a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

Pentecostal community is still sorely in need of social ethic to inspire, direct and
validate its ministry of promoting and instituting social justice. 198
6.3.4. Public Missiology
One of the most significant features of contextual missiology of the Spirit is its
public nature. As Thangaraj has observed, ‘mission’ is no more a private word,
but a ‘public word.’ 199 Therefore, in the contemporary world the term ‘mission’
itself contains a public element. A contextual missiology of the Spirit takes people
into consideration, and so it includes a focus on the well-being of people. As seen
in chapter three, when Pentecostals began to engage with various public
situations, there developed a quest for the common good, and as a result, they
began to adapt their mission theology and practice under the guidance with the
Spirit.
There are several theologians, like Jürgen Moltmann, one of the most influential
theologians of the twentieth century, who highlight the significance of public
theology today. According to him, ‘there is no Christian identity without public
relevance, and no public relevance without theology’s Christian identity.’ 200 He
claims that ‘its subject alone necessarily makes Christian theology a theologia
publica, public theology. It gets involved in the public affairs of society. It thinks
about what is of general concern in the light of hope in Christ for the kingdom of
198
Dempster, ‘Pentecostal Social Concern,’ 129.
199
Thangaraj, Common Task, 27.
200
Jürgen Moltmann, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology (London:
SCM Press, 1999), 1.
329