Journal of European Baptist Studies, Volume 7, No. 3, 2007

ipants. Christians, entering into a dialogue with Muslims, Buddhists or representatives of any other religion, do not remain unchanged. According to process theologians, Jesus called his disciples to a dialogical existence; opening oneself to another person is the essence of the Christian mission and, conversely, separationism and missionarism striving to impose one’s views on others are foreign to the Spirit of God. Therefore, only in the open dialogue can Christians fulfil the idea of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). This means that the disciples of Christ are always on a spiritual quest; their philosophical and theological ideas are constantly changing. According to Hryniewicz, however, the existence of such unifying but at the same time creative tension: requires a change of perspective and a willingness to limit oneself and give up claims that others find unacceptable. Someone who thinks he or she is always right will treat others according to the demands of their own imaginations and convictions. There is a 20 Hryniewicz, Hermeneutyka w dialogu , pp. 21-22. 21 J.B. Cobb, Jr, ‘The Religions: Where We Are?’, in Peter Hodgson and Peter King (eds.), Christian Theology: An Introduction to Its Tradition and Tasks (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982, pp. 353-376. Theologies of John B. Cobb and Wactaw Hryniewicz 23 need for a major ecumenical turn which in biblical terms may be referred to as a change in thinking ( metanoia ), inseparable from the ability to resign from oneself ( kenosis ). Unfortunately, we are still remote from the wisdom of this sort of kenotic ecclesiology. It still needs to be fostered by specific stimuli, brave initiatives and new forms of reconciliation; then it should become an everyday 22 experience. In this perspective conversion is also conceived of as a constant transformation brought about by ecumenical dialogue. Other religions are not viewed as demonic manifestations, as was often the case in Church history, but as spheres of the activity of the Holy Spirit. 23 Process theology stresses that God is present in every existence—not as one who determines reality but as the source of all possible growth. Without him, there would be no freedom. It is Him who by confronting His creatures with various solutions, makes choice possible. 24 In this way, creation is also participating in the constant creative act; therefore, it is not an instance of one-sidedness (predestination or chaos) but rather the desired harmony between the Creator and creation. This means that in the dimension of human reality both God and man create culture together. Just as nature is to a certain extent produced by people, so culture is partially shaped by God—not only through the contribution of Jesus but through the constant influence of God. The boundary between nature and culture, typical for the modernist thought, is getting blurred. Pursuant to Cobb’s insistence on the unity of fo