Academic Theology Research Articles

Katrin Gülden Le Maire. Pannenberg, the Positioning of Academic Theology and Philosophy of Science: An Evaluation of his Work in the German Context

Katrin Gülden Le Maire. Pannenberg, the Positioning of Academic Theology and Philosophy of Science: An Evaluation of his Work in the German Context

“It would be a good idea to carry out a research project called ‘Theologians’ ships’…”

A conversation with a historian of Russian theology of the Modern era touches upon the continuity of some key ideas that are characteristic of the Diaspora Theology of the 20th century in relation to the ideas whose origins are found in Russian spiritual and academic theology of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Contrary to the well-established opinion that Russian post-revolutionary emigration theology was a new, breakthrough phase in theological development, the author shows that such concepts as Trinitarian ecclesiology, personalism, theosis, kenotic theology (characteristic of this theology) in fact arise and form among Russian authors from the end of 1880-s until the turning point in 1917. The following specific questions are also raised during the conversation: the emergence of the Russian theological school, contemporary anthropology in its connection with the anthropology of St. Augustine; receptions of the Areopagite Corpus in pre-revolutionary Russia; the influence of Western theology, in particular French mysticism of the 17th century, as well as the influence of the latest philosophy and psychology for that time on representatives of the Russian spiritual and academic tradition. The author connects the peculiarities of Russian pre-revolutionary theology with the fact that among the Orthodox Churches, it is the Russian Church that is the first to find itself in the situation of the new time with its secularization, non-religious humanism and specific philosophical language. The status of Russian lay theologians (first of all, professors of theological schools, who belonged together with the teachers-priests to the same spiritual-academic corporation) is also discussed. The conversation can be considered as a multifaceted look at the history of Russian Orthodox theology in recent centuries, where there are still gaps identified by the author.

A Widower’s Lament: The Pious Meditations of Johann Christoph Oelhafen by Ronald K. Rittgers

Reviewed by: A Widower’s Lament: The Pious Meditations of Johann Christoph Oelhafen by Ronald K. Rittgers Glenn K. Fluegge A Widower’s Lament: The Pious Meditations of Johann Christoph Oelhafen. Translated by Ronald K. Rittgers. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2021. 318 pp. “O living God and consoler of all the sad-hearted, I have lost my most beloved treasure on earth, for you have torn away a piece of my heart” (57). With these heart-wrenching words, Johann Christoph Oelhafen (1574–1631) begins his Pious Meditations, a personal journal of lament recording his year-long journey (1619–1620) through the grief and anguish caused by the death of Anna Maria, his beloved wife of eighteen years and the mother of his eight children. The loss of “my dear AMICO” (122)—the pet name he gave his wife, made up of their joint initials—left him “a sad and miserable widower” (57) and his children as “poor orphans” (59). History books often speak broadly of trends, controversies, and developments. Stories of individuals, if they are included, are often told from a distance. That is not the case here. Here one encounters in first person rhetoric a man from four hundred years ago from Nuremberg revealing his heart with haunting candor as he cries out to God in prayerful sorrow, despair, repentance, faith, and hope. The entries vary widely. Some appear measured, while others are obviously marked by raw emotion. Johann Christoph was a rather skillful song writer and several entries are hymns composed of multiple verses addressing God. In one poignant entry, on the day of their wedding anniversary, he composed a song with the verses arranged in the form of a dialogue with his precious AMICO in heaven: “[Verse 1:] AMICO, beloved darling, where have you gone? . . . Speak or cry out, and help me lessen my heart’s sorrow. [Verse 2:] In this world, ICO, you shall not find me . . . for I am, praise God, without pain, in the hall of joy; so now let your worry completely pass away.” (124) [End Page 438] Rittgers’ translation of Johann Christoph’s Pious Meditations is much more than a mere devotional for those today confronted by personal tragedy and sorrow. Indeed, it is rare to find a book like this that can be used for personal devotions (as this reviewer did), while at the same time serving as an invaluable primary source for academic research into early modern lay spirituality in the midst of suffering. In this regard, it is an important complement to Rittgers’ earlier work The Reformation of Suffering: Pastoral Theology and Lay Piety in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany (Oxford University Press, 2012). This is no mere translation. Yes, Rittgers has prepared a fluent translation that maintains the flow and rhythm (and color!) of the original text. But he has also prefaced it with a well-researched introduction including copious annotations situating the work within the wider context of current research on early modern “piety theology” (Frömmigkeitstheologie), consolation literature, the ars moriendi, evangelical lament literature, Lutheran funeral sermons, the Protestant duty of self-consolation, the place of self-narratives in historiography, an intriguing possible connection to the Unio Christiana brotherhood (an evangelical revival group found in surrounding cities), and much more. Useful translation notes are located conveniently at the end of each journal entry, including specific dates, biblical references, translation conundrums, possible interpretations, and connections and allusions to existing hymns, songs, poems, and liturgical ordinances. While studies of seventeenth-century Lutheranism have grown in recent years, a dire need persists for “micro-historical narratives” to clarify, adjust, and augment the existing and, at times, less than accurate “macro-historical narrative” of this time. This book does precisely that. It is an exceedingly rare and valuable find precisely because it allows a glimpse into lay spirituality. Although surely not a common villager, Johann Christoph was also not an academic theologian, like Johann Gerhard, who wrote copious volumes of loci theologici, nor was he a pastor, like Johann Arndt, exhorting his parishioners toward pious faithfulness. His is a lay perspective, and yet his Pious Meditations are exceedingly rich with Reformation theology, deeply rooted in Luther’s evangelical re-discovery...

‘Women, forgive us’: A German case study

This article offers insight into the image of women in German conservative congregations, especially in the Brethren movement. It also describes the author’s personal journey to a position of strongly supporting female preaching and female leadership in churches. The article combines empirical facts and personal insights. It gives examples of androcentrism in German academic theology. The case study is on the Brethren movement in Germany and their teaching on women, which was very much influenced by certain Pauline texts from the New Testament. Unfortunately, ‘women’s role in the church’ became the shibboleth for biblical correctness. While living and working in this context, the author discovered inconsistencies in practice, which finally led to this paradigm shift. Contribution: It is argued that if women are not allowed to participate publicly in the church services, it is like driving a car with four cylinders but turning off two cylinders.

Akademisk teologi som universell kunskapsform

This article seeks to define what academic theology can be at a secular university by entering into dialogue with, among others, the Swedish church historian Joel Halldorf and using the difference between juridical and critical authority established by Pius XII in the encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu. In the article, I insist that one has to differentiate academic from confessional theology as a science with critical, rather than juridical, authority. By using Paul J. Griffiths, Erik Peterson, John Henry Newman, and Hans Urs von Balthasar it is argued that academic theology is a non-denominational study of discourses on God and the religious archives to which they belong. Academic theology can be described as a science that investigates, shapes, and discusses theological discourses wherever they appear. This secular science has a systematic and summa­tive nature and requires a methodological openness as it is in dialogue with the other sciences by seeking universal and plausible knowledge. Its fate is that it can only approach its object in a distant and critical way. It lacks the love or desperation that confession entails, but on the other hand it has the glory of the sciences and can strive to say something scientifically true. Thus, at least for those who believe Pius XII, it can be part of the quest for the truth that religious traditions usually describe as a God, and there are therefore good religious reasons to grant academic theology scientific autonomy as a universal form of knowledge that is also plausible for those who lack belief.

Bör ersättningsteologin ersättas?

Should supersessionism be superseded? Noting that supersessionism is routinely dismissed as a detestable error in Swedish public discourse as well as in academic theology, this article aims at providing some deeper reflection on what is denoted by the term supersessionism and what sort of supersessionism is incompatible with the current positions of mainline Christian churches and communities. The study is carried out in critical dialogue with Jakob Wirén's recent important work on supersessionist patterns in spirituality and preaching. It observes that two main types of def­initions of supersessionism exist. On the one hand, the narrow definition proposed by R. Kendall Soulen suggests that the annulment of God's covenant with the Jewish people is a necessary element of supersession­ism; on the other hand, the broader definition associated with David Novak includes both "hard" and "soft" supersessionism, the latter not implying any termination of the covenant with Israel. The supersession­ist patterns identified by Wirén in the current hymnal of the Church of Sweden should almost exclusively be categorized as expressions of "soft" supersessionism. As this kind of supersessionism has not been officially rejected by mainline denominations such as Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Roman Catholic Church, it should not be put on a par with "hard" supersessionism, which is indeed rejected. The article calls for a more cautious handling of the concept of supersessionism in academic theology with the hope of curbing its frequent use as an invective in public dis­course.

Judging from the Inside

Recent years have seen three monographs (and some anthologies) dealing with the relationship between theology or faith and sociocultural anthropology (referred to simply as “anthropology” from here onwards). Larsen’s Slain God (2014) analyses how early British anthropologists had a personal relationship with matters of faith while Furani’s Redeeming Anthropology (2019) agonises the hegemony of Enlightenment secularism in anthropology. What is common to these texts is that they do not differentiate between theological argumentation or theology as an academic discipline and personal faith. Joel Robbins’ latest book, Theology and the Anthropology of Christian Life (2020), recognises this difference, which is why, as a theological don of a non-confessional government-run university, I can recognise myself reflected in it. One of the reasons for Robbins’s ability to distinguish between the two may stem from his childhood experience concerning a rabbi who did not consider it absolutely necessary for proper execution of his work to be a believer, while many others probably would have (Robbins 2020: xii). The context of an academic theologian is the same: I may not consider that personal faith is a sine qua non of academic theology while some others certainly do.

Thinking Faith

AbstractFaith and science have been continuously portrayed as incompatible counterparts. This article argues conversely that scientific reflection on faith, namely academic theology, is not opposed to but essential for a Christian life. The contents of faith require precise description, as they constitute the Church community and can be even dangerous if unprecise or incorrect. In cooperation with other disciplines, theology contributes to ethical debates, such as the question of interhuman relationships and welfare of non‐human creatures and future generations.

Late-Medieval Catechesis and the Credo

The period from 1300 to 1500 witnessed an explosion in the composition and popularity of monophonic Creed melodies. The development of this corpus of about seventy such hymns paralleled a growing religious and cultural interest in the Creed. Specifically, this interest was manifest in three primary areas of late medieval religious life-catechism, devotion, and liturgy. In this article, I focus on the catechetical dimension of the Creed, and argue that the Creed’s role as an object of religious catechesis can help to explain the emergence of the new musical settings, which perhaps aimed to buttress memorization and understanding of the text. I examine the changing role of the Creed as an object of catechesis, specifically noting how it became an important marker of faith in the wake of the development of academic theology in the twelfth century. This emphasis by twelfthcentury theologians led to ecclesial movements in the thirteenth century that promoted lay participation in the faith through the Creed, which in turn resulted in devotional, artistic, literary, and musical productions of the Creed in the fourteenth century. Highlighting these catechetical and artistic creations that focus on the Creed helps to contextualize the flourishing of its musical settings in the late Middle Ages.

Josef Smolík – Učitel Komenského fakulty

For four decades, 1950–1990, Josef Smolík was a professor at the Comenius Protestant Theological Faculty in Prague. As the only one of Czech practical theologians, he taught at the faculty throughout its existence and his teaching included all basic practical-theological disciplines. He gradually published textbooks of liturgics (Some Chapters from the Liturgics, 1960), catechetics (Commitment of Baptism, 1974), homiletics (Joy of the Word, 1983) and poimenics (Pastoral Care, 1991). Smolík’s theological works culminate in the theological encyclopedia Introduction to the Study of Theology (1978) and in the ecumenically conceived practical ecclesiology Christ and His People (1997). He applied the achievements of his academic theology to ecclesiastical practice in a small catechetical handbook The Way of Life (1968) and in two volumes of the liturgical book (Agenda I, 1983; II, 1988). He paid constant attention to Historical Theology, especially the theology of the Unity of Brethren (Sermon in the Reformation, 1954; Jan Augusta, 1984) and of his theological masters and colleagues (Comenius Faculty’s Teachers, 1989; J. L. Hromádka. His Life and His Work, 1989/1991). Several generations of Czechs interested in modern theology drew on the monograph Current Attempts to Interpret the Gospel (1966–1993, five editions). The jubilee lecture is an attempt to present the binding heritage of Josef Smolík in all its amplitude, enriched with personal memories of our unforgettable teacher.

Is New Testament Theology Sufficiently Theological?

In this essay, I assess contemporary New Testament Theology against six values or aims of academic theology as espoused classically by St. Anselm and, recently, by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. I find New Testament Theology to excel in the first three, with contributions being coherent, historical, and engaged with contemporary contexts. It is with the second three theological trajectories—being confessional, constructive, and collaborative—that I find some standout hopeful examples that, should they become ubiquitous within the disciple, would lead to New Testament Theology becoming sufficiently theological and ultimately, would help to collapse the divide between biblical studies and theology altogether.

«В Церкви должно воскреснуть пророчество»: фигура пророка в русской мысли рубежа XIX–XX вв.

The article focuses on the development of ideas about the prophet in Russia in the late 19th – the early 20th century. In the European discourse the understanding of the prophet as the bearer of the personal principle in religion most fully described by M. Weber. Since in Russian religious philosophy the conceptualization of the prophetic function appears in the works of V. Solovyov, the first part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the idea of a prophet in the theocratic concept of this thinker. Specific features of the system proposed by the Russian philosopher are characterized, where the prophet was considered as a link of the “triad” along with the priesthood and the kingdom. The constant characteristics of the prophet as the third principle of power in the Solovyov system are formulated. The second part of the article is devoted to the reception of Solovyov’s ideas in Russian theology and religious philosophy of the beginning of the 20th century. The discussions about the hierarchy and the intellectuals as carriers of the prophetic principle that arose at the Religious-Philosophical Meetings, and the positions on this issue of V. Ternavtsev and D. Merezhkovsky are characterized. The development of the idea of a prophet in the context of the discussion of the problem of power in the Church in the academic theology of M. Tareev, V. Troitsky, P. Florensky is traced. The interpretation of the Soloviev triad by S. Bulgakov and A. Kartashev, as well as criticism of the views of the latter by Merezhkovsky’s circle, is analyzed. It is noted that the participants in the discussions considered the prophetic principle as integrated into the church community or opposed to the church hierarchy. In conclusion, the development of the discourse about the prophet in the Russian tradition of the designated period is summed up, parallels with the search for Western explorers are noted. The article concludes that the common problem for Russian and European thinkers of the early 20th century is the distinction between priestly and prophetic principles in the religious community.

Beyond Transcendence and Immanence: The Moral Theology of Mordecai Kaplan and Hermann Cohen

In this essay, I seek to highlight the continuities between Mordecai Kaplan’s and Hermann Cohen’s theological projects in order to better facilitate the incorporation of Kaplan’s theology—and that of his successors—into the broader field of modern Jewish thought, as well as to better position Jewish thought to respond to currents in academic theology beyond Jewish Studies. I begin by examining Kaplan’s reading of Cohen’s Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums in his The Purpose and Meaning of Jewish Existence. Claiming that Cohen’s posthumous work anticipates Kaplan’s own functionalist rationalism, Kaplan recasts Cohen’s project in immanent theological terms. Next, I argue that despite Kaplan’s attention to Cohen’s posthumous opus, the affinities between his thought and Cohen’s are more readily apparent with regard to Cohen’s Ethik des reinen Willens, where God functions to secure the compatibility of morality and nature. I then turn to Kaplan’s The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion in order draw attention to significant affinities between Kaplan’s and Cohen’s respective theologies. Both Kaplan and Cohen turn to a notion of God to secure the integrity of morality in the face of the ascendance of naturalism. However, where Cohen fears that configuring God in immanent terms threatens the integrity of morality by subsuming it into nature, Kaplan hopes that it will provide the basis for a more expansive sense of naturalism, one capacious enough to accommodate morality and spirituality.

Why does ‘academic’ theology disable ministry?

ABSTRACT Dissatisfaction about the ‘academic’ nature of ministerial training has existed for a considerable time. In a small-scale qualitative study of ministers in the Anglican Diocese of Oxford, England, it emerged that most if not all had experienced a disconnect between their academic study and the realities of ministry and had found the study of academic theology disabling for ministry. This article uses the framework of learning in communities of practice to explore their experience. It concludes that the disconnect stems from the subject-centred nature of theological scholarship in contrast to the life-centred concerns of discipleship and ministry. The interests of academic theologians frequently do not tally with those of ministers and the nature of academic theology differs from that of the ‘everyday’ theology that forms a component of a Christian social imaginary. The signature pedagogy required for ministerial formation is a pedagogy of theological reflection rather than theological scholarship.

Demonization of Christians: Missiological Perspectives and Implications

This article is a missiological reflection on the phenomenon of Christian demonization from a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) perspective. The article argues from the four voices approach in theology (see Cameron et al. 2010; Cameron and Duce 2013), and contends that Christians can be demonized, have been demonized throughout the Christian church history, and are still demonized today across all Christian denomination lines. This is the position that appears in a few SDA publications, and is not in contradiction with the Scriptures. I suggest that demonization and demon possession are etymologically and phenomenologically the same. Thus, this paper builds on the assumption that Christian demonization is not just a claim from deliverance ministry practitioners with an operant theology but a missiological phenomenon with inreach and outreach dimensions. The phenomenon is encountered in formal and normative theologies as well, as it is an exposed theology from an operant theology. As such, this article points out that many mainline Christian denominations (Roman Catholics, Protestants like non-charismatic evangelicals, Seventh-day Adventists, etc.) have recently emphasized practical ministries in their denominations to face the needs of their members struggling with demonization. These denominations have moved from an attitude closed to the possibility of ministry to demonized members to a more open attitude with a willingness to consider the issue and explore potential solutions. The article first addresses briefly the seeming controversy on the translation of the Greek terms daimonizomenos (participle), and daimonizomai (verb). These terms, together with echo/echei daimonion, are translated in some Bible texts “possessed with the devil” (Mark 5:15, 16, 18, KJV), “demon- possessed” (Matt 8:28–32; Mark 5:15, 16, 18, Luke 8:27, NKJV or NIV etc.). Second, this article asserts that Christians are best categorized by the centered set theory and not otherwise (see Hiebert 1978, 1994, 2008). Consequently, this missiological reflection emphasizes that Christian demonization has missiological implications for Christian mission in general and SDA mission in particular. Finally, the article argues that theological research is enriched when the four voices of theology–the formal or academic theology, the espoused theology, the normative theology, and the operant theology are brought “into conscious conversation so that all voices can be enriched” (Cameron and Duce 2013:xxxi). This means that each theological voice must interpenetrate the others and influence them (xxx).

Does inclusion save us all?

ABSTRACT Based on qualitative research, this article reflects on how academic theology might contribute to practising inclusion as taking part in God’s salvific actions. After an overview of the disability-discourse in theology, and presenting some empirical findings, we conclude that theological discourse is a reflective practice in response to God’s salvific actions. Theologies of disability must, therefore, be practice-driven and invest in theological reflection. Furthermore, we scrutinise this practice-driven approach by analysing the discourse of ‘practice’ within qualitative research. Here, as well as in the theological discourse, the inclusive practice of reflection is brought to the fore. We conclude by pointing at the concrete sites of such inclusive reflection: local church communities that live out their calling to be transformative. Theologies of disability should be intimately connected to and informed by concrete church practices, while continuously keeping a critical conversation going to challenge those practices.

A portrait of the teacher for the West in the interior of the Synodal era: Dissertation by I. V. Popov on Blessed Augustine

Early 20th century Russian academic theology showed considerable interest in St. Augustine’s theology. Among a significant number of works on the latter, one that stands out in terms of its scale and being well-founded, the doctoral thesis “The personality and legacy of St. Augustine” (1916) by I. V. Popov, a professor of the Moscow theological academy. Although the first volume of the Popov’s work is the only one that remains, it is of substantial interest because it witnesses the continuous intellectual evolution of its author, who made a sharp turn from the Eastern patristics towards the Western patristics in his studying the topic of “deification.” However, today there is no unanimous agreement among scholars on the presence of “deification” concepts in the Western theology, and Popov himself does not use the term “deification” in his doctoral thesis. Nevertheless, Popov’s conclusion that “ontologism,” being understood as the possibility of a direct communication with God in this life, was characteristic of St. Augustine represents in some sense the next stage of Popov’s search for an organic integration of the moral and mystical contents of Christian life. Containing an implicit but relevant for the early twentieth century critique of Harnack’s rationalism, Popov’s work had as well an impact on the mid-twentieth century Russian thought, having been in demand in the diaspora. It should be especially noted that, despite its unconditional significance both for the history of Russian patristics and of Russian theology in the twentieth century Popov’s “Augustine” has not attracted special attention of researchers so far.

Deification through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology of Salvation by Khaled Anatolios

Reviewed by: Deification through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology of Salvation by Khaled Anatolios Daniel Galadza Khaled Anatolios. Deification through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology of Salvation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2020. 464 pp. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed explains that the Incarnation was “for our salvation.” What the essence of this salvation is, and how it comes about, is the focus of Father Khaled Anatolios’s Deification through the Cross, which examines the implications of Christian doctrine regarding the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ for academic theology and for Christian life. The centrality of salvation to theological discourse should be apparent, but in his introduction Anatolios shows how certain theologians have overemphasized or avoided one or another prominent aspect of the Gospel in their construction of soteriological “models” (i.e., ransom, atonement, [End Page 150] penal substitution, satisfaction, etc.), often without elaborating upon any experiential access to salvation (23). Instead of adding yet another model to the “cafeteria buffet,” Anatolios proposes deification as the content and goal of salvation, made possible by the Son of God becoming a human being who suffers the Passion, dies on the cross, and rises from the dead, granting victory over death and freedom from disordered passions; this inspires repentance and rejection of sin in light of the joyous news of Christ’s already accomplished salvation, leading to human deification, which consists of the glorification of God. The thread running through the whole book is the “dramatic synthesis of the dialectic of sorrow over sins and the celebration of divine glory” (81), which Anatolios calls “doxological contrition.” The soteriology of doxological contrition is constructed in the first part of the book on the basis of liturgical experience, Scripture (with a critique of the historical-critical method), and conciliar Trinitarian and Christological statements from the seven ecumenical councils, before building a systematic theology of doxological contrition in the second part, which examines sin and reintegration into the life of the Trinity. His main thesis is that “Christ’s salvific work includes a representative and vicarious repentance on our behalf that has as its points of departure and destination the communion with divine glory” (141). The starting point for his theology of salvation is the Byzantine Liturgy. Anatolios begins with an analysis of what the prayers (more precisely hymns) from Great Lent, Holy Week, Pascha, and Pentecost say about repentance and salvation, using the lens of a “worshipper-response” approach. Doxological contrition expressed in first-person voice hymns, sung by the “ideal worshipper” (68), conveys the paradoxical experience and “dialectical simultaneity of lost and found glory” (84), so that “the Byzantine liturgy does not prescribe doxology along with contrition; it leads one into a contrition that is doxological through and through” (92), joyfully intertwining the salvific efficacy of Christ’s death and Resurrection in its soteriology of exchange. The lens of “doxological contrition” through which Anatolios views the liturgical hymns offers a constructive development and perhaps unintentional synthesis of recent studies in liturgy not referenced in this book—for example, the “penitential self” in Derek Krueger’s Liturgical Subjects: Christian Ritual, Biblical Narrative, and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), and the human person’s “doxological vocation” in Brian A. Butcher’s Liturgical Theology after Schme-mann: An Orthodox Reading of Paul Ricoeur (Fordham University Press, 2018). This book’s rich presentation of doxo-logical contrition offers the reader immense satisfaction but nevertheless leaves avenues of investigation open in the realm of liturgy and contemporary Eastern Orthodox theology. Anatolios points to discoveries of explicit correlations in a variety of patristic authors between contrition, doxology, and Christ’s salvific work that become obvious once the reader knows to look for them (222–23), but he sets aside the task of unpacking these discoveries for a future book. The correspondence between the content of Byzantine hymns and soteriological themes throughout the book are instructive; an examination of the liturgical and biblical sources in part 1 using, for example, the recently published thesis of Hieromonk Macarius (Gerard Bonnet) of Simonopetra, in Mystagogie du Grand Carême: Essai de théologie du temps liturgique (Monastère de Simonos Pétra, 2018...

Bringing the Mess That is Life into Theology: The Representational Task of Ethnography

Abstract Most academic theology is written in an abstract manner that elides the “mess that is life.” Most academic anthropology rejects theological modes of reasoning and representation. The present article makes the case for an “anthropological theology” that brings together ethnographic thick description of life lived and theological modes of writing. The result is a mixed and interlaced way of writing that is richer than the traditional modes on representation in either anthropology or theology. Throughout, the author offers thick descriptions of his work as an addiction recovery coach with persons addicted to opioids in order to help display in writing the argument that he is making about writing.

Situating the ‘Crisis of Representation’ in Ethnographic Approaches to Theology and Working Toward Community-Centered, Dialogic Approaches

Abstract In this article we unpack the significance of the ‘crisis in representation’ in the field of anthropology for ethnographic approaches to academic theology. The article summarizes and draws connections among other works in this themed issue and presents possibilities for moving forwards with ethnographic theologies that attune carefully to issues of representation. Attending to questions of method, identity, and ethnographic writing, it lifts up some of the diverse and genuinely collaborative approaches to fieldwork that are made possible by the hybrid and complex roles theologians play in relation to the communities and cultures with which they engage.