Interruption and Imagination: Public Theology in Times of Crisis

Interruption and Imagination

Public Theology in Times of Crisis

Kjetil Fretheim

Interruption and Imagination

Public Theology in Times of Crisis

Copyright © 2016 Kjetil Fretheim. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Pickwick Publications

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paperback isbn: 978-1-4982-9868-1

hardcover isbn: 978-1-4982-5615-5

ebook isbn: 978-1-4982-9869-8

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Names: Fretheim, Kjetil.

Title: Interruption and imagination : public theology in times of crisis / Kjetil Fretheim.

Description: Eugene, OR : Pickwick Publications, 2016 | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: isbn 978-1-4982-5615-5 (paperback) | isbn 978-1-4982-9868-1 (hardcover) | isbn 978-1-4982-9869-8(ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Church and the world. | Common good—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Christians—Political activity. | Religion and politics.

Classification: BT738 .F65 2016 (paperback) | BT738 .F65 (ebook)

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 09/17/15

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Chapter 1: Challenged by Crisis

Chapter 2: The Public Sphere

Chapter 3: Public Theology

Chapter 4: Times of Crisis

Chapter 5: Social Analysis

Chapter 6: Politics and Ethics

Chapter 7: Language and Voice

Chapter 8: The Climate Crisis

Chapter 9: Responding to Crisis

Conclusion

Bibliography

Preface

In the early 1990 s the Berlin wall had just fallen, the Cold War had come to an end, and South Africa had been freed from the burden of apartheid. This was the end of history ¹ and the hopes for a new era of democracy, human rights, and good governance were high. Soon, however, it became clear that the 1990s would not be the decade of peace and prosperity we had hoped for. Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait and the United States (and others) went to war. Later Somalia collapsed, as did Yugoslavia. In Rwanda the international community passively witnessed brutal massacres and genocide. The dramatic events of 9/11 in 2001 defined the following decade and paved the way for the so-called war on terror, with the related invasion and war in Afghanistan. Later, Iraq became a new battleground. The Arab spring turned into a long, cold winter and as I am writing this the media keeps reporting about violence and brutal conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and Yemen.

In times like these Christians despair, cry out, and attempt to assist. Some turn to religious resources in biblical texts and church tradition. Here they find words of pain, grief, and sorrow, and make them their own:

Our LORD, how long must I beg

for your help

before you listen?

How long before you save us

from all this violence?

Why do you make me watch

such terrible injustice?

Why do you allow violence,

lawlessness, crime, and cruelty

to spread everywhere?

Laws cannot be enforced;

justice is always the loser;

criminals crowd out honest people

and twist the laws around.²

These events of the last quarter of a century are paralleled by increased wealth for some and sustained poverty for others. The UN’s recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family³ has not prevented a world of inequality. Volatile markets, financial crisis, and austerity policies have been felt by banks and businesses, but not least by quite ordinary people, families, and local communities worldwide. On top of all of this, the climate crisis continues to threaten all of us, though some are likely to feel its effects more severely than others.

It is against this background of social, economic, political, and ecological crisis that this book addresses the practice and study of public theology. Public theology is committed to seeing, understanding, and interpreting these signs of the times, to proclaim hope and to make a difference. It seeks to inform and shape the political discourse and to find ways for positive change in local communities and society at large. The complexity of international relations, world economics, and the interplay between man, nature and society makes, however, the challenge of understanding what is going on a profoundly difficult one. The challenge becomes even greater if one not only seeks to understand what is going on, but also to change it. Public theology takes on this challenge.

Of course, public theology will always be colored by the perspective from which it is practiced. The same applies to this volume. It is written by a Norwegian and from a Northern European perspective. My socio-religious background is the Lutheran tradition within Christian thought and the close ties between the church and political authorities that characterize the Nordic countries. I also speak from the North, from a position of relative privilege and wealth, knowing that others live in a world of poverty, oppression, and marginalization. My interests, concerns, and commitment go, however, beyond the limits of my specific location. I live in a globalized community. We are all bound together in one international, global community of human beings and part of the one and same world: God’s creation.

The following reflections on public theology are a result of a long-time fascination with contextual and socially committed theology both in the global South and in my own Northern European context. They are also a result of discussions with students at MF Norwegian School of Theology, in particular students of the MA-programs on Religion, Society and Global Issues and Diaconal studies. Parts of the following have been presented and discussed at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and other scholarly conferences. Most of all, however, this book is a result of my one year sabbatical at York St John University, UK. I want to thank Professor Sebastian Kim in particular for making my stay as a visiting scholar possible and for engaging discussions on public theology.

The sabbatical in York was a unique experience not only in academic terms, but also for my family. I thank my wife Jenny for her support and Wednesday lunches.

1. Fukuyama, End of History.

2. Hab

1:2–4

, Contemporary English Version (CEV).

3. United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

353–58

.

1

Challenged by Crisis

There seems to be no end to the violent conflicts, oppression, and injustice in the world. Aid organizations keep sending out appeals in response to emergency situations and chronic poverty. Amnesty International continues to present brutal evidence of human rights violations and the International Crisis Group must carry on their work to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. In the midst of this turmoil the global community is faced with unprecedented climate change and its dire consequences. Global warming is a reality and we can see the effects of extraordinarily strong storms and hurricanes, floods, and drought. Some people, even some nation-states, find their livelihood and very existence threatened. Others struggle with changing weather patterns, seeking ways to cope and care for each other in new and unknown climate conditions.

Crises such as these call for action, but also deep reflection. How did we get to this point? What choices should we make now and how can we shape a better future?

The climate crisis illustrates the complexity of these questions. This is evidently an ecological crisis, but not only that. Climate change is caused by the wealth, consumption, and lifestyles of the rich, but also by the polluting industries and limited resources of poor countries. This makes the climate crisis not only an ecological or economic issue, but also a political challenge. New policies at all levels—local, national and global—are needed. This is no small task, but it must be done. In fact, it is an existential challenge. People’s lives are at risk. Living in despair and feeling hopeless, people ask the obvious, challenging, and disturbing questions: Why this suffering, and why me? Where is God in this crisis? The problem of evil becomes not only a philosophical riddle to solve, but a personal and collective struggle. It leads us into the abyss of suffering and meaninglessness, as well as to the imperative of care and compassion, and a fight for recovery, reconstruction, and reconciliation. The crisis presents us with not only an intellectual, political, and existential challenge. It becomes a moral commitment.

Although the contemporary climate crisis is of a scale and character that makes it unique in human history, these questions and challenges are not unprecedented. Most of us have faced crisis of some kind in our personal lives or in our families. Some of us have faced brutal conflict, terrorist attacks, and war. To the international community, two world wars and decades of cold war are defining events of our political history. They have involved political antagonism, a costly arms race, suffering, and death for far too many. These crises have challenged individuals, local communities, civil society groups, and politicians to respond with moral outrage, political vision, and new and creative policy measures. Similarly, political analysts, social scientists, and philosophers have been challenged to analyze, reflect, and reconsider. How should we respond to such crises? What can we say, and what can we do?

Different groups of people, communities, and countries have given different answers to these questions. This book deals with how churches and Christians—clergy, theologians, and lay people—can respond to them. In other words, the aim is to explore the shape, form, and meaning of public theology in times of crisis. Accordingly, the book is about theology, but not theology in general. It focuses on a specific kind of theological approach or theological enterprise: the kind of theology that intentionally and explicitly deals with issues of public concern and seeks to participate in the public debates on such issues.

Crises and Christianity

The Christian heritage with regard to world poverty, human rights violations, terrorism, war, and other forms of social and political crises, is a mixed one. Some see in religion in general and Christianity in particular a key contributing factor to crises. Christianity causes conflict, legitimizes hierarchy, and justifies oppression, it is claimed. Others point out how Christians and Christian churches have responded to historical crisis with love, care, and the message of Christian hope.

What seems clear is that crises have challenged and indeed changed Christian theology. The First World War challenged the optimism of European liberal theology and paved the way for a turn to God’s transcendence in Christian theology and a much more skeptical and realistic understanding of contemporary culture. The Second World War saw the complicity as well as quietist attitude of churches and Christians, resulting in heated debates in the following decades. The state of Israel was established in 1948 partly with the support of Christian churches. Later the same churches have become increasingly aware of the disturbing effects of Israeli policies and the plight of Palestinians. In South Africa the Dutch Reformed Church developed a theological legitimation of an appalling apartheid system that was later condemned as heretical by other churches.

These examples indicate how churches, Christian theology, clergy, and Christians have been part of the problem, both through complicity and passivity. There are, however, also examples of how churches and Christians have responded publicly, critically, and constructively to social and political crises. Brave Christians in the Confessional Church spoke out against the Nazi regime. New theological understandings of the Promised Land have been developed, questioning both Christian Zionism and the policies of the international community in the Middle East. For decades churches and Christians have addressed poverty, racism, imperialism, and economic exploitation.

Today the global community and the ecumenical fellowship of all churches are challenged by climate change. Again one of the issues is how Christianity is part of the problem,¹ but churches and Christians have also developed new forms of theologies and are searching for creative ways of dealing with the crisis. Christian interpretations and viewpoints are articulated in the public sphere with an implicit or explicit understanding of climate change and its moral and political implications.

Public Theology

Such responses to climate change are examples of public theology in as much as they are articulated as theologically informed statements in the public sphere. Similarly, public statements given by churches, church officials, or ordinary Christians on economic exploitation, political oppression, or climate change are examples of public theology in practice. When they are examined and scrutinized by scholars they become the material and starting point for the academic field of public theology. The term public theology thus refers to both a practice and an academic discipline. To the extent that public theology scholars make their own contributions of this kind, they act as practical-public theologians.

As the North American theologian Robert Benne puts it, public theology is "the engagement of a living religious tradition with its public environment—the economic, political, and cultural spheres of our common life."² Similarly, Harold Breitenberg defines public theology as theologically informed public discourse about public issues, addressed to the church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other religious body, as well as the larger public or publics, argued in ways that can be evaluated and judged by publicly available warrants and criteria.³ These definitions indicate what public theology is all about, but both Benne and Breitenberg also provide more elaborate definitions. Benne identifies two poles—religion and society (which consists of economic, political and cultural spheres)—and argues that the vast majority of religious traditions not only intend to exist within and interact with them, but also aim to affect those public spheres.⁴ This aim to affect leads the religious traditions to engage in the public environment. Further, Benne highlights two ways in which a religious or theological intellectual tradition engages the public world:

First, that intellectual tradition moves outward from the tradition toward the world. It interprets the public world in light of the religious tradition. ( . . . ) Moreover, the intellectual tradition may be used to persuade the world of the cogency of its vision of how things ought to be in the public spheres of life. That is, there may be an apologetic thrust in the tradition. ( . . . Second, the) world is interpreted and assessed by its teachers and scholars for the use of the tradition itself. ( . . . ) The tradition needs to clarify the character of the world so that it might resist where it needs to and adapt where it can. An interpretation of the world must be brought back to the tradition for the sake of its own integrity. At times this interpretation of the world may mean a critique and revision of the tradition itself.⁵

Breitenberg’s longer definition of public theology has three parts:

First, public theology is religiously informed discourse that intends to be intelligible and convincing to adherents within its own religious tradition while at the same time being comprehensible and possibly persuasive to those outside it. Second, public theology addresses issues that bear upon a religious community but also pertain to the larger society, including those who identify themselves with other faith traditions or with none. Third, to achieve such ends, public theology relies on sources of insight, language, methods of augment, and warrants that are in theory open to all.⁶

This concern and focus on the larger society is also reflected in the Scottish theologian Duncan B. Forrester’s approach to public theology. Forrester argues public theology is a theology which is not primarily concerned with individual subjectivity, or with the internal discourse of the Church about doctrine and its clarification and consequently different from evangelical theology which addresses the Gospel to the world in the hope of repentance and conversion.⁷ Rather, public theology is a:

theology which seeks the welfare of the city before protecting the interests of the Church, or its proper liberty to preach the Gospel and celebrate the sacraments. Accordingly, public theology often takes ‘the world’s agenda’, or parts of it, as its own agenda, and seeks to offer distinctive and constructive insights from the treasury of faith to help in the building of a decent society, the restraint of evil, the curbing of violence, nation-building, and the reconciliation in the public arena, and so forth.⁸

Forrester thus distinguishes between the church and the city (drawing on Augustin’s distinction between the eternal city of God and the temporal city of man⁹), and relates public theology in particular to the latter. Making the world’s agenda the agenda of public theology is, however, not to do away with the theological identity and character of public theology. In fact, the aim of public theology is to make use of theological concepts and insights to assess and consider life in the world. Thus, Forrester can also describe public theology as a form of God-talk with the ambition of speaking in a manner accessible and relevant to the world. Forrester says public theology is:

talk about God, which claims to point to publicly accessible truth, to contribute to public discussion by witnessing to a truth that is relevant to what is going on in the world and to the pressing issues which are facing people and societies today ( . . . ) It takes the public square and what goes on there seriously, but it tries to articulate in the public square its convictions about truth and goodness. It offers convictions, challenges and insights derived from the tradition of which it is a steward, rather than seeking to articulate a consensus or reiterate what everyone is saying anyway.

Public theology is thus confessional and evangelical. It has a gospel to share, good news to proclaim. Public theology attends to the Bible and the tradition of faith at the same time as it attempts to discern the sign of the times and understand what is going on in the light of the gospel.¹⁰

In other words, to Forrester, making the world’s agenda one’s own and adopting a theological perspective are fully compatible and at the core of public theology. It is by combining theological resources with a concern for the social, political, and economic conditions in the world that public theology seeks to understand the signs of the times.

This concern for the welfare of the city¹¹ and the social and economic conditions of the world makes public theology not simply about seeking understanding and contributing to a discussion. As Breitenberg points out, Christian public theology not only intends to provide theologically informed interpretations of and guidance for individuals, faith communities, and the institutions and interactions of civil society, in ways that are understandable, assessable, and possibly convincing to those inside the church and those outside as well, but also in so doing possibly persuade and move to action both Christians and non-Christians.¹² Similarly, the German theologian and Lutheran bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm explicitly relates public theology to politics:

If theology is not understood as the internal sign system for a closed religious community but as public theology, that is, as a theology which addresses the world as a whole, it has a natural closeness to questions of politics; that is, to the