REFLECTIONS ON MISSION IN THE POST‐MODERN CONTEXT

Abstract

In 1849, Baron van Hoevell wrote a brochure in which he called the Dutch people to account: You are only interested in the annual figures that pour into your own coffers from Java, but you are heedless of any sweat or blood or tears that may cling to them. missionary fulfilled his prophetic task. The Torah, which is a light unto our path, tolerates no injustice, oppression, exploitation or exclusion. It is a credit to the Netherlands Missionary Society (NZG) that one of its leaders drew attention to this violation of human rights at such an early stage. The NZG was conceived out of compassion for the fortunes of the peoples overseas, as well as compassion for the poor in our own land. Living out this tradition, have spent my life protecting the interests of people both at home and overseas. The cultural contexts differ profoundly. In Indonesia, God was taken for granted as the precondition for human existence. In the Netherlands, by contrast, God has become a stumbling block. All that remains is ethics. Religion has become a matter of interpretation. Jesus is dead, but life goes on in his spirit. The Torah is an inspiring document. The irreducible call to responsibility still offers enough of a basis to support many a Christian. But it cannot be like this. The Torah begins with the words, I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt. Let us be honest: the question of God is a question of life or death. During the course of my work in the Netherlands, have been led to believe that many people outside the church have valued my work. So it would seem that, as a churchman, it is still possible to win points in this secularized society. How great that your church opens its doors to marginal groups and takes care of the homeless! Bravo, keep it up, you and your church. What's your bank account number? Go ahead and irritate the government. Be a voice for the oppressed, for those whose voice has been stifled! Bravo? Forget it. It is not enough for the church to force itself into the role of keeper of junkies, illegal aliens, refugees or the poor. The church must stay anchored in the traditional faith of the Rock of Ages. To reject this tradition is to bring death to the church. All the church's social activities are but sounding brass if the God of Israel is condemned by the tribunal of our intellect to a life of exile in the cathedral of a privatized religious life. We draw from different casks. In our post-modern period, the God question is something that we are compelled to set aright. The faceless God of Israel gives rise to my following remarks. The philosopher Michel Foucault, in response to paintings by the Belgian artist Rene Margritte, wrote a small book entitled, is not a Pipe. Imagine that on an easel we see a picture of a On the wall is a picture of a Then we read the words, This is not a pipe. Foucault argues that the notion advanced in classical painting that there is a similarity between the picture and that which is pictured is an illusion. The picture and the pictured no longer correspond. Such a notion gives rise to confusion. People become insecure. They feel awkward. They lose their grip on the reality of the Just look at the easel: a series of lines that is supposed to represent a Add a few more scratches and you get a different picture altogether. The easel could come crashing down and the picture could end up tom to shreds. is not a is not God. God has gone the way of Foucault's There are many pictures of God in literature, in art, in song and in the spoken word. But none of that is God. Beautiful, impressive things have been said about God. meet God in the face of the other. Being with Christ among others: this is how God has made Godself known among us. God identifies with the least. God is in Christ. God is the deepest in yourself. We sing at the top of our voices, I feel the wind of God today. …