Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S.

Chung 141

Engaging God’s Mission and

Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres:
Justification and Economic Justice
By Paul S. Chung
Abstract: This article approaches the theology of mission from the point of view of God’s mission and
diakonia, seeking a missional model of the grace of justification and economic justice in an age of World
Christianity. The author engages a hermeneutical-prophetic side of evangelization—viva vox evangelii—
in the public sphere, and demonstrates the intrinsic connection between missio and diakonia Dei in
Jesus Christ using a trinitarian-hermeneutical perspective. The article shows that evangelization as God’s
mission occupies a central place by taking into account challenges from the postcolonial emancipation
in the context of Empire.

Key Terms: missio and diakonia Dei, trinitarian theology of mission, irregularity of word-event, parrhēsia,
world christianity, empire

The World in which we Live the non or post-denominational churches. Along

with various eruptions of the electronic church
and TV evangelists, traditional worship is in de-
cline while emerging ministry comes to the fore
Christian community is located within civil com-
in a postmodern fashion.2 Additionally, we cannot
munity. Issues of the public sphere affect and shape
sidestep the fact that the emergence of Asian reli-
congregational life and mission. Congregational life
gions in North America is significant. This trend
and mission are characterized in terms of God’s
means that the phrases, ‘North American Buddhist’
narrative through justifying grace and reconcilia-
or ‘Boston Confucian’ are no longer contradictory
tion, and the church’s gratitude toward public dis-
terms.3 Along with globalization, multiculturalism
cipleship. This perspective marks the church as the
has become a term that expresses the socio-political
community of communion, fellowship, witnessing
and religious reality of North American society; i.e.
mission, and diakonia. Our lifeworld becomes more
a land of many religions and cultures. In envision-
and more multiculturalized and pluralized in re-
ing a model of missional church in North America
sponse to globalization, and we perceive that a new
we notice that contextual components are empha-
wave of resurgence of Christian religion is anchored
sized in terms of spirituality, national identity, mul-
in the Southern Hemisphere and its continents.1
tiple cultures, and a postmodern style of ‘living in
In the North American context we also ob-
the now’.4
serve that mainline churches face challenges from

Paul S. Chung is Associate Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. His books related to the missio Dei
and missional-multicultural church include Martin Luther and Buddhism: Aesthetics of Suffering 2nd ed (2002), Karl Barth: God’s Word in Action
(2008), Christian Mission and a Diakonia of Reconciliation, 2nd ed. (2010), and Constructing Irregular Theology (2009), among others.


C 2010 Wiley Periodicals and Dialog, Inc.
142 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

Missiology in a Complex Situation post-Christian era. Finally, I will use the theology
of Martin Luther as an example of missiology of
word-event and prophetic diakonia by relating it to
In the process of remaking a world order,5 we per-
issues in the economic field. This interpretation of
ceive that an encounter between different cultures
the legacy of the Reformation undergirds our view
and civilizations is vulnerable to clashes and con-
of justification, accompaniment, and justice within
flict resulting from different religious and cultural
the missiological framework of God’s word-event
communities. The reality of “the marbling of civ-
and diaconal ecclesiology.
ilization and peoples”6 is prone to a clash of civ-
ilizations when the reality of multiculturalism is
disengaged from an effective strategy of commu- Engaging Missio Dei and
nication in the life of a public sphere. E Pluribus Diakonia Dei in a
Unum (From Many, One); our unum is expressed
in the midst of plurality.7 Along with the process Hermeneutical-Trinitarian
of globalization we are keenly aware of a dangerous Perspective
consequence emerging from the world economic
scale. It is important to note the World Council of
Churches, endeavor to cope with the unevenness A theology of mission is a critical-hermeneutical sci-
of neoliberal capitalist globalization that is gener- ence of the Word of God that becomes a discipline
ating impoverishment for millions of people, and in service of Christian faith and the proclamation
ecological devastation.8 of the living Word of God. Insofar as theology
In our complex situation it is vital to construct is a question about the God who speaks through
a missiology of God’s mission as word-event in the Scripture and in the church for the congregational
study of ecclesiology of God’s mission and con- life in the world, there is a hermeneutical circle
gregational diakonia. Ecclesial mission is a critical- between theology and the congregational-missional
hermeneutical reflection on the Word of God in vocation. A missiology, based on the Word of God
light of God’s grace of justification and reconcil- and sacraments of ecclesial life, brings a universal
iation, which is revealed and grounded in Jesus message of the gospel and a special life of commu-
Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for nion, fellowship, and diakonia together into the life
all. A theology of trinitarian mission can be seen of the public sphere. It is grounded in the biblical
through the perspective of God’s living word-event narrative of God’s gracious justification, reconcilia-
by deepening and refurbishing a classic concept of tion, and vocation, and takes on public concerns in
missio Dei. This implies a hermeneutical dimension light of the eschatological reality of God’s coming.
of God’s mission in terms of God as the subject The church receives its mandate of congregational
of speaking, and in light of diakonia Dei in the mission from the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the
church, and the face of innocent victims (includ- living Lord of the church as well as the living Lord
ing the sustainability of ecological life) and religious of the world.11
outsiders. This perspective complements a model of
missio Dei related to the kingdom of God, which
enters into conversation with local congregations Diakonia Dei
and attends the emerging postmodern context.9
Thus, this article attempts to seek a missiology In this light we consider the diaconal dimension of
of word-event in light of the viva vox evangelii (liv- Jesus Christ. In Luke 22:24–27 we read that Jesus
ing voice of the gospel) in prophetic and diaconal is portrayed among the disciples as one who serves.
relief,10 undergirding interpretive engagement with In Mark 10:45 Jesus is introduced as the one who
the narrative of God’s grace of justification and serves and gives his life. Diakonia belongs to the
reconciliation in the context of a postcolonial or essence of the life of Jesus Christ. Christians are
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 143

not encouraged to advance up the hierarchy, but God lives, and is known as the living God. Christ
to devolve the hierarchy by being open to those at has set us free (Jn 8:36; Gal 5:1). In John 5:26 we
the bottom of it (Mk 9). In the Acts of the Apos- read that “the Father has life in himself, so he has
tles, the community is introduced and characterized granted the Son to have life in himself.” God has
in light of communion, fellowship, and diakonia life in Godself, hence this inner life says that God
(Acts 2:42–47). In Paul’s writings, Christos diakonos is the living God (perichoresis). According to John’s
is seen as a circumcised diakons (Rom 15:8). Paul’s prologue, ‘in the beginning was the Word that was
christological concept of diakonia reaches its cli- with God. And the Word was God.’ This statement
max in his hymn of Christ’s self-humiliation (Phil is confirmation of life and freedom within God’s
2:6–11). The mission grounded on Christ crucified life, in which God shares God’s inner life with the
demonstrates that the motive of mission is love. Son in the presence of the Spirit. The new life
The resurrected Jesus, according to the gospel of of humanity comes from God’s inner life shining
Mark, “is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you and sharing life in the darkness of the world. God’s
will see him” (16:7). The glorified Christ continues mission through the Word and the Spirit is defined
his mission with a great multitude at Galilee (och- as a divine love of sharing and giving life to the
los-minjung),12 a symbolic place of those who are world. The immanent Trinity (God in self ) proves
burdened in today’s globalized context. Thus, it is that God is free, living, liberating, and saving. The
important to see that theologia crucis and the grace living God is the basis for God’s mission as word-
of justification are the basis for an ecclesiology of event that implies a theology of God’s life, inviting
missio Dei that underlines diakonia Dei.13 all to the living God in communion with the Son
The missionary vision of Matthew’s gospel is ex- and the Spirit.
pressed by the well-known Great Commission (Mt A trinitarian confession of the God of Israel is
28:18–20). This is the sum of Matthew’s gospel connected with God’s eschatological dynamism that
of missional mandate in reference to the Magna is revealed in God’s name, YHWH–“God will be
Carta of diaconal mission and discipleship (Mt that will be.” The name of God finds expression
25:31–46). God’s narrative in the gospel becomes in Paul’s eschatological theology, which states that
reality in the embrace of those whom Christ names “God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28); or in the
as his brothers and sisters: the stranger, the hungry, statement of John the Apocalyptic, “God will dwell
the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the captive–in with them as their God” (Rev 21:3). The escha-
short, the lowest of the low (Mt 25:35–45), God’s tological Immanuel is announced as “God will be
minority people. This diaconial perspective is con- with them.” God’s mission of a promised future in
nected with Jesus’ self-introduction in his mani- the New Jerusalem is highlighted in God’s comfort
festo in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk 4:16–20). of the innocent victims: “God will wipe every tear
In interpreting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus’ mission from their eyes. Death will be no more: mourning
is linked to those who are despised by others, the and crying and pain will be no more, for the first
oppressed, sick, and poor. Liberating words and things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).
healing deeds and actions belong together. This In Revelation’s visionary challenge to the politi-
perspective shapes and sharpens a missiology of cal, religious, and economic dimensions of Empire
word-event as an emancipating theology of public we are aware that faith in the God-Lamb is in-
vocation in a hermeneutical, prophetic sense. separably connected with resistance to the claims
of Empire.14 According to Revelations 21:22, God
and the Lamb are the temple in the midst of
Trinitarian Mission the new city. God opens Godself in the Hebrew
biblical-trinitarian sense: in the name of the Lord
Paul’s theology of the word of the cross (1 Cor (adonai); in the name of God (elohim); and in the
1:18) frames his deliberation of theologia crucis in name of pantocrator (zebaoth). The doctrine of the
affirmation of John’s theology of life, theologia vitae. Trinity, seen in eschatological perspective, implies
144 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

that the Word of God essentially is the person of This interpretive strategy moves beyond every kind
God speaking in confrontation with the claims of of dogmatism, and galvanizes the ecclesial commu-
Empire. Theologia crucis is interwoven with the es- nity to be more relevant for and accountable to
chatological Lamb of God in which a presentative non-Christian communities in the public sphere.
eschatology is interconnected with the eschatolog- Thus a relationship between faith and understand-
ical coming of God. God as the subject of God’s ing is conceptualized and developed in the form of
speaking opens the trinitarian life to covenantal- a hermeneutical circle. Such a hermeneutical view
eschatological history through the incarnation, mis- relates confessional language to the practical, pub-
sion, and resurrection of the crucified Christ, and lic sphere in terms of recognition of the language
brings God’s reconciliation with the world for all. of faith communities. This perspective also criti-
This biblical perspective brings a connection be- cally distances itself from the limitations of doctri-
tween trinitarian missiology and the kingdom of nal language by improving it in our contemporary
God into God’s covenantal relationship with Israel context.16 Interpretation, as seen in light of a his-
and all (Abraham and Noah) in light of God’s pro- tory of effect, inheres in human life in the pub-
missio that is revealed in the self-emptying of Je- lic sphere because of the use of language in daily
sus Christ in his mission, death, reconciliation, and communication. Being historical implies that one’s
resurrection. Confessing the triune God, we believe knowledge can never be complete.17
in God who shares the Son’s socio-biographical way In this regard Reformation hermeneutics of law
with ocholos-minjung and participates in his life as and gospel is of special significance to our mis-
a victim on the cross through the mysterious pres- siological deliberation of the Word of God. It is
ence of the Holy Spirit.15 essential to hermeneutically retrieve Luther’s special
Following Christ means becoming disciples, be- reflection of paranesis gospel by critical distance
ing baptized in the name of the triune God, and from the legalist limitation of the third use of the
participating in God’s life-giving activity. This mis- law. In Luther’s complex thought, there is a dimen-
sion includes proclamation of Jesus’ message of the sion in expressing the law in an evangelical sense or
kingdom of God and teaching people what Jesus evangelically conceptualized law. This affirms evan-
has commanded. The life of discipleship is given gelical delight or freedom in doing the paranetic
the promise of Christ’s presence at the end of exhortation and admonitions of the gospel. Luther’s
the Great Commission: “I am with you always, perspective is well articulated in his confessional in-
to the end of the age.” This promise, related to tegration of God with economic justice in his Large
the trinitarian-eschatological Immanuel, character- Catechism. Later in speaking of Luther’s contribu-
izes mission and evangelization as Christian disci- tion to economic justice, I shall have an oppor-
pleship and diakonia for the world. tunity to emphasize the integration of justification
with justice. Luther’s law—gospel hermeneutic is
central in our study of evangelization, ecclesiology,
A Hermeneutical Circle congregational and global mission.
As another example of the critical role of
hermeneutics, we can look at John’s Prologue. The
An investigation of God’s mission as word-event emphasis is on physical embodiment: the Word be-
strives to explore and communicate the Christian came flesh. Without Philip’s interpretation of this
narrative of viva vox evangelii (living voice of gospel) embodied Word, the Ethiopian eunuch would not
to all in the public sphere as well in the whole of be capable of accepting it for his life (Acts 8:26).
creation. The reality of God’s self-communication Interpretation is an important dimension of the
in Christ requires human witness and interpreta- Christian narrative of the gospel (kerygma). It con-
tion. The human witness, when it comes to the nects people with the embodied Word, which be-
subject matter of divine reality, must be questioned came human flesh. Christian mission as the inter-
and interpreted anew in different places and times. pretation of the Word of God takes shape in the
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 145

public sphere, acculturating a bodily dimension of God speaks to us through symbolic figures like
the Christian narrative and projecting its prophetic Melchizedek on behalf of righteousness and uni-
resistance to the reality of violence and injustice. versal peace. God also used Cyrus, a pagan king,
In this light, trinitarian theology in hermeneutical to help Israel. God changes Balaam’s intended curse
configuration does not need to contradict a praxis- by speaking through a donkey. From the mouth of
oriented interpretation of God who changes every- Balaam, God’s speech event is not to be neglected,
thing in a new way.18 regardless of its sinister message (Num 22:22–35).
God is the one who accompanies religious out-
siders to bless the people of God. In the Exodus
Bringing Diakonia to God’s
story (12:37–38) we notice that Israel is an open
Pro-missio in Accompaniment community. The whole group is referred to as a
with the World mixed multitude, “foreigners living among Israel as
temporal or long-term sojourners”22 (ereb rab: min-
jung in Asian irregular theological parlance), not
As we already mentioned with reference to God’s simply Abraham’s descendents. Israel is the starting
pro-missio in trinitarian missiology, the gospel is by point of God’s salvific drama in which strangers are
nature particularly connected with the history of allowed to enter into the journey of Israel.
God’s narrative in covenant with Israel that be- Foreigners are expected and allowed to come to
comes universally relevant through Jesus Christ. the temple to worship (1 Kings 8:42–43). Concern
God promises to make Abraham a blessing to oth- for the poor and the widow, and hospitality for
ers. In the act of the covenant in the Genesis narra- the foreigner are indispensable parts of understand-
tive, blessing is a key term testifying to God’s work ing the prophetic character of God’s mission and
as the creator. Yet, God’s election of Abraham does diakonia. This perspective also remains fundamen-
not exclude God’s goodness to ‘non-chosen’ people. tal in Leviticus 19:9–18, which concerns gleaning
Coupled with the blessing, promise is the most ba- laws and the prohibition of unjust dealings with
sic category implying beyond what the creation pro- employees or neighbors. God cares for the poor
vides. It brings blessing into the sphere of salvation. and the alien, commanding that Israel should al-
God makes promises to Hagar and Ishmael (Gen low them to sustain themselves through the owner
16:10–11; 17:20; 21:13, 18) by becoming the ad- not visiting their vineyard a second time nor pick-
vocate for them.19 A missiology of God’s pro-missio ing up the grapes that have fallen (Lev 19:10). In
takes seriously God’s covenant with Abraham and the Hebrew Bible, a diaconal act, which is a basic
Noah under which Hagar and Ishmael stand. As dimension of the life of God’s people, originates in
Martin Luther provocatively argues, “The descen- God’s partisan concern for the poor and the needy,
dents of Ishmael also joined the church of Abraham as expressed in Exodus 20:2. “I am the Lord your
and became heirs of the promise, not by reason of God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
a right but because of irregular grace.”20 out of the house of slavery.” This perspective pen-
etrates the whole missional—diaconal dimension in
the Hebrew Bible, and becomes the backbone for
Outsiders and ‘ Aliens’ the continuation of God’s drama in the Greek Bible
as it further unfolds God’s missional story for the
In Abraham’s life, furthermore, we are aware that nations through Christ and the Spirit.23
God is pleased to have Abraham blessed by
Melchizedek. In today’s biblical study Melchizedek
is understood to be a non-Jewish leader of the The Inclusivity of God’ s Mission
religious community that is outside of the Levit-
ical or Aaronic order. In this event the sacred Abraham’s faith-righteousness is central to Paul, and
and the secular are not separated.21 In our gen- so also to Martin Luther’s teaching of justification.
eral climate of religious tolerance and indifference, What is striking is John’s missional framework of
146 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

integrating Abraham with Jesus Christ. “Your an- the hallelujahs of the pious.”26 Moreover, the es-
cestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; chatological view implies that God’s salvation in-
he saw it and was glad” (Jn 8:56). Jesus introduces cludes the whole creation, thus God’s salvation im-
himself as the fulfillment and confirmation of Abra- plies a transformation of the social order. In Ro-
ham’s faith. The particularity of Jesus Christ in the mans 8:18–23, Paul poetically describes a picture of
universal scope of the gospel is enmeshed with the “the whole creation groaning in labor pains.” Here
centrality of Abraham in the Christian understand- the whole creation is metaphorically depicted as if
ing of Jesus Christ. This position provides an inter- it were pregnant, straining toward the birth of a
faith insight into Jewish-Christian-Islamic dialogue new world, free from futility and decay. In Jesus
as seen in Romans 4:16–17. God’s grace of justi- Christ as the firstborn of all creation, all things in
fication is linked as eschatological salvation to the heaven and on earth were created through him and
faithfulness of God the creator.24 for him. Through him as the head of the body, the
Paul’s missionary thinking (Rom 15:15–21) and church, God was pleased to reconcile to Godself all
his eschatological vision become manifest in that things, whether on earth or in heaven, by holding
everything will be subjected to God’s lordship. The together all things in him (cf. Col 1:15–20). In
key to his missional thinking is God’s justifying this light, the forgiveness of sin cannot be properly
grace and reconciling love in Christ for the world. understood apart from God’s act of transformative
Describing ecclesial mission as the activity of God’s deliverance of the whole creation. In the biblical
Word in terms of missio and diakonia Dei does not account, the creation of the animal and the human
fit in triumphalist categories, but into an eschato- being are on the same day. A missional mandate
logically open faith journey. The church’s mission should consider God’s activity in the care and pro-
must be in service to Jesus Christ, following Jesus’ tection of the life of all creatures (larva Dei) in a
role as servant (Mk 10:45), witnessing to God’s universal, all-inclusive life sphere.
pro-missio to Israel and accompanying all. Thus it
participates in God’s reconciliation with the world
by standing against the reality of lordless powers An ‘ Irregular Directive’
and principalities. Missio and diakonia Dei are inex-
tricably connected to the faith community in light We read in the Greek Bible that “God spoke to
of viva vox evangelii.25 our ancestors in many and various ways by the
In this regard, the biblical claim Jesus Christ prophets” (Heb 1:1).27 God’s self-communication
as “the way, the truth, and the life” needs to be in Jesus Christ for all cannot be properly under-
refined and deepened in a new light. In Romans stood apart from God’s speech event throughout
1:20–22 and 2:12–16, Paul makes quite clear that all the ages in their plural horizons (1 Sam 23:42).
the pagans had a knowledge of the fact of God Word of God and presence of God always re-
without any special, historical revelation. In the main together, because “God must continually be
Lukan description, Paul recognizes in Athens a reli- at work in the world to see it through.”28 The
gious concern in the Athenian’s awe in the presence word ‘God’ is the name of an event, an event that
of the gods, and especially in their veneration of must be translated into the event of promise in
the unknown God (Acts 17:22–28). Paul’s concept daily communication and hospitality. This perspec-
of God’s reconciliation with the world (Col 1:20; tive articulates God’s communicative involvement
Phil 2:10; 1 Cor 15:22, 25, 28; Rom 5:18, 11:32; as an open event in the public sphere. It is also
Rev 21:5 etc) demonstrates an inclusive dimension affirmed in the synoptic context (Mt 18:20). This
of God’s mission integrating natural knowledge of biblical view promotes God’s involvement in hu-
God into God’s grace of reconciliation. man daily communication and characterizes God’s
In this light Bonhoeffer argues, following in the word-event as a living voice of God, facilitating us
footsteps of Luther, that “the curses of the god- to hermeneutically reframe a theology of interreli-
less sometimes sound better in God’s ear than gious exchange.29
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 147

In this light, the gospel “gives guidance and help in human experience of the truth of God’s word-
against sin in more than one way, because God is event. The three dimensions of the fundamental
extravagantly rich in his grace.”30 The gospel is re- situation of language are characterized in terms of
ceived through “the mutual conversation and con- contradiction, promise, and correspondence, which
solation of brothers and sisters”31 that is more en- concur with faith, hope, and love.34
riching and profound than Barth’s concept of the Given the hermeneutical-communicative side of
Word of God in a threefold sense (written, pro- God’s mission of word-event, it is noteworthy to
claimed, and revealed). Human discourse based on mention the work of the Holy Spirit. In an en-
conversation, comfort, and consolation becomes the counter between Peter and Cornelius, the Spirit’s
content of the gospel. Under the terms of the ir- action underlines the conversion of Cornelius to
regular style of God’s speech event, a hermeneutical the Christian gospel as it transforms the apostolic
reflection on God’s mission of word-event is prac- church’s mission toward the Gentiles. It is certain
ticed unmethodically, chaotically, and metaphori- that God works through the church, but God also
cally comparable to guerrilla warfare. This irregular works through the Holy Spirit where the church
directive runs counter to the danger inherent in does not yet exist (Acts 14:17). The Spirit ac-
the western theological principle of totalizing and companying God’s Word is a characteristic of the
reducing difference/otherness into sameness. Christian mission in bearing witness to the prove-
A theological work and task can be infinitely nience of the Spirit.35 In Luke 24:13–35, Christ is
more fruitful than the achievement of all too me- a stranger who accompanies his frustrated people.
thodical systematizations.32 God’s word-event in an This story points specifically to other dimensions
irregular manner acknowledges the particular form of Christ’s mission in accompaniment with those
of local, specific struggles, promoting a verbal ac- who are surrounded by failure, disappointment, and
tivity of parrhēsia (speaking the truth audaciously). frustration. Here we perceive that the risen Christ
In Mark 8:30 we perceive that Jesus begins to teach is a missionary Lord, bringing the disciples on the
that the Son of Man will undergo great suffering road to Emmaus, who are on the brink of despair,
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and toward the testimony of the resurrection.
the scribes. Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession in
reference to the suffering messianic Son of Man
constitutes the basis, criterion, and attestation of Transforming Mission in the
Jesus’ mission in social location. In his discourse of
Midst of Postmodernity and
parrhēsia (openly, frankly or boldly, Mk 8:32), Jesus
regards his missional vocation for the sake of the World Christianity
kingdom of God. Parrhēsia finds political-religious
meaning and discourse in the public sphere. It
opposes the rigid vertical hierarchies of a state- God’s self-communication in Christ through the
religion alliance built on power, money, and mass Holy Spirit brings the churches in both the South
media in challenging the quasi-horizontal machine and the North to mutual recognition, respect,
of a colonized and reified lifeworld under globalized and solidarity in regard to contribution, limita-
capitalism.33 tion, struggle, and common mission. In a differ-
So far we have engaged missio and diakonia Dei ent framework, a public theology challenges the
in a hermeneutical-trinitarian perspective in which ecclesial narrowness of a Christian mission that is
we examined ecclesial mission in terms of accompa- easily led into ecclesial-cultural imperialism. Here,
niment, inclusion, and discursive praxis of mission. a sociological concept of communicative rationality
The God who speaks is not received as any special, and civil society appears to be the key to guid-
supernatural Word, different from human speech. ing theological discourse along with sociopolitical
This aspect of the gospel as viva vox Dei describes and cultural linguistic imagination and analysis.36
the all-important place of the linguistic character Running counter to the systematic colonization of
148 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

the lifeworld, a public theology involved in dialogue ern context that is also significant for the sending
with socio—critical science attempts to retrieve and of the church.42
invigorate the prophetic vocation of missional con-
gregations as public companions.37 Moreover, at the
turn of the third millennium, the rise of the new Enlightenment’ s Legacy &
Christianity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is Postmodernity’ s Challenge
characterized by the postcolonial project of eman-
cipation and inculturation.38 Jean-Francois Lyotard concisely defines postmoder-
nity as “incredulity toward metanarratives.”43 Post-
modern resistance wages war on totality, univer-
Taking Off One’ s Shoes sality, and the metaphysical story of grand same-
ness raised by modernity. In the Western Chris-
This project necessitates the renewal and extension tian tradition, the other has been labeled in di-
of missio Dei in a wider global spectrum, calling for verse ways: ‘heathen’ from the sixteenth century
seriously considering the non-Western formation, through the period of colonialism; ‘unenlightened
distinctive character, and direction of the church. and irrational’ in the Age of Reason; ‘the other’ in
The proponents of world Christianity argue that the twentieth century. Throughout, ‘the other’ has
indigenizing the faith calls for the decolonization of been marginalized, and this marginalization of oth-
Western Christianity and theology. The metaphor erness was successfully accomplished by the preva-
of ‘taking off one’s shoes’ when approaching the lence of what Lyotard calls “metanarratives.” Under
cultural—religious place of the other because it is the power of the metanarrative, which totalizes and
a holy place shows a new appreciation of others.39 reduces the specific, different, and unique narratives
At issue here is an articulation of the indigenous into a metaphysic of the sameness, the voice of the
discovery of the Christian religion rather than fol- other and the different is unheard, unnoticed, and
lowing the Western missionary discovery of indige- suppressed. From the philosophical perspective of
nous societies. The translatability of Scripture into the Enlightenment, the Cartesian principle of cog-
different languages and the indigenous naming of ito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am) set the agenda
God in different religious contexts becomes a wa- for the centrality of the human mind in subsequent
tershed for the indigenous contribution to world centuries.44 The Cartesian principle of the certainty
Christianity.40 of the ‘thinking I’ finds its apex in Kant’s philos-
The project of world Christianity for a plural- ophy of critical reason. For Kant, the autonomous
ity of models of inculturation is seen in terms self is elevated to the center of his philosophy, in
of various local idioms and practices. This view which human reason assumes the pseudo—divine
requires a theology of God’s mission to adopt and transcendent position.45 In his essay “What is
a global configuration and develop strategies that Enlightenment?” Kant quotes Horace’s Sapere aude!
are more amenable to a wider horizon amidst a (dare to know) and argues that the free exercise of
postmodern—pluralist challenge. In the twilight of human reason is fundamental to the distinctiveness
postmodernism, we must engage the reigning ‘plau- of the Enlightenment; it is a removal of all external
sibility structure’ according to which patterns of be- constraints and restriction from the freedom of hu-
lief and practice are accepted within a given society man reason.46 Kant’s notion of the transcendental
and are diversely expressed in a different time and subject or reason undergirds the banner of enlight-
place.41 Transforming mission requires a paradigm enment. Have courage to use your own reason—
shift when it comes to God’s mission in the face that is the motto of enlightenment.47
of the emergence of world Christianity in a global The legacy of the Enlightenment is that it placed
and postmodern context. In the North American emphasis on the autonomy of human reason, hu-
context, the project of the missional church takes man rights, and the struggle for a just society. It
into account an analysis of the emerging postmod- generated technological marvels and advancements
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 149

in the twenty first century, while at the same the triune God. Insofar as God is the living Lord
time unleashing the exercise of instrumental rea- who freely speaks in the world to the church, we
son that resulted in human dominion over the do not need to reject a postmodern suspicion of
natural world and ecological devastation.48 In an the universal grand narrative; rather, we see that it
analysis of the Western process of modernization, facilitates a constructive proposal of a missiology of
Max Weber introduces and examines the concept word-event by integrating an insight into the pri-
of purpose—rationality. According to Weber, the ority of God’s living voice over and against what
rise of purpose—rationality leads to disenchantment is said and written in a text. It can utilize soci-
with the world and religious worldviews. This pro- ological analysis of the interplay between religious
cess of disenchantment gradually has led Western knowledge and political legitimation of power sys-
people to a reliance on the technological control of tems to be a corrective to the missionary exclusion
nature and society, as well as a loss of meaning. In of the other in the history of colonialism. In such
Weber’s diagnosis, Western civilization, unfettered a missiology an instrumental way of thinking must
by disenchantment with the world, has unleashed give way to a communicative way of thinking with
the one—sided development of human purpose— the others in the public sphere. As David Bosch
rationality. Through human mastery over the exter- argues, “Togetherness, interdependence, symbiosis”
nal world, the Western form of reason has become are integrated to promote an “epistemology of par-
instrumentalized, resulting in the state of an iron ticipation” in God’s mission that accompanies the
cage.49 others.51
Michel Foucault shares Weber’s diagnosis of
Western civilization in his analysis of the Panop-
ticon, which assures the automatic functioning of
Postcolonial Emancipation
power. The Panopticon is a machine in the center
of which one sees everything without ever being and Empire
seen. It produces homogeneous effects of power,
presenting itself as “a cruel, ingenious cage,” and
defining power relations in terms of human every- In a post—Christian era, some pundits view Chris-
day life in a society.50 Foucault argues that we live tian mission as cultural imperialism and religious
in this architectural apparatus, invested by its effects bigotry. Colonial annexation and subjugation ex-
of power, becoming ourselves part of its mecha- patriated native and indigenous cultures and lan-
nism. Both the docility and the utility of all the guages under Christendom. In the story of the
elements of the system are increased in political, church in China we notice that a postcolonial or
economic, educational, military, industrial or med- post-denominational configuration, characterized as
ical spheres. Thus the accumulation of people and self-propagating, self-governing, and self-supporting,
the accumulation of capital come together, because comes into relief along with a self-theologizing en-
the techniques enabling the cumulative multiplicity deavor contextualizing God’s word-event with re-
of useful and amenable people accelerate the accu- spect to culture of people at the grassroots (bam-
mulation of capital. The technological mutations of boo/minjung).52 Postcolonial theology attempts to
the apparatus of production, the division of labor transcend the aftermath of colonialism by mov-
and the elaboration of the disciplinary techniques ing beyond the colonial or neo-colonial forms of
retain very close relations. global domination. A postcolonial hermeneutic re-
Taking into account the postmodern challenge veals that the Bible is imbued with an oppres-
to a Christian metanarrative, it is essential to un- sive and hierarchical—patriarchal structure based on
dertake a constructive proposal of a theology of dominion and disenfranchisement. The British civ-
missio Dei and diakonia in a wider spectrum, ar- ilizing mission is denounced, as is the North Amer-
ticulating and embodying the ever-changing, living ican mission of democratization. Such mission by
voice of glad tidings coming from the mission of Empire amounts to the colonizer’s mimicry of the
150 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

New World.53 Postcolonial theologians take issue The ideology of globalization in favor of eco-
with the empire in present day globalization that nomic growth is coupled with efficiency and com-
produces postcolonial hybridity. In this hybrid- petition, and stands in contrast to ecological sus-
ity postcolonial theologians recognize great poten- tainability, economic democracy, and social justice.
tial for resistance against the economic reality of Thus global pursuit for capital accumulation tends
Empire. to devour human beings as well as the environ-
ment.58 To the degree that the capitalist economy
on a world scale is driven by growth and profit, the
Capital Fetishism relations of production include all the fundamen-
tal relations between men, women, and the envi-
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Marx- ronment. Social formation confronts people in the
ist ideology of imperialism began to decline. In its form of capital, so that human labor is subsumed
place a new idea of Empire surfaced. This is the under the dominion of capital as a whole, i.e. do-
empire of polytheism based on the logic of a pure minion of the capitalist mode of production in
market economy for the sake of maximizing profit. the phase of late capitalism.59 In support of this
The nation—state retreats and in its place the in- principle of capital fetishism on a global scale,60
ternational economic system (codified by the IMF neo-liberal tenets and experiments emphasize priva-
and the World Bank) appears to be in command tization. The whole point of privatization is simply
and control. Empire, according to Joerg Rieger, has to transfer wealth from the public purse to private
to do with massive concentrations of power per- hands. Competition is the true motor of economic
meating all aspects of life over which Empire seeks globalization, and victory in the competition is the
to extend its control. This control and dominion criterion of efficiency. The owners of capital create
are based on top-down systems established on the a bubble in the financial markets by various kinds
back of those who are burdened by the political- of speculation in order to drive up the desire for
economic reality of Empire. This political-economic profit through a so-called Casino-Capitalism.61
reality is tied to the growth of global capitalism that
exerts power through cultural, ideological, and in-
tellectual webs.54 A reality of the power of Empire God’ s Mission and Economic Justice
in this regard is manifested as “biopower”—that is,
a power of regulation of social life from its inte- In a critical view of this global economic situa-
rior side, putting together economic, political, and tion, it is of central importance to relate the the-
cultural forces.55 ology of God’s mission and diakonia to economic
As Hardt and Negri argue, “Empire manages justice. Christian emancipating mission toward sol-
hybrid identities, flexible hierarchies, and plural idarity takes into account socio-critical analysis in
exchanges through modulating networks of com- cultural-economic life relations. Liberation theology
mand. The distinct national colors of the imperial- articulates its mission by taking seriously the hu-
ist map of the world have merged and blended in man rights of the poor in terms of discerning the
the imperial global rainbow.”56 The theory of Em- signs of the times. Prophetic denunciation is di-
pire demonstrates an analysis of the power manifest rected against “every dehumanizing situation that is
in transnational corporate capitalism. It echoes in contrary to fellowship, justice, and liberty.”62 This
the postcolonial theologians who advocate for a pol- denunciation is connected with the annunciation
itics of difference and hybridity in protest of the of the gospel: “the love of the Father which calls
essentialism of modern rationality and sovereignty. all persons in Christ and through the action of the
However, proponents of Empire are not skillful in spirit to union among themselves and communion
analyzing the capitalist mode of production on a with him.”63
global scale when it comes to neo-colonialism and Accordingly Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
unequal exchange.57 issued “A Call to Participate in Transforming
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 151

Economic Globalization” (2002), a document that thought we need to consider cooperatio hominis cum
analyzes a dangerous consequence of economic Deo (Human cooperation with God) in the eco-
globalization driven by the neo-liberal model. The nomic realm.67 In naming diakonia as one of the
LWF calls for a globalization of solidarity in or- nota ecclesiae, Luther advocates for the diakonia of
der to be empowered through communion to par- universal priesthood. The teaching of a universal
ticipate in transforming economic globalization.64 priesthood characterizes the life of justified Chris-
Theological education of evangelization and eco- tians as a diaconal existence, bringing God’s justify-
nomic justice for Christian mission needs to be ing grace and reconciliation into the public sphere.
reappraised. Economic justice and ecological ethics Luther’s ‘theological’ critique of Roman Catholi-
are centrally important in a constructive proposal cism was embedded with his ‘socioeconomic’ cri-
of God’s mission and diakonia in an era of a tique of its structure and system. Charles V was
global crisis in the capital system and the West- dependent on the Fuggers. Thus, Luther ironically
ern paradigm of modernity. Care of environment is characterized his Catholic opponent John Eck as
an indispensable part in church’s mission.65 a “plutologian” (expert on wealth) rather than a
theologian.

The Integration of Justification Luther’ s Prophetic Denunciation

and Justice
Luther can be retrieved as a prophetic denouncer
of the Western neo-liberal principle of capital accu-
In these concluding remarks, I shall retrieve a mulation and expansion in the process of economic
prophetic legacy of Luther’s teaching of justifica- globalization. Luther was keenly aware that there
tion embedded with economic life as an example was a Christian character of capital accumulation,
for today’s mission of economic justice for the sake concentration, and monopoly, which is the basis for
of God’s mission and ecclesial diakonia. Luther ar- Christian colonialism.68 Luther argued that the big
ticulates an integration of our confession of God banking and trading companies—these institutions
and economic justice by challenging the reality of are only the tip of the iceberg in a system increas-
early capitalism, which was characterized by usury ingly pervading the whole of society—comprised a
and monopoly. Insofar as the details of economics system that ‘devoured’ capital: “And it [usury] con-
are concerned, Martin Luther wrote three specific tinues to devour and fetter us; . . . If he has a mil-
texts on economic issues in the context of emerging lion, he earns an annual four hundred thousand,
capitalism, particularly on the problem of interest which means devouring a great king in one year.
(usury) and the emerging international, monopo- In that way a robber can sit comfortably at home
list trading and banking companies (Fugger, Welser, and in ten years swallow up the whole world.”69
etc.) during the Genoese-Spanish cycle of capital In Luther’s writings, justification and economic
accumulation.66 justice are interwoven, so that economic issues con-
In dealing with “God or Mammon,” Luther was stitute an indispensable part of theological reflec-
interested in integrating confession of God with tion about God, a status confessionis.70 This aspect
economic justice. This is best seen in Luther’s ex- is obvious in his Admonition to Clergy That They
position of the Ten Commandments in the Large Preach against Usury (1540): “You let the usurer lie
Catechism. In the Large Catechism Luther reflects as a pagan in death, and do not bury him/her
on God (in the first commandment) in connec- among other Christians! Because he/she is a
tion with his ethical deliberation of economic jus- usurer and idolater, he/she serves mammon. He/she
tice (in the seventh commandment). Speaking of cannot have or receive the forgiveness of sins nor
the dynamic relationship between the grace of jus- the grace of Christ nor the communion of the
tification and the human discipleship in Luther’s saints.”71 A Christian mission of accompaniment
152 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

in light of justification and reconciliation speaks spires a theology of mission to do justice in the
out against the exploitation of the poor and the web of ecology as a part of its study of world
voiceless and listens to the physical and spiritual Christianity and economic systems.
suffering of the innocent victims. This perspective
characterizes the church as event through Word
and sacraments—just as The Augsburg Confession
states that the church is where and when God Endnotes
pleases.72
Luther’s understanding of the communion of
1. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Chris-
saints gives a dynamic basis for the universal mis- tianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 12–3.
sion of all believers. Christians receive a share of 2. Darrel L. Guder et al., ed., Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending
Christ’s priesthood through Word, sacrament, and of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998),
2.
the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The universal
3. Robert C. Neville, Boston Confucianism: Portable Tradition in the
priesthood (or the universal deaconhood)73 indi- Late-Modern World (Albany: SUNY, 2000).
cates that the reality of the congregation entails a 4. Guder, ed. Missional Church, 45.
prophetic-diaconal aspect engaging in the social re- 5. Cf. Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Making
ality of the poor and the innocent victim. Luther of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996).
characterizes a sacramental understanding of social 6. Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America: How a “Christian Country”
Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation (New York: Harper
discipleship as a prophetic resistance, advocating SanFrancisco, 2001), 4.
heartfelt sympathy for those who suffer innocently 7. Ibid., 9.
in the world. In receiving a sacrament of love, we 8. Colloquium 2000: Faith Communities and Social Movements Facing
“must feel with sorrow all the dishonor done to Globalization, ed. Ulrich Duchrow (Geneva: WARC, 2002), 5.
Christ in his holy word, all the misery of Christen- 9. Craig Van Gelder, ed. The Missional Church on Context: Helping Con-
dom, all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with gregations Develop Contextual Ministry (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
2007), 27.
which the world is everywhere filled to overflow-
10. Lesslie Newbigin, Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids,
ing. [We] must [resist], work, pray–if [we] cannot Geneva: Eerdmanns, WCC, 1989), 230–1.
do more—have heartfelt sympathy.”74 11. For this insight see Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics (New York:
Touchstone, 1995), 282; see further, Gary M. Simpson, “A Reformation
Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: A Promising Theology for an Emerging
Missional Church” in Van Gelder, ed. The Missional Church in Context,
A New Missiology 65–93.
12. For the minjung theological exegesis of relationship between Je-
sus’ mission and ochlos, see Ahn Byung-mu, “Jesus and Ochlos in the
Context of His Galilean Ministry” in Chung et al., ed. Asian Contex-
Lutheran theology is already grounded in God’s tual Theology for the Third Millennium: Theology of Minjung in Fourth-Eye
Formation (Eugene: Pickwick, 2007), 33–50.
word-event and Scripture; it is rich and multi-
13. For the relationship between God’s Mission and Diakonia, see
dimensional, giving a theological impulse toward a Chung, Christian Mission and Diakonia of Reconciliation: A Global Reframing
new missiology of God’s mission and diakonia par of Justification and Justice (Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2008),
excellence in the context of world Christianity and 9–31.

economic globalization. Such a missiology is built 14. Craig R. Koester, “Revelation’s Visionary Challenge to Ordinary
Empire” in Interpretation 63 (2009); “Roman Slave Trade and the Cri-
on justification and reconciliation, and must be un- tique of Babylon in Revelation 18” in rep. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
dertaken in companionship with other churches by vol. 70. no. 4 (October 2008).

accompanying people of other cultures75 in global, 15. For my Trinitarian approach see Chung, “The Asian Pursuit of
Trinitarian Theology in a Multireligious Context” in Journal of Reformed
intercultural context. This practice of God’s mis- Theology, Vol.3/2 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 144–156.
sion finds its meaning and actualization in ecclesial 16. For this insight, Paul Ricoeur, Hermeneutics and The Human Sci-
discipleship in solidarity with those who are “the ences, ed. and trans. John B. Thompson (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1981), 63–100.
outcast, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless,
17. Hans-G. Gadamer, Truth and Method , 2th. Rev. ed. and trans.
the oppressed, the reviled, in short . . . those who Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall (New York, London: Contin-
suffer.”76 This hermeneutical view from below in- uum, 2004), 302.
 Engaging God’s Mission and Diakonia in Life of Public Spheres: Justification and Economic Justice • Paul S. Chung 153

18. Eberhard Jungel,

” God’s Being is in Becoming: The Trinitarian Being 40. Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity: The Gospel beyond the
of God in the Theology of Karl Barth, trans. John Webster (Grand Rapids: West (Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Eerdmans, 2003), 10.
Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001); F. W. Marquardt, Theologie und Sozialismus:
41. Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids:
Das Beispiel Karl Barths (Munich: Chr. Kaiser, 1972).
Wm. B. Erdmans and Geneva: WCC, 1989), 8.
19. Terence E. Fretheim, Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith (South
42. Guder et al., ed. Missional Church, 36–45.
Carolina: The University of South Carolina Press, 2007), 10.
43. J.F. Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge,
20. LW 4: 42–44; further see Luther’s affirmative view on the Turk-
trans. Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi (Minneapolis: University of
ish state, WA 51; 242, 1–8, 15–19. Cf. Gerhard Ebeling, Luther: An
Minnesota Press, 1988), xxiv.
Introduction to His Thought, trans. R. A. Wilson (Minneapolis: Fortress,
2007), 187. 44. René Descartes, Discourse on the Method , trans. Laurence J. Lafleur
(Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1960), 24.
21. Claus Westermann, Genesis 12–36: A Commentary, trans. John J.
Scullion S.J. (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1985), 204–205. 45. From a hermeneutical perspective, the most significant cri-
tique of Descartes and Kant also finds its voice in Martin Heideg-
22. The Anchor Bible. Exodus 1–18, William H. C. Propp (Garden
ger’s concept of Da-sein (being–in, or being there) that is fundamentally
City: Doubleday, 1998), 414. Moreover we read non-Israelite travelling
being–in–the–world. The human being as a being–in–the–world is en-
with Israel in the desert (Num 11:4, Deut 29:10; Josh 8:35).
meshed in personal, social, and linguistic networks. Language as the house
23. From this perspective I do not concur with David Bosch’s of being brings the human world into existence. Inspired by Heidegger’s
marginalization the Old Testament contribution to Christian theology insight into history as the presupposition of human understanding and
of mission. language, Gadamer conceptualizes his notion of the history of effect or
influence. Understanding belongs to the being of that which is under-
24. Käsemann, Commentary on Romans, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W.
stood. The human relation to the world is thoroughly linguistic, hence
Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Erdmanns, 1980), 103–4.
intelligible. In the hermeneutical dialogue or circle, interpretation experi-
25. Helmut Gollwitzer, An Introduction to Protestant Theology, trans. enced as a fusion of horizons is dynamic and open-ended, calling for an
David Cairns (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982),135. ongoing and open–ended beyond the Cartesian-Kantian autonomous self.
Heidegger, “The Way to Language” in Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings,
26. For the inclusive concept of reconciliation see Bonhoeffer, Ethics,
rev. and exp. Ed. David Farrell Krell(New York: Harper SanFrancisco,
104, 197–203.
1993), 397–426. Gadamer, Truth and Method , 2nd ed., xix.
27. The Anchor Bible. To The Hebrews, George W. Buchanan (Garden
City: Doubleday, 1972), 3–5 46. For Foucault’s evaluation of the legacy of Kant, see Foucault,
“What is Enlightenment?” in The Essential Foucault: Selections from Essential
28. Terence E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Per- Works of Foucault, 1954–1984, ed. Paul Rabinow and Nikolas Rose (New
spective (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 98. York: The New Press, 1994), 43–57.
29. See my engagement with interfaith dialogue. Paul S. Chung, 47. Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment? (New York: Liberal Arts
Martin Luther and Buddhism: Aesthetics of Suffering, rev. 2nd ed. (Eugene: Press, 1959), 85.
Pickwick, 2007).
48. Paul Lakeland, Postmodernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age
30. Luther, Smalcald Article (1537), in The Book of Concord: The Con- (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997), 13.
fessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, trans. and ed. Robert Kolb and
Timothy J. Wengert (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2000), 319. Hereafter 49. For the term ‘iron cage’, see Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and
BC for abbreviation. the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Talcott Parsons (New York: Dover Publica-
tions, 1958), 182.
31. Ibid.
50. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,
32. See Barth’s characterization of Luther as an irregular theologian, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: Vintage Books, 1977), 205.
Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics I/1: 277.
51. David Bosch, Transforming Mission, 362.
33. For the insight into discursive praxis of parrhesia, see Michel
Foucault, Michel Foucault, Fearless Speech (Los Angles: Semiotexte, 2001), 52. Cf. Chung, Constructing Irregular Theology: Bamboo and Minjung
19–20. in East Asian Perspective (Leiden: Brill, 2009).

34. Gerhard Ebeling, Dogmaik des christlichen Glaubens 1. (Tubingen: 53. Ibid., 12; cf. R.S. Sugirtharajah, Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and
J.C.B. Mohr, 1979), 190; further see Pannenberg, Theology and The Philos- Postcolonialism: Contesting the Interpretations (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1998). For
ophy of Science, trans. Francis McDonagh (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, the commonality between postcolonial theology and liberation theology,
1976), 169–77. we mention: 1) a critique of oppressive powers of state; 2) a critique
of the relationship between Church and state; and 3) a critique of the
35. Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mis- way institutionalized structures internalize and colonize the poor and op-
sion, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995), 56–65. pressed. Postcolonial Theologies: Divinity and Empire, eds. Catherine Keller,
36. Benjamin Valentin, Mapping Public Theology: Beyond Culture, Iden- Michael Nausner, and Mayra Rivera (Missouri: Chalice, 2004), 8.
tity, and Difference (Harrisburg, London, and New York: Trinity Press 54. Joerg Rieger, Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times
International, 2002), 83. Further see Don S. Browning and Francis S. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 2–3.
Fiorenza, eds. Habermas, Modernity, and Public Theology (New York: Cross-
road, 1992), 1–5. 55. Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 2000), 23. For the concept of ‘biopower’ see Foucault,
37. Gary M. Simpson, Critical Social Theory: Prophetic Reason, Civil Discipline and Punish, 195–228.
Society, and Christian Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989). 141–5.
56. Hardt and Negri, Empire, xii.
38. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom, 4, 89.
57. Samir Amin, Capitalism in the Age of Globalization: The Manage-
39. Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: ment of Contemporary Society (London, New York: Zed Books, 1997),
A Theology of Mission for Today (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2004), 259. 1–11.
154 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 49, Number 2 • Summer 2010 • June

58. Duchrow and Hinkelammert, Property for People, not for Profit, 68. Karl Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. 1
96–100; further see Immanuel Wallerstein, Historical Capitalism with Cap- (London/New York: J.M. Dent and Sons/E.P. Dutton, 1930), 649–
italist Civilization (London, New York: Verso, 2003). 650.
59. Ernest Mandel, Late Capitalism, trans. Joris De Bres (London, 69. Cited in Duchrow, Alternatives to Global Capitalism: Drawn from
New York: Verso, 1975), 571. Biblical History Designed for Political Action (Utrecht, Heidelberg: Interna-
tional Books, Kairos Europa, 1998), 219; further see Carter Lindbeck, Be-
60. Franz J. Hinkelammert, The Ideological Weapons of Death: A The-
ological Critique of Capitalism, trans. Philip Berryman (Maryknoll: Orbis, yond Charity: Reformation Initiatives for the Poor (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1983).
1986), 1–3.
61. Duchrow and Hinkelammert, 92. 70. Marquardt, “Gott oder Mammon aber: Theologie und
Oekonomie bei Martin Luther,” in Einwürfe, eds. F.-W. Marquardt,
62. Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation, trans. and ed. Caridad Dieter Schellong, and Michael Weinrich (Munich: Chr. Kaiser, 1983),
Inda and John Eagleson (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1999), 152. 194.
63. Ibid., 153. 71. Martin Luther, “An die Pfarrherren, wider den Wucher zu predi-
64. Further see Being the Church in the Midst of Empire: Trinitarian Re- gen,” in Günter Fabiunke, Martin Luther als Nationalökonom (Berlin:
flections, ed. Karen L. Bloomquist (Geneva: LWF, 2009); Mission in Con- Akademie-Verlag, 1963), 207–8.
text: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment (Geneva: LWF, 2004). 72. “The Augsburg Confession,” art. V, in BC 40, 41.
65. J. Andrew Kirk, What is Mission?: Theological Explorations (Min- 73. Käsemann, Jesus Means Freedom (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1970),
neapolis: Fortress, 2000), 164–183. 53–4.
66. For Luther’s writings on economic justice see “The Short Sermon 74. Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body and
on Usury”(1519), WA 6: 1ff.; “Trade and Usury,” (1524) WA 15:218ff. Blood of Christ, and the Brotherhoods (1519)” in Martin Luther’s Basic
(LW 45:244–273) incorporating “The Long Sermon on Usury” (1520), Theological Writings, ed. Timothy F. Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989),
WA 6:33ff. (LW 45:273–308); “Admonition to the Clergy that They 247.
Preach Against Usury”(1540), WA 51:325ff.
75. Global Mission in the Twenty-first Century: A Vision of Evangelical
67. Luther and Erasmus: Free Will and Salvation, eds. E. Gordon Rupp Faithfulness in God’s Mission (Chicago: ELCA,1999)
and Philip S. Watson (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1987), 289;
see further Helmut Gollwitzer, Krummes Holz-Aufrechter Gang: Zur Frage 76. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters & Papers from Prison, New. ed. Eber-
nach dem Sinn des Lebens (Munich: Chr. Kaiser, 1985), 313. hard Bethge (New York: The Macmillan Company,1972), 17.