Christian theology must somehow follow Jesus Christ as its norm. There, however, have been actually a number of ways to tread. For example, one might, on the one hand, cling to his earthly life, especially his commitment to the marginalised people, as the norm of authentic Christian thought and practice; on the other hand, one might regard him as the eternal medium of divine teachings, so that we should listen to his words which transcend the transitoriness of history.
Thomas Hastings’ emphasis is rather upon a still different aspect of christology: the Chalcedonian doctrine of the two natures of Christ. To put it more precisely, he tries to construct the thought-form, or ‘model’, of practical theology in the pattern of the Chalcedonian christology, which resemble the dogmatic theologies of those such as Karl Barth and Thomas F. Torrance. The dynamic tension between divinity and humanity in the hypostatic union corresponds to a creative tension between the universal and the particular (the ‘ecumenical’ and the ‘local’, according to Hastings) aspects of practical theology.
This resemblance, just as in Barth, Torrance and those who follow them, implies a radical criticism of theologies which, by emphasising the experiential, show the signs of modernity. Hastings’ criticism of it, developed in the first two chapters, originates from his understanding of contemporary North American practical theologies as heavily dependent upon such a modern way of thinking which itself is quite local and historically confined despite its insistence upon its own universal applicability and validity. In other words, the current Western practical theologies have eventually become captives of the modern culture and its thought-form.
Thus, what is really at stake is the relationship between the universality of the Christian gospel and the particularity of each culture. The Chalcedonian model, Hastings thinks, should guide our thought in this issue as well: the distinction between them must be maintained and the gospel should control this relationship critically, but, at the same time, the gospel must find its proper forms of expression in a particular culture in its transmission. Hastings has reached this view through his own experience as a missionary in Japan, as well as through his profound analysis of the theology of Naomi Tamura, a first-generation Christian of a Japanese Protestant church, which is developed in chapters 3 to 5.
Since the author's line of thought follows that of Barth and Torrance, those who regard their theologies as an important resource for doing theology will welcome this book. Also, the chapters which concentrate on Tamura comprise an excellent and informative introduction to Protestant Christianity in Japan.
On the other hand, it must be noted that this work, which is based on the author's doctoral dissertation, is still seminal. A full-blown discussion of a possible model of practical theology does not appear. His discussion in the final chapter also seems occasionally deprived of the force to develop that new model by indulging in an overly psychologised analysis of Tamura (pp. 139–42).
As a final remark, readers might be frustrated by the fact that it is not clear enough how the universal, or ‘ecumenical’, can be maintained in face of the diversity of cultures. ‘In Christ’, Hastings answers (p. 168), and he certainly and rightly thinks of Christ attested by the Bible and the ecumenical creeds. However, those biblical and creedal attestations, while transforming particular forms of culture, belong to them as well. It is at this point that we cannot avoid engaging in the dialogue with tradition. Critical and creative encounter between the ‘ecumenical’ and ‘local’ takes place only through serious dialogue with tradition and this outlook should be explored further.
