What is contextual theology? The reason it is so dangerous to the Catholic Faith

[Michie]

What is contextual theology?

On November 1, Pope Francis promulgated the Motu proprio “Ad theologiam promovendam” establishing the new statutes of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. This text is an opportunity for the Holy Father to express his vision of the place of theological reflection in the Church. For the Pope, “Theological reflection is called to a turning point, a paradigm shift, a “courageous cultural revolution [1]” which commits it, above all, to being a fundamentally contextual theology, capable of reading and interpreting the Gospel in the conditions in which men and women live daily”[2].

Cathcon: Odious to call it a cultural revolution considering how many died during the Chinese cultural revolution. But Francis is so Sinophile, he would not notice. They can do anything and still be praiseworthy in the world he has constructed for himself. And contextual theology is precisely that, the construction of an ethical world abstracted from and distorting Catholic theology.

This term of contextual theology is not an invention of Pope Francis, it is a current of contemporary theological reflection which developed following the Second Vatican Council. Contextual theology seeks to fulfill the ambition of the Council to “question the relationship between the Church and its faith, on the one hand, and man and the world of today, on the other hand[ 3]”. To understand what the pope is talking about, it is good to ask ourselves what contextual theology is, what its characteristics and methodology are.

1. Definition

Continued below.

What is contextual theology? The reason it is so dangerous to the Catholic Faith

cathcon.blogspot.com

 

[2PhiloVoid]

What is contextual theology?

On November 1, Pope Francis promulgated the Motu proprio “Ad theologiam promovendam” establishing the new statutes of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. This text is an opportunity for the Holy Father to express his vision of the place of theological reflection in the Church. For the Pope, “Theological reflection is called to a turning point, a paradigm shift, a “courageous cultural revolution [1]” which commits it, above all, to being a fundamentally contextual theology, capable of reading and interpreting the Gospel in the conditions in which men and women live daily”[2].

Cathcon: Odious to call it a cultural revolution considering how many died during the Chinese cultural revolution. But Francis is so Sinophile, he would not notice. They can do anything and still be praiseworthy in the world he has constructed for himself. And contextual theology is precisely that, the construction of an ethical world abstracted from and distorting Catholic theology.

This term of contextual theology is not an invention of Pope Francis, it is a current of contemporary theological reflection which developed following the Second Vatican Council. Contextual theology seeks to fulfill the ambition of the Council to “question the relationship between the Church and its faith, on the one hand, and man and the world of today, on the other hand[ 3]”. To understand what the pope is talking about, it is good to ask ourselves what contextual theology is, what its characteristics and methodology are.

1. Definition

Continued below.

What is contextual theology? The reason it is so dangerous to the Catholic Faith

cathcon.blogspot.com

I don't have a major problem with this direction posed by Francis.

You see, here's the rub: Hermeneutics is also supposed to have a recursive aspect within it which, like science, leaves the theological explorer always open to eventually being bitten in the ass by Reality and, thereby, tends to "correct" any shortsighted, unjustified interpretations about life or the Christian Faith.

So, Hermeneutical Praxis, when applied mindfully and in a scholarly way, is and remains a 'two-edged sword' in its own right. People need to be aware of THIS on all sides !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

"Contextual theologies develop mainly in North and Latin America, Africa, Asia, etc. In their genesis, they present themselves as the apprehension of Revelation from a non-European reality and culture. It is a form of inculturation which refuses the universalist pretension of classical theology and returns it to the rank of a European, Western, and therefore itself contextual, appreciation of revelation."

I think this is a key burr in the saddle for many people. Losing that sense of "universalism" which is actually just Europeanism.