On-Going Review of Pentecost in Asia: A New Way of Being Church by Thomas C. Fox
In the post below, I mentioned recieving the above book, my first impressions, and my desire to write a review of it. I have decided to include some of thoughts on the book as I read it.
I learned one encouraging bit of information from the book:
That is something to be proud of.
As to the author's main thesis, Fox says this in his introduction:
The above is true of Man before the Fall, but not after. Christianity recognizes that that pre-Fall harmony cannot exist, that Christ alone can establish it in His Parousia. Any human attempts to reconstruct that pre-Fall harmony (Communism, Nazism, Utopianism) are doomed to collapse (Thank God!) just as the Towel of Babel did.
[On a slight tangnet, the issue of the Fall came up in the National Catholic Reporter, the paper for which Fox writes, in an article by Edward Chia entitled The Resurrection and the Incarnation: Easter and Asian Theology:
To me, the problem is not how to preach the Redepmtion without the Fall, but how to convince Asians of the Fall so as to preach Redemption.]
Fox continues in his introduction:
So far, so good, as generalizations, although it is clear where the author's bias lies. He continues into a more questionable line of reasoning:
This is nothing but the popularized and positive form of Orientalism that has gripped the West since the sixties and even before.
There was no "fuzziness" or "both/and" thinking when Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, the 103 canonized Martyrs of Korea, or the estimated 10,000 others who chose to be beheaded rather than renounce the Faith. The same can be said of the Martyrs of Vietnam, the Martyrs of China, or the Nagasaki Martyrs, who...
Fox seems to think the kind of "fuzziness" he describes is a good thing and "Western duality" a bad thing. He advocates that Asians be allowed to develop an "Asian theology" without the burdon of dualistic thinking.
What he forgets, though, is that in accepting the Gospel, we don't put new wine into old wine skins. In effect, we need to shed the parts of our culture that do not conform with Christianity. This does not mean throwing everything away. Many good things from the past can and should be saved and incorporated into Christianity. This was true of the Greco-Roman civilization that Western Christianity was built upon. Many ideas from Paganism were thrown out, but the Roman ideal of the paterfamilias , for example, survived. Many positive elements from Confucianism are quite incorporable into Christian thinking.
It is not only Asia, however, that needs to renounce certain cultural and philisophical assumptions upon acceptance of the Gospel. We American Catholics should abandon certain ideas that are enshrined in our national character, such as radical individualism and the automatic questioning of authority qua authority, the very ideals that the National Catholic Reporter and Mr. Fox advocate.
In the post below, I mentioned recieving the above book, my first impressions, and my desire to write a review of it. I have decided to include some of thoughts on the book as I read it.
I learned one encouraging bit of information from the book:
- "Today the Korean Catholic Chruch is experiencing the highest annual adult baptism rate in the world." (pg. 23)
That is something to be proud of.
As to the author's main thesis, Fox says this in his introduction:
- "The Asian vision places high value on harmony. It is the state of life God intended." (pg. xii)
The above is true of Man before the Fall, but not after. Christianity recognizes that that pre-Fall harmony cannot exist, that Christ alone can establish it in His Parousia. Any human attempts to reconstruct that pre-Fall harmony (Communism, Nazism, Utopianism) are doomed to collapse (Thank God!) just as the Towel of Babel did.
[On a slight tangnet, the issue of the Fall came up in the National Catholic Reporter, the paper for which Fox writes, in an article by Edward Chia entitled The Resurrection and the Incarnation: Easter and Asian Theology:
- "In theologizing from Easter, one would need to speak to issues of redemption and salvation, theological themes that are irrelevant to Asians, especially since persons of other religions have their own versions of what constitute religious ends. Why do we need salvation if we don't believe in a "fall" in the first place?"
To me, the problem is not how to preach the Redepmtion without the Fall, but how to convince Asians of the Fall so as to preach Redemption.]
Fox continues in his introduction:
- "The Asian vision has difficulties with Western dualistic thinking because it tends to separate rather than to join together. Traditional Catholic scholastic theology distinguishes and distinguishes again until all is divided neatly into "truth" and "error." Asians generally do not feel at home with this approach to thought. They prefer "both/and" ideas to "either/or" ones." (ibid.)
So far, so good, as generalizations, although it is clear where the author's bias lies. He continues into a more questionable line of reasoning:
- "Asian Catholics resist neat categories - and resist being defined in such categories. This Asian "fuzziness" confuses some Westerners who like neat boxes and sharp lines. This is not the Asian approach to life." (ibid.)
This is nothing but the popularized and positive form of Orientalism that has gripped the West since the sixties and even before.
There was no "fuzziness" or "both/and" thinking when Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, the 103 canonized Martyrs of Korea, or the estimated 10,000 others who chose to be beheaded rather than renounce the Faith. The same can be said of the Martyrs of Vietnam, the Martyrs of China, or the Nagasaki Martyrs, who...
- "...each had a piece of their left ear cut off, and then [were] paraded from city to city for weeks with a man shouting their crimes and encouraging their abuse... [and were later crucified]... (the Japanese style of crucifixion was to put iron clamps around the wrists, ankles and throat, a straddle piece was placed between the legs for weight support, and the person was pierced with a lance up through the left and right ribs toward the opposite shoulder)... They were each repeatedly offered freedom if they would renounce Christianity. They each declined."
Fox seems to think the kind of "fuzziness" he describes is a good thing and "Western duality" a bad thing. He advocates that Asians be allowed to develop an "Asian theology" without the burdon of dualistic thinking.
What he forgets, though, is that in accepting the Gospel, we don't put new wine into old wine skins. In effect, we need to shed the parts of our culture that do not conform with Christianity. This does not mean throwing everything away. Many good things from the past can and should be saved and incorporated into Christianity. This was true of the Greco-Roman civilization that Western Christianity was built upon. Many ideas from Paganism were thrown out, but the Roman ideal of the paterfamilias , for example, survived. Many positive elements from Confucianism are quite incorporable into Christian thinking.
It is not only Asia, however, that needs to renounce certain cultural and philisophical assumptions upon acceptance of the Gospel. We American Catholics should abandon certain ideas that are enshrined in our national character, such as radical individualism and the automatic questioning of authority qua authority, the very ideals that the National Catholic Reporter and Mr. Fox advocate.
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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