vanhoozer wrote The Drama of Doctrine. Vanhoozer explains in Chapter One how drama is a doing and that it “represents a course of action in the context of a theater, that is, a place in which an audience observes what happens.”3 Following this, Vanhoozer brings forth the idea that God and humanity are the actor and audience respectively. He then argues that the Bible actually follows a typical script layout: “There is a cosmic stage and a conventional plot; there is confict; there is a climax; there is resolution.”4

2 Paul Woodruf, The Necessity of Theater: The Art of Watching and Being Watched (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 165-166.

3 Vanhoozer, Drama of Doctrine, 37.

4 Ibid.

John Kendall, in his article discussing how and if theater and the church correlate with one another, dives into diferent areas of the Bible to show how scripture is inherently dramatic.5 For example, the book of Job shares a striking amount of similarities with the elements of a Greek tragedy, including a prologue that features a divine speaker, multiple events of messengers bringing news of tragedies that occurred of stage, a key moment where the hero debates with his opponents, a God that brings divine intervention, and fnally, an epilogue to showcase the ending for the hero. Some say that the book of Job is like the tragedies of Euripedes. The diference between Job and Greek tragedies, however, is that Job was not a titan, and he gained wisdom and wealth through submission to God, quite the opposite of how Greek heroes gained their power.6

Kendall goes on to describe how the story of Christ is full of “rhythmic foreshadowing and fulfllment,” which creates an intense suspense.7 Unfortunately, he goes on to say it seems that many pastors tend to “take the beauty of the divine story and make it plain” so that it will ft in their “doctrinal box.” There is wonderful foreshadowing that can be seen with the sanctuary of the old covenant with every action containing “daily and yearly patterns of salvation.”8 Though the old covenant is now obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), any good playwright knows that everything mentioned in the script must serve a purpose. Kendall mentions playwright Checkov’s famous gun principle, in that if there is a gun that is placed on a table in the frst act, someone has to pick up the gun and pull the trigger before the end of the show. He ties this in with the sanctuary of the old

5 John Kendall, “Is There a Place for Christian Drama?,” Ministry Magazine, Feb. 1995, https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1995/02/is-there-a-place-forchristian-drama.

6 Kendall, “Is There a Place.”

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

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covenant by stating that “God laid down a lamb in the opening scene. Someone ultimately picked up a cross.”9

Through Kendall’s parallels, it can be seen how the Bible could be theatrical, which is why I believe that theater can be used by Christians to reach those that live in the margins by showcasing their struggles to the broader world. Theater has traditionally been an avenue to explore difcult topics, both in secular realms and, to a lesser degree in recent years, religious ones too. There was a time when theater and the church were actually on good terms with each other, as most notably seen in the Golden Age of Spain. Auto sacramentales, one-act religious plays usually celebrating Eucharist, were extremely popular among the Spanish public at the time and were considered the prime form of entertainment.10 Now seen as one of the greatest playwrights of all time, Spanish priest Pedro Calderón de la Barca penned an auto in 1649 titled The Great Theater of the World. It is highly allegorical, with the beginning identifying God as the author, similar to how Vanhoozer identifes God. What follows is a drama about life with various characters such as Wisdom and Beauty making appearances along with roles like the king, a peasant, and a beggar. The purpose of the play, also known as the dramatic premise, is for the viewers to see their life as “part of a great cosmic drama, under the directorial control of the Creator.”11

What Is A “Good Christian” Play?

Over the centuries, the church has continued to use theater in the same way as Pedro Calderón de la Barca,

9 Ibid.

10 Todd Eric Johnson and Dale Savidge, Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue. (Grand Rapids:Baker Academic, 2009), 19.

11 Johnson and Savidge, 20.

creating plays that show extreme virtue and righteousness. Unfortunately they have not had the same impact as the autos. I have viewed my fair share of faith-based plays, whether it is a musical adaptation of a Bible story with cheesy lyrics or a oneman play with droll monologues lamenting the fall of mankind. I have to agree wholeheartedly with Harold Ehrensperger: “A good play for the church is indeed rare.”12 That is not to say that there are no plays from the church that are considered good theater but in my experience, and Ehrensperger’s as well, they are few and far between. I believe that the reason why the church lacks profound theater productions is because the church has been afraid to name and show the issues that plague our reality. Ehrensperger mentions this as well, and considering that his book was published in 1947, his critiques of the church being too timid to address hard issues head-on still ring true today.

To discuss conficts that arise from the evils connected with these life situations calls for honest, straightforward attitudes. The attempt to treat them in any kind of watered down, parlor talk fashion makes them unreal; it accentuates the very thing that the person opposed to this subject wishes to avoid.13

I fnd it odd that the Western evangelical church still seems to have trouble with publicly discussing certain issues through the theater even though secular theater has been doing this for decades.

Henrik Ibsen, who lived between 1828 and 1906, is considered one of the greatest playwrights of all time.14 He is

12 Harold A. Ehrensperger, Conscience on Stage. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1947), 77.

13 Ibid.

14 Carissa Villagomez, “The Father of Realism,” Court Theatre, February 19, 2020, https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/the-father-of-modern-realism/.

particularly known as one of the founding fathers of realism, a genre of theater whose purpose has been described as holding a mirror up to the audience so that they can see that what is being portrayed on stage is just like the events that are happening in their own lives.15 Realism in plays was not a genre that was popular or even existed before Ibsen premiered his frst production of A Doll’s House in 1879, which dealt with inequality and hardships the women of Norway were facing at that time. A Doll’s House received diverse reviews from around the world when it frst premiered, causing many to redefne what marriage and gender roles actually meant to them.16 Henrick Ibsen gained a rather infamous notoriety in his time because he was not afraid to bring sensitive subjects in his writings and refect to the audience what he viewed as their own hypocrisy in their lives.

This can particularly be seen in one of his early writings. Ghosts, released in 1881, is a play about a wealthy widow trying to hide the shocking truth about her deceased husband from her son Oswald and the community in nineteenth century Norway.17 Although seen as a man of honor to those around them, Mr. Alving had led a hidden promiscuous life which resulted in many love afairs and ended with him dying of syphilis. Mrs. Alving believes that the only way for her son Oswald to not follow in his father’s footsteps is to keep up the illusion that Mr. Alving was a wonderful husband, father, and member of society. Though the play never mentions the illness by name, syphilis was considered a huge taboo and was never spoken about publicly. By writing a play about the issue, Ibsen was able to slowly open up dialogue on the subject and reminded

15 Ibid.

16 Sarah Schnebly, “Nora, Torvald & Ibsen’s Audience through the Ages,” The Huntington Theatre, https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/articles/dolls-housearticles/gallery/ibsens-audience/.

17 Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts. Mint Editions, 2021.

the audience that if they try to ignore the situation like Mrs. Alving did, nothing will ever become resolved or fxed.

Ghosts was a brave and powerful release by Henrik Ibsen, and he met much backlash from the public about it. Though there are no actual ghosts within the play, it is easily seen that everyone in the play is haunted by ghosts of their past and refuse to move forward. Ibsen was trying to warn society that if they ignore their demons and do not face them head on, they will continue to haunt them and it will only lead to their downfall.

Playwrights such as Henrik Ibsen and Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America, a play that deals with the AIDS crisis in the 1980s,18 have excelled at giving a platform to those in the margins, bringing awareness to issues and having their audience take a critical inward look at themselves. While the topics that these playwrights and others have written about may cause unease among evangelicals, the fact is that those realities still exist for many, and they are just as desperate for a Savior to ofer them hope as anyone else.

Using eater and the Gospel to Create Community

Through my years of being a part of the theater world, I have seen frst-hand how it is a community flled with hurting, broken people. They are usually the ones that have been rejected by society or those around them, sometimes even the church, and they long for a place to be accepted. That is why the theater is perfect for public theology; as Christians we can ofer them hope. Vanhoozer specifes that the church needs to be a “theater of the Gospel, played out on the diverse cultural stages throughout the world.”19

18 Johnson and Savidge, Performing the Sacred, 120–121.

19 Vanhoozer, Drama of Doctrine, 400.

The mission of the church is to be image bearers of Christ, going out and making disciples, and theater is a great way to accomplish this. We can see in Genesis 1:26–28 that God chooses us to be the vessels to spread His glory. “Be fruitful and increase in number” is used multiple times throughout the Bible and this passage can actually be seen as the frst mention of the Great Commission:

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fsh of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fll the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fsh of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen 1:26–28 NRSV)

Christopher J. H. Wright brings this verse up in particular when talking about human beings having a mission, or missio Dei: “So God instructs the human species not only to fll the earth (an instruction given to the other creatures in their habitats), but also to subdue the earth and to rule over the rest of the creatures.”20

Further exploring the missio Dei, Jesus was sent by the Father to proclaim the Good News, free the oppressed, and forgive the sinner while also having the power through the Holy Spirit to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and raise the dead. We are called to continue Jesus’ work here on earth and we are able to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit so that we

20 Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 50.

can make disciples of Christ and bring glory to His name. This is also mentioned in Acts, where we as Christians are tasked to be witnesses to all the other nations: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus says that the power of the Gospel will transcend race, ethnicity, and even language barriers and that it will be possible to carry forth this task through the Holy Spirit.

It is important to keep in mind that, while we are tasked with the Great Commission, we are doing everything with God versus doing it for God. It can be easy for the church to fall into a trap of legalism, believing that to be good Christians we have to go out and make disciples. In reality, the reason why the church should want to go forth and spread the Gospel is because we know that we hold the key for life versus death and the Holy Spirit in us makes us want to spread that good news to everyone we meet so that we may all live eternally as children of God. We must remember that as Christians we have a freedom: “yet we know that a person is justifed not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justifed by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justifed by the works of the law” (Gal 2:16). Because of Christ, we are no longer slaves to the law and works, but rather only through faith are we saved. This brings freedom to how we live our lives and how we share the Gospel in the world.

We have been given individual, unique gifts by the Spirit to use to further the missio Dei while here on earth, to go forth and build communities of believers among the world. Intimacy with Jesus means that we are empowered, strengthened, and, most importantly, victorious over sin through the Holy Spirit;

it also means that we can be bold and courageous (Joshua 1:9) in our mission as a church to build union and share God’s love.

Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, and Heidi Rolland Unruh, speak about the importance of Christians loving one another, as it strengthens our witness: When Christians truly love one another and meet one another’s needs, when they experience growth and unity in Christ and when their lives display the wonders of the Spirit, then congregations become powerfully attractive and transformational communities.21

Theater is a very powerful way to build community. This is exceedingly important in public theology, as that is essentially what public theology is: being a part of God’s kingdom we are all called to live in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Theater can build and strengthen communities through multiple avenues, both as a participant in the arts and as an audience member.

For an actor, having a close bond with your ensemble members is absolutely crucial. Actors have to be able to trust and be vulnerable in front of their fellow castmates. Todd E. Johnson and Dale Savidge correctly state, “If Christianity is a relational religion, and theater is a relational art, there is no better place for relationships to take root and grow than in the rehearsal process.”22 There is ministry to be found and cherished in a group of artists, and that can be just as valuable, if not more, than the end product of a production. Artists of all kinds can come together as a community that disciples one another through prayer, Bible study, and grace, learning how to

21 Ronald J. Sider, et al., Churches That Make a Diference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003).

22 Johnson and Savidge, Performing the Sacred.

be better artists and equipping each other to minister in other areas of their lives.23

As for how theater can build a community for the audience, Johnson and Savidge mention that the Christian perspective in a play and having it refected in the performance can be extremely powerful. No matter what your worldview may be, the experience will still be sure to help one grow as a person and as a Christian.24 Johnson and Savidge also bring the point that theater is at its best when the performance becomes more than just entertainment; patrons will feel a part of a community, even if temporarily, because of the shared experience. It is a wondrous thing to behold, both as a performer and audience member.

One of the frst times I experienced this for myself was when I attended a performance of the play The Laramie Project, written by Moisés Kaufman. The Laramie Project is a collection of real interviews, journal entries, and news reports that were recorded after the 1998 murder of a gay college student attending the University of Wyoming.25 It was my frst year at my undergraduate and I had not worked too closely with the production so I was not quite sure what to expect when going to view it. I had heard some critiques of previous outside productions of the show, saying that it felt preachy to audience members and more of a guilt trip than anything. Going into it with an open mind, what I actually experienced was the heartbreaking true story of a young man, Matthew Shepard who never felt like he ft in and was murdered by two other college students simply because they did not like that he was

25 Moisés Kaufman, Peter Golub, and Alex Steyermark, The Laramie Project (USA, 2002).

diferent. It was not a play that shouted at the audience to change their actions immediately or for them to feel ashamed; it simply showed a tragic story from all viewpoints, and by the end of the performance, the audience and I were left in complete awe. I felt connected to all the people around me, although most were complete strangers. In the span of an hour and a half, a small but intense community was formed out of a shared experience. This is another reason why theatre can be used with public theology, because shared experiences such as this promote connection with one another while discussing real issues that are happening around us.

Seeking a Denouement

I recently saw a commercial for the luxury brand Montblanc that featured Irish actor Cillian Murphy. In the commercial, Murphy answers the question of “what moves you” or what drives you, but as someone who studied theater and acting professionally for a number of years, Murphy’s answer on what he loves about storytelling struck a deep chord with me:

The emotion is the thing that is key for me. If I don’t feel altered by it, by the story, then it doesn’t work for me, as a performer and a viewer. I like people to go to a theatre and come out feeling winded and emotionally shattered.26

It is a rather strong statement made by Murphy but it is one that resonates with me. Working in theater, making the audience experience a visceral reaction to what they were viewing, good or bad, is the common goal of everyone who is involved with putting on the show. It afects everything from 26 Montblanc. “Cillian Murphy X Montblanc II #Whatmovesyoumakesyou II Montblanc.” YouTube, 24 Aug. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=JyimtoTthFk.

the lighting design, sound design, to even how seating for the audience is arranged.

Having the Holy Spirit within us should move us to want to act on the injustices that surround us in the world, which is what Miroslav Volf writes about the functions of faith. He states that faith does its most proper work through three diferent steps: Starting us on a journey, guiding us along the journey, and adding meaning to every move we make.27 The formula that Volf is describes is one that every director uses to create an impactful story. Just as the protagonist must fnd the thing that moves them in their journey to fnd meaning in their denouement, so must we as Christians.

The denouement (a French word used in both theater and literature to describe the outcome of story) is the frst thing that should run through a director’s brain as they begin blocking the stage and selecting their actors, already aware of the efect that it will have on the audience. If the director does not have a clear vision of what the denouement is, then it will become apparent and the show will end up feeling lackluster and unsatisfying to the audience. The denouement is what Cillian Murphy describes in his Montblanc commercial, wishing to impart a crucial idea to the viewers. If an outcome lacks any substantial meaning then one begins to wonder if the journey to the denouement was even worth the efort and process.

God as Our Mirror

The job of thespians is to hold up a mirror to the audience so that they can see a refection of themselves in the characters, which is a key facet of the genre of realism. But

27 Miroslav Volf, Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (Grand Rapids: Brazos Baker, 2013).

as I think more about this analogy I realize the hypocrisy in this thinking. As humans we only show what we think is an accurate representation, but if we do not do it through the lens of theology then it will always be false: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). Curt Thompson mentions that various English words and phrases have been used throughout the centuries to translate this passage, but they all correlate in that the glass or mirror helps us see “dimly” and “dark.” Thompson goes on to write, “The mirror, for all of its helpfulness, is not perfect. And neither is our vision of our life experience.”28

The mirror that we view ourselves in will always be tainted by the image of sin; we do not “know fully” ourselves. Therefore, how can we show a clear refection of what humans ought to strive for? How can the mirror that actors show the audience be an accurate representation of human nature? Although Henrik Ibsen’s design of the realism genre is to show a portrait of society’s failings, and is still used in today’s modern theater, little changewill actually happen if there is no basis or absolute truth for the need of change. Unless we are able to witness and present everything through a lens of grace and the redemption of Jesus Christ, any answer that we strive to fnd in the mirror will only come up empty and full of disappointment.

Medieval author Thomas á Kempis writes how humans will never be satisfed by anything in the material world until they seek the kingdom of God and devote their lives to Him. There will only be restlessness and disappointment if we strive to fnd that thing that moves us only in the world around us.

28 Curt Thompson, “Seeing through a (Rearview) Mirror Dimly.” Curt Thompson, 27 Sept. 2019, https://curtthompsonmd.com/seeing-through-a-rearview-mirrordimly/.

When we come to the end of our lives, we do not want to feel that it was all in vain. À Kempis goes on to write that we do not need to look far for a purpose:

The kingdom of God is within you, saith the Lord. Turn thee with all thine heart to the Lord and forsake this miserable world, and thou shalt fnd rest unto thy soul. Learn to despise outward things and to give thyself to things inward, and thou shalt see the kingdom of God come within thee.29

Referring back to 1 Corinthians, we know that the mirror that we view ourselves through is inherently dirty, and we are not able to know ourselves fully. But we can be comforted that there will be a day that we will fully be known, irrefutably knowing who we are through God. I would also add that although à Kempis urges us to “forsake this miserable world,” it is actually our mission as Christians to show God’s kingdom while here on earth through our actions. We are invited by the Holy Spirit to help accomplish a task that cannot be done by our own will. We share Jesus and invite others through our actions, listening to one another and praying for each other, trying our best to replicate God’s kingdom through community and loving one another.

Conclusion: Using eater as Public eology

Theater is the perfect place to address hard topics, as seen with Ibsen and Kushner, but they do not ofer any means of hope at the end of their shows. In the words of the great Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”30 God, as our director, already

29 Thomas á Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. (Bruce Pub. Co., 1940), 63.

30 William Shakespeare and Michael Hattaway, “Act 2, Scene 7,” As You Like It (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021).

knew the perfect denouement to His great play before He even set the stage and cast us as the main characters.

The church has a unique opportunity to create theater with a theological lens of redemption. We can discuss the hard topics and share the Good News of hope to the audience and even those who participate in the production, which is why theater can and should be used as public theology. With today’s generation having grown up with visual media being the main source of entertainment and means to gather information, theater is in the perfect position to reach new audiences from all diferent backgrounds. After all, people attend movies for the exact same reason they attend church: to fnd meaning in their lives. Through theater that engages the public with theology, the Gospel will be shared and the actors (humankind) will interact with their director (God) and begin striving toward the perfect denouement.

Ehrensperger, Harold A. Conscience on Stage. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1947.

“Is There a Place for Christian Drama?” Ministry Magazine, Feb. 1995, https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1995/02/ is-there-a-place-for-christian-drama.

Johnson, Todd Eric, and Dale Savidge. Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009.

Kempis, Thomas á. The Imitation of Christ. Bruce Pub. Co., 1940.

Montblanc. “Cillian Murphy X Montblanc II #Whatmovesyoumakesyou II Montblanc.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Aug. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=JyimtoTthFk.

“Montblanc® Ofcial Website: Luxury Pens, Watches & Leather Goods.” Montblanc® Ofcial Website | Luxury Pens, Watches & Leather Goods, https://www.montblanc.com/en-us.

Schnebly, Sarah. “Nora, Torvald & Ibsen’s Audience through the Ages.” The Huntington Theatre, https://www. huntingtontheatre.org/articles/dolls-house-articles/ gallery/ibsens-audience/.

Shakespeare, William, and Michael Hattaway. “Act 2, Scene

7.” As You like It. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

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Sider, Ronald J., et al. Churches That Make a Diference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.

Thompson, Curt. “Seeing through a (Rearview) Mirror Dimly.” Curt Thompson MD, 27 Sept. 2019, https:// curtthompsonmd.com/seeing-through-a-rearviewmirror-dimly/.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.

Volf, Miroslav. Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2013.

Woodruf, Paul. The Necessity of Theater: The Art of Watching and Being Watched. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

The Latino/a Pentecostal Pastor as Local Public Theologian: From the Pulpit to the Public

Reinaldo I. Gracia Figueroa

Abstract

Latinos/as are a minority in the United States (US) afected by many public issues such as migration, racism, and oppression, among others. Many Latino/a church members look to their local church for help on how thinking theologically and biblically about these issues. This essay discusses how a Latino/a Pentecostal local pastor can engage publicly from the pulpit with issues surrounding Latinos/as in the US. Local pastors are responsible for discipling their local churches concerning public issues and engaging with the broader society. It is argued that local pastors must recover their identity as local public theologians and use preaching to engage with every dimension of society. For instance, sermons must have a section that directly addresses society. The last section of the essay draws some missiological implications of the topic, exploring preaching as a public act.

Reinaldo I. Gracia Figueroa is an Asbury Theological Seminary doctoral candidate in the Intercultural Studies program. Gracia earned his Master of Divinity from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Studies from the Universidad Teológica del Caribe. Gracia has ministered for over ffteen years in Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Kentucky in pastoral and teaching roles. He is happily married to Xiomara and they have three beautiful children.

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From the Academy to the Pulpit: A Pentecostal Testimony

One of the experiences that has profoundly shaped my theological journey is becoming a local pastor of a Latino church. I was at the end of my PhD coursework when I started working at a local church. For more than two years, I was deeply involved in the rigorous life of thinking, writing, and researching, solely in the academic context. Now I was stepping into a new reality: ministry. Being involved in ministry has helped me to rethink my way of doing theology, just as ministry helps me to get my feet on the ground. I am between two worlds: academia and the Church. Today I fnd myself writing my dissertation as a Ph.D. candidate, and at the same time, writing weekly sermons for the local church.

During my dissertation feld research, I stumbled upon an issue that most Latino/a local pastors were struggling with, namely engaging publicly with issues of migration, racism, injustice, and oppression (among others) that afect their local church members. This fnding matches my personal experiences as an adjunct professor for Latino studies at various seminaries, specifcally with Latino Pentecostal local pastors. Every semester, these same issues come to the surface from my conversations and discussions with students.

Through these experiences, I have become more aware of the necessity of doing contextual theology for Latinos/ as in the United States. Being with people and seeing their challenges and struggles in life as Latino/a migrants and as a minority population in the US has shaped my understanding of how necessary it is to engage these issues the pulpit.1 Why the

1 To be clear, I am not arguing that the pulpit is the only place to engage with the public sphere, only that our public engagement as pastor-theologians should start from the pulpit.

pulpit? The pulpit is from where I share the word of God every Sunday. Without a doubt, God has something to say about the everyday issues surrounding my Latino community.

This essay aims to discuss how a Latino/a Pentecostal local pastor can engage publicly from the pulpit with issues surrounding the Latinos/as in the US. Because the local pastor is responsible for discipling their local churches concerning public issues and engaging with the broader society, I argue that local pastors must recover their identity as local public theologians and use preaching to engage every dimension of society. For instance, sermons must have a section that directly addresses society.

To accomplish this, in the frst section of the essay, I will defne public theology and its importance for publicly engaging Latino issues. The second section of the essay explores some public realities surrounding Latinos/as in the US. The third section will discuss the role of the local Pentecostal pastor as a public theologian. The fourth section presents how local pastors can engage public issues from the pulpit. And he ffth section will draw some missiological implications of the topic, exploring preaching as a social act.

Within this essay, I am limiting myself to classical Pentecostals, a form of denominationalism.2 Pentecostalism is not a homogenous movement, and because of its highly contextual nature, it takes the form of the context in which it is found. My pastoral experience, research, and teaching

2 Eldin Villafañe highlights fve types of Pentecostalism: 1) classical Pentecostals; 2) neopentecostals; 3) charismatics Catholics; 4) Independent Pentecostals and 5) indigenous Pentecostals. For a more complete explanation, see, Introducción Al Pentecostalismo: Manda Fuego Señor. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2012), 20–21; and Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 1–7.

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experience have been mainly focused on Latino/a Pentecostals in the southeast region of the US. As I write this chapter, I have in mind my fellow brothers and sisters that are local pastors. Local pastors have many responsibilities in a local church, but I have limited my discussion to the pulpit here, or, in other words, the responsibility of preaching.

Teología Pública:3 We are Part of the Society

This section will frst briefy discuss what public theology is and why it is important. Many Latino Pentecostals circles emphasize the dichotomy of church and society, holy and profane, and the kingdom of God and the forces of evil.4

Darío López argues that many Latin American and Caribbean Pentecostals have taken an apolitical posture, meaning they do not see the need to engage with the public sphere.5 This is not rooted in a posture of hope but in disillusion, for as Amos Yong points out, “An apolitical mentality suggests that things will get worse before they get better, and they will only get better after the return of Jesus Christ.”6 Thus, the tendency of Latino/a Pentecostals to be apolitical and their eschatological postulate about the end of the world has led the majority of them not to want anything to do with the society in which they live.7

Yet the day-to-day lives of Latinos/as are lived in public spaces, and God is just as interested in Monday as Sunday.

3 Public theology.

4 Darío López, La Política del Espíritu: Espiritualidad, Ética y Política (Lima, Perú: Ediciones Puma, 2019), 107–108.

5 Ibid., 107.

6 See, Amos Yong, In the Days of Caesars: Pentecostalism and Political Theology (Grand Rapids: Eardmans, 2010) 4–11.

7 I must clarify that there are Latino/a Pentecostals that engage with society. See, for example, Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007).

Public theology, then, can help us to rethink our positions, roles, and responsibilities as citizens of a society. So, what is public theology? According to Jef Fountain, public theology “informs the faith community as it moves beyond personal discipleship and church life into the plaza pública (public square).”8 It is a tool that can equip local Pentecostal Latino/a churches to engage issues that reach beyond the church walls. In other words, “Public theology deals with faith in daily life, from Monday to Saturday.”9 There are many defnitions of public theology, but Fountain’s defnition here provides the fundamentals to start our conversation on the topic.10 Public theology informs and forms Christian believers to think theologically about society and their responsibilities as citizens. Thus, theological work cannot be limited to the four walls of the local church. This type of theology invites us to think theologically about the work of God in society. From this defnition, here are fve essential things that Latino/a Pentecostal pastors could learn from public theology. Public theology helps us to do the following:

1. Engage and think theologically about society and public life.

2. Be citizens of a society where we are responsible for contributing to and shaping society.

3. Make theology accessible to everyone, Christians and non-Christians. Theology moves beyond the four walls of the local church building.

8 Jef Fountain, “¡¿Teología Pública?!,” Protestante Digital, December 13, 2021. https://protestantedigital.com/actualidad/63893/teologia-publica.

9 Ibid.

10 For more defnitions, see Jurgen Moltmann, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999), 5. Charles Mathewes, A Theology of Public Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 2–4. And Sebastian Kim, Theology in the Public Sphere: Public Theology as a Catalyst for Open Debate (London: SCM Press, 2011), 3.

4. Understand that God wants the fourishing of society. The works of God are not limited to the local church.

5. Recognize that God is actively working in society. God is responsible for the whole world and is working actively on it.

Public theology is a reminder to Latino/a Pentecostal local churches of our responsibility of being a public and relevant church for society. Our local pastors and churches must engage and participate actively in public life. This is important because many public issues directly afect our Latino/a church members. As local pastors, it is irresponsible for us to ignore, hide or not speak publicly about these issues. The following section will briefy explore two of these issues.

Public Realities Surrounding Latinos/as in the United States

In this section, I will discuss some of the signifcant public issues surrounding Latino/as communities in the US. Latinos/as are spread all over the US, and depending on their context, these issues will vary. Mindful of such variations, I am not trying to put all Latinos/as under one umbrella; instead, I am highlighting here broad issues that may afect a large sector of the Latino community in the US. Before discussing these issues, however, let us examine who, exactly, makes up the ‘Latino’ population.

The Latino population in the US can be described with the word ‘multiple.’ It is a heterogeneous community composed of multiple layers of diversity. It is a multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual, multigenerational, and multireligious group. All of these “multis” create the group ‘Latinos/as’ in the US. Being multicultural, the majority of Latinos/as prefer to be

identifed by their country of origin, for example, Peruvians, Mexicans, Cubans, and so on. Moreover, we can fnd Latinos/ as from multiple generations. According to the Pew Research Center, “The US Hispanic population reached more than 62 million in 2020,”11 the largest minority group. The six largest groups within the Latino community are of Mexican origin (61.5%), Puerto Rican (9.7%), Cuban (3.9%), Salvadoran (3.9%), Dominican (3.4%), and Guatemalan (2.7%).12 These numbers do not count undocumented Latino immigrants.

As demonstrated, Latino/a people are part of the cultural makeup of the US, but the reality is that Latino communities have encountered challenges living in this land. There are many pressing issues afecting Latino communities, not least of which is that most of the members of the Latino/a churches in the US are immigrants, or, at least, someone in their family is. So, migration is part of our identity as persons and as churches. Here I point out two of those public issues related to migration.

The frst issue is the situation of undocumented church members. While this issue is obviously more complex than can fully be addressed in this essay, succinctly speaking, the reason for a person being undocumented could vary widely: from coming to the country without documents or because the visa or work permit has expired, or coming as a child whose parents’ visa status lapsed, or because the waiting time for a legal visa is twenty years.13 Because of their legal status, many are invisible in the eyes of society and sufer injustices from being in the

11 Jens Manuel Krogstad and Luis Noe-Bustamante. “Key facts about U.S. Latinos for National Hispanic Heritage Month.” Pew Research Center, September 9, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/09/key-facts-about-u-s-latinosfor-national-hispanic-heritage-month/.

12 Ibid.

13 Khalid Koser, International Migration: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 16.

margins of US society, such as being underpaid, overworked, or having no legal recourse against unjust treatment and abuse within the workplace. A direct result of these issues is poverty. Justo González points out that the “vast majority of the Latinos/as are poor.”14 González does not limit poverty to only money. For him, the poverty experienced by the Latino is the one that “dispossesses, not only of money but also of dignity, of tradition, of identity.”15 It is in the context of a local church where they feel safe, preserve their traditions, and afrm their identity as Latino/a and as Christian. The Latino local church becomes their new familia (family). This is why the church is responsible for standing, speaking, and advocating for the Latino/a undocumented, for we must advocate for our family members.

A second issue related to this that greatly afects the Latino/a community is the politics of fear. I still remember the vast stress and fear that was created among the undocumented Latinos/as with the public political discourse of Donald Trump, his “building a wall” and accusing Mexican immigrants of bringing “drugs, crime, and rapists.”16 Yet Jaqueline M. Hidalgo observes that under the presidency of Barack Obama, over two million migrants were deported. Obama was known as the “deporter–in–chief.”17 So despite public rhetoric, Latinos/as have been afected by politics of fear from both main political parties of the US. Miguel A. de la Torre argues, “The use of fear-mongering by politicians has brought a new dimension

14 Justo Gonzalez, Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996), 57.

15 Ibid., 75.

16 Jaqueline M. Hidalgo, “Adelante in Diference Latinxs in the Age of Trump,” in Faith and Resistance in the Age of Trump, edited by Miguel A. De La Torre (New York: Orbis Books, 2017), 200–207.

17 Ibid., 204.

to racial profling.”

18 De la Torre demonstrates that public political discourse has afected various spheres of societies and translates into injustices toward many Latino/as. This is a public issue that the local pastor must address publicly from the pulpit.

These are some of the issues that many Latinos/as experience as a part of living in the US. Even if they are not migrants, they are Latinos/as and encounter racism, and classism, among other things, as a daily part of life. The thing about these realities is that they are all public; they happen in the workplace, marketplace, on social media, and in the context of the local churches. These all are public matters that afect our Latino communities publicly. How can a local pastor be quiet in the face of these realities? Yet even if pastors think addressing these subjects from the pulpit is appropriate, we often feel theologically ill equipped to speak on such important issues. The next section addresses this by discussing the local pastor as local theologian.

e Latino/a Pentecostal Local Pastor as Public eologian

What do pastors do? Since I started pastoring a local church, this has been a question I struggle with theologically. This question looks simple on the surface, but it is much more complicated than it frst appears, and answering it is crucial because it afects the way we do ministry. The local pastor might have a biblical/theological defnition, a job description, or an idea of what a pastor does. The members of that local church may have other ideas that difer from what the pastor does. Additionally, from my pastoral observations, pastors do more things than what I was taught at seminary, what a

18 Miguel A De La Torre, Trails of Hope and Terror: Testimonies on Immigration (New York: Orbis Books, 2006), 112.

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job description says, and what church members think we do. In Latino Pentecostal churches, local pastors play many roles: church management and leadership, spiritual care and guidance, preaching and teaching, and being a part of the worship team. The Latino/a pastor is a bus driver, a translator, a custodian, or an emergency contact, among other things. Latino/a pastors are deeply involved in the lives of their people.19

Pastors can be so overwhelmed with all the roles that we do for the local church that we might come to neglect our role as theologians of the local church. I am not suggesting stopping doing some of the roles that a pastor does, but we need to think seriously about our role as local theologians. This is important because there is distrust of the academy in some Latino Pentecostal circles. Furthermore, many Latino/a Pentecostal pastors do not see themselves as theologians. For many, theologians are the ones that are at seminary. One of the purposes of this essay is for the Latino/a pastors to take ownership of their role as local theologians of the churches.

Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson argue that everyone is a theologian, in the sense that all Christians have the capacity for thinking and refecting about God.20 However, they also emphasize that not all theologies are equals. There is folk theology, lay theology, ministerial theology, professional theology, and academic theology.21 Simply put, there are informal and formal theologies as well as popular and professional theologians. For this chapter, I am focusing on ministerial theology. Grenz and Olson defne ministerial theology as “a refective faith as a practice by trained ministers

19 For some examples, see Juan Francisco Martínez, Walking with the People: Latino Ministry in the United States (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2016).

20 Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology: An Invitation to the Study of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 13.

21 Ibid., 26.

and teachers of Christian churches.”22 This type of theology is made for the local church, and the pastor plays a signifcant role in its making.

Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson argue that the pastor is the local theologian of the church who provides theology for the congregation.23 They categorize the pastor-theologian into three types. The frst type is the local theologian, “a pastortheologian who constructs theology for the laity of his [or her] local congregation.”24 The second type they call the popular theologian. This is the “pastor-theologian who provides theological leadership to Christian laity beyond his [or her] congregation.”25 The last type is the ecclesial theologian. This one is described as “a pastor-theologian who constructs theology for other Christian theologians and pastors.”26 These typologies are helpful to see the varieties of pastor theologians that are in the local congregations. In this essay, I refer to the pastor as a local theologian, working to develop theology from within and for his or her local congregation.

However, we cannot simply stop there, for a local pastor is also a public theologian. Kevin Vanhoozer argues, “Pastors are public theologians because they work in and for the public/ people of God, for the sake of the public/people everywhere.”27 The church is not a building but the people of God. These people expend most of their time during the week immersed in the diferent aspects of society, like work, schools, stores, and

22 Ibid., 31.

23 Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson, The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 17.

24 Ibid., 18.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015), p. 17.

so on. On the one hand, local pastors shape society through the people under their care. On the other hand, local pastors deal with public issues afecting their church members. There is no escape from society because local pastors and churches are part of the society, and both shape each other. It is a pastoral responsiability to engage theologically with society. As the primary local theologians of our congregations, we cannot stay silent on the important public issues of our day.

Engaging the Public from the Pulpit

Yet the question must be asked, how does the local Latino/a Pentecostal pastor theologically engage these public issues? One answer is from the pulpit. Latino/a Pentecostal church members go every Sunday to the culto (church service) to worship God in community and listen to God’s word examined and expounded upon, usually by the pastor.28 The pastor has the responsibility of building the church (Eph. 4:12) through the proclamation of the word of God. Therefore, every week the pastor has the opportunity to preach God’s word, delivering a sermon that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, rooted in Scripture, and speaks to lo cotidiano (daily life experience).

Preaching is central to the Pentecostal movement.29

Peruvian theologian Darío López describes Pentecostal spirituality and how the culto (worship service) is the locus of theological refection and production for the Pentecostal community. López argues that four distinctive traits have shaped the culto of these churches: “fervent and spontaneous

28 Thomas E. Trask, Wayde I. Goodall, and Zenas J. Bricket, eds., The Pentecostal Pastor: A Mandate for the 21st Century (Springfeld, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 2000), 79–104.

29 Lee Roy Martin, ed. Toward a Pentecostal Theology of Preaching, (Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2015), 1.

prayer, joyful and festive singing, everyday life testimony, and passionate preaching.”30 For Pentecostals, preaching is a central piece of the construction of their theology. López argues that Pentecostal preaching “is seasoned with telling God’s daily activity in the time frame in which the listeners are located.”31 Pentecostal preaching is not oblivious of the realities in which people live. Pentecostal preaching should speak to the lo cotidiano of the people, for this is where they encounter the many issues that press on their lives.

As Latino/a Pentecostal local pastors, we need to be more intentional in engaging with the public issues that afect our communities. Done every Sunday, preaching is an opportunity for the local Pentecostal pastor to theologize on public issues. It is also an opportunity to disciple church members to think biblically and theologically about public issues. Preaching is a way of engaging publicly with public discourse. Yet how can Latino/a Pentecostal local pastor engage publicly with the local church? We must re-imagine preaching as a public act.

A pulpit is a place of power and is a public place. Preaching is not a private act. However, to re-imagine preaching as performing public theology, we must look at three public aspects of preaching. First, preaching, in its nature, is a public act. The Good News of Jesus is public, for the synagogue (Luke 4:18), for the temple (Luke 20:1), and the cities and villages (Luke 8:1). Jesus did not come to hide the Good News of the Gospel, nor does the Gospel only speak to the private lives of the people Jesus was talking to. In the words of Lesslie Newbigin, “The gospel as a public truth is challenging the whole society.”32

30 Darío López, La Fiesta del Espiritu: Espiritualidad y Celebración Pentecostal, (Perú: Ediciones Puma, 2006), 26.

31 Ibid., 53.

32 Lesslie Newbigin, Truth to Tell: The Gospel as a Public Truth, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans., 1991), 13.

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According to Jonathan I. Grifths, the New Testament defnes preaching as a “public proclamation of God’s word.”33 In his study of the word proclamation in Greek, there are three terms for referring to gospel proclamation: “euangelizomai, katangello, and kerysso.”34 The usual English translation of these terms is “to preach” or “to proclaim.” Grifths argues that most of the time, the New Testament uses these words in direct reference to the public proclamation of God’s word.35 Thomas C. Oden argues, “Preaching is the most public of pastoral acts. The quality and depth of Christian discipleship in a congregation depend heavily upon it.”36 Preaching as performing public theology as a means of discipleship has only intensifed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where most of the local churches went public with their church services and pastoral sermons through social media. The public nature of preaching must inspire the local pastor to show how the gospel can engage the public context and challenge the things that prevent society’s fourishing.

Second, to be relevant to its audience, preaching must be contextual. Oden highlights that preaching “is a public exposition of Christian truth, addressed to the here-and-now community of faith, and to all who would hear it.”37 If preachers want to know the here-and-now, it is necessary to study current societal issues. As local theologians, we are “called to craft theology that is shaped for very particular communities of

33 Jonathan I. Grifths, Preaching in the New Testament: An Exegetical and BiblicalTheological Study, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017), 17.

34 See for example: Matt. 11:5; Acts 8:4; Acts 17:3; 1 Co 9:14; Col 1:23; 2 Tim 4:2, Ibid.,

17

35 Ibid. 33

36 Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1982), 127.

37 Oden, Pastoral Theology, 128.

faith.”38 Theology is not born out of a vacuum. Preaching must be shaped by biblical exegesis and the exegesis of the context. If we claim that our sermons are contextual, we must engage with what is happening in lo cotidiano. Contextual sermons do not look away from the Latino communities’ issues.

Third, preaching today is both a local and a global act. Many local churches are connected to the digital world, which has expanded even more during COVID-19. Many of them are streaming their services through Facebook, YouTube, their websites, or any other platforms. So, even though a local pastor prepares a sermon for a specifc local church, if that sermon is streamed through social media, it can be seen or heard anywhere in the world. The boundaries between the local and the global are blurred, and local pastors need to be mindful of this digital reality and the impact that their sermons will have beyond the local church. Their sermons have a public impact far broader than even a decade ago.

However, knowing that preaching is a public act does not mean Latino/a pastors are engaging from the pulpit with public issues that afect Latinos/as in the US. As I mentioned earlier, one of the fndings from my own dissertation research shows this sad truth, at least with the pastors I spoke with. So, our fnal question is this: How can we, as Latino/a pastors, better wrestle with public issues like identity, migration status, and the politics of fear that concern the everyday lives of the people we serve?

One answer to this question rests in training. According to Juan Francisco Martínez, “Many of the Latino pastors have been formed in the practice of ministry, with some mentorship, 38 Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997), 39.

formal education in some area, workshops or seminaries.”39 Usually, putting this in the context of preaching, this informal or formal training focuses heavily on exegeting the Scripture. Paul Hiebert points out the gap between our exegesis of Scripture and human contexts. Hiebert’s solution is that pastors need to exegete the human context as well. He argues, “We need to study social, cultural, psychological, and ecological systems in which humans live.”40 Studying these systems will help Latino/a pastors understand the broader cultural conversations taking place. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier calls for an ecological view of education, in which all the spheres of life are taken into account.41 Following her lead, I advocate for an ecological view of pastoring, where both the context of the Scripture and the human must be studied.

So, what kind of training enables Latino/a pastors to take such an ecological view, empowering them to step into the role of public theologians? Obviously, we cannot engage or speak of something that we do not know. Thankfully, we have ethnography, which is a simple tool to help us exegete the public context.42 This chapter is too short a place to fully explore ethnographic skills, but, briefy put, as ethnographers, Latino/a pastor theologians seek to listen, watch, and learn from the people and our context. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale mentions some practices that a pastor can perform to exegete our congregation, which are listening to the stories of our people,

39 Martínez, Walking with the People: Latino Ministry in the United States, 87.

40 Paul G. Hiebert, The Gospel in Human Context: Anthropological Explorations for Contemporary Missions, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 12.

41 Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Atando Cabos: Latinxs Contributions to Theological Education, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans g, 2021), 96 – 102.

42 “Ethnography is defned as a way of immersing yourself in the life of a people in order to learn something about and from them.” Mary Clark Moschella, Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction, (Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 2008), 4.

doing interviews, studying available archival material, and participating in events.43 We could add participating in social media, watching the news, and being immersed in our local communities to the list. We need to be aware of pressing public issues that afect our church members. We then need to train ourselves to analyze these issues with the view of facing them with our people, allowing our analysis to aid us in speaking the Gospel into these public issues.

It is beyond the scope of this essay to teach the practicalities of ethnography here but done with a refective attitude and a posture of active listening, these simple practices can greatly add to our understanding of the contexts in which our people live and the issues they deal with. The point is that Latino/a Pentecostals local pastors can and must theologically engage the public issues surrounding Latino communities in the US from the pulpit. We have the tools available to us, and by employing them, our preaching, as a public discourse, will speak to the realities of the people and disciple them to think theologically about public issues. We must be intentional with engaging from the pulpit with public issues.

Missiological Implications: Preaching as a Social Act

This chapter has argued the need for the Latino/a Pentecostal pastor to engage with public issues surrounding church members. I have argued that preaching is a task done every Sunday at the local church, and it is a public act. Then, I showed how preaching provides an opportunity to engage with public issues biblically and theologically. For instance, sermons need to have a section where we address every dimension of human society. Turning our attention now to the implications of this chapter, missiology helps us to see our pulpits with a

missional purpose. We preach God’s word for the formation of disciples and the transformation of society. Preaching missiologically empowers and equips church members to take God’s mission into the world. We seek to share the word of God and mobilize God’s people to be society changers. The word of God is meant to transform not just us but also the world in which we live. We need to allow the missio Dei (mission of God)44 to infuence the shape of our sermons. One of the purposes of a sermon is for the church to practice what they learn. Then, sermons allow Christian believers to inform and form Christian believers to think theologically about society and their responsibilities as citizens.

Second, we need to incorporate the use of social sciences to build our sermons. Many local pastors have been training formally or informally on writing and delivering a sermon. The traditional training emphasizes the exegesis of scripture and sermon design. As has already been discussed, humans have spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical needs. The Scriptures can help us address all those human dimensions, but we need more. The social science disciplines can help to go deeper into the social dimension of humans. Let say, for example, if I am preaching on the issue of an undocumented immigrant, it is helpful to look at some statistics, what the immigrant law says, what a politician proposes in its political platform, or what are the current institutions that are working with the immigrant locally. These are ways in which we can disciple our members deeper and, at the same time, engage with society.

In sum, local pastors have the opportunity to disciple people to be a witness in society. Shaping a sermon

44 This term “refers to the idea that mission fows out from the very being of God.” See, Al Tizon, Missional Preaching: Engage, Embrace, Transform, (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2012), 3.

missiologically means highlighting the importance of the church as an instrument of God’s mission, the witnessing of the gospel, and the transformation of society. Then, sermons must have a social dimension. In order to do that, we must embrace a holistic view of human beings and borrow social science tools and methods for the construction of our sermons.

Sermon Outline

This section ofers an outline of a thematic sermon that addresses undocumented immigration, as one of the issues at the forefront of the Latino community in the US. A few comments about the sermon outline are necessary: First, in the introduction, I bring a real story of a person dealing with this issue. This story helps us understand that we are dealing with real people and these issues are complex. In the frst and second sections, I dialogue with sources from the social sciences, especially immigration literature. The third section is devoted to looking at what the Scripture says on how Christians should respond to the documentation issue. The fourth section is where I make a space to address society directly, including Christians and non-Christians. Then, I conclude the sermon. I have in mind that this sermon will be to a local congregation and live on social media, so it is a wider public discourse than just a local congregation.

Topic: A Christian Response to Undocumented Scripture: Matthew 25:35

Main Idea: We have undocumented immigrants in the church and society. How do we, as Christians, respond theologically and practically toward the undocumented?

Introduction

The Story of Juana

Juana came to the United States alone ffteen years ago to work. After a year, Juana became a single mother. Her work visa expired, and she had to stay behind to provide for her son. Juana has been a very hard-working woman and a good mother. She has been a role model to follow, active in her community and supporting her family. However, due to a decision made ffteen years ago, she is categorized before society as undocumented.

I. Why do Latinos/as immigrate? Some of the reasons for immigration are:

1. Seeking jobs opportunities

2. Seeking asylums

3. Family reunifcation

4. Seeking a better life

5. Despite what the politics of fear says, the majority of immigrants do not seek to come to America for nefarious reasons

II. How does someone becomes an undocumented immigrant? These are the main reasons:

1. Visa or work permit has expired

2. Enter the country without documents

3. Not having the proper documentation

4. Despite what the politics of fear says, the majority of immigrants do not stay in America for nefarious reasons

III. A Christian Response to the Issue of Documentation:

1. Seeing the undocumented:

• An undocumented person has the image of God. From the biblical perspective, all humans are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26)

• Seeing the undocumented means treating them with human dignity. Listen to their stories and learning from them

2. Loving the undocumented:

• The second great commandment of loving your neighbor (Matt. 22: 35–40) includes the undocumented

• Christians are called to love the other, whether they are undocumented or not

3. Welcoming the undocumented:

• A way of welcoming the undocumented is practicing Christian hospitality

• Christian hospitality calls for receiving, making room, and providing for them (Rom. 15:7). Christian hospitality emphasizes including the poor and the marginalized

IV. Call to Society:

1. Stop Dehumanizing the Undocumented:

• Treat them as human beings. They are no less because of their migration status. They are fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters.

• Provide fair working conditions and fair wages

2. Reevaluate Immigration Laws:

• Are our migration laws just? Are they skewed to favor some over others in an unfair or prejudiced way?

• Do we need immigration reform?

Conclusion

What if:

• We see the undocumented as fellow human beings?

• We prioritize forming just and fair immigration laws?

344 | Reinaldo Figueroa Conclusion

This chapter explored the role of the Latino/a Pentecostal local pastor as a local public theologian, addressing the need for pastors to engage with public issues in many Latino Pentecostal circles. I then argued that the pulpit is the frst step to engaging with the public issues surrounding Latinos/as in the US. Furthermore, I called for the pastorate to be more intentional in this endeavor. In the second section, I defned public theology and then highlighted fve essentials that Latino/a Pentecostal can learn from it. In the third section, I mentioned two public issues surrounding Latinos/as in the US and argued that it is the responsibility of the local pastor to address these issues from the pulpit. In the fourth section, I called for the local Latino/a Pentecostal pastor to embrace his/her role as a public theologian of the local church. In the last two sections of this chapter, I dealt with why and how to engage publicly from the pulpit with public issues. Additionally, I stated that sermons need to have a section aimed at society in general, and I provided an outline of a sermon as an example.

Local churches are part of society, and they have a responsibility to it. The pulpit is the starting point for discipling the local church toward engaging biblically and theologically with public issues. Therefore, Latino/a Pentecostal pastors must afrm their identity as local public theologians and deliver sermons that have a section where the broader society is addressed. The apostle Paul reminds us, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone” (2 Cor. 3:2). By recovering our identity as local public theologians, we disciple our people to be open letters or sermons read by society.

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Vanhoozer, Kevin J., and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.

Villafañe, Eldin. Introducción al Pentecostalismo: Manda Fuego Señor. Nashville: Abingdon, 2012.

Yong, Amos. In the Days of Caesars: Pentecostalism and Political Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmanss, 2010.

Conclusion: The Future of Public Theology

David ang Moe

Abstract

The conclusion of this volume focuses on the retrospect and prospect of public theology. It revisits how public theology

David Thang Moe (Ph.D, Asbury) is Henry H. Rice Postdoctoral Associate in Southeast Asian Studies at Yale University. At Yale, he taught some courses “religion, confict, and reconciliation in Southeast Asia,” “colonialism, nationalism, and identity in Myanmar,” and others. He is an author of one book, over 70 scholarly articles, and currently working on a book project about Asian public theology of religions and reconciliation. His work has featured not only in academic journals, but also in popular outlets for public audiences, such as in Christianity Today, VOA, Asia News, Yale News, Princeton News, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Afairs, and others. He is a public featured speaker about Myanmar at Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Stanford, Boston University, Boston College, New York University, George Washington University, Eastern Kentucky University, Toronto, Oxford, Cambridge, Hamburg, Australian National University, Whitley College, National University of Singapore, Yonsei University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and others. He is on the editorial team of four journals— International Journal of Public Theology; Journal of Southeast Asian Movement at Yale; Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology; and Asian American Theological Forum. He is a member of American Academy of Religion; Society of Biblical Literature; Global Network for Public Theology; Association for Asian Studies; and New York Southeast Asia Network.

became an academic discipline and suggests ways how public theology should be done as a collaborative work by academics and grassroots practitioners. It emphasizes that academic theologians are no longer the primary agents of doing public theology in global context. It is suggested that academics should imagine a paradigm shift in doing public theology by engaging with the Christian and non-Christian communities of grassroots practitioners. Built on this, the article demonstrates how public theology should be contextualized as lived theology of spiritual and social engagement. It further argues that public theology is not just about public witness of faith, but it is also about hidden witness of faith in several ways. It shows some examples of why and how hidden witness of faith could be an alternative option in dictatorial contexts where public witness of faith is not always possible.

Writing the conclusion of this volume and the future of public theology cannot be complete without taking a quick look at the historical development and movement of public theology. Although the term public theology was coined in the late 1960s or early 1970s by an American church historian Martin Marty in response to sociologist Robert Bellah’s analysis of civil religion,1 it is a more recent addition to academic discourse.2

Public theology gains its wider reception through the Global Network for Public Theology (GNPT), founded at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton in 2007, following a preparatory meeting in Edinburg in 2005. The GNPT is a research partnership that promotes public theology by bringing together research centers in nearly thirty academic institutions across the world.3 The GNPT hosts conferences and annually publishes its International Journal of Public Theology with Brill as an academic venue for the exchanges of global, local, and public issues of injustice, confict, poverty, and others.4

Public theology is now becoming a popular discipline across the nations. Some seminaries and divinity schools ofer specifc degree programs with concentrations in public theology. Some institutions do not necessarily ofer a specifc degree in public theology, but they do ofer some courses in the feld. In response to public issues of global development across the world, Asbury seminary ofers a course in public theology every other year. A good number of students always register for the course. Some students join the class with prior knowledge of public theology, whereas others join the class without any idea of what public theology means. At the end of the class,

1 Martin E. Marty, “Reinhold Niebuhr: Public Theology and American Experience,” The Journal of Religion, 54/4 (1974): 332–359.

2 See Sebastian Kim and Katie Day, ed, A Companion to Public Theology, Brill’s Companion to Modern Theology (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 2–3.

3 See, https://gnpublictheology.net/about/#IJPT.

4 See https://brill.com/view/journals/ijpt/ijpt-overview.xml?.

students often express intellectual and spiritual transformation. Some of them even say, “This is probably the best class I have ever taken at Asbury.” It is always good to hear about students’ positive responses to the course in public theology.

This volume is a collection of essays arising from the class “Public Theology for Global Development” ofered in the fall of 2022 at Asbury. I served as teaching assistant. I am grateful to my Doktorvater and co-editor of this volume Gregg Okesson and students from across the globe for the opportunity of teaching and learning through dialogue and discussion inside and outside the class. The class was quite engaging and diverse in ethnic and ecclesial backgrounds. Students possess rich cross-cultural experiences in diferent parts of the world—from Southeast Asia and Oceania (Myanmar and Australia), through South Asia (India), Europe (Czech and Romania), Latin America (Puerto Rico)—to North America. Their contributions to the class come from a mix of lived experiences and engagements with literature. Their essays deal with the public and global issues of banking, Christian identity in post-Christian culture, populist leadership, secular concerts and alternative forms of spirituality, the Myanmar coup, the university, sex trafcking, spiritual warfare, migration and ascetism, theatre as a means of public witness, and pastoring as public theologian.

It should be noted that the contributors worked in diferent contexts as cross-cultural missionaries, pastors, church planters, whereas others worked as theological educators, government servants, NGO workers, social workers, and so on. The contributors’ frst-hand experiences readily serve as sources for their deeper theological and missiological refections on the topics they have engaged with. They did not merely write academic essays from a vacuum. Their essays are contextually grounded in the integration of their lived experiences and of

their academic refections. This is the approach that I will take for writing the conclusion of this volume and the future of public theology in the global context.

Public eology as Lived eology

The current state of public theology tends to focus on academic refection without sufciently engaging the experience and voices of individual and communal practitioners. It tends to be the main business of academic theologians. As their main business, academicians hold a set of academic dialogues, debates, and discussions about global and public issues, and they often ignore the experience of grassroots communities. Academicians serve as the primary agents of doing public theology. As a result, public theology tends to be confned to what academicians are saying about what the church should do. They tend to instruct the church rather than recognizing the church’s experience and practices. It could be regarded as a top-down approach. If the goal of public theology is to address life on the ground, we need a paradigm shift for imagining a bottom-up approach. I am not saying that academic discussions are less important. Academic voices remain important. Rather, I want to decentralize academic voices in order to bridge the gap between academic refections and grassroots practices.

The future of public theology should be a more rigorous discipline of a collaborative work between academicians and grassroots practitioners exchanging their insights and experiences. Such an approach allows us to reconsider public theology as frst the experience of ordinary people and practitioners before it is a set of elite ideas articulated by academic theologians and scholars. Singaporean theologian Simon Chan rightly defnes “theology as frst lived experience of the church before it is a set of ideas formulated by church

theologians.”5 His thesis is helpful for understanding public theology as lived theology. In order to see public theology as lived theology practiced by ordinary practitioners on the ground, we must frst think of Christianity as a lived religion. As a lived religion, grassroots Christianity is involved in everyday experience and the movement of social and public life.6 Thus, we take their experience as the starting point for in refecting public theology. This kind of bottom-up approach reconsiders academic and grassroots people as the collaborative agents for doing public theology as lived theology.7 Doing public theology in a collaborative way is analogous to playing soccer as a team. Everyone plays his or her roles with diverse gifts. No one is the referee. Only the Spirit is the referee, and everyone is a player on the feld of God’s mission. The future of public theology should take this direction.

The contributors in this volume refect such an approach. They exchange their experiences and academic refections. For instance, Reinaldo Gracias, who is a part-time pastor at a Latin American diasporic congregation, explores how one should start public theology from the pulpit. Depicting the pastor as a public theologian, he shows how a pastor’s sermon in the pulpit should relate to public life.8 To be sure, a pastor is not the only public theologian; lived theology enables us

5 Simon Chan, Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 15.

6 For instance, see David D. Hall, ed, Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practices (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997), 8–9.

7 For the idea of lived theology beyond overtly academic theology, see Charles Marsh, “Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy,” in Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, eds, Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, Sarah Azaransky, 1–22 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).

8 Along the same line of thought, see Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015).

to see whole doxological congregations as public theologianpractitioners in terms of witnessing their faith to a complex world. In terms of witnessing doxological faith in public life, there can be two dimensions of thin congregational witness and thick congregational witness in public life.9 Some church people hold a thin witness, whereas others hold a thick witness of faith. Congregational people do not completely withdraw their faith from public life.

Public eology as Spiritual and Social Engagement

When it comes to the church’s social engagement, theologians mark a diference between public theology and political theology. For some, political theology tends to focus on the church’s political engagement with the state, whereas public theology tends to focus on engaging with both the state and society.10 We may make some distinction between political theology and public theology, but we cannot separate the two. The two shape each other. While the church’s direct engagement with the state might be relevant in Western contexts, such engagement is not efective in some contexts where Christianity is a minority religion. Considering the latter contexts, the church’s social engagement with people of other religions in public society should be the frst step, and their interreligious resistance to the state should be the second step. This sort of interreligious engagement is more efective in contexts where the state exercises power. Take Myanmar, for instance. As Hkun Ja notes, the coup creates what we may call “unexpected ethnic reconciliation among non-state.” People from diferent ethnic and religious backgrounds reconcile with

9 See, for instance, Gregg Okesson, A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 117-146.

10 See Max Stackhouse, “Civil Religion, Political Theology and Public Theology: What’s the Diference? in Political Theology, 5/3 (2004): 275–293.

each other and resist the coup. This has never happened in the history of Myanmar.11

Furthermore, some theologians regard a theology of direct engagement in political life as the only relevant public or political theology. They focus exclusively on the political issues of social justice. They almost ignore the public issues of spiritual welfare. Public theology should not ignore spiritual welfare and exorcism. They are contextual issues in Asia and Africa. Some grassroots people encounter the issue of spiritual welfare and seek spiritual liberation from spirits. While academic liberationists focus on political liberation, grassroots people focus on spiritual liberation from demonic spirits. One of the contributors, Allan Varghese, examines how Pentecostals should witness their faith in the context of spiritual welfare. Public theology should deal with both political liberation and spiritual liberation. As such, the task of the church is to engage with both political afairs and spiritual welfare.

However, the church is not confned to its social engagement with political afairs and spiritual welfares. Its social engagement and public witness should encompass a wider scope of public issues—banking (Rob Lim’s essay), Christian identity in post-Christian culture (Myra Watkins’ essay), populist leadership (John Karnakaran’s essay), secular concerts and spirituality (Alexander Swink’s essay), political engagement (Hkun Ja’s essay), the university (Jijo’s essay), sex trafcking (Priya Leela’s essay), immigration and asceticism (David Chronic’s essay), theater as a means of public witness (Faith Alexander’s essay), and the relationship between

11 I am indebted to Miroslav Volf, Ryan McAnnally-Linz, and the whole team of Yale Center for Faith and Culture for the invitation to speak on this topic “Public Theology of Religions and Reconciliation after the Myanmar Coup,” September 29, 2022.

pulpit and public (Reinaldo Figueroa’s essay). This shows the publicness and breadth of public theology. Because of the wide breadth, however, scholars may criticize that public theology may fail to engage all the public issues with deep and thick inquiry. I agree that this is a fair criticism. The strength of this volume is that diferent contributors put their respective eforts and expertise into the essays with fairly sufcient engagement.

Why should the church engage in all public spheres? The answer is that the rule of the Triune God encompasses all cosmic dimensions of public and private life. Jürgen Moltmann argues that the rule of the kingdom of the Trinity should be seen as the rationale for the public relevance of theology. He says, “As the theology of God’s kingdom, theology has to be public theology: public, critical, and prophetic complaint to God—public, critical, and prophetic hope in God.”12 True public theology is deeply grounded in spiritual engagement with the Triune God and social engagement with public life. In terms of its spiritual engagement with God through doxology, the church demonstrates its identity as a called and gathered community. In terms of its social engagement with public life, the church fulflls its vocation as a commissioned and scattered community.13 Public theology should not separate spiritual engagement from social engagement. The authentic church must embrace the internal and external movements of spiritual and social engagements. While the internal movement embodies the internal community of the Trinity, the external movement embodies the Triune God’s external engagement with the world.14

12 Jürgen Moltmann, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology, trans. Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1995), 5.

13 See, for instance, Miroslav Volf, A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2011), 119-138.

14 For detailed discussion on this, see David Thang Moe, “The Church as the Image of the Trinity: Toward a Trinitarian Public Theology of Justice and Peace

Public eology as Public and Hidden Witness of Faith

While we may share a broad understanding of public theology, theologians may difer from one another depending on context. Context matter! We understand that public theology is the church’s public and open witness of faith. However, the church’s public and open witness of faith is not the only option in some contexts where political regime controls the state and society. Myanmar is one example. In Myanmar, there is a real challenge of witnessing faith in public life action against the coup. While the public witness of faith against the ruling authorities in some Western and democratic nations may be easier, the public witness of faith against the coup is highly risky in Myanmar. Myanmar military and police shoot and kill public protesters. This raises a contextual question: what kind of public theology should be developed? Can we imagine an alternative approach? I will argue that public theology is not just about the public witness of faith, but it is also about the hidden witness of faith.

James Scott shows how subordinated groups use both public and hidden transcripts in their resistance to domination. Scott is not a public theologian; he is a political scientist who writes extensively about the subaltern politics of peasant everyday forms of public and hidden resistance to domination in the villages of Malaysia and Myanmar.15 For Scott, wherever there is domination by the powerful, there is invariably resistance by the subordinated. However, the art of their resistance is far more widespread, complex, and hidden in their motives and movements than one single form of public in Asia,” Asia Journal of Theology, 32/ 2 (2018): 22–49.

15 James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990), 2. See also James C. Scott, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985).

protests on the streets. Many biblical scholars, especially New Testament scholars, and theologians fnd Scott’s theory of hidden transcripts and his insightful idea about resistance to power helpful for their fresh understanding of Jews under the Roman empire.16

It is common to think that the prophets’ resistance to power in the Old Testament tends to be more direct and public, whereas the apostles’ resistance to the empire in the New Testament tends to be hidden. The Apostles are not completely silent and subject to domination. Using Scott’s theory of hidden transcripts, Richard Horsley acknowledges that the forms of apostolic resistance in the times of Jesus and Paul are “far more prevalent, widespread, and complex in their motives and methods. Scott’s analysis of resistance is not only innovative and insightful, but also opens aspects of resistance that previously went unnoticed in academic investigation.”17 Without engaging with Scott’s in-depth work in detail, it sufces to note that his theory of hidden transcripts is quite applicable to the interreligious movements of Christians’ public and hidden witness of their prophetic, apostolic, and priestly faith in resistance to the coup in Myanmar.18

16 For a collection of diverse essays which engage with Scott’s work, see Richard A. Horsley, ed, Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance: Applying the Work of James C. Scott for Jesus and Paul, Semeia series, 48 (Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2004).

17 Richard A. Horsley, “Introduction—Jesus, Paul, and the Arts of Resistance: Leaves from the Notebook of James C. Scott,” in Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance: Applying the Work of James C. Scott for Jesus and Paul, ed. Richard A. Horsley, Semeia series, 48, 1–28. (Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2004), 7.

18 James Scott and I shared a panel on the Interreligious and Interethnic Resistance to the Myanmar Coup at Columbia University in New York City. I am indebted to him for his insights into various forms of resistance. See http://ealac.columbia. edu/event/one-year-after-the-myanmar-coup-reflections-on-the-origin-andongoing-democratic-movement-of-interreligious-and-interethnic-resistance-tothe-coup/

People’s witness of their faith in action against the politics of the coup encompasses a wide range of public, hidden, and symbolic engagement. In the early anti-coup movement, Christians and people of other religions have gone to the streets to protest against the regime. When the coup used violent crackdowns, some people chose to resist the coup in hidden ways for their safety. Some people, especially youth, still chose to resist the coup in public ways at the risks of their lives. A few apolitical Christians read Romans 13 as a text for justifying their obedience to the coup and for staying away from politics. Yet the majority of prophetic, apostolic, and priestly Christians read Romans 13 as a hidden transcript of public theology to resist the coup. They use verse 4 to justify their resistance to the coup which fail to act God’s desire of civil good. Many Christians use the hidden ways of meeting online for mobilizing everyday forms of resistance. They publicly and hiddenly raise funds to help people in need.

Although I mainly explored how Christians in the troubled country of Myanmar perform public theology as public and hidden witnesses of their faith, we can defnitely fnd such similar modes of witness in countries like India, Romania, Ukraine, Ghana, Australia, Puerto Rico, the US, China, and others. In short, the future of public theology in global contexts should be deeply rooted in the inseparable relationship between public and hidden witnesses of faith. A public theology that separates public witness of faith from hidden witness will be relevant for a smaller community. If we hold a public witness and hidden witness of faith, whole congregations will be more willing to participate in a wider scope of God’s public mission.

In this volume, our contributors understand public theology as lived theology. As a lived theology, they are convinced that public theology should emerge from the experience and practices of grassroots communities rather than imposing academic ideas. The contributors’ essays show the methodological issues of how we should bridge the gap between academic refections and grassroots practices so that public theology can be practiced as a collaborative work between academic communities and ecclesial communities. The result of such collaborative work is for the common good of public life. In witnessing the gospel of salvation, the contributors emphasize the holistic nature of salvation. In their approach to the scope of public theology, they use the rule of the Triune God as rational for the church’s spiritual and social engagement with all aspects of human life.

Built on this framework, the contributors bring together diverse essays dealing with a wide range of public and global issues. The diversity of essays refects the broad missiological nature of God’s public and global nature of kingdom. The kingdom of God, the gospel of Christ, and the active presence of the Spirit in the world are the main grounds of the contributors’ essays.

Although the term public theology may have been coined and its scholarship may have arisen from the West, the present volume invites us to broaden our understanding of the global nature of public theology by listening to diverse voices from across the globe. I hope you enjoyed reading it. May our conversation about and performance of public theology as lived theology continue in our spiritual, social, and intellectual participation in the mission of Trinity!

362 | David ang Moe Works

Chan, Simon. Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.

Hall, David D., ed. Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practices. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.

Horsley, Richard A., editor. Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance: Applying the Work of James C. Scott for Jesus and Paul, Semeia series, 48. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2004.

“Introduction—Jesus, Paul, and the Arts of Resistance: Leaves from the Notebook of James C. Scott.” In Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance: Applying the Work of James C. Scott for Jesus and Paul, ed. Richard A. Horsley, Semeia series, 48, 1-28. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2004.

Kim, Sebastian, and Katie Day, editors. A Companion to Public Theology, Brill’s Companion to Modern Theology. Leiden: Brill, 2017.

Marsh, Charles. “Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy.” In Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, eds. Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, Sarah Azaransky, 1–22. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Marty, Martin E. “Reinhold Niebuhr: Public Theology and American Experience.” The Journal of Religion, 54/4 (1974): 332–359.

Moe, David Thang. “The Church as the Image of the Trinity: Toward a Trinitarian Public Theology of Justice and Peace in Asia.” Asia Journal of Theology, 32/ 2 (2018): 22–49.

Moltmann, Jürgen. God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology, trans. Margaret Kohl. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995.

Okesson, Gregg. A Public Missiology: How Local Churches Witness to a Complex World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.

- - -. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985.

Stackhouse, Max. “Civil Religion, Political Theology and Public Theology: What’s the Diference? Political Theology, 5/3 (2004): 275–293.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Doctrine. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.

Vanhoozer, Kevin J., and Owen Strachan. Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.

Volf, Miroslav. A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2011.

About First Fruits Press

Under the auspices of B. L. Fisher Library, First Fruits Press is an online publishing arm of Asbury eological Seminary. e goal is to make academic material freely available to scholars worldwide, and to share rare and valuable resources that would not otherwise be available for research. First Fruits publishes in ve distinct areas: heritage materials, academic books, papers, books, and journals.

In the Journals section, back issues of The Asbury Journal will be digitized and so made available to a global audience. At the same time, we are excited to be working with several facultymembersondevelopingprofessional,peer-reviewed,onlinejournalsthatwouldbe made freely available.

Much of this endeavor is made possible by the recent gift of the Kabis III scanner, one of the best available. The scanner can produce more than 2,900 pages an hour and features a special book cradle that is speci cally designed to protect rare and fragile materials. The materials it produces will be available in ebook format, easy to download and search.

First Fruits Press will enable the library to share scholarly resources throughout the world, provide faculty with a platform to share their own work and engage scholars without the di culties often encountered by print publishing. All the material will be freely available for online users, while those who wish to purchase a print copy for their libraries will be able to do so. First Fruits Press is just one way the B. L. Fisher Library is ful lling the global vision of Asbury Theological Seminary to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world.

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