January, 2006

Challenges to Faith in Times of Globalisation

Ofelia Ortega

The search for alternatives to the assault of economic globalisation endured by our countries today needs to be permanently coloured by the prophetic visions of shalom with the mandate of biblical texts. We need to believe and proclaim that God can create new social possibilities beyond the shrunken horizons of defeat and submissive docility. According to Walter Brueggemann, the movement towards these new horizons are emotional, liturgical and imaginative; it requires forming a vision of the future free of the fearful dreams of entrenched power.

In Search of New Horizons

When Dr. Rose Wu, director of the Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI), invited me to participate as a guest lecturer for a course entitled Economic Globalisation and Christian Theology at two prestigious theological institutions, the Lutheran Theological Seminary, or LTS, and Chung Chi Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, I accepted primarily because these courses allowed me to work with her as well as with Dr. Kung Lap-yan and Dr. Francis Yip. However, I never thought that my experience in these two months of work would so enrich my familiarisation with this theme and with the Asian culture of these two institutions.

At the same time, I also enjoyed the pastoral work and social action carried out by HKCI—its teaching methods and constant work of building awareness in local congregations, links with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and marginalised social groups and challenging the centres of power. Meanwhile, my stay at LTS allowed my constant relationship with the students boarding there from different Asian countries. I enjoyed a true community spirit where the students, women and men, who were my "guardian angels," assisted me in countless ways.

In the classrooms, I also learned about the research carried out by the students from many corners of Asia—Vietnam, Nepal, Laos, the Philippines and Myanmar as well as Hong Kong—and about the effects of economic globalisation in these places. Their presentations are enough to understand and appreciate what is happening in our developing countries as a result of the current world economy. We also delivered our lectures and shared with students what our churches are doing to face The System that causes so much poverty in our countries. We also presented several important documents related to the active participation of the Church in this arena. I also gave a lecture on theology and masculinity to a LTS feminist theology class.

At Chung Chi Divinity School, we went deeper into the impact of economic globalisation in Latin America and the Caribbean so that we could make the links of all this research with the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that was commencing in Hong Kong just as we finished our lectures at these two institutions. We also had a very productive dialogue with the students, especially regarding the effects of economic globalisation on children and women. With both groups of students, we also dealt with the effects of the unequal development of the ecosystem, chiefly with the monopoly of the transnationals on the water reserves in our countries. We discussed specific cases of people's resistance to the privatisation of water, like in Bolivia, that has caused irreparable harm to our poor communities.

Public Lectures

I also had the opportunity to present lectures and participate in three ecumenical meetings in Hong Kong between Dec. 9 and 18— the Conference on Globalising Economic Justice and Social Sustainability, the Ecumenical Women's Forum on Life-Promoting Trade and the last conference whose theme was "Call to the People of Faith to Resist Capitalist Globalisation and Work Together for Life-Enhancing Alternatives." All of these meetings were held to assess and protest the impact of the WTO's policies on the world's poor and to make recommendations to address the hardships that the WTO has created. Moreover, our involvement in two rallies on Dec. 11 and 13 facilitated by the first two conferences and organised by the Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO (HKPA) gave us the opportunity to witness the great opposition of people from different parts of the world to the WTO negotiations.

In addition to these wonderful meetings, I was invited to deliver lectures in other gatherings that greatly enriched my contact with local church leaders and members of different churches and organisations in Hong Kong. These included lectures jointly arranged by LTS, Chung Chi Divinity School, the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC) and HKCI to discuss the themes "The Challenge of Economic Globalisation to the Christian Church" and "What Are the Issues Now before Our Theological Institutions?" I was also invited by the China Graduate School on Theology and the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology and Philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church to give lectures as well, and a dialogue with members of the Hong Kong Women Christian Council (HKWCC) about the development of feminist theology in Latin America was also a highlight of my stay in Hong Kong.

Visits

This intense programme occurred in the midst of a very deep cultural and theological immersion through visits to mainland China to Union Theological Seminary in Guangzhou and Nanjing Theological Seminary. As well as meeting the staff of the seminary in Guangzhou, we also met with local pastors in the city and dialogued with ex-students of LTS. In Nanjing, Prof. Penny Wang, the academic dean, and other professors explained the curriculum and the possibilities this theological institution has to offer for the leadership of China's churches. We also visited a local church where the pastor, a woman, helped us to better understand the rapid growth of churches in China. We also went to the Amity Christian Art Centre and appreciated the valuable work of this centre.

Lastly, I appreciated the opportunity to visit a prison with LTS students at the invitation of the Rev. Tobias Baumgartner from Basil Mission in Switzerland and to witness his prison ministry, a visit which proved to be a very moving experience.

Gratitude

There are innumerable people, organisations and institutions to thank for this enriching experience—Dr. Rose Wu, Dr. Kung Lap-yan, Chung Chi Divinity School, LTS and many others who touched my life in the past two months in Hong Kong. And I give thanks to God that is calling us to be non-conformist and transformative communities because life is not possible unless we undertake transformations that address the roots of injustice. We are called to let ourselves be transformed by the renewal of our minds moving away from the dominating, conquering and egoistic imperial mindset, thus doing the will of God which is fulfilled in agape love, solidarity (Rom. 13:10) and grace (Isa. 55). Transformative communities are transformed by God's loving grace and by the practice of an economy of solidarity and sharing. We as churches are called to create spaces for, and become agents of, transformation. The challenge for us is to put people and the Earth at the centre of our economies so that the economy is at the service of the life of all creatures. In order to be transformative communities, we ask God's grace and guidance and offer our prayers with all our hearts and minds.

"Be not conformed to the structures of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Rom. 12:2)

(Ed. note: On behalf of HKCI and the Christian community in Hong Kong, I want to express our deep appreciation and gratitude for Ofelia's wonderful presence and great contribution to our work and for sharing not only her knowledge and experiences but also for her faithful commitment and joyful spirit in demonstrating the possibility of building a different world.)