Participation. An onto -epistemology for a theology of mission for the 21st century

Christian theology and theology of mission have often adopted modernist epistemologies into their systems. Postmodernism and other philosophies have made a thorough critique of modernism and its epistemologies of pure and foundational reason. They have identified some of the negative effects that this has had for both the church and those that have heard the gospel. Postmodernism has offered a variety of epistemological solutions through the study of semiotics and hermeneutics. Some of these solutions are compatible with Christianity, while others are not.;This research has attempted to provide a solution to the epistemological crisis that has had an impact on Christian theology and mission by developing a viable epistemological model that could serve in a theology of mission in our global context. I begin by implementing an ontological critique of some of the influential epistemologies within modernism. My hypothesis is that modernism has deflated ontology, and its connection with God, and has inflated epistemology to a role of first philosophy. The result of modernism's overemphasis on autonomous reason, when applied to mission theology, has been mission practice under the cover of Western hegemony reproducing both evangelism and oppression within the missionary enterprise.;My own critique and that of existentialism and postmodernism demonstrate that this process of deflation is in fact the case, and that postmodernism, at times, has continued in this process with its use of closed-systems in epistemology. In order to develop a solution, I turn toward the interpretive framework of Radical Orthodoxy that has sufficiently critiqued both modernism and postmodernism from an ontological perspective. I use their model of an ontology of participation to begin to construct an epistemology for a theology of mission. In my research, I sought a way to develop the Radical Orthodox model of ontology so that it would have epistemological bearing, as well as take on a more Christological form for the purpose of mission.;First, I examined the work of St. Maximus the Confessor and found that his theology of the logoi is effective at describing the relationship between an ontology of participation and epistemology. Also, Maximus' theology of the logoi is centered in the Incarnation, giving it a more Christological shape. Second, I examined the work of John Wesley in terms of the theme of participation and drew some comparisons between Wesley's theology of grace and Maximus' understanding of the logoi. I integrated the compatible visions of these two men into an onto-epistemology of participation that could be incorporated into a theology of mission.;Following, I investigated the implications of such a model on four basic categories in theology: the Trinity, creation, the Incarnation, and the new creation. The results are a model that understands mission as cosmic theosis, that is the work of the Trinity in which the church participates in critically contextual and holistic ministry to the world.