The Remnant before the Whole: The Setting of Fundamental Theology

The concept ‘remnant’ belongs to the biblical thought and is frequently mentioned in the prophetic writings. It indicates the portion of the community – “the remnant of Israel”, for instance – that will be saved by God. But the meaning of this concept is sometimes extrapolated in order to make it indicate a particular reality of today: the increasing minority condition of Christianity in the midst of modern societies. It is from this perspective that we keep in mind the binomial remnant-whole throughout the present text. We know that the Christianity didn’t always see itself as a minority in the ground where it lived in the past. Despite that, we may use the mentioned binomial to reflect upon the relationship that permanently had to exist between the Christianity and the human collectivity where it was situated. It is therefore normal that we enunciate different equations of such relationship throughout the present text.