Suffering well and suffering with: reclaiming marks of Christian identity (New studies in theology and trauma)

Understanding variations in public attitudes towards religious diversity is a matter of concern within both the social scientific study of religion (concerned with religious factors) and empirical theology (concerned with theological factors). Drawing on data provided by 10,734 13- to 15-year-old students from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, this study tests the power of religious factors and theological factors to explain variance within the Attitude toward Religious Diversity Index (ARDI). Regression analyses demonstrate that theological factors account for additional variance after the inclusion of seven religious factors. The insights of the social scientific study of religion and empirical theology are complementary in this regard.

Response Dianne M. Stewart (bio) Focusing my mind's eye on the scholarly prose of Native activist and theologian Andrea Smith is both a challenging and consoling exercise. To use metaphors from an indigenous African context, Smith ponders the black and red sides of Esu's face.1 And if Vine Deloria Jr., Jace Weaver, Robert Warrior, and William Baldridge come down on the right side, Smith ends up on the left, cautioning us that no disciplinary home we may claim as the foundation for our "liberationist" research is immune to the colonizing grip of modern Western epistemology. Furthermore, Smith argues for the ethical merit of liberation theology in Native studies because she is able to do something most theologically trained scholars scarcely consider or are unwilling to do. Smith divests the term "theology" of its assumed Christian identity and the disciplinary baggage associated with theological studies in the Western academy. "The anthropological focus of comparative religious studies," writes Smith, "lacks an explicit concern about ethics that is integral to the discipline of theology, particularly liberation theology. It is not enough to understand or describe Native religious experience; it is also necessary to advocate for the survival of Native spiritual practices and an end to colonialism. Liberation theology brings to Native studies an explicit concern for the victims of colonialism." That Smith locates the "advoca[cy] for the survival of Native spiritual practices" within the conceptual purview of liberation theology is indication enough of her strategic position within the master's house. Having taken up occupancy [End Page 103] in the master's house—a house that was erected only after Native houses were demolished and displaced—Smith looks around, familiarizes herself with the floor plan, finds it unsuitable, and proceeds to construct a new home from the debris of conquest. I think what we are really debating here is the interior design of houses, houses whose architectural styles convey the shades of meaning human experience and exchange foist on any structure of human life. On the question of "theology" I agree with Smith. Her discussion of the different tasks intrinsic to anthropology/comparative religious studies and theology reminds me of a critical time during my doctoral studies when I wrestled with the idea of exchanging my focus in theological studies with a focus in cultural anthropology. This crossroads emerged for me after coming to the realization that I had no interest in adding my name to an already extensive list of Christian apologists. I decided to remain within the field of theology primarily because I wanted to "advocate for the survival of [African] spiritual practices and an end to [Christian theological] colonialism" in the academy and society. Liberation theology demands such advocacy, and there is much to ponder concerning this topic in the context of the African diaspora. My resolve to do theology against the norm was only strengthened after I visited the late Leonard Barrett, pioneer scholar of African Jamaican religions, at his home in Germantown, Pennsylvania, prior to my dissertation research trip to Jamaica in 1996. As we discussed the contribution I hoped to make in this research area, Dr. Barrett turned to me and said: "Now, don't let them push you out of theology into sociology. That's what they did to me. They said that I was not doing theology because I did not want to study Christianity; they forced me into sociology." "They" were the academic gatekeepers with parochial understandings of theology and ready-made classifications for religions devoid of "special revelation." For now, I am still willing to claim a meaning for theology that is not beholden to apologetic Christian discourse. Speaking theologically allows me to engage Christian traditions of belief and practice as well as indigenous African spiritualities, and Islamic and Hebraic religious thoughts. It is meaningful for me to interrogate the fluid and dialogical spaces among African diasporic religious traditions as well as the distinct features of those traditions—the Spiritual/Shouter Baptists, African American Christian denominations, Yoruba/Orisha traditions, Hebrew Israelites, Rastafari, Kumina, Nation of Islam, and a host of other vibrant religious expressions. Christian theological training remains indispensable in this kind of work because the cultural and ideological...

In North America denominational and church-sponsored universities continue to thrive. Yet many struggle to maintain their Christian identity and fulfill their mission amid an increasingly diverse student body. As recognizable expressions of how their religious sponsors carry out a sense of who they are and what they are called to be, Christian universities must be seen as Church practices. This is particularly so in how theology and religious studies are presented. How do university professors, academically oriented and committed to advancing scholarship in their discipline, respond to the requirements of good teaching and create the conditions for authentic learning in their students? A new educational context challenges us to experiment with pedagogies that engage students in the study of religion and theology in a way that makes room for the plurality of backgrounds and experiences they bring to the classroom, while honouring the integrity of the subject matter. Seeing the practice of theology as a dynamic dialogue with contemporary culture and the construction of new insights and innovative appreciation of ancient truths and realities allows the teacher to create a “commons of religious experience” where students encounter living traditions of faith and make sense of their own lives and the worlds they inhabit.

Reviewed by: The Moral Psychology of Clement of Alexandria: Mosaic Philosophy by Kathleen Gibbons Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski Kathleen Gibbons The Moral Psychology of Clement of Alexandria: Mosaic Philosophy Studies in Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity London; New York: Routledge, 2017 Pp. vii + 192. $150.00. This relatively short book offers a wealth of research and welcome insights into Clement of Alexandria, the second-century Christian polymath. In Gibbons's study we encounter Clement mainly as a philosopher who engages with Philo's legacy, especially in relation to the authority of Mosaic law, ethics, and freedom of will in order to propose a new Christian identity and ideal of the moral life. However, the study also on many occasions offers a scrutiny of the philosophical (Graeco-Roman) and theological (intra-Christian) background to Clement's specific statements, themes, and proposals. Throughout the book Gibbons explores and discusses the important aspects of that tripartite (Graeco-Roman, Jewish, intra-Christian) background in order to illuminate Clement's thoughts and his contribution to the emerging early Christian self-understanding. The study is made up of six chapters and presents a very competent review of Clement's teachings placed within the rather complex context of other early Christian thinkers, as well as non-Christian philosophers. All six chapters show not only Gibbons's familiarity with Clement's writings and his ideas, but also depict his assimilation of the earlier philosophical theories of Plato, Aristotle, the Pythagoreans, Philo, and the Stoics. Gibbons's convincing reconstruction, engaging with the original narratives, provides the reader with selected, but relevant, modern debate of the themes under discussion and presents her own stance on the subjects. This is one of the values of the book. First, Gibbons's discussion of the reception of Mosaic law by early Christians includes not only those authors who are named as "apologists" (e.g., Justin, Tertullian) but also their opponents (e.g., Marcion, Basilides, Ptolemy). I welcome Gibbons's critical approach to the unhelpful label "Gnostics" (15) and her ability to present the whole spectrum of Christian opinions about the value of Jewish law. Secondly, the presentation of Clement's contribution to this debate highlights his positive approach to the majority of Graeco-Roman intellectual traditions (with the exception of the Epicureans) and his effort to re-discover the original wisdom given to the Greeks and the Jews within the paradigm that the older is better than novelty (36). Gibbons rightly points out Clement's inclination to evaluate "barbarian" (i.e., Graeco-Roman) wisdom as dependent on the Jewish trajectory, identified by Clement with Moses (44). This Jewish sage and lawgiver is the central character of the third chapter. However, Gibbons's original contribution places Moses as depicted by Clement within the ideal of the "statesman" promoted by Plato and the Stoics (50–55). As one of the outcomes of that reconstruction we see that Clement's portrayal of Moses in various parts of his works is coherent and well organized. Moses, in Clement's picture as noted by Gibbons, is the embodiment of rationality and the ethical life; he is the one who responded to God with the fullness of human [End Page 330] potential and freedom. With that ideal of a sage, Gibbons turns to a discussion of one of the central themes of the book: divine-human cooperation in salvation, or the attainment of perfection. At this stage, having sketched the issue of the coexistence of human autonomy and providence in Platonic thought, Gibbons introduces the divine Logos in his unique relation to God the Father and then to humanity (81–87). In Clement's philosophy, which now becomes theology, and more specifically Christology, we see how Clement assimilated some earlier Philonic characteristics of the Logos (78–79). While previously it was Moses who was the model "statesman," now in the Christian perspective it is the Logos who is the true and ultimate "cosmic statesman" (85). The Logos performs all functions of education, guidance, and salvation, and that activity does not impose any restrictions on human beings—they can respond to the Logos's didactic with freedom. Next, the fifth chapter presents a valuable summary of Clement's allegorical interpretation...

Since the latter half of the twentieth century many Christian theologians have begun to realize that race is a crucial reality for their work. Such realizations have not yet begun to shape how we narrate the history of Christian thought, or how we form Christian intellectuals, or even how we present Christian ideas. However, race has emerged not only as an object of study for theology but also as a means through which to analyze conceptual frames, to examine various subjectivities, and to consider processes of subject formation, of both collectives and individuals. Race is, however, not a new method for the study of theology, nor is it a new theoretical challenge to theology as an intellectual enterprise. Race marks a moment when Christian intellectuals might begin afresh to think through more substantial aspects of Christian identity. In this regard, race studies, along with gender studies, potentially makes possible a freer space within which theology might explore its collaboration with formations of identity in modernity. There are at least three aspects to the new possibility created by race studies. First, it opens up more comprehensive ways of grasping the modern condition of theology. Second, it allows for sustained analysis of the relation of whiteness to theology. Third, it brings into sharper focus the intellectual ecologies within which academic theology is performed.

Reviewed by: Greetings in the Lord. Early Christians and the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Jane Rowlandson AnneMarie Luijendijk Greetings in the Lord. Early Christians and the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Harvard Theological Studies 60 Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008 Pp. xix + 294. The earliest Christian literary fragments found at Oxyrhynchus date from the second century (although not necessarily written there, and perhaps brought to the city later [p. 18–19]); yet documentary papyri which certainly attest Christians and their activities appear only from the mid-third century, and remain remarkably sparse until well into the fourth. This exquisitely arranged book interrogates these earliest traces of the Christian community at Oxyrhynchus down to 324 (when Constantine gained control over Egypt and the East), squeezing every significant drop from the exiguous evidence. Each text is presented in full, with translation and critical notes, followed by thorough discussion of both context and detail, building a coherent sequence of interpretations and arguments which progressively lead the reader through the issues raised by the conjunction of these texts with the broader historiography of early Christianity in Egypt. After a brief, up-to-date introduction to Oxyrhynchus and its excavations (which were initially prompted by the hope of unearthing Christian material from the city's rubbish-dumps), Luijendijk first addresses the problem of how we [End Page 150] can identify Christians in the documents (Chapter Two). It was not only fear of persecution that led Christian identity often to be concealed in our documentary sources, which are largely concerned with mundane matters like taxation; for most bureaucratic purposes a person's religious affiliations were simply irrelevant (very occasionally, "Christian" was used as a means of identification—but never for oneself [p. 39]). In the religious "supermarket" of late Roman Oxyrhynchus, where Christians, Jews, and Manichaens mingled with adherents of Egyptian, Greek, or Roman cults, and the Serapeum was the main center of business activity, most aspects of life (and the documentation they produced) were similar whatever one's religious preference. While personal nomenclature, the use of the word "beloved" (agapētos) in address, and even reference to (the) God in the singular are uncertain indicators that we are dealing with Christians, the inclusion of nomina sacra in private letters was a self-conscious marker of distinctive group identity among educated Christians, both "orthodox" and "heretical," familiar with these abbreviations in manuscripts (Chapter Three). Part Two (Chapters Four and Five), discusses a group of letters to, from, or referring to Sotas, who Luijendijk convincingly argues was the earliest known bishop of Oxyrhynchus, in the later third century (reinterpreting P.Oxy. 36.2785, previously read to mean that Sotas was a Herakleopolite priest). Three (or four) letters are letters of recommendation with almost identical wording, whose purpose and context are fully explicated. Sotas's letters are in different hands, so we cannot be sure which if any is his own (84 and 125ff, the plates at the end facilitate comparison). Luijendijk ingeniously takes the exceptional use of parchment off-cuts for two letters to support the case that Oxyrhynchus was an early center for Christian scholarship (p. 144–51). If the Sotas of SB 12.10772 is the same man (and the early dating for Bishop Sotas essentially rests on this identification), he travelled to Antioch, perhaps even to the synods of the 260s which excommunicated Paul of Samosata (p. 136–44). Part Three moves on to evidence for the government's dealings with Christians. The "certificates of pagan sacrifice" from 250 applied not only to (apostatizing) Christians; it is clear that Decius required the whole population to sacrifice (Chapter Six). A summons for a Christian villager may reflect Valerian's persecution (p. 174–84), while Diocletian's "Great Persecution" certainly prompted the report that a former village church possessed no property other than bronze and copper materials (Chapter Seven). Luijendijk follows Wipszycka's explanation of the church lector's claimed inability to sign this report as dissidence rather than illiteracy (p. 202). Further texts introduce a possible martyr (Paul from the Oxyrhynchite nome), a Christian bureaucrat, and a landowner deftly side-stepping the obligation to sacrifice when pursuing a lawsuit at Alexandria. Finally, Chapter Eight sums up what we have...

Journal Article REVIEWS Get access Anti-Judaism and Early Christian Identity. A Critique of the Scholarly Consensus. By MIRIAM S. TAYLOR. Pp. ix+207. (Studia Post-Biblica, 46.) Leiden: Brill, 1995. ISBN 90 04 10186 1. Gld. 98/$56. WOLFRAM KINZIG WOLFRAM KINZIG Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume 48, Issue 2, October 1997, Pages 643–649, https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/48.2.643 Published: 01 October 1997