Review of "Constants in Context"

Stephen B. Bevans & Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2004.

In this single volume, Stephen Bevans and Roger Schroeder explore the biblical, historical, and theological roots of mission in order to propose a theology of mission for the twenty-first century. The stated aim of Constants in Context is “to propose a contemporary theology of mission in the light of the faithful but always-contextual growth of the Christian movement” (xvi). Bevans and Schroeder demonstrate that the Christian message has maintained six constants (Christology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Salvation, Anthropology, and Culture) which have been shaped to fit particular (historical/cultural) contexts. As we enter the twenty-first century, the authors propose prophetic dialogue as our contemporary model for theology of mission.

Extensive sources from a variety of disciplines were consulted to inform this in-depth study. Bevans and Schroeder structured their view of theology around the strands of theological perspectives, based on the models proposed by Justo L. González and Dorothee Sölle: type A theology (orthodox/conservative) with an emphasis on law and influenced heavily by Tertullian, type B theology (liberal) with an emphasis on truth and influenced by Origen, and type C theology (radical/liberation theology) emphasizing history and influenced by Irenaeus. Other contemporary theologians are referenced include Jürgen Moltmann and Karl Rahner. Missiologically, the authors relied on the foundations established by David Bosch in Transforming Mission, as well as consulting a number of other experts, such as Andrew Kirk and Lesslie Newbigin. Their history of missions is informed by well-known historians such as Stephen Neill and Kenneth Scott Latourette as well as articles written by lesser-known historians such as Samuel Moffett and Andrew F. Walls.

Bevans and Schroeder both write from a Roman Catholic perspective, which is noticeable by the numerous references to papal declarations, encyclicals, and Vatican decrees. Such references would most likely be absent if this volume had been written by Protestants. However, they are certainly welcome in order to gain a fuller understanding of mission in the Church catholic.

The book is divided into three parts which help to develop the thesis. The first part lays the biblical and theological foundations which will be built upon by the rest of the book. In this first section, the authors explore mission in the book of Acts. The six constants of mission are then explored through the lens of González’s three types of theology.

The second part – the majority of the book – explores the missionary activity of the church during six periods of history – the early church, the monastic movement, the mendicant movement, the age of discovery, the age of progress, and the twentieth century. For each period, the authors identify how the six constants were applied to specific contexts, which of González’s three types of theology was the major type for each stream of Christianity, the major theologians, key figures, and primary model of mission for each period.

The final part of the book seeks to create a theology of mission for today’s context. Three models of mission are highlighted – mission as participation in the mission of the Triune God, mission as liberating service of the reign of God, and mission as proclamation of Jesus Christ as universal Savior. From these models the authors synthesize their own model for theology of mission in the third millennium – prophetic dialogue. This model includes witness and proclamation; liturgy, prayer, and contemplation; justice, peace and the integrity of creation; interreligious dialogue; inculturation; and reconciliation.

Constants in Context traces the spread of Christianity through the mission endeavors of the church through the various historical and cultural contexts of the past two thousand years, leaving the reader with a proposal for where to go as we enter the third millennium. While a single-volume work of such magnitude cannot obviously address every issue in Christian history, the authors did well to extract those instances in Christian history which serve to exemplify how the Church approached mission in each of the six periods.

One aspect of this book which sets it apart from many others is that it is not restricted to Western (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant) church history, but includes Eastern Orthodox, East Syrian, Ethiopian, and Coptic forms of the Church. While the sections on the non-Western churches could have perhaps been more detailed, their inclusion demonstrates that Christianity is not a Western European religion but from its inception, has been a worldwide religion. This is evidenced through exploring the church in Syria, India, and China before the western European explorers and missionaries brought the Gospel message there in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Another helpful component of this book is the way the authors explained the contextual rationale behind missionaries’ actions. Some practices (e.g. tabula rasa approach, Crusades, etc.) may make us cringe as culturally insensitive. The authors neither excuse the behavior nor seek to justify it. They do, however, state the motivations for such mission practices, and note that missionaries of the past, as well as those of us today, are “children of their time.” It makes me wonder how our efforts will be viewed in three or four hundred years.

From cover to cover, this book has forced me to think about the practices of and theology supporting missions, why do we do missions, and how the Church can embrace a lifestyle of mission. I plan to revisit the synthesis the authors provide in Chapter 12 (Mission as Prophetic Dialogue), reflecting on their words and adding my own thoughts from my particular experience and setting.