Jesus without Borders: Christology in the Majority World

By Langham Global Library

Though the makeup of the church worldwide has undeniably shifted south and east over the past few decades, very few theological resources have taken account of these changes. Jesus without Borders — the first volume in the emerging Majority World Theology series — begins to remedy that lack, bringing together select theologians and biblical scholars from various parts of the world to discuss the significance of Jesus in their respective contexts.

Offering an excellent glimpse of contemporary global, evangelical dialogue on the person and work of Jesus, this volume epitomizes the best Christian thinking from the Majority World in relation to Western Christian tradition and Scripture. The contributors engage throughout with historic Christian confessions — especially the Creed of Chalcedon — and unpack their continuing relevance for Christian teaching about Jesus today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Langham Global Library
• Release date: Jan 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781783688869

Book preview

Book cover image

Majority World Theology Series

Series Editors

Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K. K. Yeo

The Majority World Theology series exists because of the seismic shifts in the makeup of world Christianity. At this moment in history, more Christians live in the Majority World than in Europe and North America. However, most theological literature does not reflect the rising tide of Christian reflection coming from these regions. The Majority World authors in this series seek to produce, collaboratively, biblical and theological textbooks that are about, from, and to the Majority World. By assembling scholars from around the globe who share a concern to do theology in light of Christian Scripture and in dialogue with Christian tradition coming from the Western church, this series offers readers the chance to listen in on insightful, productive, and unprecedented in-person conversations. Each volume pursues a specific theological topic and is designed to be accessible to students and scholars alike.

TITLES IN THIS SERIES

Jesus without Borders: Christology in the Majority World | 2015 | 9781783689170

The Trinity among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World | 2015 | 9781783681051

The Spirit over the Earth: Pneumatology in the Majority World | 2016 | 978178368256

So Great a Salvation: Soteriology in the Majority World | 2017 | 9781783683789

The Church from Every Tribe and Tongue: Ecclesiology in the Majority World | 2018 | 9781783684489

All Things New: Eschatology in the Majority World | 2019 | 9781783686469

Jesus without Borders

Christology in the Majority World

Edited by

Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K. K. Yeo© 2015 Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K. K. Yeo

© 2014 Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K. K. Yeo

First published in 2014 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

This edition published in 2015 by Langham Global Library

an imprint of Langham Publishing

www.langhampublishing.org

Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership

Langham Partnership

PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK

www.langham.org

ISBNs:

978-1-78368-917-0 Print

978-1-78368-885-2 Mobi

978-1-78368-886-9 ePub

978-178-368-884-5 PDF

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Jesus without borders : Christology in the majority world.

-- (Majority world theology series)

1. Jesus Christ--Person and offices. 2. Globalization--

Religious aspects--Christianity.

I. Series II. Green, Gene L. editor.

232’.09-dc23

ISBN-13: 9781783689170

Cover art: © Peace Be Still by He Qi

www.heqiart.com

Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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To our brothers and sisters in the Majority World who offer us renewed visions of the Faith

Contents

Cover

Introduction An Invitation to Discuss Christology with the Global Church

World Christianity: So What?

Why Christology?

The Plan of the Book

Part I

Chapter 1 Christology in the West: Conversations in Europe and North America

Introduction

The Marriage of Theology and Missiology: Homage to Andrew Walls

Premodern Roots: The Deep-Seated Shape of Western Christology

Modern Reactions to Two-Nature Christology: From Metaphysics to Morals, History, and Myth (and Back Again)

Back to (or Beyond) Chalcedon? Conversations in Contemporary Western Christology

Concluding Ontological-Contextual Postscript: On the Development of Any Future Global Christology

For Further Reading

Chapter 2 Jesus as God’s Communicative and Hermeneutical Act: African Christians on the Person and Significance of Jesus Christ

Introduction

Jesus as the Problem of Christology: Lessons from the Ecumenical Councils

African Christology from the 1980s to the Present: Imagining Jesus Christ from the Contexts of Africa

Concluding Remarks

For Further Reading

Chapter 3 Christologies in Asia: Trends and Reflections

Introduction

What Is the Asian (Church) Setting?

Christology in the Plural?

Toward Missiological Christologies in Asia

Concluding Reflections

For Further Reading

Chapter 4 ¿Quién Vive? ¡Cristo! Christology in Latin American Perspectives

Introduction

A Précis of Liberation Theology in Latin America

A Précis of Protestant Theology in Latin America

Jesucristo el Salvador: The Shape of Christology in Latin America

Conclusion

For Further Reading

Part II

Chapter 5 Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes

Introduction

A New Beginning

Holy Space

Holy Time

Holy Experience

Holy People

Holy Land

A New Creation

Concluding Remarks

For Further Reading

Chapter 6 From Artemis to Mary: Misplaced Veneration versus True Worship of Jesus in the Latino/a Context

Introduction

Veneration in the Latino/a Context

Summary and Survey of Latino/a Views of Mary

For Further Reading

Chapter 7 Christology and Cultus in 1 Peter: An African (Kenyan) Appraisal

Introduction

Colonial and Postcolonial African Response to the Western Missionary Enterprise

How Does Christology Figure in This African Scenario?

Christology and Cultus in 1 Peter

Chalcedonian Definition Revisited: Where Do the Creeds Fit in All This?

For Further Reading

Chapter 8 Biblical Christologies of the Global Church: Beyond Chalcedon? Toward a Fully Christian and Fully Cultural Theology

Introduction

Chinese Christian Christologies

Biblical Christologies and Chalcedon: Diversity (Contexts) and Unity (Ontology)

Global Christologies and (Beyond) Chalcedon: Biblical Mandate and Eschatological Truth

Chinese Christology (Renren) and Contextual-Global Imago Dei Christologies: Christ(ologies) as the Image(s) of God

Conclusion

For Further Reading

Contributors

About Langham Partnership

Endnotes

Introduction

An Invitation to Discuss Christology with the Global Church

Stephen T. Pardue

World Christianity: So What?

You may have heard about the tectonic shift in global Christianity that is happening before our eyes. A teacher or a friend may have noted that 80 percent of Christians lived in North America and Europe at the turn of the twentieth century but currently almost 70 percent live in the Majority World. If you are like many Christians around the world today, you understand that these changes are not just about numbers, but also about real people. If you have not experienced church life in a rapidly growing part of the world firsthand, you likely know someone who has, and that means you are connected to the people that this statistical story is all about. The increasing interconnectedness of the world and our awareness of people once invisible to us — a phenomenon often called globalization — ensure that we cannot remain disconnected from what is happening elsewhere.

This massive shift has received significant attention in recent years from missiologists, sociologists, and historians. All of them agree that the trends in global Christianity (decline in Europe and North America and swift growth on every other continent and Oceania) will continue more or less unabated for the foreseeable future. Many have pointed out an important reality: the kind of Christianity growing in the Majority World has a number of characteristics that differentiate it from the kind that has historically thrived in the North Atlantic region. Indeed, while the core tenets of the faith may not change from Berlin to Nairobi, its texture and trajectories differ from place to place. What it means, in thought, word, and deed, to make Jesus Lord in Bangkok is quite different from what it means to do the same in Chicago (although there are many commonalities, of course). What’s more, in learning what it means for Jesus to be Lord in other places, we often grasp the gospel more fully for ourselves and are more able to see the blind spots of our own locally embodied versions of Christianity. Learning from the church throughout the world, as well as through history, is an essential activity for Christians since we are a catholic, or universal, church.

The Majority World Theology series exists because it is increasingly evident that Christianity in its current state requires theological resources quite different from those that have been available thus far. The great shift in Christianity’s makeup cannot be merely observed as a fascinating phenomenon. If we take the Spirit’s work around the world seriously, we are obligated as thoughtful Christians to consider how these shifts should enliven, inform, and challenge the church in its proclamation of and reflection on the gospel of Jesus Christ. The changing world and God’s providential use of it for our benefit is what makes the theological task new in every generation and distinct in every place, and so it will not do simply to make the same old theological arguments we always have, as good as they might be. The gospel must be understood in relation to the multiplex cultures where the church proclaims and celebrates Christ’s good news. As the church has sought to hear the gospel afresh and anew throughout Christian history, so now the Majority World church is doing the same as it seeks to relevantly apply and faithfully proclaim the gospel where its members live.

But just as it would be a mistake to ignore the best thinking and practice emerging from the Majority World, where the church is currently thriving, it would be equally problematic to do theology only in light of the here and now, ignoring the best aspects of Christian tradition. Theology at its best not only considers the proposals of those present and living, but also facilitates the democracy of the dead, letting our spiritual forebears help us as we sort out our present challenges. The complexity of this interplay of past and present interests should not be underestimated, especially because much of church tradition emerges in the shadow of Western thought, and Christians today are primarily living outside the West.

So we need the strongest theological resources available, from both past and present, both West and East, to do theology in our current context. But theology at its best ultimately takes its cues from somewhere beyond these two streams: God’s self-revelation in Scripture. As a theological resource, Scripture does not simply stand alongside traditional and contemporary reflection. Rather, it stands above these two, orienting and judging the theological task from start to finish.

This series aims to bring all of these resources together, with an eye especially toward discerning how Christians attentive to the global shape of the faith should be interacting with Scripture and tradition. That is, we want to move beyond mere observation of world Christianity and into the realm of actually reading the Bible and thinking Christianly together in light of these realities. In doing so, we want to invite you, the reader, into a lively and rich exchange that is possible today in a way that it never was before. In this conversation, you will meet scholars and pastors from around the globe, and you will see them sort out how Scripture, tradition, and culture fit together to guide the church’s theological reflection today. We think you will find this a useful and transforming experience, and we hope that it will inspire further conversation in your community, whether you are in Los Angeles, Madrid, Beijing, Buenos Aires, or Bethlehem.

Why Christology?

This book is the first in the Majority World Theology series, and it deals with the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. We chose this topic to inaugurate the series because it is both easy and hard. It is easy because one of the first things revealed by even a superficial examination of Christianity around the world is that every culture observes Jesus differently, with various culturally relevant nuances. This is perhaps most notable in Christian art: whatever continent you are on, at least some depictions of Jesus are likely to make him look like the people there.[1] At its worst, there can be a kind of self-idolatry in these depictions — a legitimation of oneself or one’s culture by self-projection onto the God-man. But often, something more profound is happening: artists are signifying the contextual nature of the Christian faith and communicating the profound truth that God in Jesus has sympathized with all humanity, in all of its bewildering and awe-inspiring diversity.

Jesus is revealed as a person for all people, a singular figure with universal and cross-cultural significance. And so when the Gospels are translated into various languages, different things stand out to different people groups, and these diverse emphases lead Christians to latch onto various aspects of Jesus’ identity. So, for example, while many Europeans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries found the image of adoption as sons and daughters to be a guiding metaphor in the New Testament, and so highlighted Jesus as brother, they often ignored another image that has been more noticed in other times and places: Jesus as King.[2] These different emphases shape everything from theology to prayer to worship, which is part of what gives Christianity in different places and cultures distinct flavor. And so in the study of Jesus, it is easy to see how people from different times, places, and cultures come to different conclusions about the same biblical data.

But as promising as Christology may be as a starting point for renovating theology in light of global Christianity, it also presents some particular challenges. Students of early church history will recall that Christians spent hundreds of years discussing appropriate and problematic ways of talking about Jesus and his relationship to God. Over the years, the legacy of these debates grew and grew, with the result that creedal treatment of Christology is longer and more specific than creedal treatment of any other doctrine.

And all of this discussion and creed-writing occurred in a particular historical and cultural context. That context, generally speaking, has more historical continuity with Western ways of thinking about the world than with the conceptual frameworks that are familiar in the places where Christianity is currently growing. Many languages spoken in the Majority World, for example, lack vocabulary equivalents for common creedal words like essence or hypostasis, and this is sometimes (though not always) indicative of a lack of concern for the questions being answered with such terms. In the face of this reality, significant debate has emerged regarding how heavily to favor each of the three sources we mentioned earlier: Scripture, tradition, and culture. And so while Christology is, in some ways, an easy place to begin a renovation of theology in light of contemporary realities, it is not without significant challenges. Yet even in these challenges there lies the potential for tremendous theological profit, as we are forced to stare head-on at the tangle of ancient and contemporary realities that hold together in Jesus Christ.

The Plan of the Book

This book, and the series of which it is a part, takes a collaborative approach to the challenge of developing a theological approach to Jesus that makes the most of Christians’ best resources, both ancient and contemporary. In concrete terms, we asked eight leading scholars from around the world to discuss what Christology looks like in their region, and what they hope it might look like in the future. To help bring focus to the analysis of tradition’s contribution to the discussion, we asked each author to investigate the relationship between the Christology of the Chalcedonian Definition and their own contextual Christological observations and proposals.[3] This approach to the issue is indebted to Andrew Walls, a scholar who has spent his career calling for recognition of the similarities between what is happening in the Majority World church today and what happened in the first few centuries of Christianity.[4]

Because theological dialogue is best done in person, we helped to bring all the authors together for a few crisp fall days in 2012, during the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Institute for Biblical Research, as part of a consultation called Scripture and Theology in Global Context. During this time, the authors discussed their papers with each other, as well as with other scholars present at the meetings, and then revised their essays for this book. This approach was designed to foster genuine dialogue between people who would otherwise not get to see one another, and we are confident that the book is much better because of it.

The eight essays in the book can be divided into two halves. The first half is written by theologians, reflecting on Christology as an enterprise that unites philosophy, history, and cultural anthropology with reflection on Scripture; the second half is written by biblical scholars, reflecting on Christology through deeper interaction with specific biblical texts freighted with Christological significance.

In the opening essay, Kevin J. Vanhoozer reflects on Christological developments in the West over the centuries, and considers what kind of continuity is important for contemporary Christians seeking to talk about and worship Jesus in the same way that early Christians did. Next, Victor I. Ezigbo discusses the history of Christology in Africa, considers and critiques contemporary proposals, and then offers his own suggestions for a biblical Christology relevant for Africans. After that, Timoteo D. Gener assesses the available proposals on offer regarding what it means to see Jesus through Asian eyes, and suggests that as members of a minority faith, Christians in Asia are best served by thinking about Christology through a missiological lens. Finally, Jules A. Martínez-Olivieri wraps up the first half of essays by examining Christological trends in Latin America, and arguing that the region is an ideal place to bridge the gap between Jesus’ heavenly and earthly identities.

At the beginning of the second half of the book, Yohanna Katanacho reads the Gospel of John as a Palestinian, with a particular interest in its relevance for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He argues forcefully that John depicts Jesus as establishing a new world order that precludes approaches to Christology that exclude either Palestinians or Jews. Next, Aída Besançon Spencer takes a closer look at New Testament passages relating to Mary, and then considers and critiques the approach to Mariology and Christology in Latino communities. Andrew M. Mbuvi considers the sacrificial system and its usage in 1 Peter in relation to Christ, offering a close examination of the book from the perspective of an Akamba reader. And finally, K. K. Yeo concludes this collection with an essay that sheds light on the challenge of unity and diversity in New Testament Christologies, and also proposes a Christology that reflects on the image of God from a Chinese perspective.

Given the limited time at the conference and limited space in this book, we cannot claim to represent fully the Christologies emerging from the Majority World. We are aware also that many equally significant voices from other parts of the world are not represented here. We wish to express our thanks to the many individuals and organizations that made this collaborative work possible. We are thankful to the Evangelical Theological Society and the Institute for Biblical Research, each of which graciously hosted our group for its in-person discussions. We are thankful, as well, to the Combs Foundation and First Presbyterian Church of Evanston that helped make the consultation and this book possible. We owe a debt of gratitude to Jessica Hawthorne for her timely help with the indices, and to Michael Thomson and Jenny Hoffman at Eerdmans for their support for and assistance with the book. Finally, it is with joy that we dedicate this book to our brothers and sisters in the Majority World who are offering us renewed visions of the faith. This collection of essays is from them, for them, and about them.

All three of us who edited this volume are thrilled with the outcome of this collaborative experiment in the renovation of theology. While it should be clear that there are ongoing disagreements regarding what it means to do contextual Christology well, each essay you are about to read is rich with insight that has been gleaned from Christianity around the world and strengthened by interaction with Scripture and tradition. We hope you enjoy the book.

Part I

theological engagements

Chapter 1

Christology in the West: Conversations in Europe and North America

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Introduction

If theology is the doctrine of living to God, as the seventeenth-century English Puritan William Ames held, then we may define Christology as the doctrine of living to follow Jesus Christ.[1] This means following his story in the fullest sense of the term following: understanding who he is, the significance of what he has done, and how to live to God as Christ’s disciples in our present contexts. Christology is faith seeking understanding of its prime confession: I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the joyful response of heart, mind, soul, and strength to our Lord’s own self-communication. To be a disciple — to perform Christology — means knowing (1) who Jesus Christ is for us yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13:8) and (2) how to follow this same Jesus today, in different contexts. Christology is thus about discerning the same (Christ) in the midst of the different (context).

The Marriage of Theology and Missiology: Homage to Andrew Walls

The history of Christian mission is that of successive translations of the gospel into the languages, thought forms, and practices of other cultures. As Andrew Walls rightly notes,