Oikumeenilise evangelisatsiooni perspektiiv Euroopa kontekstis: missioloogiline ja religioonisotsioloogiline uurimus
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2010-03-18T11:13:41Z
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Abstract
Nüüdisaegne Euroopa kristlus, mida esindavad konfessionaalsed kirikud, aga ka kindla konfessionaalsuseta usukogukonnad või spetsiifiliste spiritualiteetide kandjad, on asetunud konteksti, mis erineb oluliselt eelmiste sajandite harjumuspärasest corpus christianum’i ehk kiriku ja ühiskonna sümbioosi situatsioonist. Corpus christianum’i situatsiooni taandumise ja ühiskondliku elu diferentseerumine toimub paralleelselt ühiskonna sotsiaalsete vormide sekulariseerumisega koos pluraliseerumise ning individualiseerumisega. Kuni ei ole selgeid tõendeid sekulariseerumise suuna pöördumisest, pole põhjust seda argumenti kõrvale heita.
Euroopa ühiskond ja Euroopa kirikud on asetatud küsimuse ette edasistest stsenaariumitest. Positiivne, ofensiivne hoiak on evangelisatsioon. Uurimuse eesmärgiks kirjeldada evangelisatsiooni oikumeenilist perspektiivi ja ressursse Euroopa kontekstis. Sellest eesmärgist tulenevalt on uurimus dispositsioneeritud kolmeks suureks peatükiks, mis tegeleb kolme teemavaldkonnaga: a) Euroopa konteksti kirjeldamine, b) evangelisatsiooni teoloogiliste aspektide uurimine ning c) oikumeenilise evangelisatsiooni perspektiivi esitamine ja praktiliste ressursside hindamine. Uurimuse probleemiasetus on järgmine: millised neist ressurssidest, mis tulenevad evangeeliumist, kiriku misjonaarsest olemusest ning kirikute oikumeenilisest kohustusest, on praktilises evangelisatsioonis kasutatavad ja millistel tingimustel; millistes teoloogilistes ja praktilistes väljendusvormides avaldub nüüdisaegne evangelisatsioon; kuidas on oikumeeniline evangelisatsioon võimalik?
Oikumeenilise evangelisatsiooni perspektiiv Euroopa kontekstis seisneb sekulariseerunud inimese kommunitseerimises evangeeliumiga selliselt, et läbi isikliku usulise pöördumise omandatakse osaduses Jumalaga ja kaasinimestega toimiv ning kiriklikult väljendatud sotsiaalne elulaad. Selliselt rajatud religioossus pretendeerib avardumisele privaatsest sfäärist avalikku. Evangelisatsiooni oikumeenilisus võimaldab seda, et nii kollektiivselt kui ka individuaalselt väljendatav religioossus saab inspireeritud ühest ja samast evangeeliumist, kuigi esitatuna erinevate kiriklike traditsioonide tingimustele vastavalt, ning et transformeeriv evangeelium saab rakenduda kristliku ühtekuuluvusena praktilises elus.
Present-day Christianity in Europe, being represented not only by confessional churches but also by religious communities with neither determined confessionality nor bearing a specific spirituality, is framed by a context which differs greatly from the conventional situation of Christendom, i.e. the symbiosis of church and society prevalent in previous centuries. The diminishing of Christendom and differentiation of social life takes place in parallel with secularization combined with pluralisation and individualization. Having no clear evidence that secularization would change its course, there is no reason to disregard this argument. European society and European churches face the possibility of the following scenarios. A positive, offensive attitude would be evangelization. The present study aims to describe the ecumenical perspectives and resources for evangelization in the European context. Proceeding from this objective the study is divided into three chapters treating three larger fields of subject: a) describing the European context, b) studying the theological aspects of evangelization, and c) presenting the perspectives of ecumenical evangelization and realistically evaluating the resources. The problems under investigation in this study are the following: which of the resources proceeding from the Gospel, from the missionary essence of the church and the church’s obligation for ecumenicity, are used in practical evangelization and on which terms; what is the theological and practical outcome of present-day evangelization; how would ecumenical evangelization be possible? The perspective of ecumenical evangelization in the European context is to communicate the Gospel to a secularized person so that through personal conversion and in communion with God and our fellow man, a working and church-bound social lifestyle is obtained. Such religiosity makes claims to expansion from the private to public sphere. The ecumenicity of evangelizations enables both collective and individual religiosity to be inspired by the same Gospel, though its presentation varies according to the different traditions in different churches, and the Gospel that changes human life is to serve as a basis for life in Christian unity.
Present-day Christianity in Europe, being represented not only by confessional churches but also by religious communities with neither determined confessionality nor bearing a specific spirituality, is framed by a context which differs greatly from the conventional situation of Christendom, i.e. the symbiosis of church and society prevalent in previous centuries. The diminishing of Christendom and differentiation of social life takes place in parallel with secularization combined with pluralisation and individualization. Having no clear evidence that secularization would change its course, there is no reason to disregard this argument. European society and European churches face the possibility of the following scenarios. A positive, offensive attitude would be evangelization. The present study aims to describe the ecumenical perspectives and resources for evangelization in the European context. Proceeding from this objective the study is divided into three chapters treating three larger fields of subject: a) describing the European context, b) studying the theological aspects of evangelization, and c) presenting the perspectives of ecumenical evangelization and realistically evaluating the resources. The problems under investigation in this study are the following: which of the resources proceeding from the Gospel, from the missionary essence of the church and the church’s obligation for ecumenicity, are used in practical evangelization and on which terms; what is the theological and practical outcome of present-day evangelization; how would ecumenical evangelization be possible? The perspective of ecumenical evangelization in the European context is to communicate the Gospel to a secularized person so that through personal conversion and in communion with God and our fellow man, a working and church-bound social lifestyle is obtained. Such religiosity makes claims to expansion from the private to public sphere. The ecumenicity of evangelizations enables both collective and individual religiosity to be inspired by the same Gospel, though its presentation varies according to the different traditions in different churches, and the Gospel that changes human life is to serve as a basis for life in Christian unity.