Perspectief 2013-21

2013-21 41 Re ageer Christian Social Ethics in An Economy of Life, Justice and Peace for All (2013) A Roman Catholic Theologian's Analysis and Comment 53 prof. dr. Fred van Iersel Introduction: the public function of Christian Social Ethics as a problem In the life of Christians, faith expresses itself in the quest for the (affective and) cognitive truth about God's Love, as culminating in dogmatic doctrine. Faith also expresses itself in Christian spiritu- ality and mysticism, in liturgy, rituals and sacraments, and in the way it is institutionalized. 54 Seen from the outside, the most visible elements of Christian life are liturgy, sacraments and rituals: due to their visibility and audibility they can be broadcasted and thus become visible in the public life of a culture and society. The sec- ond domain, Christian spirituality, can be correlated to the private and public interest in spirituality and mysticism as it manifests it- self in culture, as well as to non-Christian types of spirituality and mysticism: as such they provide a privileged basis for spiritual ecumenism and for interre- ligious dialogue and cooperation. Thus the global interest in spirituality opens up opportunities for Christianity to connect itself with the experiential dimension of private lives and cultures. Spirituality offers types of hermeneutics of the human experience of meaning, and as such it is immensely popular. Besides, spirituality has a motivational func- tion, through offering inspiration beyond obligation and calculation. In the present public domain, the above mentioned two cognitive dimensions of religions – let's say: the search for the truth about God and the quest for a morally good life - suffer 53 World Council of Churches, An Economy of Life, Justice and Peace for All (2012). This is a document produced by a programme commission in the context of an AGAPE Process ( Alternative Globalisation Ad- dressing People and Earth) which will be discussed in the WCC conference in Busan (Korea) in 2013. 54 The distinction in dimensions of Christianity presented here has been inspired by Ninian Smart's dimen- sions of religion. See: N. Smart, Dimensions of the Sacred, London 1997, p. 196-215

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