ii.Mission and other faiths

Are there limits to the reach of Christianity and so to the jurisdiction of chaplaincy? Is Christianity merely a local story of meaning for those who happen to already adhere to it, so that chaplaincy’s explicitly Christian task is to support the already faithful? Or is mission permissible, but only to those who cannot claim immunity by pointing to an already existing religious or philosophical identity? Or does the notion of limit actually contradict the self-understanding of Christianity, in which case how is one to relate to those of other faith traditions?

The secular, pluralist solution to different religious traditions is of little help here. It essentially tells all religious traditions to keep their proper place: out of public life and as a private, subjective option. But the religions, Christianity included, offer visions too comprehensive to be restricted in this way; they offer visions that raise critical questions precisely about the ordering of society. Thus, from the religious perspective the claimed neutrality of the secular solution looks distinctly suspect as it smuggles in its own set of values and priorities (Higton, 2004, p.119).

Christianity makes a claim to universal significance. It carries the question and resources of Jesus Christ for understating the nature of God, and comprehending what the fulfilment of humanity, along with the whole created realm, will mean. In its understanding the Kingdom of God it possesses a vision for a new ordering of society rooted in the primacy of love and received as gift. If chaplaincy is to reflect this question, resource and vision with integrity and authenticity then witness must be offered everywhere and across all boundaries (including religious ones) (Ibid., p.120).

Yet, and this is a vitally important qualification, there is no room here for a triumphalist and imperialist mentality. Mike Higton (2004), expounding the views of Rowan Williams, is particularly helpful in this regard. Christians cannot claim to be possessors of an already achieved, final truth that just needs to be spread to others, so that Christians can claim victory in the competition between worldviews and offer terms of surrender. Rather, “[t]he vocation of Christians is not to possess an overview, and it is not to stand immune from the challenges and questions and resources that others bring.” (p.121) Nor can we define others from our perspective. Why? Because Christians do not own Christ; Christ is not our possession. Instead, we must be open to what the result will be when the question that Christ poses is heard and answered by those different from ourselves. The challenge of these responses is part of the mission of Christ. We need to learn “how to proclaim Christ without proclaiming ourselves” (p.123).

This would imply, therefore, that as chaplains we witness to Christ by “pointing not so much to a stable, achieved religious system as to a disruption which can bring all systems of religious practice and knowledge face to face with a reality that cannot be exhausted by any system.” (Higton, 2004, p.69) Mission, then, is not something that the church does to others, it is something which God brings to all, the church included.