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An Analysis of the Use of the Giftive Metaphor in the Pluralist Context of the Lutheran University of Brazil

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An Analysis of the Use of the Giftive Metaphor in the Pluralist Context of the Lutheran University of Brazil Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 10-19-2019 Giftive Dialogue: An Analysis of the Use of the Giftive Metaphor in the Pluralist Context of the Lutheran University of Brazil Maximiliano Silva Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Silva, Maximiliano, "Giftive Dialogue: An Analysis of the Use of the Giftive Metaphor in the Pluralist Context of the Lutheran University of Brazil" (2019). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 70. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/70 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GIFTIVE DIALOGUE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF THE GIFTIVE METAPHOR IN THE PLURALIST CONTEXT OF THE LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY OF BRAZIL A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Practical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Maximiliano Wolfgramm Silva October, 2019 Approved by: Glenn Nielsen Dissertation Advisor Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. Reader Peter Nafzger Reader © 2019 by Maximiliano Wolfgramm Silva. All rights reserved. ii To my mother, who was God’s first bearer of the gifts of faith, hope and love into my life, and “agora tem um filho doutor.” iii “We are more than conquerors of other peoples, more than harvesters of souls, more than winners of metaphysical arguments: we are the bearers of gifts. We bring to the world the greatest of all gifts, the story of what God has done for the world through Jesus Christ.” Terry C. Muck and Frances S. Adeney, Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 162 (Kindle). iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................... viii ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. ix ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER ONE ....................................................................................................................... 1 PLURALITY AND PLURALISM: CONTEXTUALIZING THE DISSERTATION’S QUESTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 RELIGIOUS PLURALISM: THE NEW PARADIGM ..................................................... 2 Today’s Zeitgeist Towards Religious Diversity........................................................ 2 Secularization in the Modern Age – From Monopoly to Plurality .................... 5 (Post)Secularism: Not Elimination of Religion, but Religious Pluralization .. 11 Classic Traditional Christian Approaches to Religious Diversity ........................... 16 A Brief Description of The Religious Scenario in Brazil ........................................ 21 THE LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY OF BRAZIL: A PLURALISTIC LEARNING COMMUNITY............................................................................................................... 25 A Brief History of the University ........................................................................... 25 Highlights on ULBRA’s Confessional Character ................................................... 29 An Accidentally Pluralist University: Reflections on the University’s Confessional Status under Robert Benne’s Typology .................................................................. 34 Learning in Community ......................................................................................... 38 Campus Ministry, Distinctiveness and Pluralism – Stating the Problem ................. 40 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................... 49 WALKING THROUGH THE WAYS OF GIFT: A PRESENTATION OF THE GIFTIVE METAPHOR.................................................................................................................. 49 v MARCEL MAUSS AND THE GIFT ............................................................................. 50 METAPHOR: THE COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC VIEW AND ITS PERFORMATIVE CHARACTER ............................................................................................................... 59 The Cognitive Linguistic View of Metaphor .......................................................... 60 Metaphor and Performance .................................................................................... 63 MUCK AND ADENEY’S GIFTIVE METAPHOR: A CONTEXTUALIZED PARADIGM ....................................................................................................................................... 67 The Metaphorical Character of Muck and Adeney’s Proposal ................................ 68 Assessing the Context: Inter-religious Interactions and the Marketplace Metaphor 70 The Giftive Metaphor: A Simple and Powerful Proposal ....................................... 73 On Christian Responsibility Towards Peoples of Other Faiths ............................... 77 The Spiral of Knowledge ....................................................................................... 79 Significant Contributions of the Giftive Metaphor.................................................. 86 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 91 CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................. 93 THE GIFTIVE METAPHOR THROUGH THE LENS OF THE TWO KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ....................................................................................................... 93 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 93 Muck and Adeney’s Proposal: Points of Concern................................................... 93 THE OPTION FOR THE TWO KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ................................... 95 The Purpose for Using the TKR ............................................................................. 95 God is a Gracious Giver: Lutheran Theology’s Giftive Character .......................... 98 TWO KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: SUMMARY DEFINITION AND MAIN IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DISSERTATION ............................................................ 101 The Passive Righteousness and Its Giftive Character ........................................... 105 vi The (Im)Possibility of the Free Gift ............................................................ 111 The Active Righteousness and Its Giftive Character ............................................ 116 John Barclay’s Assessment of Gift as it Relates to Luther’s Two Kinds of Righteousness ...................................................................................................... 120 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 124 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................. 128 AN ESSAY ON THE CHRISTIAN GIFTIVE DIALOGUE WITH AFRO-BRAZILIAN RELIGIOSITY ............................................................................................................. 128 ON CAMPUS MINISTRY AT ULBRA ....................................................................... 129 The Ministry of Presence ..................................................................................... 129 Vocation: The Place Where Needs and Gifts Meet ............................................... 133 THE SPIRAL OF KNOWLEDGE: AFRO-BRAZILIAN RELIGIOSITY AS A SAMPLE CASE STUDY ............................................................................................................. 135 ON RECEIVING AND GIVING GIFTS ...................................................................... 137 The African Diaspora .......................................................................................... 137 Religiosity as Shelter and Resistance ................................................................... 141 On Receiving the Gift of Interpellation ................................................................ 150 On Giving the Gifts of Hope, Faith and Love ....................................................... 158 Faith ........................................................................................................... 162 Hope ........................................................................................................... 164 Love ........................................................................................................... 168 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 171 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My acknowledgments go to: - God, for
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