Reflections: Hans Küng, 'The Church'

This past semester exposed me to the three theologians who have become my favorites: Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Jürgen Moltmann (not necessarily in that order). However, there is a fourth, who is on the verge of breaking into my top three: Hans Küng. One of Küng's books, The Church (translated by Ray and Rosaleen Ockenden. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1967), is of special interest to me because it has very helpful things to say about ecclesiology ('ecclesiology' is a term that covers the study of 'church structure' as well as one's understanding of how the church should [or should not] be organized - feel free to critique this oversimplified definition). Those of us in the Churches of Christ would do well to wrestle with Küng.

A quick summary first:

Küng wrote with the explicit goal of presenting a biblical ecclesiology that puts the gospel, which Jesus preached and to which the apostles bore witness, in the center. Küng says that the church is a 'pilgrim community,' and, as a result, the church needs to constantly examine itself to make sure that it is living as a faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus. For Küng, the church has two dimensions that are interconnected, through not the same: essence and form. The essence is the message of Jesus; the form is the (changing) historical form of the church. The historical form bears witness to the unchanging essence.

Thus for Küng, the church of today cannot recapture, as it were, the historical form of the church that was present in the first century. That is, the first century church cannot be preserved and exist in its original form. Instead, Küng claimed that diversity in Christian ecclesiology through the ages has been a sign of healthy ecclesiology; for Küng, the particular historical situation should dictate church form so that the church can bear witness to God's gospel in a meaningful way in each generation. However, this does not mean forgetting about Jesus' message. Küng says that without proper reflection on the original message -- the church's essence -- the church cannot know its role in the world today. Memory of Jesus' life and ministry will do two things: 1) provide self-critique for the church when it falls short of the original teachings of Jesus; 2) provide the means for the renewal of the world.

Two more key ideas for Küng are the notions of 'nature' and 'un-nature' of the church. The New Testament bears witness to the true nature of the church as known through Jesus. However, because the church is made up of humans, it sometimes acts against it's origin (e.g., Crusades; dividing internally along socioeconomic lines, cf. 1 Cor 11:17-34). These sorts of acts are part of what Küng calls the un-nature of the church. Küng says that "[i]n all its historical forms the true nature of the Church is accompanied, like a dark shadow, by its 'un-nature'; the two are inseparable" (p. 28). As a result of this dark shadow, the church must always be viewed against the yardstick of Scripture. According to Küng, maintaining the status quo cannot be more important than meaningful, critical introspection in order to conform the church to the teachings of Jesus.

Next, Küng states that the church must proclaim the message of Christ. So preaching becomes a way of hearing Jesus' words today. It is important for Küng that the church be understood as every person in the church, not just the leaders. Everyone has a role in proclaiming the good news of Jesus. Thus, the notion of "the people of God" is an important one for Küng. He calls the historical community of people chosen by God, beginning with the call of Israel continuing through the incarnation of Jesus and beyond, the people of God. As the people of God, they are part of 'the body of Christ.' But the label 'body of Christ' is not only a historical term that identifies a people; Küng says it can also be understood to identify a certain group of those people--a congregation, so to speak. Küng, then, believes that though there is wide variety in the Christian church today, the church remains 'one, holy, catholic, and aposolic.' Küng concludes his book by saying that only in Jesus can the church find its high priest. Therefore, both the leaders and the community have an equal authority through Jesus. Thus, the 'priesthood of all believers' is an important notion for Küng as well.

Reflections:

1) The notions of essence and form are important to hear today. Especially in a tradition (such as the tradition some of us share within the Churches of Christ) that seeks to recapture the first century church. Küng's assertion that we cannot attain an identical form to that of the first century church should be a welcome one. Once we are freed from fighting over how to attain the right historical form, we can concentrate on what form the church needs to have today in order to present a contextualized gospel for the world today. A contextualized gospel today should bear faithful witness to the Origin, the Essence. Now I'm not suggesting that we abandon everything we do in favor of something different, but we should be more flexible about things that are simply matters of form.

This contemplation over today's form should necessarily lead to self-critique. Küng's notions of nature and un-nature should be kept in mind here. Our discussions over 'form,' all too often deteriorate into bitter arguments -- these arguments fall into the category of the church's un-nature. When held up to the yardstick of Jesus' gospel message, arguing falls short of bearing witness to the church's essence. Here self-critique can cause us to see that changes are needed first in attitude; only after we begin treating each other with charity and patience can we begin to conform to the Essence.

2) We all need to realize that at the point of bearing witness to the essence of the church, we all have become part of one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Even though it is diverse and flawed, the church is united. The church bears witness to the gospel of Jesus -- at this level, all churches become one. In the same way each church is part of the changing historical form of the holy church to which the apostles bore witness to in Scripture. The classic label, catholic, can be troublesome for some, but it need not be. Catholic should simply be read as 'universal;' as a united church, the church throughout the world is part of the catholic church. This whole paragraph (perhaps, this whole post) may sound troublesome for some, but I think it frees the church to be viewed as a diverse group of people who recognize and try to live out the gospel of Jesus throughout the world. Inclusive ecclesiology is a good thing, I think.

3) We all need to take seriously Küng's call to be part of the priesthood of all believers. Such a call makes passive participation in the Kingdom of God impossible. Instead, we all become workers in the Kingdom. Such work may simply take the form of volunteering time or serving others. It may take the form of protesting violence or shielding innocent civilian populations. Only prayerful reflection can guide us into such Kingdom work. The heart of all such Kingdom work must be honest, thoughtful, critical, communal reflection on what it means to bear faithful witness to the Essence of the church.

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts.