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The Church's Mission in Pluralism a »Transfiguring Acceptance«

Ivica Raguž orcid.org/0000-0002-0083-0325 ; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet u Đakovu Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Đakovo, Hrvatska

Sažetak

This article endeavours to present the potential of the Church’s mission in today's pluralistic world. The first part of the article elaborates the meaning of the term pluralism. Today, pluralism is a fundamental term with which theology interprets social processes and the state of contemporary man. Apart from that, pluralism reveals a special position that the Church has in current times. So much so, that secularisation has ceased to be the central theological expression for the relationship between Church and society. Pluralism is defined as a state of society in which there exist various sources of experience, various viewpoints, values, social roles and religion, which spatially co-exist without any common theoretical or practical principles, which would otherwise clearly structure this whole stratified reality, govern it, from which all of this could be conceptual and feasible. Furthermore, it can be ascertained that pluralism will be in the future an irreversible and permanent state for the human race. The reasons are the following: an all more unifying history of the world, the world has become a global and pluralistic village, a rapid development of technology, communications and a media that do not impede but rather strengthen and accelerate pluralism. Therefore pluralism reveals itself as irrevocable value for contemporary man, because it best suits his being and his whole existence. In other words, it seems that pluralism the ability to maximally emphasis the consciousness of man with regard to his finality and to himself as a free being, to emphasis man as a creature of growth and advancement, as a man of decision and potential for choice, as a being that respects the diversity of others, which is essential for dialogue and tolerance.
Pluralism places the Church and Christians in a new situation, one that could be called »a situation of a diaspora«. Christianity in the Middle Ages was an comprehensible reality. Medieval man did not have to decide wether he wanted to be a Christian or wether he should be affiliated with the Church. The Church succeeded in integrating and synthesizing all the rational events of that time. In pluralistic society the Church has, on the contrary, become only a part of the pluralistic reality, she no longer forms society, but finds her place amongst other offered views and attitudes. The Church is being imposed upon to accept three possible approaches to pluralism: integralism, relativism, and a so-called »transfiguring acceptance«. From the Christian point of view, the first two options are unacceptable. On the one hand, »transfiguring acceptance« means that pluralism isn 't in opposition with the Christian concept of God and man. Christian faith assumes that only God is perfectly one and plural, and that no reality, not even the Church itself, has the right to be the only representative of God in the world. On the other hand, pluralism is, along with ail the other created realities, affected by many elements of avidity, tension and sin.
In reality, »transfiguring acceptance« means accepting pluralism. Here 'accepting' means following crucified Jesus Christ in carrying and tolerating the concupiscence and sinfulness of contemporary man. Accepting pluralism does not mean considering it a sin, but an open system that is led by God and is open to an eschatological integration, which only God offer. Moreover, accepting includes recognising the diaspora situation of (he Church, supporting pluralism, and economically, culturally, and spiritual poverty. Finally, accepting pluralism means serenely reconciling with it, in the hope that only God is the one who can reconcile and who will once and for all reconcile all irreconcilable realties. But, the mission of the Church in a pluralistic society is transfiguration. The transfiguration of pluralism assumes an effort for unity of society and mankind. It includes a criticism of those systems that threaten man and society. This criticism should be a criticism not only using general Christian principles, but also real »pastoral instructions« or »prophetical impulses«. In pluralism the Church needs a special wisdom of »theological imagination«, i.e. a reflective and creative judgement of real situations, that doesn't normally succeed with the application of general principles. As a final point, the Church and Christians are today encouraged by the Spirit of Jesus Christ that they preach salvation, which is unfolding here and now in our pluralistic society.

Ključne riječi

pluralism; integralism; relativism; »transfiguring acceptance«; theological imagination

Hrčak ID:

27829

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/27829

Datum izdavanja:

12.8.2003.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 2.692 *