An Age-Old Question

Do you want a good life? Well, you’re not alone. A good life is what a normal human being constantly seeks. A recent survey shows Filipinos have high hopes of having a good or even a better life in 2024. But what is a good life? This is a classic question that sages have attempted to answer over the centuries. In a world of suffering, poverty, and oppression, how can Asian evangelicals contribute to a right understanding of this existential question and help offer a timeless answer?

Cultural Definitions

There is no scarcity of answers to that age-old question. Every culture showcases the longing to have a good and happy life. For example, we know that entertainment plays a huge role in shaping how people view life and one’s self. This manifests in numerous movies and TV series promoting wellness and prosperity. These are promising tools for selling products and ideas, especially to younger audiences. Furthermore, happiness and flourishing are promised through various human discoveries and novelties. Meanwhile, dystopian films have increased in the last 100 years. This says a lot about the modern social imaginary.¹ We show our imaginations of a “good life” in our culture and social relationships. We have a natural aversion to pain and suffering. People are constantly drawn to manifold versions of a good life, and of course, the West has widely promoted versions of it through its products, literature, and media. In a globalized world, even Asians have been drawn to what the West has to offer, with local interpretations of their answers.

An Evangelical Good Life

Aldrin Peñamora is a seasoned theologian and practitioner who offers an Asian evangelical perspective on questions of the good life. In his chapter, “The Way of the Cross and the Good Life: Evangelical Virtue Ethics in Asia,” he asserts the superiority of the “evangelical notion of human flourishing” in the Asian context.² He argues for an evangelical view of human flourishing as participation in the cross of Christ through cruciform virtues and practices for the sake of living for others.³

In a world of persistent isolation and increasing “cancel culture,” being and becoming other-oriented is hard to swallow. Peñamora believes that influential Asian thinkers like Confucius and Gandhi rightly touch on the relevance of social relations and actions through notable virtues like benevolence, humility, selflessness, and self-control. Asian evangelicals can add to these by contributing “toward a relevant and transformative understanding of virtue ethics [that is adequately aware of] Asian realities.”⁴ We have something significant to offer on what a good life is because Asian evangelicals make much of cultivating godly character for the sake of others in the context of suffering.

He argues for the modern importance of cultivating Christian virtues in pursuing a good life. Cross-shaped virtues are especially relevant in Asia due to their other-orientedness in a context of suffering and oppression (Peñamora, p. 178). A return to the cross of Christ addresses the being and becoming of human flourishing concerning others. This means that Jesus and his cross should be the source of our moral character and relationships with others. Christ is not merely a moral example to follow, nor is his cross only a model of suffering to emulate. His person and work are God’s presence and power within us to live an excellent, virtuous life. Peñamora believes three features express the shape of cruciform virtues: unity or participation, self-other regarding, and concreteness (pp. 178-183). For Peñamora, Christian discipleship, as participation in Christ, entails following God’s leading in practical ways for the sake of God and others.

The Good Life and the Kingdom of God

Can a good life come from a person’s own being and doing? Is the good life merely manufactured? It is easier and more natural to imagine that a good life comes through our strength and prosperity than weakness and suffering. True happiness comes through humility before God. Saint Augustine is convinced that happiness should be pursued by directing our understanding and love upwards.⁵ From a biblical perspective, the “kingdom come” is from above and in the cross of Christ. Apostle Paul learned a cruciform knowledge and love in Christ (1 Cor. 2:2). The eudaimonia (i.e., happiness, human flourishing) is ultimately God’s gift and all about God’s kingdom in the person and work of Christ.

This gift is already, but not yet. Peñamora urges us to appreciate an evangelical vision of eudaimonia. God’s kingdom can be experienced “in part if not in perfection, in the present order” in the very life and teachings of Jesus, especially appreciated in its cruciform shape (p. 176). A truly good life comes from the virtues flowing from the kingdom of God in the cross of Christ. His cross, portrayed as weakness and suffering, is the key to lasting happiness and satisfaction.

A Cruciform Discipleship

But what should this look like? Peñamora says, “For evangelical Christians, virtues are cultivated through discipleship, through following and participating in the crucified Christ” (p. 177). Suffering helps shape us to be virtuous by being in Christ, heartily and concretely participating in his identification with those who are oppressed. By starting in Christ rather than self, we can become selfless in acts of service through human solidarity and even suffering with others. Though this is unpopular in a world dominated by individualism, such a disposition cultivates harmony and human flourishing through compassion, self-giving, and a sense of responsibility. While culturally sensitive, the way of the cross is also, in a sense, counter-cultural. For Peñamora, concrete expressions would include peacemaking, remorse, and forgiveness (pp. 181-183).

Offering stimulating insights into how we can practice “one-anothering” in the Asian evangelical context, the chapter rightly focuses on the importance of the cross and the community of Jesus Christ. Peñamora’s contribution is worth our time, especially in a world of consumerism, confusing identities, rampant violence, and ever-increasing suffering. After all, Christ came for us to have an abundant life (John 10:10). In a world of clashing cultures, He gave himself for our lasting happiness.

Please check out the book Asian Christian Ethics to read more about Peñamora’s article.

John Leones Jr. is a faculty member and current chair of the Theology Department at the International Graduate School of Theology. He is married to Awit and has two children, Timothy John and Trinity Jan. An ordained minister and church planter, he previously served as the pioneering pastor-teacher of Borongan City Evangelical Church in Borongan City, Eastern Samar, Philippines. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Theological Studies with AGST.