HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND EVANGELIZATION: THE FIRST TO THE SIXTH PLENARY ASSEMBLY  OF THE FEDERATION OF ASIAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCES

Peter C. Phan
The Catholic University of America

The burden of this essay is to examine the relationship between human development and the church's evangelizing mission as understood in recent Asian theology. One way to carry out this task is to review and evaluate the statements and declarations of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) and their various committees and institutes.

The FABC was founded in the wake of the Asian Bishops' meeting in Manila, Philippines, in 1970. Its influence on the Asian churches has been deemed to be positive. So far the FABC has hold six plenary assemblies which issued final statements. Besides these plenary assemblies, the FABC also has standing institutes, which published statements of their meetings, as well as occasional colloquia, congresses, and consultations. The Bishops' Institute for Social Action (BISA) has held seven meetings, from 1974 to 1986, and has issued statements at the end of each meeting.

Though the present essay focuses on the FABC's six plenary assemblies and the BISA's seven meetings, it is of great importance to note that for the Asian bishops it would be a serious theological error to separate social action for human development from the other two areas of the Asian churches' mission, namely, interreligious dialogue and inculturation. Indeed, documents on interreligious dialogue and inculturation very often discuss at length the role of the church in promoting human development. Hence, due attention must be given to these two fields of the church's ministry as well.

Furthermore, since collective and official declarations are often the work of compromise to achieve a common viewpoint, I will highlight some of their diversities by drawing on the writings of contemporary, especially Asian, theologians.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND EVANGELIZATION

It is very significant that the FABC's first plenary assembly held in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1974 chose as its theme "evangelization in modern day Asia." It affirms that "the preaching of Jesus Christ and His Gospel to our peoples in Asia becomes a task which today assumes an urgency, a necessity and magnitude unmatched in the history of our Faith in this part of the world."

However, in the "new age of mission," says the FABC, evangelization can no longer be understood as a "one-way movement from the ‘older churches' to the ‘younger churches,' from the churches of the old Christendom to the churches of the colonial lands." Rather "every local church is and cannot be but missionary. Every local church is ‘sent' by Christ and the Father to bring the Gospel to its surrounding milieux, and to bear it also into all the world. For every local church this is a primary task." Furthermore, evangelization cannot be conceived as simply a unidirectional proclamation of the Good News to a particular culture, a sort of monologue in which only the church speaks and the people simply listen. Rather, according to the FABC, the "essential mode" in which evangelization is carried out in Asia today must be "dialogue," more precisely, "through a more resolute, more creative and yet truly discerning and responsible inculturation; through inter-religious dialogue undertaken in all seriousness; through solidarity and sharing with the poor and the advocacy of human rights...."

With regard to the third form of dialogue, namely, dialogue with the people, especially the poor, its goal is "total human development" or "integral human development." The BISA III affirms: "We need to strive for a new society, so that all men may reach full human development. Our work has to be for the development of the whole man and every man. This wholeness of man includes not only the individual personal fulfillment, but the growth and blossoming of the whole reality on earth."

It is clear then that for the FABC, human development (1) is an essential dimension of the evangelizing mission of the church and (2) must aim at the total person.

Human Development as a Constitutive Dimension of Evangelization

One point repeatedly stressed by the FABC is that human development and progress in all its aspects – political, social, economic, technological, and cultural – is an intrinsic and constitutive dimension of the church's evangelizing mission. One text frequently invoked by the Asian bishops is the 1971 Synod of Bishops' Justice in the World which affirms that "action in behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, that is, of the mission of the Church for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation." "Human Development," says the BISA V, "is the profound concept that translates sharply for our time the simple and fundamental command of the Gospel that we love one another."

If the link between evangelization and work for human development is not adventitious but essential, it is made more crucial and urgent for the Asian churches, the FABC consistently argues, by the situation of massive poverty and pervasive oppression in all Asian countries. In its first plenary assembly, the FABC declares: "It is our belief that it is from the material deprivation of our poor people, as well as their tremendous human potential, and from their aspirations for a more fully human and brotherly world, that Christ is calling the churches of Asia." Again: "Since millions in Asia are poor, the Church in Asia must be the Church of the poor. One element in holiness, here, is the practice of justice. Evangelization and development are not opposed. In Asia today they are integral parts of preaching the Gospel."

Integral, Total Development

Another idea consistently developed by the FABC is that the human development which the church seeks to promote must be total or integral. It was forcefully expressed at the 1970 historic meeting of one hundred eighty Asian bishops in Manila on the occasion of Paul VI's visit to the Philippines. Their message, which has served as the theological manifesto for the FABC's subsequent plenary assemblies, states: "Resolutely we commit ourselves to the concern for the total development of our peoples. We believe that man's humanity is God's gift and making, and its promotion a task and duty laid on all of us by Him." The sixth plenary assembly expresses this integral development in terms of "holistic life": "Ours is a vision of holistic life, life that is achieved and entrusted to every person and every community of persons, regardless of gender, creed or culture, class or color. It is the fruit of integral development, the authentic development of the whole person and of every person."

This total or integral nature of human development is understood in four senses. First, human development must embrace all the dimensions of the human person as a unity of body-psyche-spirit. The FABC explicitly rejects the reduction of human development to economic and technological progress. As will be seen below, it is precisely this reductionism that, according to the FABC, is causing havoc to the Asian peoples. In particular, with regard to the process of modernization, the FABC, while recognizing its benefits for the future of Asia, is aware that "modernization often leads to social and cultural dislocation. Traditional values and attitudes are called into question. Traditional symbols lose their power. The beneficiaries of modernization are too often infected with secularism, materialism and consumerism. In some countries there has arisen a new middle class which is highly consumeristic and competitive, and in general insensitive and indifferent to the overwhelming majority of poor and marginalized people."

Secondly, total human development means that all resources and means, hence not only technological and material ones, should be pressed into service. In particular, the FABC singles out prayer as an effective means to achieve "integral human development": "Christian prayer is necessary for genuine human liberation and development, and to bring man to his full stature as a son of God."

Thirdly, in order to be total and integral, the church's efforts for human development must go hand in hand with the other two components of its mission, namely, inculturation and interreligious dialogue. Indeed, it is part of the originality and depth of the FABC's theology of human development is that it is not conceived as an activity the church undertakes in parallel to dialogue with other religions and inculturation, but as intimately intertwined with these two activities whose success conditions the full development of the human person in Asia. The FABC repeatedly links the three ministries together: "These are the elements of crucial importance in the task of preaching the Gospel in Asia today:

- Inculturation, which renders the local church truly present within the life of our people.
- Dialogue with the great Asian religions, which brings them into contact with the Gospel, so that the Word in them may come to full flower.
- Service of the poor, uniting with them in the struggle for a more human world."

Fourthly, human development, to be total and integral, must go beyond the human family and be extended to the cosmos as such. The BISA VII underlines the ecological motif of the FABC's understanding of human development: "A new spirituality that will suffuse evangelization and embrace the plan of God for the whole creation is imperative. Mere individual salvation is not enough; salvation must be for the whole person, all people and even for the cosmos. This spirituality must not be inward looking but must place the Church at he service of the whole human race."

In sum, for the FABC, human development is not merely an ethical injunction but a strict imperative and a constitutive dimension of the church's evangelizing mission. Furthermore, it must aim at the total and integral perfection of the human person as a unity of body, soul, and spirit, of the human community, and of the cosmos. It must avail itself of all the means and resources available, and must be carried out in tandem with inculturattion and interreligious dialogue.

THE METHOD OF SOCIAL ACTION FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The FABC is deeply aware that though human development is an essential part of the proclamation of the Gospel, the Gospel itself does not provide ready-made solutions for the social, political, economic, and cultural of contemporary Asia: "The need has been felt to analyse critically and technically the problems we are faced with. We cannot jump from our faith experience to the concrete decisions of social action without due technical investigations and due account of the ideologies under whose influence we are living."

To help persons engaged in programs of human development arrive at appropriate policies and effective courses of action, the BISA VII has outlined a methodology called the "pastoral cycle." It is composed of four steps. The first (exposure-immersion) exposes the agents of human development to and immerse them in the concrete situation of the poor with whom and for whom they work: "Exposure is like a doctor's visit for diagnosis; immersion is like the visit of a genuine friend entering into the dialogue-of-life. Exposure-Immersion ... follows the basic principle of the Incarnation...."

The second step is social analysis. The objects to be investigated include the social, economic, political, cultural and religious systems in society as well as the signs of the times, the events of history, and the needs and aspirations of the people. Indeed, without this technical analysis, the International Congress on Mission points out, "the naivete of all too many Christians regarding the structural causes of poverty and injustice often leads them to the adoption of ineffective measures in their attempts to promote justice and human rights." The FABC does not specify which method of social analysis to be employed. However, it warns of the danger of "deception either by ideology or self-interest" and of incompleteness.

This brings us to the third step, namely, "integration of social analysis with the religio-cultural reality, discerning not only its negative and enslaving aspects but also its positive, prophetic aspects that can inspire genuine spirituality." This step requires contemplation in order to discover God's active presence in the society and preferential love for the poor. This contemplative dimension of human development brings the agents of social development into a sympathetic and respectful dialogue with Asia's great religions and the religiosity of the poor. Through this double dialogue, the authentic values of the Gospel are discovered and appreciated such as "simplicity of life, genuine openness and generous sharing, community consciousness and family loyalty."

The fourth step is pastoral planning, which seeks to complete the first three steps by formulating practical and realistic policies, strategies, and plans of action in favor of integral human development. As these policies, strategies and plans of action are implemented, they are continuously submitted to evaluation by a renewal of the first three steps of the pastoral cycle.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

On the basis of this pastoral cycle, what does the FABC propose for human development and progress in contemporary Asia? In other words, corresponding to the four steps of the pastoral cycle, it may be asked: (1) How does the FABC understand exposure to and immersion in the world of Asia as a part of evangelization? (2) Which problems and challenges facing the peoples of Asia and the church does it discern? (3) Which cultural and religious resources does it appeal to in formulating the church's responses to these problems and challenges? (4) Lastly, what policies, strategies, and concrete plans of action does it recommend for the church's ministry? It is of course impossible to answer these questions in full, given their complexity and extensive scope. I will single out only the most significant elements of the FABC's documents in answering these questions, keeping in mind the chronological progression of these documents, since their focus shifted according to the events and issues that arose during the FABC's quarter of the century existence.

The Asian Church' s Preferential Option for the Poor

With humility and courage the Asian bishops have made the preferential option for the poor the fundamental direction of the church of Asia. Already at the 1970 historic meeting in Manila, they declared: "It is our resolve, first of all, to be more truly ‘the Church of the poor.' If we are to place ourselves at the side of the multitudes in our continent, we must in our way of life share something of their poverty. The Church cannot set up islands of affluence in a sea of want and misery; our own personal lives must give witness to evangelical simplicity, and no man, no matter how lowly or poor, should find it hard to come to us and find in us their brothers." The church of Asia as the "church of the poor"has become the cantus firmus of all the documents of the FABC and its various institutes. This option for the poor, according to the FABC, is mandated not only by Jesus and his message but also by the situation of Asia in which the teeming masses labor under crushing poverty.

In the midst of this dehumanizing poverty and oppression, however, there exists a gap, as the 1979 International Congress in Mission honestly confessed, between the words the Asian church preaches and its witness: "The Church in Asia is not known by the multitudes of the poor to be passionately concerned for their rights and dignity as human beings not selflessly committed to their total liberation from social injustice and oppression."

Given the persistence of this situation, in its latest plenary assembly in 1995, the FABC felt compelled to urge again: "Like Jesus, we have to ‘pitch our tents' in the midst of all humanity building a better world, but especially among the suffering and the poor, the marginalized and the downtrodden of Asia. In profound ‘solidarity with suffering humanity' and led by the Spirit of life, we need to immerse ourselves in Asia's cultures of poverty and deprivation, from whose depths the aspirations of love and life are most poignant and compelling. Serving life demands communion with every woman and man seeking and struggling for life, in the way of Jesus' solidarity with humanity."

The Changing Faces and Challenges of Asia

The FABC is aware that Asia is an extremely vast and variegated continent with two-thirds of the human population, and that therefore it is impossible to provide a common description of the social, political, economic, cultural, and religious situation of Asia. Nevertheless, in order to gauge the scope of the task of human development in Asian countries, it is important to examine how the FABC, in the light of its social analysis, envisions the challenges facing Asia and the church today. Given space constraints, it is only possible to list these challenges with the help of the successive summaries given by the FABC and their institutes.

In 1983, the BISA VI asked if there were "new or old and increasing obstacles and challenges to human development in Asia in the 1980s" and answered its own question as follows: "The new challenges that aggravate the old challenges to human development are the increasing militarization of the continent, the militant resurgence of traditional non-Christian religions like Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism and Asia's increased dependence on global economies .... Unjust trade and aid conditions, export-oriented industries and capital intensive technology, transnational corporations, agribusiness enterprises and tourism.... The global centers of economic power manipulate the mass media in Asian countries to create artificial needs that promote the production of luxury goods. This results in a consumerism which subtly undermines the deeply religious values of Asian cultures and erodes the moral fiber of the Asian peoples."

Three years later, in 1986, the FABC's fourth plenary assembly enumerates the following problems affecting the workers: "... We likewise recognize that these dreams and efforts for integral liberation are being shattered by complex, mutually reinforcing powers that are often beyond the control of workers: the dominance of transnational corporations and large local companies in traditional indultries and their incursion in agribusiness, taking advantage of cheap labor or appropriating the land of small landowners; the banning of strikes and trade unions and so repressing legitimate protests; the exodus of rural workers into already overcrowded urban slums as the cities' cheap labor; the lack of supportive organizations among the vast majority of urban workers, small landowners and landless peasants; long hours of work, harassment, job insecurity and accident hazards; deterioration of health; unemployment and underemployment. Clearly, political, economic and agricultural structures have made both urban and rural workers cogs of an anonymous productive machine, their work a dispensable commodity depending only on the law of supply and demand."

In particular, the fourth plenary assembly singles out the plight of Asian women: "International media have highlighted how tourism and the entertainment industries have exploied, degraded and dehumanized Asian women .... Many are the injustices heaped upon them because of the traditional societies which discriminate against them and because of the new economic and industrial situations. Dowry, forced marriages, wife-beating and destruction of female fetuses weigh heavily on them, driving many to desperation and even suicide. Modern industry exploits their work.... There is discrimination against them in the employment policies, and as domestic workers they are also abused. In general, Asian society views women as inferior."

Finally, in 1995 the sixth plenary assembly gives another list of the grave threats to human development: "We were alarmed at how the global economy is ruled by market forces to the detriment of peoples' real needs. We considered the insecurity and vulnerability of migrants, refugees, the displaced ethnic and indigenous peoples, and the pain and agonies of exploited workers, especially the child laborers in our countries .... We recognized the growing violence, terrorism, conflicts and nuclear proliferation fueled b the arms race and greed for profit .... In the area of religious pluralism, we reflected on the growing fundamentalist extremism and fanaticism discriminating and excluding people who belong to other religious traditions .... As we reflected on these negative areas, we could not ignore the immense damage to the ecosystem of our planet which offends justice and the rights of people."

These lists, though by no means exhaustive, of the challenges to human development in Asia seem endless and are overwhelming. What is significant is that in analyzing these challenges the Asian bishops look for their structural causes: "We bishops and our experts came to see the causes of this distressing situation. Because of colonialism and feudalism and the introduction of Western classical capitalism, the traditional texture of Asian society with its inbuilt balances has been disrupted. Often the economies of these countries are not geared primarily to satisfying the requirements of the nation but rather to responding to external markets, and within the nation, not to the basic needs of people (food, housing, education, jobs) but to the demands of a consumer society. The principal beneficiaries of this system are the foreign markets and investors and the local elites. The victims are the poor who are the majority of the people."

As mentioned above, the Asian bishops are deeply ambivalent about modernity and the process of modernization in Asia. In particular, they strongly criticize the economic system associated with modernization, namely, capitalism or free enterprise. While recognizing that capitalism "proved its ability to organize labor for higher productivity and to unleash the modern technological imagination," and "has considerably liberated the entrepreneurial and managerial classes," the bishops note that "it has also degraded the working class to being a dispensable commodity." On the other hand, the FABC is also highly critical of centrally-planned economies or socialism. While recognizing that socialist economies "have rightly stressed that it is the workers who create the economy," the bishops point out that "they have mediated workers' control and solidarity exclusively through a centralized state. The workers are left with a new form of social domination, viz. the state."

Cultural and Religious Resources

Despite the overwhelming challenges facing human development in Asia, the Asian bishops profess courage and hope. The basis for their optimistic attitude is rooted of course in the Christian faith, but it also springs from their conviction that Asia possesses rich resources to respond to these challenges. As the BISA I puts it with justifiable pride: "The overwhelming majority of our people are poor, but let it be clearly understood what we mean by ‘poor.' Our people are not poor as far as cultural tradition, human values, and religious insights are concerned. In these things of the spirit, they are immensely rich.... If, then, the Church in Southeast Asia is to be a Church of the people, it must be a Church that recognizes in what our people are rich: our Asian traditions, cultures, values."

What are, concretely, the resources at the disposal of the church in its efforts for human development? Again, it is only possible to list them here without much commentary. They are the teeming masses of the poor themselves who are not only the object of evangelization but also its primary agents; the Asian youth who form some 60% of the population with their idealism, energy, zeal and determination, and commitment;Asian religions with their scriptures, rituals, spiritual and monastic traditions, their techniques of contemplation, and their commitment to social justice; prayer itself; and Asian philosophies of ontological complementarity (yin-yang) and cosmic harmony. The bishops repeatedly recommend that these abundant resources be harnessed to meet the challenges facing human development in Asia today.

Responses and Plans of Action for Integral Human Development

The issue under consideration here is not the Asian church's specific plans for the social, political, and economic progress of Asia. Indeed, as a community of faith, the church can only say with certainty which policies and concrete plans of action, from the moral standpoint, are acceptable in so far as they agree or conflict with the values of the Gospel. But the church is unable to judge apodictically which policy and course of action will lead to a greater degree of total human development in a particular location and at a specific time. In general, as pointed out above, the church insists that any concrete plan for human development must aim at the integral, total development and liberation of the whole person, each and every person, the human community, and the cosmos itself and ought to make use of all the resources available, and not only technological and material ones.

Within these parameters it is possible to enumerate some of the key recommendations put forward by the FABC for human development. First and foremost, the FABC again and again insists that the church of (and not only in) Asia must be "the church of the poor," with a conscious and effective preferential option for the poor.

Second, it also repeatedly insists that action for social, political, and economic development must be carried out in tandem with interreligious dialogue and inculturation. Without inculturation, social action is cut off from the deepest roots of the people for and with whom it is done; without interreligious dialogue, it is bereft of the transforming power of religious symbols and rituals.

Third, in connection with interreligious dialogue, the FABC recommends that in order to be effective, action for human progress be performed in cooperation with the followers of other religions. This is demanded not only because of the minuscule number of Christians in Asia and their extremely limited resources, but also because certain social evils, e.g., discriminations based on the caste system and injustices caused by religious fundamentalism, cannot be eradicated without necessary changes in religious understanding and structures.

Fourth, since division among Christians is a scandal to Asians and constitutes a serious obstacle for evangelization, the FABC urges that "all Christian Churches should make a joint effort at evangelizing in the measure which the imperfect union already existing among them allows." It goes without saying that this joint effort should be extended to projects for human development as part of evangelization.

Fifth, the church cannot carry out its task of promotion of social transformation without enlarging significantly the role of the laity, especially women and youth.

Sixth, in connection with the role of the laity, the FABC recommends the establishment of more Basic Christian Communities: "The basic fact is that today in our Asian context we are in the process of re-discovering that the individual Christian can best survive, grow and develop as a Christian person in the midst of a self-nourishing, self-governing, self-ministering and self-propagating Christian community."

Seventh, the FABC urges that the various institutions of the church such as high schools, colleges and universities, health care facilities, and other social service agencies direct its activities primarily in the service of the poor.

Eighth, the use of mass media is strongly encouraged for evangelization and human development.

Ninth, with regard to economic models themselves, after criticizing both classical capitalism and socialism, the FABC argues that "the future, it would seem to us, lies in pioneering new forms of worker participation in industry – ranging from the renewal of the cooperative movement to worker cooperation in mixed or privately-held enterprises. This also means shaping an appropriate technology that prevents the concentration of power in the hands of a few, and supporting the use of technology in the service of labor and not the reverse. Such a model means developing small-scale technology that workers can own and control, at least as a cooperative." This is as concretely as the FABC has gone to recommend a particular economic system for human development appropriate for Asia which seems to negotiate a middle path between laissez-faire economy and centrally-controlled economic development.

Tenth, and lastly, the FABC is aware that the church's social action often encounters the reality of conflict. But it takes care to stress two points: First, "conflict is not necessarily violence (which needs another process of discernment), nor is it necessarily opposed to Christian charity. Secondly, conflict is often a necessary means to attain true dialogue with people in authority. The poor do not achieve this until they have shown they are no longer servile and afraid."

A NEW WAY OF BEING CHURCH

By way of evaluation, it may be said on the one hand that the FABC's theology of human development represents no significant departure from the current social teaching of the church, especially as this has been articulated by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II. Its insistence on human development and liberation as an intrinsic dimension of evangelization and on the necessity of aiming at total and integral development echoes the teaching of Paul VI. Its criticism of capitalism and socialism reflects much of John Paul's. And, of course, even if it has not cited the works of Latin American liberation theologians, it is heavily indebted to them for its insights on the preferential option for the poor, Christ as the liberator, the church as the "church of the poor,"salvation as including social, economic, and political liberation, basic Christian communities, and social analysis as an intrinsic element of the theological method.

On the other hand, the FABC has also modified and significantly enriched the contributions of papal social teaching and Latin American liberation theology. Methodologically, in addition to social analysis, it has included "contemplation" or "introspection" into the way of doing theology. Most importantly, it has made interreligious dialogue and inculturation necessary phases of the church's work for liberation to avoid possible distortions of a one-sided emphasis on the material and political aspects of salvation. In so doing, it can avail itself of richer and vaster resources for human development that are deeply rooted in the histories and lives of the peoples of Asia. As a consequence, it has expanded and enriched basic Christian communities with "basic human communities." Furthermore, while adopting the dialectical analysis of poverty as the result of oppression and exploitation, the FABC is much less critical of the development model than Latin American theologians and has welcomed the assistance of various international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, Caritas Internationalis, Misereor, Sodepax and so on.

A complete evaluation of the FABC's theology of human progress, however, cannot limit itself to its theoretical aspects. Indeed, in all its declarations on human development in Asia, what the FABC has been doing is proposing a new way of being church, not in the sense of a novel abstract ecclesiology, but a new concrete praxis for all Christians . The FABC's sixth plenary assembly, reviewing its achievements during its twenty-five year existence, admits as much: "The overall thrust of activities in recent years has been to motivate the Churches of Asia towards ‘a new way of being Church,' a Church that is committed to becoming ‘a community of communities' and a credible sign of salvation and liberation."

Despite the remarkable progress of the Asian churches in the last quarter of the century, as recently as 1991, the FABC Office of Evangelization admitted with candor: "The Church remains foreign in its lifestyle, in its institutional structures, in its worship, in its western-trained leadership and in its theology. Christian rituals often remain formal, neither spontaneous nor particularly Asian. There is a gap between leaders and ordinary believers in the Church, a fortiori with members of other faiths. The Church has created a powerful priestly class with little lay participation. Seminary formation often alienates the seminarian from the people. Biblical, systematic and historical theology as taught are often unpastoral and unAsian." Again: "... The Church is often giving a counter-witness to its evangelizing mission. This is most notable in its lack of practical identification with the poor, its lack of concrete involvement in interfaith dialogue and its lack of real interest in interculturation .... The Church is an institution planted in Asia rather than an evangelizing community of Asia." Words such as these would have sounded as an anti-Christian diatribe had they not come from an official organ of the FABC itself!

This FABC's harsh criticism of the Asian churches was not prompted by self-hatred but by a deep and lively sense of the church's critical role in the present situation of Asia, indeed of the possibility of its very survival. The 1977 colloquium on ecclesial ministries expressed this self-understanding of the church in dramatic terms: "We are fast approaching one of the most decisive turning points of world history and church history in Asia. Asia, with 60% of the planet's population, will at the turn of the century be the most populous, and probably the least Christian continent in terms of numbers. If Asian Christianity is not by then the leaven in the dough of the new Asia that is taking shape, it runs the risk of being wiped out in the dramatic events which might take place within the next few decades." Again: "The decisive new phenomenon for Christianity in Asia will be the emergence of genuine Christian communities in Asia – Asian in their way of thinking, praying, living, communicating their own Christ-experience to others .... If the Asian Churches do not discover their own identity, they will have no future."

With the hindsight of more than twenty years, arguments pro and con the fulfilment of this prediction may be mounted from any quarter. One thing remains indisputable, however, and that is, if the Christian church does not become "a servant Church: servant of God, servant of Christ, servant of his plan of salvation; servant of the Asian peoples, of their deep hopes, longings and aspirations; servant of the followers of other religions, of all men and women, simply and totally for others,"it would cease to be the church of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And one way to become a "servant church" is for Christians fully to engage in efforts for the integral, total development and liberation of the Asian peoples.