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

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PREFA ce There is No Unjust Communion in Christ Bishop Gusztáv Bölcskei, � Budapest, � Hungary President WARC-Europe Christian faith creates an open space for responsible action in the perspective of hope in God’s coming kingdom. This is a basic insight which Christian communities have had to learn throughout their histories in different places around the globe. And this is our faith based responsibility which we failed to fulfil so many times in the past. When hope fades, God’s people loose direction. This is the case in those situations when we transform the good news into human action – but also in times when we fail to hear that creation continues to groan, in bondage, waiting for its liberation (Rom 8:22). Paul reminds us that “for in hope we were saved.” (Rom 8:24) Based in this hope is the freedom of Christians who are called to share in Christ’s mission and as partakers in His anointing, thus “as kings fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life” (Heidelberg Catechism 32) We are called to become a community regarding and shaping the “penultimate in the light of the ultimate” (Bonhoeffer). We are called to discern our common path in the apparent alternative of radical rejection of the world and accepting its compromise rejecting the ultimate. We shouldn’t confuse but we mustn’t separate the two. In Christian awareness we have to discern together our hope-based responsibility, with �a free � and � good conscience, � based � on our liberation in Christ. In Him we have communion, therefore we are called to build a just communion. In Accra we recognized again that “we are challenged by the cries of the people who suffer and by the woundedness of creation itself.” In our covenanting process we are about to take a step forward together. “In our continuing journey as people of faith in a God of life toward the June 2010 Uniting General Council, under the theme Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace (Ephesians 4:3), we are reminded that the reign of God calls us into hope for justice, peace, wellness, �� – <strong>THE</strong>RE IS NO UNJUST COMMUNION IN CHRIST – 7
PREFA ce harmony and unity (Titus 3:13-14). Covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth is a testimony to just communion with God and God’s creation.” (Message of the Johannesburg consultation) The reign of God calls us into hope for justice in different contexts. But in a global world these different circumstances, I would say, the different regimes can have a common agenda: they want us to believe that they are exclusive and pretend to be without alternative. In Accra we rejected this claim of the “current world economic order imposed by global neoliberal capitalism and any other economic system, including absolute planned economies, which defy God’s covenant by excluding the poor, the vulnerable and the whole of creation from the fullness of life”. As Christians we know, that no paradigm, regime or power created by men can raise such claim, “which subverts God’s sovereignty over life and acts contrary to God’s just rule” (Accra 19) In regard to the reign of God we know, that “the present form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31) - including the neo-liberal regime. We are thus free to raise our voice and set clear signs in action. In all this we have to consider that our lives are limited, determined by necessities which we cannot by-pass. We cannot stop the world passing away. But the necessity isn’t an excuse for structural evils imposed by self-set limits of men. In 2004 we asked for reactions to the text adopted in Accra and published them in a special volume of our church monthly. I remember the one written by a protestant professor of economics, minister in the first free elected government in Hungary after the political changes. He wrote that the global market economy and the modern �technology � together � were dangerous � �because they multiply the effects of those human sins, wickedness and mistakes which always existed. “If there is an empire, it is after all to find in the hearts of the citizens of the developed and rich countries. Thousands of toll-keepers of consumerism can only prosper, because there are millions of those dependent on consumption”. In this sense we recognized the neo-liberal capitalism as such a structural evil and we dedicated ourselves to fight against it. But we also confessed our sins, being part of the culture of consumption. Let us remind the basic aspects of the being of the Church: koinonia, martyria and diakonia. It means, Christian witness creates and is based in communion with the Triune God and with each other, and is inseparably bound together with the responsibility for God’s creation. Therefore action for justice within the church and beyond (should be) is a natural part of the community created and led by Christ. It belongs to our every day life, especially as Reformed people. �� 8 – <strong>THE</strong>RE IS NO UNJUST COMMUNION IN CHRIST –
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 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 34 and 35: Discus sion Church and State are fu
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
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5 pE o H 6 Theology of hope in time
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At the bottom of these enormous ent
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The question has to be raised wheth
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in the communio with Christ. In thi
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anity has been closely related to e
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world: the oppressed, the poor, the
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8 p EM ire 7 Empire - Provocation w
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EMpire thors also supply an ambitio
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EMpire Aspects of a difficult relat
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governments in southern countries e
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EMpire Talk of empire, as this exam
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EMpire hand, and realpolitik talk a
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Ethics two? Globethics.net proposes
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Ethics 2. Performance-related justi
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Ethics difficult to implement all o
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Ethics instrument, which correspond
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Ethics tice. In some cases it may s
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Ethics 6. The Principle of Transpar
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Ethics to others what we ourselves
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Litur gy 49 The Liturgy of Holy Com
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Litur gy chosen was that one of the
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Litur gy stronger weighting towards
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Litur gy It may be argued that few
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Litur gy but here particularly so.
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Litur gy turn out to be. For if we
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For the shaping of the liturgy the
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PRojec ts The scope of the children
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DiaLo g ic analyses which already e
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DiaLo g suppression as a power-alli
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DiaLo g Dreaming a Different World
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DiaLo g We remember together the in
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The Further Development of the Conc
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DiaLo g come to stand: do they belo
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DiaLo g dividuals who come into vie
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EXPLoita Tion formation and counsel
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there is emerging here a specific i
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EXPLoita Tion wealthier lands in No
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study 5 of children’s attitudes t
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EXPLoita Tion Christian understandi
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EXPLoita Tion gal prosecution of cr
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these questions. An approach that r
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of governments for the regular fina
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We recommend EXPLoita Tion The orga
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Hope in God’s Future: Christian D
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FuturE I Approaching God in the con
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FuturE All of these changes will ha
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FuturE ship; God’s sacrifice in C
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FuturE between rich and poor becomi
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FuturE Reflection 5 Low-lying count
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gry and those now first finding the
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FuturE Even to sinners like us, God
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FuturE UK Government Committee on C
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FuturE Reflection 11 “A commitmen
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FuturE Alertness to disproportionat
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FuturE set out on a journey of free
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seeking 2. It has become much more
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seeking tions and in the Synod, was
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LEArnin G Praying for growth Food,
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we, with 20% of world-population, a
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LEArnin G hunger, but sooner from a
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LEArnin G And they wonder: what doe
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LEArnin G The richer the USA and Eu
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A Globalance - Christian Perspectiv
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A GLoB LAncE uence on political and
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Recommendations The position paper
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Pov y ert 17 „Don’t Leave Us Ha
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Group Children’s Summit 2006” r
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Pov erty our doorstep as relatively
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Pov erty This well-founded option f
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All these rights could be provided
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Pov erty The action “Hiding is no
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