The Reflection of Week 1 and Week 2 Readings

Aloysius Ming-Te Hsu

The readings of the first and second weeks focus on the context of the Asian Church, the
history of the FABC, and its features of theology. Tracking back its ancient root mentioned in the
Acts, Asian Church remained a small group in its existence and survival until the missionaries
came in the sixteenth century. The Western Church, coincidentally contacted Asian people with
the commercial and economic links with Western colonization, took over, supported, manned,
and directed the life of the Asian Church, and changed its course (Thoppil, 56). Therefore,
Christianity in Asia is characterized by the Western force and an impression of a foreign religion.

After Western colonialism withdrew from Asia, the awareness of Asian identity rose in
the post-colonial period. However, Asian consciousness and identity are an abstraction because
there are such diverse and unique cultures, languages, ethnicities, religions, and civilizations
included in the concept of Asia, which derived from ancient Greeks referring to the lands lying
to the east of their homeland. This indefinite concept of Asia does not share common cultural
and spiritual identities like the Greco-Roman civilization, Judeo-Christian faith, the Renaissance,
and the Enlightenment in Europe. There are three major cultural groups, specifically the Arabic-
Islamic, the Indian, and the Chinese, that individually influence Asian thinking, values, and all
aspects of life (Thoppil, 16-18). The complexity of Asia manifests itself not only in the factors
mentioned above but also in geographical, political, economic, and social pluralities. Besides,
many issues that emerge in the Asian context challenge and impact the Asian Church. Such as
the immense mass of the population, socio-economic problems, political conflicts, ecological
issues, the plurality of religions, the negative influence of mass media, fundamentalism, the rise
of New Age, and the New religious movement. Those factors influence the Asian Church's ways
of living, communication, evangelization, and formation.

Facing such common issues and challenges, the Asian bishops gathered by the
opportunity of the visit of Pope Paul VI in Manila in November 1970 and exchanged their
experiences and pastoral concerns. This is the first time that Asian bishops came together and
shared their experiences and challenges. It paved the way for the birth of the FABC (the
Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences). The principal functions of the FABC are below: to
study the ways and means of promoting apostolate, to work for and to intensify the dynamic
presence of the Church for Asian people, to help in the study of problems of common interest to
the Church in Asia, to promote inter-communication and co-operation among local churches, to
render service to the episcopal conferences of Asia, and to foster a more orderly development or
organization of movements in the Church at the international level (Thoppil, 78-79).

Regarding the FABC theology, it is characterized as a reflection of God's salvation in

Asia’s context. Facing the Asian Church's reality as a minor religious community among the
majority, the method of doing FABC theology emphasizes triple dialogue: Asian religions, Asian
cultures, and Asian people, especially the multitude of the poor (Wilfred, XXV). The attitude of
the FABC theology toward other religions in Asia is an appreciation and respect of them. The
positive appreciation attitude derives from the direct and experiential encounter with men and
women living in their religious traditions. The dialogue with them is a dialogue of life, their
ways of living, thinking, and practicing their faiths rather than a doctrinal comparison or debate.

The Church makes great efforts to dialogue with Asian cultures and seeks to share
whatever comes from Asian people, such as its meanings and values, its inspirations, its
languages, its philosophies, its music and artistry. The Asian Church is willing to integrate those
cultural aspects as its own through dialogue and inculturate itself into the large community of
Asian people.

A crucial aspect of dialogue the FABC pays attention to is the multitude mass of the poor
in Asia. 80 percent of Asian population is poor, oppressed, and hungry. The Church expresses its
concern and preference for the poor through diverse charitable work and development projects.
The concern and dialogue with the poor is not merely limited in charitable work but also include
a promotion of social justice and involvement of the liberation of the poor.

Through these two weeks readings, I resonate the challenge of the negative impact of the
mass media and the deficiency of Christian voices among them in the contemporary Asian
context. My questions are below:

1. How can the Church raise its voices and promote its values through mass media
connected to people’s daily issues and concerns?
2. What images of Jesus will be in Asia as a savior, a sage, a God, or other figures who
manifests himself as an Asian?