Table Of ContentYAP KIM HAO
DOING THEOLOGY
IN A
PLURALISTIC WORLD
Dedicated to
Hee Choo
Susan Siu Sen, Shirley Siu Lee
Raymond Li-Min, Richie Li-Chi
Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction 1
Significant Principles 3
My Social Location 4
Chapter 2
Ground of Pluralism 10
New Realities 12
Impact and Response 17
Chapter 3
Field of Culture 22
Culture and Religion 33
Work of Contextualization 38
Sociology of Knowledge 62
Priority of Praxis 68
Chapter 4
Circle of Religion 80
Exclusivistic Approach 88
Inclusivistic Approach 97
Pluralistic Approach 106
Religious Dialogue 116
Chapter 5
Arena of Politics 133
Political Theology 156
Liberation Theology 164
Minjung Theology 178
Chapter 6
Sphere of Ecology 195
Human Ecology 195
Natural Ecology 204
Christianity and Ecology 212
Strategy of Action 227
Bibliography 235
Index 244
Chapter 1
Introduction
This is a study of some of thesignificantissuesofdoingtheology
in a world which is increasingly pluralistic. Most of us who live in the
urban centers in the world encounter people of different races, color
and creed. In my own country of Malaysia and in Singapore where I
reside now, we are reminded of the nature of our society which is
multi-racial, multicultural, and multi-religious. Religious and racial
harmony is of utmost importance in order for people of such diverse
backgrounds to live together in mutual respect and in peace with justice.
On the question of doing theology, my premiseisthatwecanno
longer do it in isolation.Faithseekingunderstandingistheusualwaywe
define theology. But the understanding is not just of a body of beliefs
and practices. It involves comprehension of the context towhichfaithis
related.Thecontextispeople,history,andnature.Itistheentirecultural
dimension of one's life.
Out of the pluralistic context I will identify certain factors which
are important for theological reflection. We begin with the issue of
contextualization and discusstherelationshipbetweenfaithandculture.
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The insights from the field of sociology of knowledge will be especially
helpful.
The religious dimension looms large. In Malaysia, Islam is the
official religion but about half of the population are adherents of other
religious faiths. Singapore is a secular state with the determination to
provide religious freedom without granting special privileges to anyone
religion. How do the religious people relate to one another in societies
like these? Religious dialogue becomes a necessity for the maintenance
of a society free from religious conflict. The promotion of religious
harmony is crucial.
The question of religion and politics is then probed. How do we
draw the line between religion and politics? That line is not easily
discernible. Weareconcernedwiththeissuesofjusticeandliberationas
they are beingreflectedinsometheologicalsystems.Iwanttostressthe
needforasenseofmoralityinpoliticsandthepositiverolereligionmust
play in it.
It may come as a surprise that I have to take into account the
relationship with nature. There is life beyond just the human condition.
It is the life of animals and plants and their interactionwithnature.Just
as we affirm the inalienable rights of men, women and children to live,
they alsoapplytootherlivingcreaturesandthings.TheWorldCouncilof
Churches concern themselves not only with justice and peace but the
integrity of creation and calls for a covenant ing process among us.
There is this condition of people living in relationship with one
another and with nature. It is the communion with God and our
perception of what spirituality is. It is the fellowship with other people
and our understanding of what community is. It is the relationship with
nature and our insight of what life is.
In thispluralisticworldIhaveidentifiedculture,religion,poli-tics,
and nature to provide therawfactsfordoingtheology.Withineacharea
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there is variety. The particularities of each aredistinctive.Yetthereisan
inter-relationship and an inter-dependency in each case and between
them. They do not exist in isolation but in interaction with one another.
Significant Principles
A number of principles surface which I want to address. In each
situation the temptations of being chauvinistic, exclusivistic,
authoritarian, and domineering emerge.
We want to take an absolutist stance and believe that we are
al-ways right and othersconsistentlywrong.Weassumepowerandseek
to control and dominate others. History has depicted the riseandfallof
dictatorial powers and the demise of authoritarian style of leadership.
Currently a strong wind of change is blowing hard acrossthefaceofthe
earth. The cries for freedom and democracy fill the city streets in
differentpartsoftheworldtodayfromBeijingtoBerlin,fromMoscowto
Manila, from Prague to Pretoria.
Linked to this absolutist position is centralization. To ensure
conformity, centralized planning and control are instituted. The orders
come from the top and those who are affected have no participatory
role. They arebeingsubjectedfromaboveorbecomeobjectsofhis-tory.
Power is being monopolized by a few. The trend is for decen-tralization
with more centers of planningandmanagementthroughoutoursociety.
Privatization in thebestsenseofthetermofferswiderparticipation.The
call is for democratization of the socio-economic and political structures.
The principles that I want to lift up are participation,
relation-ships, mutuality, and communality. The positive attitudes that I
want to advance arefromconfrontationtocollaboration,competitionto
cooperation, conflictual to consensual. Wearetomovefromisolationto
community in all areas of life in our pluralistic world.
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My Social Location
As I reflect on such issues and given the emphasis that I make
about contextualization and relationships, I must deal with my own
personal and social location.HowIreflectandthewayIwritehavebeen
determined by the different contexts that I have been involved
throughout my life. It is not an autobiographical statement but an
identification of significant moments or experiences which have
in-fluenced my intellectual and theological development.
My early memory is that of a safe and secure childhood in a
comfortable home in the small town of Kampar although I was born in
the seaside community known as Port Dickson in Malaysia. It is a 'two
main streets' town of about 10,000 people then with the Methodist
School at one end and the RomanCatholicSchoolattheother.Sincemy
family lived at the end wheretheMethodistSchoolwaslocated,Ijoined
that school where my two older sisters had attended.
World War IIinterruptedanditwasamajorfactorinmyownlife.
I had only finishedsixyearsofeducationin1941andtheEnglishSchools
were closed during the entire period. The colonial British government
had promoted English education in order to rule the country more
effectively. My father was one of the early group ofpeoplewhostudied
English along with some Chinese and therefore had an economic
advantage over the others. For me during the war period Ifacedforthe
first time deprivation and knee pain and suffering.
When the Japanese Army was marching down the Malayan
peninsula the retreating British forces usedthescorchedearthtacticsto
delay the advance. My home was one of those that was deliberately
razed to the ground. My family had earlier evacuated with only the
belongings that we could carry to the jungle away from the battlelines.
The house and all the memorabilia that are associated withone'shome
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went up in smoke. It was not possible to rebuild the house and we had
to start from scratch again. Economic deprivation was real to me then.
Personal suffering became real too. Towards the end of 1944, I
just happened to be in a movie theatre when I was singled out for no
reason at all by a somewhat drunk Japanese military police. In the
darkened room he came behind me and pulled me out of my seat and
began to throw me around in the aisle of the theatre and then in the
living room of a house next to it. Iwasnotaccusedforanythingbutwas
just a rag doll to be tossed around. I lost count ofthenumberoftimesI
was forcibly flung over his shoulder from one end of the room to the
other. This was interspersed with hard slaps to the face and punches to
the body. EachtimeIwasmadetostandupuntilIwasnotabletogetup
anymore for he had broken my leg. This stopped the beatings andIwas
taken to a cell in the Police Station. I can still remember itwascrowded
and there was hardly any place on the cold hardfloor.Butkindnesswas
not absent for some unnamed inmates made way for me to lie down
next to the common toilet. After a few hours and past midnight I was
released and taken home.Noreasonsweregivenandnoapologieswere
sent. It was not even a case of mistaken identity. For a long time it was
hard for me to reconcile myself to such a meaningless event.
The further agony was that medical attention was not available.
There were no X-ray machines even to determine the extent of the
injury. I had to lie in bed and hobble around when the pain lessened. It
was close to a year before I was able to receive proper medical
attention. The fall of Japan and the return of the British forces restored
the medical facilities. ForthefirsttimeIknewhowseverewasmyinjury.
Previous to that I had to bear the pain and just wait for medical aid.
Finally I was able to be placed on the operating tableforthesurgeonto
deal with the fracture. He was a Scottish thoracic surgeon and
orthopaedics was not really his specialty. There was no choice and I
subsequently learnt that he was quite a "butcher". The extent of my
injury was such thattheballofthefemurhadtoberemovedcompletely
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