As published on http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2455
Ecumenical Hermeneutics for a Plural
Christianity: Reflections on
Contextuality and Catholicity
by Rudolf von Sinner
The Rev. Dr. Rudolf von Sinner is an ordained minister of the Evangelical-Reformed Church of the
Canton of Basle-City (Switzerland) and is Ecumenical Relations Officer for the Ecumenical Coordination
of Service, in Salvador/Bahia. The following article appeared in the Bangalore Theological Forum,
Volume 34, Number 2, December 2002, pages, 89-115. Bangalore Theological Forum is published by
The United Theological College, Bangalore, India. Used by permission. This material was prepared for
Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock.
Dedicated to my friends and teachers of UTC, the living and those who
have, sadly, passed away since my stay in 1997, with deep gratitude for
their hospitality and help in cultural and intellectual bridge-building.
Without them, this study would not have been possible.
The plurality of Christianity in general, of theological positions in particular, has
become most obvious. Thus, differing ways of Christian life and faith as well as
diverging theological reflections based on them can be noted, and their compatibility
cannot simply be taken for granted. It has become notorious, especially in the
Ecumenical Movement, that an understanding between such divergent manifestations of
Christianity is difficult and, indeed, often bound to fail.1 Ecumenical hermeneutics is an
attempt to unveil the reasons for the apparent lack of agreement through the analysis of
the divergent ways of understanding Scripture and its tradition, as well as for the
difficulty of mutual understanding between Christians. It also seeks to explore the
significance of the Ecumenical Movement as an expression of the "hermeneutical
community" of the Church and to formulate criteria for discernment. The Commission
of Faith and Order (FO) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) dedicated, from
1993 to 1998, a specific study to the subject and published its results.
In the following, I shall present the FO-paper within its history, highlighting what I find
most important for the purpose of this study (I). This perspective is then being brought
into dialogue with the trinitarian theology of two eminent theologians from two very
different contexts. Leonardo Boff (II) and Raimon Panikkar (III). Finally, I shall try to
describe the relevance of an ecumenical hermeneutics to this dialogue (IV).2
I. The Study on Ecumenical Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is not a new topic for the Ecumenical Movement. However, the focus has
been mainly on biblical hermeneutics and on a hermeneutics of tradition.3
It is only in
more recent times that the term "ecumenical hermeneutics" has come into use, implying
understanding and agreement between the churches within the oikoumene. Conflicts that
have arisen from ecumenical dialogues lead to a debate on the legitimate degree of unity
and diversity, as well as the status of consensus or convergence texts and an ecumenical
methodology.
The study on ecumenical hermeneutics, undertaken by FO since 1993, seeks to consider
these questions. Already in the 1970s, they were being pursued in long-term study
processes. These were being formed by the opening up towards the world and the
recognition of the saeculum, as promoted especially by the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965) and the Fourth Assembly of the WCC in Uppsala (1968). Not only the
themes, but also the methods of ecumenical theological reflection were influenced by
this opening. Since the contextuality of church and theology was now being recognized
and more and more accepted, there emerged a method of intercontextuality. This can be
seen clearly in the FO Commission Meetings in Louvain 1971, Accra 1974 and
Bangalore 1978.4
In Acera, not only was the actual existence and legitimacy of diverse
contextual theologies being recognized, but also it was being implied that comparison
and communication between them was possible. Consequently, the question about a
common language and framework had to be asked. Through concrete local reports, the
study process on the "account of the hope that is in us" (cf. 1 Peter 3:15), that had been
encouraged in Louvain and was completed in Bangalore, aimed at showing the
relationship between unity and diversity through an inductive methodology, refraining
from developing, at this stage, a common language. The search for a common language,
for a common framework, has been and remains highly ambivalent. Any project for a
Western theology claiming universal validity would have to fail because of the
resistance of many theologians from the "Third World" who would see in it a new form
of Western imperialism. Furthermore, in the age of postmodernity and the end of the
"great narratives" (Lyotard), such proposals have become suspect even within the West
itself. Nevertheless, contextual theologies do claim to highlight aspects of the faith that
are of relevance, far beyond the specific local context. Not least the theme of liberation
is being understood by those who developed it as a universal and central dimension of
faith altogether. What, then, is contextual? What is common to all? What is it that unites
contextual theologies? How can there be a theological coherence under an ecumenical
horizon without giving a reason for suspecting the promotion of particular interests?
The need for a study on ecumenical hermeneutics was stated very clearly at the Santiago
World Conference on FO in l993.5 Following its recommendations, such a study was
carried out through various consultations that have been held since 1994, to its
completion in 1998. It produced a text that is meant as an "instrument for an ecumenical
reflection on hermeneutics" by churches, theological faculties and individuals. The
document, whose main title reads "A Treasure in Earthen Vessels", asks about the
tradition of faith through the times and within the koinonia, the fellowship of the
churches -- a question to be asked again and again facing ever-changing challenges.6
To
speak about "earthen vessels" means, in a rather free but not unusual interpretation of II
Cor 4:7. that the Divine Word of the Gospel is not available to us in a direct, pure way,
but only through the human words of human proclaimers. It is, therefore, legitimate to
extend this logically and include its mediation through human interpretation. The
necessary consequence of this notion is a plurality of potential interpretations, which is,
first and foremost, being welcomed by the document.
The study text asks for a twofold hermeneutics: On the one hand, it focuses on the
understanding of the Gospel; on the other hand, on the understanding of the context,
inasmuch as faith should come to its concrete expression within a particular context (see
para. 4). Hermeneutics is being defined as "the art of interpretation and application of
texts, symbols and practices in the present and from the past, and the theory about the
methods of such interpretation and application" (para. 5). An ecumenical hermeneutics
is meant to serve the "specific task of focusing on how texts, symbols and practices in
the various churches may be interpreted, communicated and mutually received as the
churches engage in dialogue. In this sense it is a hermeneutics for the unity of the
Church." (ibid.)7
It is ecumenical because of the space in which it is being applied, that
is, where churches are in dialogue about the interpretation, communication and
reception of texts, symbols and practices. At the same time, it alms at the unity of the
Church, a unity which, however, is not being defined more precisely.
On the basis of this definition, the study paper expounds in three points what such an
ecumenical hermeneutics should be able to produce. (1) It should "aim at greater
coherence in the interpretation of the faith and in the community of all believers as their
voices unite in common praise of God". (2) It should "make possible a mutually
recognizable (re)appropriation of the sources of the Christian faith". (3) Finally, it
should "prepare ways of common confession and prayer in spirit and truth" (para. 6).
Therefore, it aims at being a hermeneutics of coherence. As the (One) Church is, in
itself, a hermeneutical community, in which the churches are in dialogue with one
another, each church has, at least, to suppose that the Spirit can also speak in the other
church and, through her, speak to oneself. Thus, the study also mentions a hermeneutics
of confidence, a term new to the published study text compared to its earlier versions,
which presumes in the other a "right intention of faith" (para. 30). It is made clear, at the
same time, that the study paper does not refer to a romantic notion of understanding and
agreement without any criticism. It also implies a hermeneutics of suspicion "which
perceives how self-interest, power, national or ethnic or class or gender perspectives can
affect the reading of texts and the understanding of symbols and practices" (para. 28). I
shall return to this threefold hermeneutics -- of coherence, confidence, suspicion -- in
the concluding chapter of this article.
Following the Santiago recommendations, the study deals with three aspects of an
ecumenical hermeneutics: the quest for the One Tradition in the many traditions (part A,
paras. 14-37) 8; the quest for the One Gospel in the many contexts (part B, paras. 38-
48); and the Church as hermeneutical community in matters of discernment, the
exercise of authority and reception (part C, paras. 49-66).
In this article, I am particularly interested in the intercultural aspect, more precisely in
the dimension of the "South". The fact that little is being said in that hemisphere on
"ecumenical hermeneutics" does not necessarily imply that the subject is altogether
irrelevant. However, it might be necessary to find another terminology and elaborate it
towards concrete problems. I believe the polarity of contextuality and catholicity to be a
helpful tool for understanding. By contextuality I mean the qualitative dimension of the
faith and of the theology that reflects on it. in which, consciously and explicitly, the
reality of life on the one hand, Scripture and Tradition on the other are being recognized
as equally important points of departure. This means that context -- in the broad sense
of cultural, religious, social, political and economical circumstances -- and text -- as
Scripture in its process of transmission and interpretation, that is, its Tradition -- do
mutually interpret each other. By catholicity I mean the qualitative dimension of faith
and theology pointing to identity and coherence in Christianity in view of the triune
God who has joined Himself to the world in creation, in the assuming of humanity by
Jesus Christ and in the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Searching for such coherence,
the doctrine of the Trinity has, in the last decades, proven to be especially open for
analogies that seek to join together unity and diversity in God.9
Thus, the perspective of an ecumenical hermeneutics is aiming at better understanding
among Christians in view of life in the world (contextuality) and life as a Christian
(catholicity). It could also empower them to learn more about faith and its consequences
in life through the witness of Christians from other cultures and confessions. By
"learning", I do not only refer to a increase of knowledge, but a deepening of one’s own
faith and faith life as well as of one’s perception of the triune God through Jesus Christ
in the Holy Spirit. From there, a real dialogue can be constructed that can contribute to
the clarification, questioning and changing of both one’s own and the other’s position. It
is in this sense that we shall look at two theologians for whom a trinitarian notion of
God has become central. It should be made clear at this point that the ecumenical
perspective I have just sketched out is not theirs; it is my attempt to understand them in
an ecumenical horizon, that is, in the worldwide dimension of the trinitarian faith.
II. Leonardo Boff -- the Sociality of the Triune God
The Brazilian, Roman Catholic theologian Leonardo Boff (born 1938) may well be right
in saying that the Theology of Liberation is "the first theology from the Third World
with worldwide resonance" 10
Not least because of its very critical reception in the
West, especially in Rome, it has not been possible to remain indifferent to it or simply
ignore it. Positively speaking, in the Theology of Liberation becomes manifest "the very
tense transition from a culturally more or less homogeneous, and in this sense
monocentric, church of the West, towards a world church which has many cultural roots
and is, thus, polycentric", as formulated by Johann Baptist Metz.11
It is fairly plain that
Boff has become, internationally, the most published and read theologian from Latin
America. Therefore, he is clearly to be seen in a worldwide horizon, and his conflict
with the Roman Catholic Church has further contributed to this. However, apart from
these external factors, his theology itself implies the world as its horizon, a theology
which has been developed from the urgencies of a particular context, but always in view
not only of Roman Catholics, or even of the Christian oikoumene, or only of humanity,
but of the cosmos, the whole universe.
The advantages of the Boffian elaboration of the doctrine of the Trinity are to be found,
I believe, in the strong link he demonstrates between God and the world, a world which
he sees in a planetarian perspective, implying that human beings are only a part of it.
Furthermore, it becomes clear that it does make a difference to our theological thinking
and acting, who the God is in whom we believe, and with what concepts and imagery
we try to describe Him. These are always constructions; however, it is essential that
their origin be laid open in order to make possible a critical dialogue. From Boff’s
presentation it becomes clear that the specific image of the Trinity is being moulded by
the needs of society which, in turn, is being viewed from a socially understood Trinity.12
The former becomes clear from his starting point which lies with the needs in church,
society and cosmos, and with the opposition to a hierarchical church, an undemocratic
society and a disregarded natural environment.13
The latter results from his dogmatic
and historical treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity, especially from his developing the
notion of perichoresis. Only from the coming together of both aspects can result, in my
terms, a doctrine of the Trinity oriented towards both contextuality and catholicity.
In the following, I shall try to explore the various aspects of Boff’s trinitarian theology
that seem relevant from an ecumenical perspective. I shall start with the Boff’s main
idea, his trinitarian, social image of God (1). There follows a description of his view of
a planetarian community as against a purely economical globalization (2). A third
section deals with the relationship between the Trinity and the Church (3). Finally, I
shall outline the importance of a doxological way of speaking of God -- as it becomes
obvious in Leonardo Boff’s trinitarian theology (4).
1. A Trinitarian, Social Image of God
There have been many uses and abuses of a non-trinitarian or trinitarian legitimation of
political systems.14
However, a closer look reveals that such legitimation is very limited.
We can say that it is not true, as suggested Erik Peterson, that the doctrine of the Trinity
has made impossible any political theology.15
But it continues to resist direct deductions
of political and economical systems from the Trinity even in its Boffian notion. Such
deductions would always be prone to justifiable accusations of deducting from the
Trinity, or rather from a specific notion of the Trinity, what has previously been
inducted into it. Thus, on the one hand, the difference between God and the world
would be blurred and God instrumentalized for human purposes. On the other hand,
human beings would want to know too much about God, a God who, again and again,
evades knowledge about Him, hides His face and name (cf. Ex 3:14) and forbids His
human creatures to make an image (idol) of Him (cf. Ex 20:4). However, we are unable
to live and believe without images -- not in the sense of idols made of wood, stone, gold
or other material, but in the sense of imaginations we have about God, metaphors we
use to speak of God, models with which we try to think about God’s being and acting.16
A middle level of speaking of God is necessary, a speaking that is neither identical with
God nor with the world, but is formulated and being tested out of a creative interaction
between the perception of God and the perception of the world, in reference to Scripture
and Tradition. This granted, the burning question, asked again and again by Liberation
Theology, concerns what image of God we have and what this implies for our life.
Boff is clearly opposed to an image of God that draws a celestial monarch who would
reflect directly in a worldly monarch. This opposition stems from the negative
experiences he had made with hierarchical structures in society and the church,
structures that suppress, in their harsh authoritarianism, creativity, autonomy and
criticism. This issue is, for Boff, not only a pragmatic one, for instance in the sense of
seeking to gain more space for free theological thinking and publishing through the
reduction of control by hierarchy. Rather, it is for him a profoundly spiritual question,
because he finds behind authoritarianism an image of God which refers to a severe ruler
who does not support humans in their own being but hinders them. Instead, Boff seeks
to present God as loving, caring, liberating, life-giving and life-enhancing. In the
doctrine of the Trinity, he finds an excellent imagery for this: The triune communion
which is communion-in-diversity creates the human being as a communitarian being,
and nature as communitarian, letting them go into freedom and receiving them back in
the eschaton. This makes it possible that humans can (and, indeed, should) reflect the
triune communion among themselves, a communion which respects differences and
fosters communitarian relationships. Let me cite at least one central passage:
This understanding of the mystery of the Trinity is extremely rich in
suggestion in the context of oppression and desire for liberation. The
oppressed struggle for participation at all levels of life, for a just and
egalitarian sharing while respecting the differences between persons and
groups; they seek communion with other cultures and other values, and
with God as the ultimate meaning of history and of their own hearts. As
these realities are withheld from them in history, they feel obliged to
undertake a process of liberation that seeks to enlarge the space for
participation and communion available to them. For those who have
faith, the trinitarian communion between the divine Three, the union
between them in love and vital interpenetration, can serve as a source of
inspiration, as a utopian goal that generates models of successively
diminishing differences. This is one of the reasons why I am taking the
concept of perichoresis as the structural axis of these thoughts. It speaks
to the oppressed in their quest and struggle for integral liberation. The
community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit becomes the prototype of the
human community dreamed of by those who wish to improve society and
build it in such a way as to make it into the image and likeness of the
Trinity. 17
In Boff’s theoretical elaboration of this notion of the Trinity, there are some
weaknesses, which, however, can only be pointed at here. They are especially connected
to the issue of the theoretical status of trinitarian theology, which remains unclear.
Experience and doxological response precede reflection, this is made clear by Boff. But
what about the relationship between the triune God and his creation, and its
implications? It is here that the metaphorical character of all theology, and maybe
especially of trinitarian theology, becomes most obvious; but this is not made explicit
by Boff.
However, Boff’s intention to communicate to a wide public important elements of the
Christian faith in relation to context is by no means minimized by these questions, quite
the contrary. In practical terms, Boff has been occupying, with his ecological-
cosmological reflections, a pioneering role in. a time which is no longer characterized
by military Governments, but more by economic globalization and its -- for many --
disastrous economic and ecological consequences.18
In connection with the 1992 UN
Conference on the Environment in Rio de Janeiro, Boff recognized the urgency of
ecological issues. Relating them to Teilhardian cosmology, the findings of a number of
scientists, and the doctrine of the Trinity, he raised this issue in Brazil through his
books. This in itself is very important, given that, despite environmental threats like
deforestation in the Amazonas region being known for a long time, hardly any
ecological awareness can be seen among the population.
The search for a concrete form of society and the church which would be better for
humans and for nature, being inspired by the triune God, is a legitimate and, indeed, an
important contribution by Boff to the ecumenical debate. But it is exactly this point
which would need to be pursued further, and should be complemented through studies
by Boff and other liberation theologians on the application of such a trinitarian
"inspiration" to the law and to the formation of structures in society and the church.
Such studies, however, have not yet been produced.19
There is also, within liberation
theology, a lack of more profound theological analyses of the culture of Brazilian
populations, both black and indigenous. I believe this to be an important new field of
study which, of course, would imply a thorough interaction with cultural sciences.20
The
recognition of difference often claimed by Boff. especially around the commemorations
of 500 years of European presence in Latin America, should warn of against an instant
inclusivism of other cultures and religions into a comprehensive macro-ecumenism.21
Boff has undertaken the task of formulating, based on the general ecumenical consensus
-- that it is the triune God in whom Christians believe and that it is necessary to reflect
theologically on this -- what are, in his perspective, the contextually relevant
implications of this doctrine. His elaboration draws from its roots in Christian Tradition,
as well as from the actual context. Using my terminology, Boff’s notion of the Trinity
makes clear that Christian doctrine is only possible in the polarity of contextuality and
catholicity, of local relevance and ecumenical coherence. At the same time, it stresses
that a satisfying balance between the two is not being reached by deduction or by
induction, but only through dialectical searching and testing.
2. Planetarian Community -- not the Globalization of the Economy
It is an important feature of Leonardo Boff’s work that he seeks, again and again, to
view humanity within the whole of creation, the whole world, the wholeness of its past
and future. His merit is to avoid narrow concepts and to refrain from making the
antagonisms under which he himself had to suffer by the center of his theology.22
Looking at his dealing with ecological issues it becomes clear that Boff is not fixed on
his context but willing to take up issues from outside and translate them into his context.
He has included thoughts of natural sciences as well as of UN conferences and other
international networks. Therefore he has not only contributed from his context to
theology in its worldwide dimension but also taken impulses from there and introduced
them to his context.
Boff confronts the challenges offered by today’s world in its wholeness, not denying the
existing antagonisms on a micro as well as a macro level. Globalization, as he
understands it, is not identical with the globalization of economy and the worldwide
process of harmonizing its functioning, neither is it identical with the globalization of
structures. What he presents is the view of a planetarian community of nature and
humanity, of humans among themselves, of humanity and God; it is (national)
citizenship, co-citizenship and citizenship of the Earth.23
Against the type of
globalization radiating from the West he can say: "The West appears to us, today, more
and more like a tragic accident in the global process of humanity."24
His own positive
view of globalization reads thus: "The Trinity, as mystery of communion of the three
Divine Persons, has always given herself to creation as well as to the life of every single
human being, and has revealed herself -- under the forms of sociability, mutual
openness, love and self-giving, but also accusation and protest against the lack of such
values -- to the communities of humanity. Whole humanity is the temple of the Trinity,
independent of time, space, and religion. All humans are sons and daughters in the Son,
all humans are under the energy of the Spirit, and all humans are being drawn up by the
Father."25
Differently from Samuel P. Huntington, Boff does not start with a "clash of
civilizations",26
but with a positive being-in-relation which, however, is more a
programme than reality: "‘the second paradigm [sc. of integral evangelization] is that of
the Trinity: It is the fundamental being-in-relation of every culture. All cultures do form
a complete system of meaning; however, this is open for other systems and other
cultures, since no single culture can exhaust the hidden possibilities of a human being as
individual and as a social being. Between the cultures, as in the mystery of the Trinity,
the same principle has to be ruling: the radical being-in-relation between the three
divine persons. Every person is one and unique, but always in relation to and in
perichoresis with the other two. Communion and reciprocity of the persons make them
to be one single God. Where this being-in-relation is respected, one can avoid one
culture being oppressed by another. Thus, in analogy with the Trinity, the structure of
being-in-relation has to be effective between the cultures."27
The great advantage of this view is that Boff confronts the challenge of the one world
which he sees grounded in God and, at the same time, in today’s interrelatedness. In this
way, he is practicing neither a provincial theology nor a theology alienated from the
world. The disadvantage is that the specific differences are in danger of being drowned
in this great synthesis, and that the necessary respect and, consequently, caution in the
approximation between confessions, religions and cultures is being disregarded.
However, I believe that Boff’s emphasis on the relationships between human beings and
communities is of great value, even in his programmatic-pleading form, as well as the
idea of a worldwide responsibility for the planet, which every citizen of this world is to
bear. In this way, Boff succeeds in bringing insights and experiences from Brazil into
dialogue -- for instance, when insisting on the need for protection of the Amazon
Rainforest -- while disseminating a vital topic in Brazil. He thus becomes, again, an
important mediator between the local and global dimensions; theologically, his
ecological concern proves both contextual and, at the same time, catholic.
3. The Trinity and the Church
As a member of the Roman Catholic Church, Leonardo Boff is situated form the start in
the polarity of the local and the worldwide Church. Being the offspring of an Italian
immigrant family and having done his doctoral studies in Munich, Germany (1965-70),
to live in different worlds is not strange to him. Franciscan spirituality has rooted him in
the monastic family on the one hand, in the "cosmic family" on the other. This home has
a harmonious-motherly feature, which never allows him to forget the planetarian.
universal dimension of existence and, consequently, of theology as a reflection on it.
Nevertheless, he does not fail to see the contradictions which exist, for instance, in the
Roman Church as a centralistic institution in which few decide over many and where
the vast majority has no participation in decision-making. Since his childhood, he has
nurtured a strong sense of justice, which makes him perceive the suffering of women
and men around him and leads him to fight constantly against the injustice of
exclusion.28
This home has remained, despite the open rupture of 1992, when Boff gave up his
priesthood and left the Franciscan Order. He continues as a member of the Roman
Catholic Church, although he expands the notion of "catholic" to the extent that he can
avoid identifying it with Roman centralism. "Catholicity" does becomes a quality which
transcends the boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church. To take the point a little
further, one could say that Boff has become "more catholic" than before 1992. inasmuch
as the closeness of God and the World which he described in his understanding of
transparence and sacrament becomes even more marked, once the church as institution
can be left aside.29
More precisely, the visible mediator between God and the world is
no longer the Church (at least not in any concrete form), but her function is extended to
all human beings and to their religion. Thus, the Church becomes invisible. As a critical
moment for religion and religions, there remains a mere moral argument, that is,
whether they serve justice and liberation or not.30
In this way, Boff is able to jump from
an understanding of the Roman Catholic Church as the one which is in possession of the
full means of salvation to a comprehensive inclusivism and the ecclesial-catholic quality
of the whole cosmos. Other religions are being incorporated in this wide, "catholic"
horizon. For example, according to Boff, a religion like the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé
cannot be interpreted with "measurements internal to the system of Christianity": rather,
"the horizon for a dialogue with it is the universal history of salvation."31
As Boff starts
from an understanding of creation as God’s creation, in and with which the "universal
history of salvation" is developing, the Roman Catholic Church is dispensable without
losing the catholic. In this sense. Boff is promoting an inclusivistic standpoint.
I indeed share with Boff the hope for an ultimate unity of humanity in God.
Nevertheless, I believe it to be theologically difficult to sweep away intra-Christian and
interreligious differences with such a comprehensive worldview. It is true that the issue
of popular religion in Brazil which is drawing on different wells and can, therefore, be
lived out in a variety of churches -- a phenomenon called by experts "double" or
"multiple" religious belonging. However, it is exactly this situation that needs, in my
opinion, a cautious approximation and a sensitive search for the common, rather than a
great inclusion that tends to lose the different.32
4. Speaking of God Doxologically
As a last point in these thoughts about Leonardo Boff’s notion of the Trinity, seen in the
perspective of an ecumenical hermeneutics between contextuality and catholicity, I shall
ask once more about the status and quality of a statement on the Trinity. Boff’s own
reservations against too direct a speaking of God’s Trinity have been mentioned above.
In this context, he returns again and again to the notion of doxology. He defines
doxology as "experience of the Divine, as it expresses itself in praise, thanksgiving,
reverence and joyful acceptance of the acts God has done on behalf of humankind".33
Each theology has as its base doxology, "the celebration of the self-revealing God". It is
this celebration that Boff has in mind in his own elaboration of the doctrine of the
Trinity, from chapter 8 of his book onwards, whose titles take the form of the liturgical
doxology: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the
beginning. is now and ever shall be, Amen." Thus, doxology is not only to be found at
the beginning, but indeed also at the end of theological reflection; doxology forms its
starting point and aim.
Referring to the Trinity. Boff also speaks about "mystery". The Trinity is a "saving
mystery", not a "logical mystery" (182). "Mystery" does not denote the limit of reason,
rather the "boundlessness of reason" (184), as the mystery of the Trinity is a
"sacramental mystery" that has communicated and revealed itself. It is not a wall, but "a
gate that opens up towards God’s infinite being" (185). What is at stake is not,
principally, to recognize this mystery through reason, as this is indeed only partly
possible. In faith, we are called to "give" ourselves to the mystery, to let ourselves be
"seized" by it; in this, faith precedes reason. "Doxology is an attitude of adoration,
thanksgiving and reverence in the sight of the triune mystery" (183). Unfortunately, the
term "doxology" itself, in its significance for theological reflection, remains rather
misty. The relationship between theology and doxology does not appear to be
sufficiently clear. Rather, the references to "mystery" and doxology seem to be a
precaution against sharp questionings about the meaning of trinitarian statements and
their (onto-)logical status. Nevertheless, I am convinced that doxology is of utmost
importance, because it introduces the aspect of adoration. Faith is a response to
experience of God which is expressed in doxological sentences (formulas, prayers,
hymns) before being reflected upon theologically. In this sense, doxology precedes
theology. 34
At the same time, it is situated where theological speaking reaches its
limits, where a "doxological edge" forces one to offer -- metaphorically speaking --
"open theological statements as a gift to God".35
Boff would probably agree with this.
Stressing the significance or even the precedence of doxology, especially for the
doctrine of the Trinity. is something that brings a new emphasis into Liberation
Theology, inasmuch as it makes clear that there is, ultimately, an unbridgeable gap
between God and statements about him. Thus, it is a warning against exaggerated and
too direct deductions. Liberation Theology does have to ask itself, whether it can face
well the ideological criticism it is applying to other theologies. Furthermore,
emphasizing doxology opens a door towards other theologies, for instance of the
Orthodox tradition, and thus allows for a new dialogue transcending boundaries of
contexts and confessions.
These short reflections will have to suffice as a first glance into the ecumenical-
hermeneutical approach to Leonardo Boff’s notion of the Trinity. Let us now turn to
Raimon Panikkar.
III. Raimon Panikkar -- the Tri-Unity of Reality
In analogy to what has been said about Leonardo Boff. the focus here is on the
trinitarian thinking of the Hispanic Indian Raimon Panikkar (born 1918) and his
contribution for the Church and theology worldwide36
The emphasis will be on the
aspects that enlighten the polarity of contextuality and catholicity. Initially, there can be
no doubt that, for Panikkar, the "Church" is much more than the real, existing Roman
Catholic Church -- of which he continues to be a priest -- or any other church. His
ecumenism is, most consciously, an "ecumenical ecumenism"37
and aims at including
not only other churches but also other religions in view of the deepness of the
Cosmotheandric Reality.38
Even more than with Leonardo Boff, the theology of Raimon
Panikkar is not limited to the specific context, in this case Indian. Rather, it is a
theology moulded by the encounter between "India" and "the West" while aiming to be
universal. Certainly, he would consider it insufficient to apply his insights exclusively
to the intra-Christian ecumenism in the polarity of contextuality and catholicity, as I
have proposed for the purpose of this article.39
On the other hand, the problems that are
implied in his ecumenical ecumenism are, in a striking way, analogous to those that
present themselves as challenges to the intra-Christian oikoumene. At a time when it
has become impossible for Christian churches of different confessionality and
contextuality to remain isolated from one another, and when practical collaboration has
become indispensable in many places -- something that Panikkar has been claiming, for
decades, for the different religions -- , it becomes clear how divergent manifestations of
Christianity can be. Sometimes, at least, one can get the impression that there are, in
fact, different "Christian religions" with little in common. Out of this analogy and
because interreligious dialogue itself is a contextual necessity for Christianity in India
and, in many other places, Panikkar’s contribution seems to me a particularly valuable
one. His activity as a critical mediator between "India" and "the West", between Roman
Catholicism, natural science, philosophy and Indian religions (Hinduism and Buddhism)
makes him, in my opinion and using my terminology, a fruitful example of an
ecumenical hermeneutics between contextuality and catholicity.
In what follows, I shall first present the dialogue of religions and Panikkar’s critical
pluralism (1). Then, I shall turn to Panikkar’s understanding of catholicity, the Church
and ecumenism (2). Further, the cosmotheandric intuition will be described as a "deep
hermeneutics of reality" (3). Finally, I shall explore his fundamentally irenic attitude
(4).
1. Dialogue of Religions and Critical Pluralism
Panikkar’s theology is highly marked by his biography which laid the encounter of
different religions and contexts in his cradle, as it were.40
He has faced this challenge
and engaged in an intense study of languages, philosophies, theologies and sacred
scriptures as well as living everyday life in many contexts. In this way, he could
perceive, reflect upon and write down differences and commonalities of various
religions and contexts. From there, he has developed an attitude of total openness which
implies, according to his own claim, a total immersion in each religion, while
acknowledging its specificity and difference from the others. However, the success of
this enterprise has been questioned by many. I too have remained skeptical about the
possibility of recognizing the Christian faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit in Panikkar’s Cosmotheandric Intuition. However, one of the most challenging of
Panikkar’s thoughts is that understanding and agreement is possible despite the fact that
I cannot reduce and fix people of other faiths and cultures to my own categories of
understanding. This understanding happens in the combination of intra-religious and
inter-religious dialogue, that is, in the dialogue between different religions and among
different religious traditions within one human person. It does not only imply discourse
but rather is a sharing and communicating of mystical experience.41
Applying a
metaphor of space, this sharing and communication happens in the deep. Hardly
anybody else has such an intense internal and external experience of various religions as
Panikkar. But not even he has a "360-degree-vision", to quote an expression he often
uses. He draws his conclusions about reality mainly from existential and personalistic,
Western European philosophy, Roman Catholic (neo-) thomist theology and certain
branches of Indian philosophy. Bridges to Eastern Orthodox theology would be fairly
easy to construct, but it remains marginal in Panikkar’s writings, as do, largely,
religions other than the three which Panikkar claims to belong.42
His (very diverse) public has had a significant influence on the explication of his
thinking, not least because most of his texts were, originally, composed as lectures and
only later published in print. Most of these lectures aim at bringing the insights of
Hinduism and Buddhism closer to Indian and Western Christians as well as
philosophers, to deepen their understanding of faith and expand it to other forms of
belief.43
His anthology "The Vedic Experience" which has been accepted and respected
by many Hindus, tries to present texts from the Veda and the Upanishads in such a way
that they become open towards other beliefs and transparent for the depth of faith.44
An
important aspect of his literary production, already central at the beginning, but gaining
prominence again lately, has been to address a Western public that faces the challenge
of having to seek its religious identity and not being able to take it for granted.
Panikkar’s oeuvre can be read as an encouragement to religion especially for Western,
religiously insecure persons who are willing to draw from the Christian tradition, but
decline to fit themselves into a particular form of Christianity and ecclesiality.
Furthermore, Panikkar wants to take seriously the claim to universality that is
necessarily made by each religion.45
This does not have to be given up but to be seen in
relation with other, equally legitimate claims. In order not to fall into an exclusivistic
(only one religion can be the true one) or inclusivistic (all religions ultimately meet in a
common claim) misunderstanding or into a wrong understanding of pluralism (all
religions are equal, viewed from an outside standpoint), Panikkar brings forward a
relationship in "radical relativity" (being-in-relation) between the religions. The
different religions, incommensurable as they are on the level of lived belief and
doctrine, do meet in the depth of the Cosmotheandric Intuition.46
Universal claims are,
thus, redirected downwards, as it were. Panikkar’s lifelong effort is to call people, with
human words that will always remain frail, to the encounter of religions in that depth,
grounded in mystical experience; to invite them to a conversion towards the
Cosmotheandric Reality.
In my opinion, Panikkar’s proposal is helpful in that it asks for and fosters a continuous,
intense effort towards understanding. There can be no doubt that he has been a pioneer
in this and has become a prominent bridge-builder between "India" and "the West".
Since the time of the pioneers around the Second Vatican Council, dialogue between
religions has become even more necessary today, given that there is an even stronger
mixture of cultures and religions in most parts of the world. At the same time, the
climate for dialogue has become rougher. Although migration has facilitated encounter
with people of other religions in Europe, conflicts with ethnic and religious undertones
are on the rise. The Roman Catholic Church, despite friendly gestures of Pope John
Paul II, has become more restrictive in dialogue. In part reacting to people leaving the
church or converting to other confessions and religions it is closing in on its own
identity and centralism, as can be clearly seen from the latest magisterial documents.
But the efforts towards contextualization taking place in many parts of the world cannot
simply be stopped by centralistic policies.
It is here that Panikkar can contribute much and positively with his message of "cultural
disarmament".47
His call for kenosis as self-restricting modesty and the abandonment of
every kind of imperialism has been, however, directed much more fiercely towards "the
West" than towards "India". Panikkar does not want to strengthen the rather distrustful
attitude of many Hindus towards "the West" and Christianity but rather seeks to pursue
dialogue through "unilateral disarmament", as it were, through unilateral kenosis. In
some cases, he has succeeded and been able to establish dialogue with Indian
intellectuals. In view of the great social disparities in India which affect the vast
majority of Christians, and considering the imperialistic behavior of the (politically
dominant) circles committed to the ideology of Hindutva, this does not appear to be
sufficient.48
A more intense, more critical discussion of the conflictive aspects of lived
religion is needed -- as much within each religion as between them. The issue of power
and its correct use is becoming more and more urgent in India, including the need not
only for an inculturation but also for a de-culturation of oppressive and religiously
legitimized structures. Referring to Christ should make possible a more critical attitude
to the context than comes from the emphasis on Christ’s mediatorship as elaborated by
Panikkar.49
Panikkar’s middle way, the trinitarian-christological figure, remains, ultimately, in the
mist of mystery, hardly applicable in practice. His view tends to be harmonizing and
does not provide space for suffering and ruptures in human life -- at least not obviously.
This seems to be the price to be paid for a missing teologia crucis and only a very loose
link between Christ and the historical Jesus. By losing a clear, elaborated Christology,
which would accommodate not only the cosmic but also and especially the God-Man --
the living, personal Christ in whom God incarnated Himself, shared human life until
death and reached ressurrection -- Christianity is failing to bring into the dialogue one
of its strongest features.50
According to Panikkar, religions are not self-sufficient: "In today’s situation, no
religion, culture or tradition can claim to offer universally valid solutions for human
problems -- neither theoretical nor practical. Alone and isolated, Hinduism is threatened,
Christianity powerless, Islam in fermentation, Marxism a failure, Buddhism dissolving,
the Primitive Religions becoming extinct, secularism destroying itself and so on."51
But
how can there be a "mutual fecundation", repeatedly mentioned by Panikkar. between
them? His speaking of "homoomorphisms", that is, functional analogies, reveals that
beyond the very fact that there are functional analogies, there is little that can be said
about them. Of course, the centre of Panikkar’s attention is the Cosmotheandric Reality,
and therefore the deepest reality that could ever be found. But that does not dispense us
from answering the question as to what can be said about this Reality through
exchanges between religions that could not be said by one religion on its own. Is it
enough to claim that it is present in formal terms in all religions and that those
concerned only need to recognize this? Panikkar’s preference for mystical experience
seems to be satisfied with just this. But do different religions not have more to offer
each other than separate coexistence, united only at the deepest level? The image of
"fecundation" needs the imagination of more than a functional commonality.
Furthermore, it has to be asked whether the concept of different, ‘incommensurable’
religions is not too static and, in fact, resisting the dynamisation of dialogue desired by
Panikkar.
2. Catholicity and Ecumenism
It has often and rightly been said that Panikkar moved from a fulfillment theology to a
pluralistic theology in the real sense. This becomes most clear from a comparison
between the first (1964) and the revised (1981) edition of his theological thesis "The
Unknown Christ of Hinduism".53
Panikkar himself does not deny such changes, but
stresses that they have to be seen not as a rupture, but as a continuous growth. On
reading his early texts through the perspective of the later ones, this proves true. His
works from the 60s, especially Religionen und die Religion, show that, already at that
stage, Panikkar held that, at least potentially, any religion can show itself as the
"Catholic Religion" he describes, although the vocabulary he uses is clearly Roman
Catholic, implying that the Roman Catholic Church best matches this religion. Later, he
can write that "the authentic and true religiosity of every person is catholic." 54
Thus,
religion is, in itself, catholic. However, he leaves open the question as to which criteria
prove a religion or spirituality to be "authentic" and "true", if religions are, qua religion,
catholic, i.e. oriented towards (Cosmotheandric) Reality. Are there no wrong notes from
the orchestra of the Cosmotheandric Symphony? But who would be the conductor who
could reprimand or even exclude the failing players?
In a contribution on "Catholic Identity", Panikkar has addressed this problem. For him,
asking about the "catholic" identity is the same as asking about the "Christian" identity.
In this sense, it coincides with my notion of catholicity (see above, I). For Panikkar,
there is no comprehensive criterion that could decide about the catholic identity of a
person from outside. He defines this identity as follows: "A Christian is one who both
confesses oneself to be such and as such is accepted by the other (usually Christian)
people."55
Thus, he is granting, as does the FO-study, everybody his or her
selfunderstanding and confession. The one who understands himself or herself as a
Christian and makes this explicit, is a Christian. Therefore, speaking of ‘anonymous
Christians", as did Karl Rahner -- something that can be detected in the early Panikkar,
although he does not use the term -- does not make any sense. Panikkar then introduces
another criterion: the Christian has to be recognized as such by the others, more
specifically, by a particular community. There can be no "private interpretations" of
being a Christian; from the outset, they are relational. Panikkar acknowledges the need
for criteria in this way, but immediately points to the problem of contradicting criteria --
the problem par excellence of an ecumenical hermeneutics. Christ is the centre of
Christian identity, but Christ understood as "symbol" of mediatorship between God and
the world. If that is so, it must be concluded that any human being can, at least
potentially, be the Christ, even without specific belonging, because Christ as symbol is
universal. Christ is the prototype of the believing person that succeeds entering into
relationship with Reality. In this, he is symbol: He turns Reality visible and through
Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, one can participate in it. I take from these rather
paradoxical statements by Panikkar his appreciation of one’s own positioning in relation
to Christ and the emphasis on the existential significance of faith. His focus is not
dogma but the believing person and his relationship with the basis of faith. The
confidence which Panikkar takes from this relationship and positioning is essential to
understanding and agreement in the Christian oikoumene. Beyond this, there is a need
for struggle about the content and the consequences of the Christian faith which can, in
the end, lead to exclusive judgements. The problem I see with Panikkar is that he evades
going through that struggle. It is here also that I see the problem of a transference of the
notion of a Christian ecumenism to an "ecumenical ecumenism". Although it is true that
they seem, at first, similar in structure or function: different confessions and, one could
add, different contextualizations of Christianity are facing each other and can accept or
reject or just leave one another in peace. Unity in the oikoumene is a continuous task, as
Panikkar well stated in an early text: "Ecumenism has to start with suffering arising
from diversity; in a further step, it should unveil the deeper, common striving; and it
could well culminate in the religious effort to bring closer this unity of Reality. The
unity of religions is more a mission than a fact, more a goal to be achieved than a goal
already achieved."56
Like religions which, according to Panikkar, are by their nature oriented towards the
Reality in its depth, so are the churches of the oikoumene as Christian Church referred
to the basis of their faith, the Triune God. Through the biblical text an its tradition,
through the manifestation of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit as formulated by the
economic doctrine of the Trinity, Christianity does have a constant, specific reference
which, as such, not share with other religions. The fact that in this Tradition exclusive
and inclusive statements about other religions are to be found is the constant difficulty
with interreligious dialogue.
3. A Deep Hermeneutics of Reality
Cosmotheandric "trinity" offers, as a concept, both dynamics and coherence: the
Cosmotheandric Reality is a differentiated reality which is in movement and holds
together the three dimensions of God, Man and World.57
This "trinity" is perichoresis
and relation, it is not monism or dualism but difference-in-relation: this aspect is shared
by Panikkar and nearly all contemporary elaborations of the doctrine of the Trinity.
More strongly than others, however, he holds a hermeneutical approach to reality in
which God, Man and World are connected to each other in the deep. Therefore, one can
speak of the deep hermeneutics of reality.
It has become clear that Panikkar does not seek mere exchange between the various
religions. If one follows his concept of incommensurability, such an exchange would be
quite impossible on the level of doctrine, confessions and the instituted social structure.
Only in relation to (Cosmotheandric) Reality can we learn from other religions, in the
sense that Reality is, ultimately, one, although a differentiated one. This, however, does
not constitute an essential insight into reality but an existential one, that is the radical
relativity of God, World and Man. The differences that lead to incommensurability are,
therefore, to be addressed at another level as the Panikkarian Deep Hermeneutics; only
in this way can we explain the contradiction between incommensurability and
commonality in the deep.
It is in this Deep Hermeneutics that religions meet, and thus their effort is not nonsense
or a reason for fighting each other. Rather, it is in this insight -- and only in this? -- that
they can fecundate each other. In this way, the go against the fragmentation of the
perception of reality that is typical of our times, according to Panikkar. From the
constant conversion towards this Reality, as it occurs in specific ways in the different
religions, follows a "cosmic confidence" that gives courage to live and to maintain a
peaceful treatment of others despite basic differences. In this sense, eventually, there are
practical consequences.
4. Cosmic Confidence and Fundamental Openness -- an Irenic Attitude
Panikkar’s main contribution, it seems to me, is his combination of two important
factors. On the one hand, there is his irenic attitude of openness in a very thorough
looking at and listening to the other, as well as in utmost care in judging people of other
religions. On the other hand, there is Cosmic Confidence in the ultimate tri-unity of
Reality. This confidence is based on an extrapolation which might be possible only for
somebody who is, like Panikkar, equally at home in various religions and cultures. Even
if one does not want to go so far, one can more modestly hold such an ultimate unity of
all with all as possible but not as certain. There is good ground for trust in this from
one’s specific religious standpoint. Dierrich Ritschl’s notion of a hermeneutics of
confidence in the Christus praesens and the FO study pointing in the same direction are
important landmarks for this attitude of confidence, within a Christian context.58
This confidence has its consequences for Panikkar’s style of life. In an interview, he
said: "My style of life is neither that of a bourgeois nor of an ascetic in the traditional
sense. It is the lifestyle of a philosopher as I understand him. Somebody who finds joy
in this life, on the one hand. Somebody who experiences life as a grace. Somebody who
cultivates the possibilities given to him by God, nature, humans or coincidence. (...)
What is moving me is not to rush to South Africa or engage in the Red Cross, for which
I have no ability, but to do my very best to remain faithful to this vocation. I do not
pretend to be an example, but I try to do everything I do in this direction. It is priestly,
intellectual, somehow holistic in the sense of a collaboration with the cosmotheandric
perichôrêsis of which I am speaking."59
This is the practical dimension of Cosmic Confidence, of the fundamental openness
towards the Other and towards Reality. It is here that we best discover the difference
between orthopraxis in Panikkar and in the Theology of Liberation: In Panikkar, it is
primarily directed towards the experience of the Cosmotheandric Reality and not
towards action in the world. "Reality", for Panikkar, is the wholeness of Being that is
constituted through God, Man and World, not the empirical reality which is of merely
provisional character -- as is maya in advaita-vedanta.60
Probably under pressure from
the impact of Liberation Theology in the USA where Panikkar was teaching at the time,
he had to face the issue of the political dimension of his theology and has reacted to it
repeatedly in prefaces to his publications. In recent years, he has dealt more extensively
with this.61
He remains faithful to his basic caution, not taking any particular political
line. In his view, there is indeed no contradiction between Cosmic Confidence and
Option for the Poor.62
Both foster inclusion: in a spiritual-religious sense the former, in
a political-economic-social sense the latter. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the problem
remains that political and ethical consequences do not have a place in his theology: he
holds to his original harmonizing, irenic attitude.
Finally, I can now draw some conclusions, while being aware that I am not in a position
in to do full justice here to the depth and width of insights from the above-summarized
case studies and their theological implications.
IV. Ecumenical Hermeneutics -- Conclusions
Ecumenical hermeneutics -- as formulated in part I in dialogue with the FO study paper
-- seeks understanding and agreement with a view to creating and deepening Christian
ecumenical community. Looking from this perspective at two theologians from very
different contexts has revealed that Leonardo Boff and Raimon Panikkar have much in
common. There is not an explicitly theological consensus between the two but rather a
congenuality. Both have a strong mystical feature, asking about the uniting,
comprehensive, common, about the intimate relationship between God and the world.
Both are, in this broad sense, catholic. Their Roman Catholic socialization is of a South
European kind (Veneto/Italy, Catalonia/Spain), but from the beginning mixed with
other influences (Brazil, India) and lived and developed further in remarkable
independence. From this background, they have taken a certain natural corporality,
happiness and joy in human contacts and left aside the equally strong hegemonic
position of their Church in Italy and Spain. Even though they continue to be bound to
the Roman Catholic Church emotionally and structurally, they have been marked by the
eruption of the Second Vatican Council and their loyalty towards today’s magisterium
is minimal. Boff resisted its pressure through confrontation and, eventually, by
resigning from his order and the priesthoood, while Panikkar resisted, more subtly,
through a skilled undermining of terms.
Both are gifted with a radiating energy, an enormous working power and discipline, at
the same time being friendly and hospitable. Living in Brazil has strengthened in Boff
the element of celebration as well as of struggle and resistance, while Panikkar lived a
certain asceticism in India and acquired an irenic attitude. Each is, within his context, at
the same time indigenous and stranger; each is, in his own way, a pilgrim on the
frontier: Boff walking at the margins of his Church and society, Panikkar between
sciences and, especially, between religions.
In both can be found, despite all difficult experiences with society and the Church
(Boff) or with life as a borderliner (Panikkar), an astonishing confidence in God, life,
and humanity.
In Boff, this goes with the dimension that he calls "motherly-earthly", so intrinsic to him
that it took some time to emerge: in the midst of poverty and repression his
combativeness expressed itself more. Only more recently has the other dimension come
to the fore, taking on gender, feminine characteristics and adding a concern about the
ecological threat to his resistance to revered fathers of Mother Church in Rome who
opposed him and Liberation Theology. In Panikkar’s case, confidence comes from
having the Cosmotheandric Reality which he came to know through two, later three
religions, carry him -- Cosmic Confidence. Thus, he was able, apparently, to resist the
rejection suffered from his own Church as well as from persons of other religions.
It is at this point that I want to bring in conclusions for an ecumenical hermeneutics.
Through my intensive interaction with faith and theology in the WCC as much as
through my studies on Leonardo Boff in Brazil, Raimon Panikkar in India, I have come
to the conclusion that it is, indeed, confidence that is the condition for ecumenical
dialogue and agreement. Although I would not call it "cosmic confidence", nor trace it
back to the motherly-earthly, I would speak of confidence in the Triune God, stressing
that it is this God who marks the specificity of the Christian faith in his Trinity. The
perichoreticcommunitarian God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who as an inference from
the biblical testimony of God’s economy of salvation has first been praised in liturgy
and doxology, then conceived in doctrinal concepts -- it is He who carries Christians in
life and death. This does not exclude the possibility that faithful people of other
religions could be touched by this God in their own way. However, Christians can only
hope this to be the case, not know it.
If understanding and agreement is to happen between different forms of
contextualizations of Christianity, it seems helpful to me in an ecumenical hermeneutics
to distinguish different levels of their encounter. The various levels are to be imagined
one under the other, that is, from the highest (1) through the underlying (2) to the
fundamental level (3).
(1) This is the level of propositions, that is, of doctrines and concepts. On this level,
there can be direct contradictions between the statements of different theologies.63
Thus,
Boff’s social notion of the Trinity could offer a double criticism to Panikkar’s
Cosmotheandrism: in regard to Scripture and Tradition, Panikkar has shifted away from
the Trinitarian revelation. Although drawing on this Tradition, as well as on the Hindu
advaita-vedanta and the Buddhist pratityasamutpada (the interrelatedness of all
beings), he eventually comes up with an abstract form of "Trinity" as a figure -- a unity
in triple diversity, but detached from the economic manifestation of God as Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. As to the Indian context, Panikkar has developed his theology in
dialogue with very specific parts of it -- rather elitist philosophical thinking -- which
could be criticized by Boff for lacking an option for the poor and for having no space
for social and political action in his theological thinking. In turn, Panikkar could
criticize Boff for not taking seriously enough the religious diversity of the Brazilian
context, and for promoting a rather superficial inclusion of other religions (like
Candomblé) instead of a dialogue in the deep, thus remaining largely within Western
moulds of thinking.64
From these contrasting positions could result, in the best case, a
fruitful dialogue, in the worst case plain rejection.
(2) The second level contains a basic hermeneutical position which -- despite some
terminological reservations65 --
could be called a hermeneutics of coherence and a
hermeneutics of suspicion. On this level, I speak about hermeneutics trying to
understand the specific perspective underlying the above-mentioned propositions. As
shown earlier, Boff developed his trinitarian theology in opposition to a hierarchical and
authoritarian society and church. Although it has to be remembered that, right at the
beginning of his theological publishing, Boff followed a hermeneutics of coherence or
interdependence of all beings through his understanding of the cosmic Christ,
something he has been taking up more prominently again in recent writings, the
beginning of his trinitarian thinking is marked by a hermeneutics of suspicion, that is,
by a critique of power and ideology. The theology of Raimon Panikkar is marked by a
hermeneutics of coherence, of the advaitic relation between everything that is, a notion
he developed out of the intra-religious and inter-religious dialogue. He aims at
coherence of the Cosmotheandric Reality in which a critique of power and ideology do
not find any room. At the same time, this coherence presupposes confidence as a
prerequisite for dialogue. Thus, Panikkar’s hermeneutical position leads us to the third
level.
(3) The third, deepest level, sustaining the others, is that of a hermeneutics of
confidence. It is not instantly operationable, and only with restrictions can it be
formulated theologically. It stems from Faith in the triune God, a faith which is being
granted to the other who equally claims to draw on it, as "right intention of faith" and
reckons with the possibility that "the Spirit speaks within and through the others".66
Its
first form of expression is the doxology and the direction towards the living, triune God,
the basis of faith and theology. This level of hermeneutics is open to mystical
experiences and intuitions, as Raimon Panikkar has brought to the fore again and again,
while it can also be found in Boff. Whenever this level is missing, I believe that
ecumenical dialogue is not possible. The boundness to the triune God is the only basis
on which changes at the other two levels can take place; without being open towards
changes, there can only be an uncommitted factual living next to each other, no real
fellowship. Such a hermeneutics of confidence, however, by no means removes the
need for dialogue and for debate and struggle at the other two levels; the quest for the
truth of faith in its practice, responsible towards both Catholicity and Contextuality, is
not resolved, but given as a task.
End Notes
1. This problem became most obvious following the presentation of Korean professor
Chung, Hyun-Kyung at the Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches
(WCC) in Canberra, as was well analyzed by Raiser, Konrad, "Das Problem des
Synkretismus und die Suche nach einer ökumenischen Hermeneutik", in: id., Wir stehen
noch am Anfang: Ökumene in einer veränderten Welt (Gütersloh: Gütersloher
Verlagshaus 1994), pp. 153-167. See also my article: "Ecumenical Hermeneutics:
Suspicion vs. Coherence?", in: Bangalore Theological Forum Vol. 29 (1997) Nr. 3/4,
pp. 37-49.
2. In my doctoral thesis: Reden vom dreieinigen Gott in Brasilien und Indien.
Grundzüge einer ökumenischen Hermeneutik im Dialog mit Leonardo Boff und Raimon
Panikkar ("Speaking of the Triune God in Brazil and India. Outlines of an Ecumenical
Hermeneutics in Dialogue with Leonardo Boff and Raimon Panikkar") which is to be
published in early 2003 (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr/Paul Siebeck), I have treated these
questions much more thoroughly. Based on my thesis, the present article is a translated
and slightly revised version of my recent publication: "Ökumenische Hermeneutik für
ein plurales Christentum. Überlegungen zu Kontextualität und Katholizität", in: Silja
Oneleit-Oesch and Miriam Neubert (eds.): Interkulturelle Hermeneutik und lectura
popular Neuere Konzepte in Theorie und Praxis (Beiheft zur Ökumenisehen Rundschau
72, Frankfurt: Lembeck 2002)pp. 228-259. 1 thank my friend and colleague in CESE,
Alonso Roberts, for his kind help in correcting my English.
3. Cf. Anton Houtepen, "Hermeneutics and Ecumenism: The Art of Understanding a
Communicative God", in: Peter Bouteneff and Dagmar Heller (eds.), Interpreting
Together
Essays in Hermeneutics (Faith and Order Paper 189, Geneva: WCC 2001), pp 1-18: id.,
"Ökumenische Hermeneutik. Auf der Suche nach Kriterien der Kohärenz im
Christentum, in: Ökumenische Rundschau Vol. XXXIX (1990), pp. 279-296.
4. See Tobias Brandner, Einheit gegeben -- verloren -- erstrebt. Denkbewegungen von
Glauben und Kirchenverfassung (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1996), pp. 252-
266; for the pre-Bangalore period also Kuncheria Pathil, Models in Ecumenical
Dialogue. A Study of the Methodological Development in the Commission on ‘Faith
and Order’ of the World Council of Churches (Bangalore 1981), pp.346-396.
5. On the Way to Fuller Koinonia: Official Report of the Fifth World Conference on
Faith and Order, edited by Thomas F. Best and Günther Gassmann, (Faith and Order
Paper No. 166, Geneva: WCC 1994), esp. section I, paras. 15-16; section II, para. 18;
section III, para. 31; section IV, para. 3.
6. A Treasure in Earthen Vessels. An instrument for an ecumenical reflection on
hermeneutics (Faith and Order Paper No. 182, Geneva: WCC 1998).
7. The triad "texts, symbols and practices" points to the fact that the life of a church
does not only consist in the reading and interpretation of texts but also of symbols and
customs, especially as they are used in worship. Furthermore, oral cultures should also
be included -- the Word more than Scripture.
8. In this article. I follow the terminology of Tradition (capital ‘T’, the Gospel itself as
transmitted through the ages), tradition (small "t", the process of transmission of the
Gospel) and traditions (small "t", plural, the tradition adopted and preserved by the
various denominations in their specific way), as developed in: "Scripture, Tradition and
Traditions", in: P.C. Rodger and Lukas Vischer (eds.), The Fourth World Conference on
Faith and Order, Montreal 1963 (Faith and Order Paper No. 42, London: SCM Press
1964).
9. See for a comprehensive overview: Gisbert Greshake, Der dreieine Gott
(Freiburg/Basel/ Wien: Herder 1997).
10. Leonardo Boff, "Die Theologie der Befreiung post Ratzinger locutum", in: Edvard
Schillebeeckx (ed.), Mystik und Politik. Theologie im Ringen um Geschichte und
Gesellschaft (Mainz: Grünewald 1988), pp. 287-311, here 288. Translation of
quotations into English is always mine.
11. Johann Baptist Metz, "Thesen zum theologischen Ort der Befreiungstheologie", in:
idem (ed.), Die Theologie der Befreiung: Hoffnung oder Gefahr für die Kirche?
(Düsseldorf: Patmos 1986), pp. 147-157, here 154.
12. Leonardo Boff, Trinity and Society, (Maryknoll: Orbis, London: Burns and Oates
1988).
13. Leonardo Boff, Ecology and Liberation, a New Paradigm (Maryknoll: Orbis 1995);
Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (Maryknoll: Orbis 1997).
14. See David Nicholls, Deity and Domination. Images of God and the State in the
Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (London/New York 1989/1994).
15. Erik Peterson, "Der Monotheismus als politisches Problem: Ein Beitrag zur
Geschichte der politischen Theologie im Imperium Romanum [1935]", in: Theologische
Traktate. Ausgewählte Schriften Vol. 1 (Würzburg 1994). pp. 23-81; see also Barbara
Nichtweiss, Erik Peterson. Neue Sicht auf Leben und Werk, (Freiburg/Basel/Wien,
Herder 1992/1994), esp. 763-830.
16. See Reinhold Bernhardt and Ulrike Link-Wieczorek (eds.), Metapher und
Wirklichkeit. Die Logik der Bildhaftigkeit im Reden von Gott, Mensch und Natur
(Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1999); Sally McFague, Models of God. Theology
for an Ecological, Nuclear Age (Philadelphia 1987).
17. Leonardo Boff, Trinity and Society (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1988), pp. 6-7.
18. Boff’s book on the Trinity was written in 1985, while he had to follow a year of
silence as ordered by the Vatican. In the same year, Brazil returned to free elections and
ended 20 years of military rule (1964-1985).
19. As a modest contribution, I intend, focussing on the notion of cidadania
(citizenship), the central term for democracy since the end of military rule in 1985, to
analyze the theoretical and practical contribution of churches towards it. This new
research will be part of a major project involving similar studies on South Korea (Prof.
Dr. Christine Lienemann-Perrin) and South Africa (Katrin Kusmierz, MTh).
20. First indications of Boff taking this cultural aspect more seriously are to be found in
two recent books of his: Depois de 500 anos: Que Brasil queremos? ("After 500 years:
What Brazil do we want?", Petrópolis: Vozes 2000), in which he outlines a just and
participatory Brazil for the third millenium, considering the cultural contribution Brazil
could make towards a globalized world; and 0 Casamento entre o Céu e a Terra.
Contos dos povos indígenas do Brasil ("Marriage between Heaven and Earth. Stories
from indigenous peoples of Brazil", Rio de Janeiro: Salarnandra 2001), a beautifully
presented collection of traditional stories from indigenous peoples, compiled, edited and
commented by Boff, again completed by an exploration of his on the contribution of
Brazilian indigenous peoples towards a globalized world. As a contribution to the
development of an Afro-Brazilian theology, see also Josué Salgado, Auf dem Weg zu
einer afrobrasilianischen Theologie. Eine ökumene- und missionswissenschaftliche
Untersuchung (Aachen 1999).
21. The term "macro-ecumenism" was coined in the 1990s in Latin America and
denotes an ecumenism extended, beyond Christianity to other religions. It can be found
especially among Roman Catholic dialogue activists and tends to leave out Christian,
interconfessional dialogue. I fear that it is, in the end, little more than a simplistic way
of inclusion.
22. I am thinking here of the severe censorship imposed on his books and the
restrictions applied by the Vatican to his liberty of action and speaking, which resulted,
eventually, in his leaving the Franciscan Order and the priesthood in 1992. In a letter to
the "Friends on a common journey and in a common hope" of 28th June, 1992, he
explicitly referred to the Trinity as a critical notion in relation to the Roman Hierarchy.
23. Leonardo Boff, Depois de 500 anos, op.cit., pp. 25-28.51-53. As has been stated
earlier, he describes, in this small booklet, the various contributions Brazil and its
culture could offer towards globalization as understood in a positive way. This includes
a perception of reality based on relationship, the jeitinho (skilled way of resolving a
problem going around it, given that the direct way does not work) and malandragem
(operating with sly trickery) as means of social navigation, a multi-ethnic and multi-
religious culture, the creativity of the Brazilian people, the mystic aura of Brazilian
culture, and the ludic aspect as well as the hope of the Brazilian people, ibid., pp.! 12-
122. In my view, however, he tends to look only at the positive sides of these aspects,
leaving out the fundamental ambiguity of the jeitinho, for example, which I believe
contributes to the malfunctioning of law in Brazil through the lack of a culture of trust
and compliance towards the law system and insight into its benefits.
24. Leonardo Boff, Gott kommt früher als der Missionar. Neuevangelisierung für eine
Kultur des Lebens und derpreiheit (Düsseldorf: Patmos 2nd edition 1992). p.62. The
English translation of this book is entitled New Evangelization: Good News to the Poor
(Maryknoll: Orbis, 1991).
25. Op. cit., 43 (German version).
26. Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, 1996.
27. Leonardo Boff, Gott konnnt früher als der Missionar, op.cit., p. 59.
28. See his remarks in the biographical interview with his friend and translator Horst
Goldstein, Leonardo Boff. Zwischen Poesie und Politik, (Mainz: Grünewald 1994).
29. For his understanding of sacrament and transparence, see his doctoral dissertation
(unfortunately only in German) that has become a book of reference on the matter for
the immediate post-Vatican II period: Kirche als Sakrament im Horizont der
Welterfahrung. Versuch einer Legitimation und einer struktur-funktionalistischen
Grundlegung der Kriche im Anschluss an das II. Vatikanische Konzil (Paderborn 1972).
Still in his book on the Trinity (1986), Boff holds that the Church is, in reference to
Lumen Gentium 1.48 where it is considered as "sign and instrument" of salvation,
revealing (sign) and realizing (instrument) of the "mystery of the love of God towards
Man", the "historical sacrament" of the Trinity, it later loses this prominent place in
Boff’s writings.
30. Cf., for instance, Leonardo Boff, Theologie der Befreiung -- die hermeneutischen
Voraussetzungen, in: Karl Rahner et alii (eds.), Befreiende Theologie (Stuttgart etc.
1977), pp.46-6l.
31. Leonardo Boff, "In Favour of Syncretism," in Church: Charism and Power --
Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church (New York: Crossroad, 1988), pp. 89-
107.
32. This criticism has indeed been applied by anthropologists as well as by black and
indigenous people.
33. Leonardo Boff, Der dreieinige Gott. op. cit., 180. Further references to this book are
given in brackets.
34. Cf. Geoffrey Wainwright, Doxology -- A Systematic Theology. The Praise of God in
Worship, Doctrine and Life (London: Epworth 2nd edition 1982), pp. 218-283
35. Dietrich Ritschl, Zur Logik der Theologie (München Chr. Kaiser 1984), pp. 336ff.,
here 337.
36. Panikkar appears under different first names in his publications: Raymond,
Raymondo, Raimundo. We stay with the Catalan form of "Raimon" which is common
in his latest publications and corresponds to the first and latest context of his living: He
was born in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain), and is now, again, living in that region.
37. Raimon Panikkar, "Ecumenical Ecumenism", in: Journal of Ecumenical Studies,
Vol. 19, 1982, pp. 781-786.
38. "The Cosmotheandric Reality" or "C. Experience", "C. Intuition" or "C. Revelation"
has become the central trinitarian term for Panikkar. He expands the term "theandrism"
coming from the Early Church’s christological debate, to include the cosmos and holds
that the triad God-Man-World is the basic experience that lies at the heart of any
religion. See Raimon Panikkar, The Cosmotheandric Experience (Maryknoll: Orbis
1993), a collection of important texts written in the 70s. His first book focusing on the
Trinity was published in 1970 as The Trinity and World Religions. Icon -- Person --
Mystery (Bangalore). There, the notion of cosmotheandrism is only hinted at. The focus
lies on the Trinity as a typology of religions, elaborated in dialogue with the three
margas ("ways" to salvation) of the Bhagavadgita. For a fairly recent and useful
collection of texts related to Panikkar’s central theme, see Invisible Harmony. Essays on
Contemplation and Responsibility, ed. Harry James Cargas (Minneapolis 1995).
39. See for instance Raimon Panikkar, La plenitud del hombre (Madrid 1999), p. 26:
"The existential situation at the end of this century is so serious that we must not let
ourselves be consumed by internal political fights and rather private problems (the
ordination of women, protestant sacraments, ecumenism, sexual morals, modern rites
and the like)". According to Panikkar, Christian ecumenism is part of these "internal"
issues, while what is really at stake is to be found in the ecumenical ecumenism among
the religions. It seems to me, however, that Panikkar is underestimating the burning
issues at stake even within Christianity, which do also have an influence on the outcome
of interreligious dialogue.
40. Panikkar’s mother came from a strongly conservative Spanish catholicism, although
being herself very moderate, while his father was a Hindu from Kerala. Academically,
he completed three doctorates in philosophy, chemistry and theology in Madrid and
Rome. During many decades, he traveled between Europe, later the United States of
America. and India, serving as a Roman Catholic priest and as a professor of Religious
Studies. He knows many languages from Catalan and English via German to Sanskrit.
However, if I understand correctly, these do not include any Indian vernacular language.
41. Raimon Panikkar, The Intra -Religious Dialogue (New York: Paulist Press 1978).
42. His saying has become well-known: "I ‘left’ as a Christian, I ‘found’ myself as a
Hindu and I ‘return’ a Buddhist, without having ceased to be a Christian", in: ibid., p.
40. In some places, Panikkar speaks of a fourth religion to which he would belong,
calling it "secularism", a religion that originates in Christianity.
43. Like others, Panikkar distinguishes between faith and belief. While the former
denotes the basic religious experience which is, ultimately, one, the latter is plural and
describes a particular way of believing.
44. Raimon Panikkar, The Vedic Experience: Mantramanjari. An Anthology of the
Vedas for Modern Man and Contemporary Celebration [1977] (Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass 1994).
45. It is to be remembered that, when speaking of "religion", Panikkar refers to the so-
called "great" religions, especially to Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, the main
religions in dialogue within and for Panikkar. African and oceanic religions, bound as
they are to specific peoples and local traditions, remain outside his focus.
46. The well-known river metaphor, according to which there are many rivers that,
ultimately, flow into the same ocean, is turned critically against the other pluralists by
Panikkar: Jordan, Tiber and Ganges, metaphors for three types of religion, only meet as
steam in the clouds: "Religions do not coalesce, certainly not as organized religions",
Raimon Panikkar, "The Jordan, the Tiber and the Ganges. Three Kairological Moments
of Christic Self-Consciousness", in: John Hick and Paul F. Knitter (eds.), The Myth of
Christian Uniqueness (London 1988), pp. 89-116, quotation from p. 92. Yet another,
not less critical metaphor is the Tower of Babel: The quest for a common language,
culture or religion -- or for a pluralist universal view of religions -- is bound to fail:
"The Myth of Pluralism: The Tower of Babel -- A Meditation on Non-Violence", in:
Cross Currents vol. 29, 1979, pp. 197-230.
47. Raimon Panikkar, Cultural Disarmament. The Way to Peace (Louisville/Kentucky
1995).
48. On the ideology and practice of Hindutva see, for instance, T. B. Hansen, The
Saffron Wave. Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modem India, Princeton 1999.
49. Panikkar understands Christ as symbol of every mediation between God and the
World, on which Christians do not have a "monopoly". All being is a Christophany, an
appearance of Christ, the centre of the universe; see the revised version of The Unknown
Christ of Hinduis: Towards an Ecumenical Christophany, Bangalore 1981; also "A
Christophany for our times", in: Theological Digest vol. 39, 1992, no.1, pp. 3-21. This
speaking of Christ does, like Panikkar’s notion of the Trinity, maintain only loose links
to the Christian understanding of Jesus as the Christ and God as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, and is, thus, turned into what I call a figure, a concept abstracted from
Christianity, thus available to other religions. It denotes a tendency that can also be
perceived in Boff s recent writings, understanding the "trinity" as a model for unity-in-
diversity or unity-in-relationship, largely detached from God the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit as witnessed in the Scriptures and subsequently worked out in worship and
doctrine.
50. Even with such an open Christology, Panikkar remains too Christian for many
Hindus.
51. Raimon Panikkar, Der Mensch -- ein trinitarisches Mysterium, in: Raimon Panikkar
and Walter Strolz, Die Verantwortung des Menschen für cine bewohnbare Welt im
Christentum, Hinduismus und Buddhismus (Freiburg/Basel/Wien 1985), pp. 147-190,
here 149.
52. See for instance Raimon Panikkar, On Catholic Identity (University of Tulsa 1991),
p. 2, where this becomes clear from what he says on the identity of a Christian: "We
may agree that a Christian is somebody who acknowledges a special relation to Jesus
Christ, but the understanding of this relation cannot be expressed in any univocal way
and the analogy cannot go beyond the formal or structural contents of the word
‘relation’
53. The revised edition has already been quoted above. The first was published as The
Unknown Christ of Hinduism (London: Darton, Longman and Todd 1964).
54. Raimon Panikkar, The Unknown Christ of Hinduism, revised edition, op.cit., p. 16.
Also cf. Religionen und die Religion (München 1965).
55. On Catholic Identity, 2, originally in italics.
56. Panikkar, Religionen und die Religion, op.cit., 126f.
57. I generally avoid "Man" for human being. But since Panikkar deliberately continues
to use it, and it is an intrinsic part of the triad "God-Man-World", I am retaining it in
this context.
58. Dietrich Ritschl, "Konsens ist nicht das höchste Ziel. Gründe für cine Hermeneutik
des Vertrauens in den Christus praesens", in: Konrad Raiser and Dorothea Sattler (eds.),
Ökumene vor neuen Zeiten, (Freiburg/Basel/Wien 2000), pp. 531-547.
59. Raimon Panikkar, Das Abenteuer Wirklichkeit. Gespräche liber die geistige
Transformation, a dialogue with Constantin von Barloewen and Axel Matthes, edited by
Bettina Bäumer (München 2000), p. 71.
60. For the latter, see among others: M. Hiriyanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy
[1932] (Delhi 1993), 339-382; Michael von Brück, Die Einheit der Wirklichke it. Gott,
Gotteserfahrung und Meditation im hinduistisch-christlichen Dialog (München 1986),
30-117 -- the latter goes a similar way to Panikkar and brings the Christian doctrine of
the Trinity into dialogue with advaita-vedanta, giving ample space first to the
description of each of them separate.
61. Raimon Panikkar, El Espíritu de la política. Homo politicus ("The Spirit of Politics.
Homo Politicus" Barcelona 1999).
62. See the debate between Panikkar and Paul F. Knitter in: Joseph Prabhu (ed.): The
Intercultural Challenge of Raimon Panikkar (Maryknoll 1996).
63. I emphasize that these and other comparisons are being constructed from my
interpretation of the trinitarian theologies of Leonardo Boff and Raimon Panikkar and
have not been named in this way by the authors themselves.
64. Indeed Panikkar has made such criticism of Liberation Theology explicit in La
nueva inocencia (Estella 1993), pp. 301-304, quoting Leonardo Boff, Saint Francis. A
Model for Human Liberation (New York: Crossroad 1982).
65. See on this my article: Ecumenical Hermeneutics: Suspicion vs. Coherence?, in:
Bouteneff/ Heller, Interpreting Together, op.cit., pp. 111-121.
66. A Treasure in Earthen Vessels, paras 8 and 30.
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