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

At the bottom of these enormous enterprises there was often the strong conviction
that mission and civilisation were two sides of the same coin. In that case mission
was an ally of the project of Enlightenment: the modernisation of the world. 4
The Kingdom of God
The alliance of the missionary movement and civilization became more and
more problematic at the end of the colonial period and after the 1st and the 2nd World War. Civilisation had become a difficult concept, because of the deep crisis
in Western Europe, a crisis that had affected humanity and civilisation in such
a profound an horrible way.
Concepts of ’civilization’ were no longer of use in describing the aim of the calling
of the church. The renewal of Reformed theology that took place in Europe led to
a new approach. Karl Barth’s theology challenged the projects of modern mankind
in replacing them by the revelation of Jesus Christ as the decisive breaking point in
history. This Christological view at history and eschatology (!) was the inspiration
for the so called ‘theology of the Kingdom of God’. This theology was profoundly
elaborated by Oscar Cullmann in his book ‘Christ and Time’ (Christus und die
Zeit: die urchristliche Zeit- und Geschichtsauffas sung, Zürich, 1946). No longer was
civilization seen as the goal of mission, but the proclamation of the Reign of God.
This theology became so important in the field of mission, because it offered a new
and practical translation for proclaiming the Gospel. Mission was no longer a spiritual
matter but it could easily be connected with all kinds of practical work in the
field of agriculture, health, etc. The theology of the Kingdom of God has among
others led to the missiological concept of the comprehensive approach. Preaching
of the Gospel and �activities � in the �field of development � �were
seen as a inseparably
connected. These projects of development could be seen as ‘signs of the coming
Kingdom’, signs of the new era that had started with the coming, the death and the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. His Kingdom becomes visible in concrete action. The
reign of Christ is not an isolated event, it has universal dimensions.
Oikumene and universality
HopE
This paradigm became the leading vision also within the ecumenical movement.
Shortly after World War II the shift was made within the ecumenical movement
from unity of the churches as the aim of the ecumenical work, towards the unity
of the world. 5
4 David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission, New York, 1991, 344.
5 In fact there is a long tradition within the history of the church in which the universal
character of the Gospel is connected with a universal view on actual historical developments.
Already the 3rd Ecumenical Council in Ephesus (431) stated that the reign of
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– THEOLOGY OF HOPE IN TIMES OF GLOBALIZATION – 59