BREAK THE CHAINS OF OPPRESION AND THE YOKE OF ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Discus sion Church and State are fully separated but Christian education is still 100% financially state supported. Many Churches and especially mission organisations have accumulated a lot of wealth over the past centuries. Although all European Churches have problems to meet ends financially, compared with the rest of the world – with the exemption of maybe the USA – the financial position of Western-European churches is still very strong. However the future for many European churches looks bleak. In the Netherlands e.g. the number of those visiting a Church service at least once per month has gone down 50% since 1971. If this continues at the same level then sometime in the forties of this century the last churchgoer will switch off lights. In conjunction with this decline of church attendance the relevance of the Church and its theology has very much gone down as well. This is valid also for WARC member churches. In this aspect we have to be aware however that a great deal of young people who have left the Church, still favour highly Christian values and are often very active in justice movements such as Green Peace, Kairos etc… In Eastern Europe the situation is different. There the position of the Church has become stronger. However this is valid mainly for the Orthodox Church. The Reformed WARC member churches are – except for Hungary – small churches that cannot have a prominent position in their societies. Their financial means are also very limited. What can, against this background, be the vision for a commitment to justice in the European member churches of the WARC and after June 2010 the WCRC? A few ideas listed below can help to develop a vision. n It is not helpful when the discussion about justice in Europe is being dominated by a sense �of guilt. �Of course � there is no �doubt �justification for ‘feeling guilty’: involvement in the two World Wars, (neo-) colonialism, paternalistic mission relations etc… There is no reason at all to deny the negative aspects of the past and where they are still valid in the present to do away with them. But in conjunction with this it is necessary to be first of all inspired by positive aspects of the past and present. Mission work in the past has contributed a great deal to the development of the Church and Society in global South countries. Many of those active in mission fields were also in the forefront of pleading for independence of European colonies. The ecumenical justice movement can be grateful for many contributions of European church leaders, theologians, economists etc… A document like the Accra Confession has played a great role in WARC European member churches. Most WARC member churches in Europe have also played a great role in matters of gender justice. In brief: Europe can be and should be inspired by a great deal that has happened and is still happening within its Churches concerning their commitment to justice. In the discussion about justice it is good to be aware of this great contribution. n In discussions about justice it is for Churches of utmost importance to be �� – EUROPE’S DISCUSSION ABOUT JUSTICE – 33
Discus sion aware of the fact that here the heart of faith is at stake. In Reformed tradition sanctification is a very important aspect. One could almost say more than justification. Reformed traditionally does not focus on ‘how’ God has justified us but ‘whereto’ he has justified us. Therefore the focus on sanctification and the concrete aspect of that is our call to do justice in the world. This theological basis is fundamental. It has to be believed otherwise churches are committed to justice within – for them at least – a vacuum. Secularisation in Europe has indeed often meant a loss of sense of transcendence. It is a caricature but still it can be said that in some church circles, also in Europe, it looks as if the ‘J’ of ‘Jesus’ has been replaced by the ‘J’ of ‘Justice’. If so then in the end a church will have nothing to say anymore. The call to justice within churches should always be heard in conjunction with Scripture and Confession. Only in this way will we experience this call as a holy matter. n In line with the previous argument it is necessary to use in the analysis of situations of justice and injustice definitions that have their origin in Scripture and Confession. An example is the word ‘sin’. There should be no hesitance to use this word in matters of injustice. It is prophetic language that should not be used in a too frequent and as such inflating way but for the evil situations that are catastrophic and have human causes there should indeed be no hesitation to speak of sin. Only then we can also talk about grace and forgiveness. It is also helpful to be inspired by the Christian eschatological visions e.g. of the Kingdom of God. Not as an alibi that our work here on earth is in the end useless but to make us aware that we are part of Gods work and that therefore we should not be desperate if things here and now will not be perfect. n For European Churches it is important to be actors in the call to justice but also to be listeners. Not only in the sense of listening to the Word of God but al- � � � � � so in the sense of listening to Churches and their representatives in other parts of the world. It is not first of all the call of Europeans to analyse the situation of justice and injustice in e.g. Africa. Even when comments could be justified that the blame is put on the shoulders of e.g. Europe too easily it is still important to wait and to hear how voices from other parts of the world will contribute to a balanced analysis of the global situation. Having said this we should be aware of the fact that the division in global South and North can be misleading. There is a global South in the North and a global North in the South. Not all in Europe are profiteers and not all in the global South are victims. The word ‘empire’ used as a definition in matters of injustice has a global connotation. But it is helpful in the European discussion about justice to have some patience and to hear what others have to say about their situation. n The commitment to justice should also have its place and find its inspiration in the spiritual life of the Church. Liturgy with all its components of sacraments, preaching, praying and singing is the place where life and justice are being celebrated. Where also suffering and injustice is being brought before God. �� 34 – EUROPE’S DISCUSSION ABOUT JUSTICE –
Page 1 and 2: eak the chains of oppresion and the
Page 4 and 5: BREAK THE CHAINS OF OPRESSION AND T
Page 6 and 7: PContents REAChing Preface There is
Page 8 and 9: PREFA ce There is No Unjust Communi
Page 10 and 11: PREFA ce Let us remember: there sho
Page 12 and 13: PREFA ce ed, stripped bare, when th
Page 14 and 15: PREAChing 1 Preaching on Justice: T
Page 16 and 17: PREAChing message of the free grace
Page 18 and 19: PREAChing come aware of how abundan
Page 20 and 21: PREAChing I draw attention again to
Page 22 and 23: PREAChing who believe that “those
Page 24 and 25: EnGAGEMEnT 2 Commitment after Accra
Page 26 and 27: EnGAGEMEnT which has become spiritu
Page 28 and 29: EnGAGEMEnT worries more, is more ea
Page 30 and 31: Europe’s Discussion about Justice
Page 32 and 33: were being seen - because of this -
Page 36: The Reformed tradition with the ope
Page 39 and 40: DEMoc rAcy However democracy is sti
Page 41 and 42: DEMoc rAcy of the homo politicus -
Page 43 and 44: viewers, the programme is “cut to
Page 45 and 46: DEMoc rAcy Finally it would natural
Page 47 and 48: point modern democracies are open t
Page 49 and 50: DEMoc rAcy Naturally, in many cases
Page 52 and 53: cove nanTi ng 59 Europe’s Road to
Page 54 and 55: cove nanTi ng Western neighbor coun
Page 56 and 57: cove nanTi ng focused on. On the on
Page 58 and 59: 5 pE o H 6 Theology of hope in time
Page 60 and 61: At the bottom of these enormous ent
Page 62 and 63: The question has to be raised wheth
Page 64 and 65: in the communio with Christ. In thi
Page 66 and 67: anity has been closely related to e
Page 68 and 69: world: the oppressed, the poor, the
Page 70 and 71: 8 p EM ire 7 Empire - Provocation w
Page 72 and 73: EMpire thors also supply an ambitio
Page 74 and 75: EMpire Aspects of a difficult relat
Page 76 and 77: governments in southern countries e
Page 78 and 79: EMpire Talk of empire, as this exam
Page 80: EMpire hand, and realpolitik talk a
Page 83 and 84: Ethics two? Globethics.net proposes
Page 85 and 86:
Ethics 2. Performance-related justi
Page 87 and 88:
Ethics difficult to implement all o
Page 89 and 90:
Ethics instrument, which correspond
Page 91 and 92:
Ethics tice. In some cases it may s
Page 93 and 94:
Ethics 6. The Principle of Transpar
Page 95 and 96:
Ethics to others what we ourselves
Page 98 and 99:
Litur gy 49 The Liturgy of Holy Com
Page 100 and 101:
Litur gy chosen was that one of the
Page 102 and 103:
Litur gy stronger weighting towards
Page 104 and 105:
Litur gy It may be argued that few
Page 106 and 107:
Litur gy but here particularly so.
Page 108 and 109:
Litur gy turn out to be. For if we
Page 110:
For the shaping of the liturgy the
Page 113 and 114:
PRojec ts The scope of the children
Page 115 and 116:
DiaLo g ic analyses which already e
Page 117 and 118:
DiaLo g suppression as a power-alli
Page 119 and 120:
DiaLo g Dreaming a Different World
Page 121 and 122:
DiaLo g We remember together the in
Page 123 and 124:
The Further Development of the Conc
Page 125 and 126:
DiaLo g come to stand: do they belo
Page 127 and 128:
DiaLo g dividuals who come into vie
Page 129 and 130:
EXPLoita Tion formation and counsel
Page 131 and 132:
there is emerging here a specific i
Page 133 and 134:
EXPLoita Tion wealthier lands in No
Page 135 and 136:
study 5 of children’s attitudes t
Page 137 and 138:
EXPLoita Tion Christian understandi
Page 139 and 140:
EXPLoita Tion gal prosecution of cr
Page 141 and 142:
these questions. An approach that r
Page 143 and 144:
of governments for the regular fina
Page 145 and 146:
We recommend EXPLoita Tion The orga
Page 148 and 149:
Hope in God’s Future: Christian D
Page 150 and 151:
FuturE I Approaching God in the con
Page 152 and 153:
FuturE All of these changes will ha
Page 154 and 155:
FuturE ship; God’s sacrifice in C
Page 156 and 157:
FuturE between rich and poor becomi
Page 158 and 159:
FuturE Reflection 5 Low-lying count
Page 160 and 161:
gry and those now first finding the
Page 162 and 163:
FuturE Even to sinners like us, God
Page 164 and 165:
FuturE UK Government Committee on C
Page 166 and 167:
FuturE Reflection 11 “A commitmen
Page 168 and 169:
FuturE Alertness to disproportionat
Page 170:
FuturE set out on a journey of free
Page 173 and 174:
seeking 2. It has become much more
Page 175 and 176:
seeking tions and in the Synod, was
Page 177 and 178:
LEArnin G Praying for growth Food,
Page 179 and 180:
we, with 20% of world-population, a
Page 181 and 182:
LEArnin G hunger, but sooner from a
Page 183 and 184:
LEArnin G And they wonder: what doe
Page 185 and 186:
LEArnin G The richer the USA and Eu
Page 188 and 189:
A Globalance - Christian Perspectiv
Page 190 and 191:
A GLoB LAncE uence on political and
Page 192 and 193:
Recommendations The position paper
Page 194 and 195:
Pov y ert 17 „Don’t Leave Us Ha
Page 196 and 197:
Group Children’s Summit 2006” r
Page 198 and 199:
Pov erty our doorstep as relatively
Page 200 and 201:
Pov erty This well-founded option f
Page 202 and 203:
All these rights could be provided
Page 204:
Pov erty The action “Hiding is no
show all

BREAK THE CHAINS OF OPPRESION AND THE YOKE OF ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?