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    Three Mile An Hour God A Theology of Spe PDF

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    Koyama introduces a theology of speed based on two biblical incidents - Israel's 40 years wandering in the desert and Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman. He argues that God teaches important lessons through pushing people into wilderness situations and rejecting them initially. God moves at the slow speed of love, walking with Israel at 3 miles per hour and stopping completely on the cross. In today's fast-paced world, Koyama's theology calls Christians to slow down, appreciate God's love, and trust that "man does not live by bread alone."

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    Three Mile An Hour God A Theology of Spe PDF

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    Koyama introduces a theology of speed based on two biblical incidents - Israel's 40 years wandering in the desert and Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman. He argues that God teaches important lessons through pushing people into wilderness situations and rejecting them initially. God moves at the slow speed of love, walking with Israel at 3 miles per hour and stopping completely on the cross. In today's fast-paced world, Koyama's theology calls Christians to slow down, appreciate God's love, and trust that "man does not live by bread alone."

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    Koyama introduces a theology of speed based on two biblical incidents - Israel's 40 years wandering in the desert and Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman. He argues that God teaches important lessons through pushing people into wilderness situations and rejecting them initially. God moves at the slow speed of love, walking with Israel at 3 miles per hour and stopping completely on the cross. In today's fast-paced world, Koyama's theology calls Christians to slow down, appreciate God's love, and trust that "man does not live by bread alone."

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    404 views6 pages

    Three Mile An Hour God A Theology of Spe PDF

    Uploaded by

    silviobiblos
    Koyama introduces a theology of speed based on two biblical incidents - Israel's 40 years wandering in the desert and Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman. He argues that God teaches important lessons through pushing people into wilderness situations and rejecting them initially. God moves at the slow speed of love, walking with Israel at 3 miles per hour and stopping completely on the cross. In today's fast-paced world, Koyama's theology calls Christians to slow down, appreciate God's love, and trust that "man does not live by bread alone."

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    of 6

    THREE

    MILE AN HOUR GOD: A THEOLOGY OF SPEED









    By:
    JURINESZ RANDOLPH SHADRACH
    1268/13






    Contemporary Issues in Asian Theology







    Taught by:
    The Revd. Saman Perera





    The Theological College of Lanka




    IV/1




    16th June 2016


    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    INTRODUCTION OF THE THEOLOGY ........................................................................... 1

    ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................. 3

    BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 4

    INTRODUCTION OF THE THEOLOGY

    In a context of speed and technology that rules the earth and the life of the
    people, Kosuke Koyama introduces this theology of speed. Through the biblical
    reflections recorded in his book titled “Three Mile An Hour God”, he argues for a
    counter culture that has to grip the Church and the world.

    His reflection stems from two main biblical incidents. The first is the story of
    Israel’s wanderings through the desert before they reached the Promised Land
    (Deut 8:1-4) and the second is Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman who
    approached him to heal her daughter (Matt 15:21-28).

    He is taken back by what God does for the people of Israel. He reflects that God,
    in all of God’s wisdom takes forty-years to teach Israel one simple lesson: “Man
    does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out
    of the mouth of God.” He contends that the wilderness is a place that is full of
    promise and danger. Both these co-exist side by side. And it was through such a
    situation that God leads God’s people for forty years.

    He gives them the promise of things to come and the freedom that they could not
    enjoy in Egypt. But that freedom is also wrought with danger if it is not properly
    handled. At every point in Israel’s journey through that desert, God teaches them
    to learn to trust in God. Over and over again the lesson is beaten into them. They
    go hungry without food and grumble and the Lord provides Manna. They thirst
    and they grumble, the Lord makes water spring forth from bare rock. Enemies
    threaten them, and the Lord fights with them to ensure their victory. All these
    were done to reinforce that one lesson over the whole of the nation of Israel.

    But God didn’t just teach them the lesson from afar. God made himself present
    with them throughout their journey – even when they were rebellious. The
    Presence of God signified in the pillars of fire and cloud were always present
    with them. God walked with them. God reduced God’s speed and slowed down to

    1
    the speed of the people traversing the desert. God walked at three miles and
    hour.

    The second incident that Koyama speaks of is set in a different age in a different
    context. This time, God Incarnate encounters a woman outside the fold of Israel.
    She comes to him and begs him to heal her daughter who is severely afflicted by
    a demon. She comes to Jesus in faith and calls out to him. But Jesus does not hear
    her. He ignores her. He ignores her till his disciples beg him to send her away
    because of the raucous scene she was causing.

    When Jesus speaks to her, they are not words of comfort and healing. They are
    words of exclusion and rejection. He claims to have been sent to the only the
    people of Israel. All the voices around her are raging against her. They are all
    going at various other speeds. But this woman persists. She speaks in absolute
    faith and asks for the blessing that at least the dogs get. Jesus is amazed at her
    faith and grants her request.

    She too was taken into a wilderness situation during this encounter. She came to
    Jesus trusting him and calling out to “Lord, the Son of David…” and he in effect
    rejected her please. She was also pushed into a situation of desperation and
    hopelessness. And is her situation, she is taught to trust in God, no matter what
    the circumstance is. She was pushed to have faith in Jesus in spite of all the
    voices that were raging around. This woman was taught “Man does not live by
    bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of
    God.”

    And so while considering these two passages, Koyama observes that God has
    God’s own speed that God deals with us. It is the speed of love. This is the speed
    that God takes because God loves us and wants to be in a covenant relationship
    with us. It is this love that made the Lord of Life to not just walk the streets and
    deserts of Palestine preaching and establishing the Reign of God, but eventually
    led him to the cross where he did not just slow down, but came to standstill. He
    came to a full stop to teach us that we ought to trust in God.

    2
    ANALYSIS

    In a world that is fast moving and technologically advancing by the hour, we have
    been forced to join the rat race. It is sad that even the Church has ended up
    joining in this rat race and is being forced to dance to the tune of the world.

    Each family is fast becoming nucleus in its size. The concept of spending time
    with the family is a thing of a bygone era. Both parents work and leave their child
    in the care of someone else. Sometimes the parents do not see their kids for days
    at a stretch. The fulfillment of a fast disappearing dream lures some parents to
    abandon their children and work from dawn till dusk. This way of life creates
    inundated problems that we as a society have to deal with.

    Our health is failing. Even though we have advanced greatly in medical science,
    the number of people suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes and blood
    pressure fluctuations are all on the rise. Even children are being diagnosed with
    these diseases.

    Eating of chemically induced food and pollution may be cited as causes for the
    many medical problems we face. But this stems from our want to do everything
    quicker and make the most of the time we have. While it is an admirable quality
    to be faithful stewards of the time we have been given, we need to consider the
    cost of what we engage in.

    The greed to be able to earn more brought about the Green Revolution that
    introduced genetically altered plants bringing forth their yields. The use of
    chemicals to bring in more yields faster and thereby increase profits led to the
    destruction of waterways and the soil. The greed to get things done quickly
    pushed our industries to invent new ways to manufacture and maximize profits,
    while paying the cost of the pollution of the very planet we live in.
    It is at a crucial time such as this that Koyama’s theology becomes relevant and
    pertinent to our times. We look to God to show us the speed of love. Our

    3
    humanity is tied down with the slow long-drawn out speed of love. But in our
    hastiness today, we are losing our humanity and all that God deemed good in and
    for us.

    Koyama’s theology speaks to us to stop, slow down and see God in all around us.
    A new appreciation for the love of God displayed in a myriad of ways is necessary
    and is of the utmost importance once again. Our values and virtues need to be
    reinstated and we need to be taught that age-old important lesson that “Man
    does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out
    of the mouth of God.”

    Our reliance on technology that may fail us at any time will be the reason for the
    end of humanity at the speed we are going at. We need to go back to the speed of
    three miles an hour to converse and be shaped by a loving God.


    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    Koyama, Kosuke. "Three mile an hour God: Life deepening." In Three Mile An
    Hour God, 3–7. London, United Kingdom: SCM Press, 1979.

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