Third Congress Of Asian Theologians (CATS III)

REFLECTIONS OF A PARTICIPANT

by M. J. Joseph

The Third Congress of Asian Theologians was held from August 6-11, 2001 at Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The theme of the Congress was "Visioning New Life Together among Asian Religions". The congress was attended by 118 theologians from all over Asia including a few from Europe and USA. Dr Wong Wai Ching (Hong Kong) and Dr Kim Yong Bock (Korea)were moderators of the different sessions.

CATS is a fellowship of theologians in Asia which was established at the Somang Academy House, Suwon, South Korea in May 1997. One of its main objectives is to help deepen the theological foundations of the Ecumenical Movement in Asia with a view to developing new Asian theological vision. The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the Federation of Asian Bishop's Conference (FABC) closely collaborate with the CATS. The theme of the First Congress was "Asian Theology in a changing Asia: Towards an Asian Theological Agenda towards the 21st Century". About 100 theologians from different countries in Asia took part in it. The Second Congress was held at the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore in August 1999. ECC hosted the congress in connection with the 10th anniversary of Indian School of Ecumenical Theology (ISET), a programme unit of ECC. The theme of the congress was "Celebrating Life in Asia". Besides the discussion of the main theme and the sub-themes, the Congress spends time on deliberating on several topics such as ethics, missiology, hermenutics, women's issues, emerging theologies and congregational nurture. The workshops provide opportunities for mutual exchange among the Asian Theologians.

As the theme of the Third Congress was concerned with the mutual appreciation of Asia's religious traditions, the opening worship led by the Indonesian friends affirmed the words of Peter in the book of Acts. "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him"(Acts 10:34). In his sermon, Dr I. P. Lambe, emphasized the responsibility of the Asian Christians to work for the promise of freedom for all. He asked, how far the Church has provided solutions to the groaning for freedom around us? A right attitude to appreciate the best in the order of creation including its religions, forests, mountains, hills and even its myths is a theological necessity. For a long time some of these concerns had no place in the agenda of the Asian Christianity. The time has come for us to look critically and creatively.

The worship session was followed by a period of welcome and felicitations. Dr Daniel S. Thiagarajah, the Executive Secretary-Faith, Mission and Unity, CCA welcomed the gathering and outlined the expectations of the Congress. He complimented the earnest effort of the three ecumenical bodies - Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia. Univeersitas Kristen Duta Wacana and Christian Conference of Asia - who came forward to host the congress in Yogyakarta in spite of several odds. In our ecumenical journey, he added, the sacrifice of each of our units in different countries in Asia adds a new chapter to our common witness to the new humanity in Christ.

In his welcome address, Dr Ahn Jae Woong, the General Secretary CCA, spoke on the various concerns of the Asian Community. He had exhorted the participants to look carefully into the hidden resources in their cultures and religious traditions. The concept of "neo-ecumenism" has much to contribute to our common well being and for God's glory. The third congress of the Asian theologians is an earnest effort to give a serious theological thinking to unearth the contextual, religious, traditional and philosophical resources which are neglected in the history of Mission in Asia during the past. The main thrust of the General secretary's speech could be summed up in the text of Hebrews 10:24. "Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works".

Dr Aristarchose, Hannah Devashanti, Dr Choolakl, Dr Edmund Chia, Dr Deenabandu and a few others brought greetings to the congress from different organizations in Asia. All of them exhorted the members to open their minds and see the realities in Asia with new eyes.

On each day the Congress began with morning devotions on topics such as "celebrating diversity", The Struggle of Asia, Visioning new life, Celebrating life, and Affirming Asia. In all the worship services a question was raised whether we are faithful to God in our style, preaching and teaching. There were exhortations for us "to see Asia as a land of multi-cultures, to hear the cries of the people outside the walls, and to show readiness to listen to the painful stories shared by our brothers and sisters of different religious backgrounds. The overriding message was addressed to Christians to manifest the power of the love in the place of dogmas and creeds. The devotions raised the basic questions for the celebration of life: "How do you define life?" "How do you see lives in Asia?" The questions of introspection were indeed some of the main concerns of the Congress.

There were paper presenters from different religious backgrounds in Asia. Dr Wesley Ariarajah (key-note speaker, Topic: Asian Christian Theological Task in the midst of other religious traditions), Rev.Thomas Michael,s.j. (Toward a dialogue of liberation with Muslims), Dr Ibraham Abu-Rai (Christian-Muslim dialogue in the era of Globalisation), Dr Packiam T.Samuel (Visioning New Life together among Asian Religions-Buddhist perspective) Dr Chung Hyun Kyung (popular religions) Prof. Sulak Sivaraksa (Visioning New Life together among Asian Religions - A Buddhist Perspective). Dr Francis Xavier D'Sa (Discovering a Common Horizon with the Hindu Tradition). Dr Felix Wilfred, Dr Patricia Martinez, Dr Anthony Fernando, Dr Damayanthi Niles, Dr Sathianathan Clarke responded to the above papers respectively. The concerns of the paper readers and those of the respondents were three fold i) To look critically what we are today ii) To assess our strengths and weakness in the changing context of Asia iii) To equip the Churches for undergoing a period of conflictive situation for building communities of hope across religious and geographical barriers being rooted in love and justice. There were attempts to discover sociology truths with special reference to a 'pedagogy of encounter' in all the presentations. The presentation by Dr Deenabandhu Manchala on DOV ( WCC-Decade to Overcome Violence ) was indeed a concern for the global communities across geographical and religious divide. The Church is called upon to join hands with the people of all living faiths and no-faith in achieving this spiritual goal. The concept of DOV is indeed a "dialogue in action" which offers an ecumenical opportunity.

Some of the general concerns of the presentations could be stated as follows. The time has come for the Church to ask herself the basic concerns of mission: Do we know that threats to life is to be encountered by all? In affirming the heritage of mission, the basic question to be asked is this:" What do 'others' think of us"? Do the Christians in Asia possess the handles to integrate all ? Much tolerance and understanding have to be exhibited in translating the new understanding of brotherhood and sisterhood or neighbourliness. The public practice of Asian Christianity requires courage and boldness in articulating new forms of Christian obedience. In translating religious language into a culture aiming at a common legacy ("legs to see"), there should be a tremendous sense of accommodation, flexibility and sensitiveness. A metaphor of "High- way" will not serve us any longer. What is required is to make use of the metaphor of a "flowing river" . A river that flows assimilates and absorbs everything with a high sense of comprehension. This is the need of the hour. A movement from Euro-centricism to a contextual appraisal of realities both religious and secular makes the liberation of the poor and the oppressed particularly the Dalits, the Tribals and the Indigenous folks a possibility. It is the only way to say" NO "to the" silencing of the identities in the past". If this is achieved, "following Jesus" becomes a possibility for all. Compassion to the poor becomes the basis of mutual relationship. In such an attitude, "streams of awareness" emerges from the depth of togetherness. New life makes life qualitatively different for all.

The visit of the participants to Borobudur Buddhist Temple, which is a cultural heritage of humankind, was indeed great and it created a sense of cultural pride in the minds of all the Asians. The formation of whisper groups was really innovative and it helped all the participants to respond to a few general concerns arising from the presentations. The disciplinary groups could have done better if a little more thought had been given to it. However, the inter-denominational and inter-cultural mix of the groups helped several of the participants to relate to one another at various points of theological tasks in Asia. The sub-groups on Women's issues, Dalit and Minjung concerns had raised several questions for the participants. The resolutions adopted by the Congress on religious and socio-cultural issues in Indonesia and Japan respectively are indeed legitimate. A voice of protest has its own merit in the long run! The organizers had taken pains to accommodate the participants in different places. Kudos to Dr Ahn Jae Woong, Dr Daniel S. Thiagarajah, Dr Wati Longchar and other stewards of the congress!

At the end of the Congress, the participants had adopted a statement. Excerpts from the statement (with freedom from the text) which convey the basic concerns of the Congress are given below:

• The rise of fundamentalistic trends among all religions cause serious conflicts between believers of various religions. The emergence of religious and cultural nationalism in some Asian countries undermines the pluralistic and democratic foundations of Asian societies. At this critical juncture of Asian history, all peoples of Asia who belong to different traditions, religious and secular, have to join hands and walk together to envision a new life for all the people of Asia and for the whole world.

• The local cultures and religious traditions of Asia in the past were often looked upon as inferior to the Western cultural traditions. The missionary praxis, in general, was one of converting and baptizing people of other religions and extending the churches at the cost of the social, cultural and religious values that constituted their inherent sense of dignity and identity. We do not, however, question the good intentions and the commitment of the missionaries to the gospel and their tremendous hardships and heroism. The existential realities of the world and our theological thinking have been radically changed today. We are now witnessing to a shift in the traditional paradigm of Christian relationship and mission to the people of other faiths.

• There is an urgent need for the wider community to uphold diversity, to cry out for justice for all and to practice new forms of inclusion. As Christian theologians, we wish to be engaged in such community building, for we know that such a work can really make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of the people of Asia.

• The uniqueness of Christianity is the uniqueness of Jesus' love, compassion and commitment to the poor and the marginalized, and his preferential option for them.

• The combination of patriarchy and capitalism today intensify the exploitation and destruction of the nature, the women and all the weaker sections of the community. The revival of the original "life vision" of the Indigenous/Folk religions accompanied by the resurrection of our dying Mother Earth will lead us to live together with all differences.

• We reaffirm that life is to be lived at the local level where people of various religious convictions encounter in their day to day life and negotiate with the existential realities. Thus we underline the importance of the involvement of local communities in the process of envisioning new life among people of various religions in Asia.

May the IV Congress in Malaysia add a golden leaf to the book of CATS!