Relational – ein Trend-Begriff. Nicht nur in der Theologie, er scheint überall zu sein. Zu Recht. Viel zu lange wurde vernachlässigt, dass alles miteinander verbunden ist. Zu lange wurde die Theologie von abstrakten Substanzbegriffen beherrscht. Relationale Theologie ist wichtig!
Aber in letzter Zeit habe ich etwas mehr darüber nachgedacht. Lass es mich erklären. Relational ist ein Adjektiv und kann zu allen möglichen Dingen hinzugefügt werden: Relationale Perspektive, relationales System, relationales Popcorn, relationales Was-auch-immer, relationale Theologie. Als solches sagt es etwas über die Hauptsache aus, die in diesem Fall Theologie ist. Es ist eine Theologie, die durch eine relationale Struktur zusammengehalten wird, die einen übergreifenden relationalen Rahmen hat und daher vernetzt denkt. Es muss nicht um Beziehungen gehen. Sie muss keine Personen einbeziehen, sie muss nicht persönlich sein.
Und da liegt ihre Schwäche – zumindest meiner Meinung nach. Die relationale Theologie kann (obwohl sie es nicht sein muss) um ein relationales System und relationale Strukturen drehen, statt um den relationalen Inhalt: Ein persönlicher Gott und die Beziehungen, die er ermöglicht. So manche „relationale Theologie“ hat keinen persönlichen und relationalen Gott in ihrem Zentrum, sondern vermeidet hauptsächlich eine Substanztheologie mit einem alternativen Konzept. Indem sie sich darauf konzentriert, verliert diese Theologie manchmal ihre Substanz: Gott als Person.
Meine Schlussfolgerung: Nicht jedes Paket mit einem Beziehungsetikett enthält Beziehung.
Dear Michael – here are some thoughts that came up reading your latest „Theologyspective“. As you know I’m not a Theologian 😉 … keeping it „simply simple“.
As we’re walking in another advent-season these days my thoughts gather around the story of „Immanuel“. The name itself for me already includes „Relational Theology“. I would say this term can never be a theory, system or even a concept but with „Immanuel“ it is getting as real as the life and death of a real man possibly can. Isn’t „God with us“ (=Immanuel) telling us everything about a God who is driven to be with people not at all welcoming him? The Son of Heaven entered a hostile world for only one reason: To make a way back to our „Abba in Heaven“. Gods passion are people. As far as He is concerned He will always love first – no matter what! He so loved the world (that hated Him!) that He gave His one and only Son (John 3,16). I recently read this: „You could have saved us in a second, but you chose to send a child“. Gods saving-plan included „Relational Theology“ at it’s finest: He took his time to arrange relationships. He „planted“ the perfect God-seed into an imperfect family and relationships deepened. Joseph and Mary had a rough start but chose not to quit and became the family of the promised One – against all odds. Jesus and his disciples – what a story of life-transforming relationships! People meeting the Messiah personally – He took the time to care for them, one by one. A whole generation of people living in the Middle East those times witnessed the Son of God living among them. HE demonstrated how to fulfill the most important commandment which includes each and every other one: How can we love God – ourselves – the other. When it comes to God we can never go „non-relational“, can we?
Very good, Eva. Maybe you are a theologian after all! 🙂
I had a thought when I read your response:
„Immanuel“, God with us, and the „Abba in Heaven“ are no more. Jesus prayed that we would be one with him as he is one with the Father, and Paul called this „in Christ“ and „Christ in us“.
Relational Theology for me includes relational in a geometric or mathematical sense as well: where are we in relation to God, Jesus, the Spirit? We are one, he in us and we in him. We are Christ, he the head and we the body. Our relationship is unity, while being individuals.
We have a concept for this that is hard to understand but so important to understand out own identity: the trinity. One in three. God in Jesus invited humanity to be the fourth in this union.
To view relational theology as describing the relationships of us, God among us, and the Father in heaven would cut short.
When Jesus said „I am“ in the garden when ask for his identity, he did not just leave out the „him“. My identity is „I am“, as Jesus did not come to only show us the father, but to show us that we are fine with the father. He came to show us what being a human is like. He had an assignment, a calling, and he kept at it and did not falter, even into death.
Jesus‘ calling was to show us the Father, to reflect the father into this earth, like a screen that makes visible what the beamer is projecting. This is our calling as well: we all are to reflect a facet of the Father.
I agree that we can never go „non-relational“ with God because we are Him, or to make it more palatable, we are one with Him. We just forgot and where not aware of that. Because before anything, there was relationship – or what else could it mean when we say that God is love?