Jesus and Mission in Paul Knitter's Liberation Theology of Religions: A Malagasy Reflection

Rabeson, Jocelyn (2002) Jesus and Mission in Paul Knitter's Liberation Theology of Religions: A Malagasy Reflection. Masters thesis, Weston Jesuit School of Theology.

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Abstract

The event of September 11th 2001 has provoked a lot of questions among people around the world. These questions are not only political. They are also religious questions. One of them is "Does Islam religion have anything to do with this?" Such a question is not without importance. The fact is that religion and politics have always been interconnected despite the tendency to separate them. Social ethicists evaluate and criticize the social reality using Catholic social teaching; liberation theologians, inspired by the values of the Kingdom of God, dare to denounce the reality of injustice and oppression. The Jesuit theologian Aloysius Pieris, for example, reflects on the role of religions, for instance Christianity and Buddhism, facing the reality of poverty in his country. As a theologian from a country where more than half of the population is rooted in traditional religions and beliefs, and where the same population is still living in an extreme poverty, I have always had questions about the role of religions (Christianity, Malagasy traditional religion, Islam etc) and how they should work together in order to liberate the people from injustice, oppression and poverty. Paul Knitter is one of the great theologians to develop a contemporary Christian theology of religions. His project, which he calls "A Correlational and Globally Responsible Model of Dialogue'' or a "Liberation Theology of Religions," responds to my question about Christian attitudes towards other religions. The discovery of the suffering others, under the influence of liberation theology, allows him to move from pure speculation about interreligious dialogue to a more practical consideration of where members of different religions come together to work for justice and the well-being of the earth.From a Christian perspective, such a project requires new Christological and missiologicall ecclesiological reflections. I fmd that Knitter's writings show the dynamism of Christian faith as "theory and praxis." Not only does he explain Christian faith and doctrine, he also interprets them in a postmodem context. That is why I have chosen the title, "Jesus and Mission in Paul Knitter' s Liberation Theology of Religions." In this thesis, basically, I am planning to see the relationship between Jesus and Mission in Knitter's theology and its applicability in my own context. There are two basic questions I want to address in this thesis. First, what does it mean to be a Christian today? Second, what does it mean to belong to the church today or what is the mission of the church? The two questions are related. They can be answered m many ways. The first question is Christological. It concerns our profession of faith in Jesus Christ. What does it mean we believe in Jesus the Christ? A 21st century theologian's response to such a question may not be the same as that of the century before, because the context in which the church is living seems to be different in many ways. The question then requires, not a repetition, but a re-thinking and re-interpretation of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, and the impact of such re-interpretation on the Christian attitudes towards other religions. What we need is an understanding of Jesus Christ in the Christian churches that will both be faithful to the original witness and Christian traditions and will nurture dialogue with other believers. The second question is both distinct from and a consequence of the first. If we accept the need of re-interpreting our Christology, that must lead us to a new understanding of the church and its mission in the world. Do we still need the church?What kind of discipleship do we want today? What is the meaning of mission at this time of pluralism? Since the Vatican Council II, the church has opened itself to the reality of the world. The fruits of that insertion are the ongoing inculturation in many local churches, the effort on interreligious dialogue, and ecumenism. Furthermore, there are also local churches which are concerned about the poverty of the people and try to identify themselves with the marginalized ones. According to Vatican II, these two concerns are not opposed but in harmony. In my own context, the aspects of inculturation and liberation are the most important and I want to assess them in this thesis. In responding to all these questions, Knitter develops what we call "a theology from below." His project is not just a reflection on Christian doctrine. Instead, he gives priority to Christian praxis. The Christian community cannot address those questions alone. It has to engage itself with others. Knitter is convinced that by discovering God's presence and salvation in other religions, the Christian community will be able to proclaim its faithfulness to Jesus Christ as savior, and at the same time, engage in dialogue with others and work for the well being of the world. My thesis will be based mainly on the works of Paul Knitter. There are two ways of exploring his writings. The first one is chronological. By that I mean one follows the evolution of Knitter's ideas about the theology of religions, from his position on Christian attitudes towards other religions to his soteriocentrism. The second way is logical. Taken altogether, his works form what we called above a theology from below. Thus, we can start with his soteriology and then follow its impact on Christology and missiology/ecclesiology.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Geoffrey Obatsa
Date Deposited: 03 Dec 2018 12:35
Last Modified: 03 Dec 2018 12:35
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/6927

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