Rudolf von Sinner, Reden vom dreieinigen Gott in Brasilien und Indien. Grundzuge einer okumenischen Hermeneutik im Dialog mit Leonardo Boff und Raimon Panikkar.

Raiser, Konrad

Rudolf von Sinner, Reden vom dreieinigen Gott in Brasilien und Indien. Grundzage einer okumenischen Hermeneutik im Dialog mit Leonardo Boff und Raimon Panikkar (Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie vol. 43), Tubingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2003, 403pp., 79.00 [euro].

Rudolf von Sinner, a Swiss Reformed theologian, presents in this study a slightly revised version of his doctoral dissertation which was accepted by the theological faculty at Basel in 2001. Today Sinner teaches systematic theology and ecumenics at the theological school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil at Sao Leopoldo, Brazil; he worked previously at CESE, the development agency of the Brazilian churches at Salvador de Bahia. Since the Harare assembly of the WCC (1998) he has been a member of the Commission on Faith and Order; and as a "younger theologian" he has actively participated in the study process on ecumenical hermeneutics, the results of which were published in 1998 under the title A Treasure in Earthen Vessels (Faith and Order Paper no. 182).

This ecumenical interest in hermeneutics provides the basic framework for the study. The other motivation comes from his longstanding interest in, and affinity to, Brazil from where his wife originates. Already his thesis (in 1993, for the "licentiate in theology at Basel) discussed the social interpretation of the Trinity in Leonardo Boff. In this present study he places his earlier research as a case study within the wider context of the search for an ecumenical hermeneutics, and complements this with a second case study on the understanding of the Trinity which Raimon Panikkar has developed with particular reference to the Indian religious context.

Both Boff and Panikkar are widely known, though distinctly different, representatives for a contextual theology in a non-Western context. While the legitimacy of contextual theology is no longer an issue in ecumenical discussion, the question has emerged, even in the framework of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT), how such theologies can communicate with and understand each other and how they can mutually contribute to a common understanding of the Christian faith. "An ecumenical hermeneutics, thus, aims at enabling Christians from different parts of the world to engage in dialogue with each other" (p.355) Since both Boff and Panikkar have devoted major attention to a contextual interpretation of the doctrine of the Trinity, a comparison between them is likely to provide insights into--and at the same time a testing ground for--elements of an ecumenical hermeneutics.

Sinner proceeds with his argument in four steps. The first part reviews the recent discussion on ecumenical hermeneutics in the framework of the World Council of Churches. He gives special attention to the study by Faith and Order and appropriates, in particular, the polarity between contextuality and catholicity as developed in the second part of the report (B.2). He affirms that these represent essential qualities of the Christian faith and of its reflection in theology: no Christian theology that intends to be faithful to its foundation, and relevant to the specific life context, can escape the hermeneutical circle between text and context, between catholicity and contextuality. The doctrine of the Trinity offers itself as the specific focus for the study, since "it deals with the tension between unity and diversity, the One and the Many" (p.355).

The second and the third part, which form the body of the book, present detailed analyses of the different approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity in Boff and Panikkar. They follow the same structure: biographical and contextual sketches precede the main part dealing with the respective understanding of the Trinity, leading into a brief concluding section with ecumenical explorations. The tides of the two parts, "The Sociality of the Triune God" in the case of Boff, and "The Triunity of Reality" in the case of Panikkar, already indicate the different emphases and interests of the two authors. Boff develops his social interpretation of the Trinity against the background of the struggles for justice and liberation in Latin America, and as a critical stance over against authoritarian structures in church and society. Panikkar, on the other hand, understands himself as a mediator between Asia and the West; his context is the inter-religious encounter and the universal search for spiritual meaning. Against this background he understands the Trinity as a root-symbol for the "cosmotheandric intuition" of reality, the undivided inter-relatedness between God, humanity and world. Sinner succeeds in presenting a clear, informative and sympathetic account of two very different and complex systems of thought. But he does not hide his questions as a Protestant theologian and enters into a critical argument With both authors. Brief critical summaries at the end of each major section make both presentations very readable and help to maintain focus on the main line of the argument.

The brief fourth and final part of the study compares, and draws conclusions from, the detailed analyses of Boff and Panikkar. The dialogue with both authors helps Sinner to sharpen his initial perspective of an ecumenical hermeneutics, which can now be amplified as a "three-stage hermeneutics". On the first, propositional stage, the similarities and differences (or even contradictions) between theologies, like those of Boff and Panikkar, are explored. The second stage represents the effort to penetrate to "their underlying main perspective": while Boff stands for a hermeneutics of struggle or resistance, Panikkar suggests a hermeneutics of dialogue. The third and most profound stage is the one of "a hermeneutics of confidence", which is the ultimate basis of all dialogue. (All references are taken from the English summary; see p.357.)

Both authors have developed their trinitarian theology convincingly within the hermeneutical circle between catholicity and contextuality, and thus help to validate the hermeneutical approach. However, both "have to be criticized for turning the Christian notion (of the Trinity) into a universal figure". Sinner, therefore, pleads that contextual interpretations of the Trinity have to be "tied to the economic Trinity and the Trinity's first and most important place in doxology--which historically was and systematically is the main reason for developing a specifically Christian doctrine of the Trinity" (p.358). With this proviso he considers both Boff's and Panikkar's notion of the Trinity to be helpful for the effort to come to a new and common understanding of this central affirmation of the Christian faith.

Sinner's study convinces, both in terms of methodology and substantive content. His idea of developing and testing the framework for an ecumenical hermeneutics by using it for the discussion of two prominent examples of contextual theology, and specifically their interpretation of the Trinity, has proved to be very fruitful. In addition his analysis of the theologies of Boff and Panikkar provides essential clues for any further ecumenical discussion of the relevance of the Trinity for confessing the faith in today's context. The virtual absence of Orthodox theological perspectives is due to the fact that both Boff and Panikkar are Roman Catholic theologians with only limited involvement in intra-Christian ecumenical conversation. Both, however, acknowledge the abiding significance of patristic theology for any contemporary understanding of the Trinity.

The book is written in the style and format of an academic thesis. Sinner has tried, however, to achieve maximum readability and an English summary at the end helps those for whom a German theological treatise presents a special challenge. In any case the book is of interest far beyond the circle of Faith and Order discussions, and should receive the attention of all those who are involved in facilitating intercontextual ecumenical understanding, even those without any specific concern for the issues of an ecumenical hermeneutics.

Konrad Raiser (Evangelical Church in Germany) is retired professor of theology and ecumenics and former general secretary of the WCC (1993-2003).