Gonzalez Discounts Limited Perspectives on the Past
 

"The history I learned yesterday has to be relearned," confessed Dr. Justo L. Gonzalez, prominent church historian, at the Campbell University Department of Religion and Philosophy's annual lecture series in late February. Not that history has changed, but the perspectives from which it was written, the sources that were used, and the knowledge that historians have as they look back have drastically changed the way it should be written, he explained.

Gonzalez, a United Methodist minister born in Cuba, is author of the highly acclaimed two-volume The Story of Christianity, the three-volume History of Christian Thought, and his most recent work, The Changing Shape of Church History. In addition to his basic college and seminary work in Cuba, he obtained three degrees from Yale University: Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy.

Speaking on the topic of "The Changing Shape of Church History," Gonzalez noted, "The central issue for ministry today is the changing shape of the church within society and how to practice ministry in the emerging situations." The changes that are taking place in church history are the "counterparts" of those changes.

Gonzalez used geography as a metaphor to clarify his point. "If history is a drama, then geography is the stage on which the action takes place," he added. Just as it is impossible to understand or follow the plot without its setting, so it is with following history without an understanding of the stage on which it takes place. He noted some examples of changes that have taken place in the map of Christianity: from the beginning of the 20th century until now, the number of Christians living in Europe has reduced from one-half to less than one-quarter; the ratio of white Christians has dropped from four-out-of-five to less than two-out-of-five; and the great missionary centers have moved from New York and London to places such as Korea and Puerto Rico, according to Gonzalez.

Yet church history has been written from the North Atlantic perspective. Outside of the North Atlantic, church history was labeled missions history. The financial resources are in the North Atlantic. Some churches actually have more property in the United States than whole denominations have overseas. The endowments of some of the major U.S. seminaries are larger than the entire budgets of many denominations overseas. On the other hand, the center of vitality and growth has shifted for the most part to the southern hemisphere, Gonzalez said.

Church history was also written, almost in isolation from what else was going on in the world and the impact it had or would have on history. "One can no longer ignore the fact that the 16th century is not only the time of the Protestant Reformation, but also of the Spanish conquest of the western hemisphere," said Gonzalez.

And church history was written through the eyes of the elite. By far, those who were quoted were the educated, Anglo-Saxon males, and church leaders represented only themselves. Gonzalez said that women, for example, have made up half of the church throughout the centuries but have been basically ignored until now. "But more recent times, precisely because of the greater participation of women, minorities, and Third World people in the task of writing history, we have become aware that to understand the history of the church it does not suffice to look at the mountain of historic achievements. We must look at the everyday lives of Christians."

There were four great movements in church history-the conversion of Constantine, the Middle Ages, the reformation, and theological developments of the 19th century. If you know the great theologians of those times, then you know church history, he said. However, there are other times that are just as significant, depending on who and where one is in the present. For instance, studying the second and third centuries when Christianity was marginalized and when Christians had no social or political support might be very helpful to persons living in the North Atlantic today, where churches can no longer take for granted the support of society at large.

As more perspectives are recorded, these will paint history differently, but perspective does not govern content, Gonzalez explained. In biblical interpretation, one cannot put something in context that isn't there. Christians are called to be a catholic (universal) church in the sense that all perspectives dialogue with each other, not supplant each other. He added that those who are part of the dominant majority run the risk of saything their position is the right position. At the same time, Christians have an obligation to contradict something that is wrong, even if it is the dominant position.

Even though the times are exciting, they are also terrifying as each day the history learned yesterday has to be relearned, Gonzalez admitted. But, at the same time, Christians should be able to survive these cataclysmic changes as heirs to the faith.

The Campbell Divinity School, which opened in 1996 with 35 students, currently has 186 students enrolled. The school offers the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian education degrees. The Divinity School is committed to providing Christ-centered, Bible-based, and ministry-focused theological education for Christian ministry.


Bulletin 0048