Critical Theology Research Articles

A Critique of Prosperity Theology in the Context of Ghanaian Christianity

The economic situation in contemporary Ghana makes everyone yearn for economic progress. In Ghana, like many other parts of Africa, religion is responsible for providing the economic, spiritual, and health needs of its adherents. The predominantly Christian population in Ghana makes many people look up to Christianity to provide the road map to the country’s success. In this regard, the prosperity theology/gospel is the most dominant approach to seeking health and wealth among Ghanaian Christians. Though very persuasive, prosperity theology prompts so much debate about its influence on the religious and socio-economic life of Christians and the society at large. On the one hand, it is considered as promoting unethical behaviour and failing to yield qualitative growth for the church. On the other hand, it is considered as attracting a large following to the Christian faith. The need to evaluate the impact of this type of teaching is an urgent theological and pastoral concern because it is the most appealing Christian approach to socio-economic breakthrough for contemporary Ghanaian Christians. This paper, therefore, sought to address the problem of the lack of a balanced assessment of the prosperity gospel and how its weaknesses can be addressed. The study is a literature-based research that gathered data from publications on the subject matter. Through a critical analysis and evaluation of the information gathered, the authors evaluated the overall impact of the prosperity theology on the holistic life (social, spiritual, economic and political) of its adherents and having noted some pitfalls, recommended how this popular theology can be refined. Apart from providing guidelines for addressing the challenges associated with the prosperity theology, the paper also has the potential of yielding ethical renewal for people to live responsibly as they work toward improving their socio-economic and spiritual lives. Keywords: Prosperity, Christianity, Ghana, Salvation

Alister E. McGrath and China: Toward a Chinese theology and science on transhumanism for the third millennium

AbstractIn the past three decades, Alister E. McGrath's popularity has been constantly on the rise in China. More than 20 of his books have been translated into Chinese. To the Chinese intellectual mind, the most fascinating among McGrath's works are his writings on theology and science. This is not surprising due to China's ambitions to achieve scientific and technological dominance by boosting creativity. However, such a daunting task faces insurmountable difficulties due to a prevailing lack of innovation, which might contribute to the rising interest in McGrath's work on science and theology. Due to the dominant political ideology in China, theology is by and large put aside, if not marginalized. This essay suggests that the wide‐scale reception of McGrath's works by Chinese academia and churches not only opens a door for the public square to change their attitude toward Christian theology, but also challenges Chinese theology to contextualize McGrath's scientific theology on Chinese soil and to engage Chinese worldview with its pragmatic epistemology. This paper seeks to adapt McGrath's scientific theology on the topic of transhumanism, which has received increasing scholarly attention from the perspective of traditional Chinese philosophies and religions, such as Confucianism and Daoism. Unfortunately, Chinese theology has largely failed to grasp the opportunity to offer any significant constructive proposal to this interdisciplinary discussion. This paper argues that a Chinese theology of science built on a sympathetic and critical engagement with McGrath's scientific theology has a rich potential to dialogue with modern sciences and traditional Chinese philosophies and religions on transhumanism. Such constructive theology not only serves as a conversation partner, but also provides a theological critique to the prevalent scientism and humanism in China.

Exploring the Interplay of Healthcare, Spirituality, and Urban Well-Being

This perspective article discusses the relationship between religion, spirituality and health and emphasizes their continuing importance in today’s world. The article examines the portrayal of moderation in religious texts, such as the teachings of mindful eating, the mindfulness approach, and the concept of fasting in the context of current research on intermittent fasting. This article accentuates the connection between body and soul and attempts to offer a perspective that combines medicine and religious wisdom. It discusses the modern understanding of ancient wisdom to understand the complex relationship between religion, spirituality and health and its effect on human well-being. By linking ancient wisdom with relevant contemporary trends, we seek to illuminate new dimensions of holistic health care and underline the important role of interdisciplinary research. We also look at the general history of health, spirituality and urban landscapes and highlight their relevance today. Furthermore, we aim to contribute to critical theology by highlighting perspectives that link spiritual practices to measurable physiological outcomes. The study promotes a paradigm shift in healthcare in which spirituality is recognized as an important determinant of health. Future experiments are proposed to unravel the complex mechanisms by which spiritual practices influence well-being and pave the way for evidence-based interventions. In developing cities where intergenerational health is a priority, our findings argue for sustainable societies based on the enduring wisdom of spirituality. This study serves as a guidepost for future research aimed at a deeper understanding of the relationship between spirituality, health, and the urban environment.

Guns, Construction of Threat, and Lived Ecclesiologies

Recent shootings in houses of worship have led people of faith to interrogate theological understandings of safety and security and implement new practices and policies, including armed protection. These responses to perceived threats and a sense of vulnerability to varying degrees come out of the “lived ecclesiologies” of faith communities. After exploring the meaning of ecclesiology, I argue that lived ecclesiologies are socially constructed; they draw on theological traditions and faith commitments, but also take shape in response to felt threats. I show how Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s own evolving ecclesiology developed out of changing threats, both internal and external, and how this illuminates emergent lived ecclesiologies with respect to the threat of gun violence. Finally, lived ecclesiologies of “fortress” and “hospitality” are explored through sociological research and theological critique.

The failures of political prophecy: Ernst Kantorowicz’s wartime lectures

ABSTRACT This paper introduces a series of lectures Ernst Kantorowicz offered to the Army Specialized Training Program in 1943 in order to reconsider the development of his intellectual biography. These “wartime lectures” constitute Kantorowicz’s only sustained discussion of modern German history and his only intellectual engagement with Nazism. Introducing these lectures thus presents an opportunity to re-examine the relationship between Kantorowicz’s early and mature works through his assessment of Nazi Germany. For Kantorowicz, Nazism was the violent result of a German commitment to political prophecy. At the core of Kantorowicz’s lectures was a criticism of political theology and its role in modern history. In making this criticism, Kantorowicz simultaneously distanced himself from the prophetic register of his earlier writings. Moreover, recovering Kantorowicz’s concern with modern political theology is also important in foregrounding the intellectual genealogy of The King’s Two Bodies, a work often separated from its more telling subtitle: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. Together, this paper argues that the most significant changes in Kantorowicz’s writings can be traced to the intellectual circumstances of the Second World War.

The Political Limits and Possibilities of the Eucharist: A Theatrical Intervention

In this article I build on recent critiques of theological accounts of the eucharistic which overextend the practice's potential to form a Christian ethic and alternative polis. In analysing these critiques, often drawing on historical and contemporary cases of Christian malformation and its basis in liturgical practice, I suggest a greater distinction is needed between the practice's ability to raise political consciousness and the necessity of separate material political action. I approach this reconfiguration through appeal to debates on the political efficacy and responsibility of art, focusing in particular on contemporary German theatre director, Thomas Ostermeier and his influential production of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Ostermeier distinguishes theatrical performance from material politics, while still demonstrating how theatre might enact a repoliticisation, provoking audiences to think beyond the story on stage to the world beyond where they live and try to act. Connecting the theological critiques with Ostermeier's work, I offer three areas in which a reconfiguration of the relationship between the Eucharist and Christian ethics might focus: depristinising in practice, disrupting catharsis, and being sent. These theatrical interventions allow for clearer recognition of the practice's ethical and political limits and potential.

Exploring the Intersection of Political and Critical Theology: A Case Study of the Soviet Era

The study of how different religious and political ideas from the past come together and clash due to changing beliefs and historical events is currently an important topic. This study explores the relationship between political theology and critical theology and their impact on religious thought and politics. The scope of the research includes a comprehensive historical analysis, a theological investigation, and a critical examination. The goal is a comprehensive understanding of the theological foundations of political and critical theology and how they manifested themselves in the specific socio-political landscape. Through case studies, textual analysis, and a comparative approach, this study seeks to discuss the practical implications of these theological perspectives. It also seeks to highlight not only the distinctive features of political and critical theology but also their convergence in shaping religious and political thought. The findings highlight the ongoing importance of religious thought in shaping historical events and emphasize the necessity for further critical examination of the connections between religion and politics.

Against Kerygma: Blumenberg's Critique of Rudolf Bultmann's Theology

abstract: In St. Matthew Passion (1988) Hans Blumenberg singles out the theologian Rudolf Bultmann for harsh criticism. The polemic focusses on his reading of the passion narrative in the Gospel of Matthew. After presenting Bultmann's theological position, the present essay examines the evolution of Blumenberg's critique of Bultmann's theology. While the early criticism focuses on theological issues, in The Legitimacy of the Modern Age (1966) Blumenberg stresses the philosophical-historical aspect, while Work on Myth (1979) foregrounds the question of myth. In St. Matthew Passion theological problems move to the center again, turning Bultmann into the prime example of harmful theology.

Via Digitalis: From the Postdigital to the Hyperdigital

The way beyond the digital can be discovered, not outside, but rather in and through the digital at its highest point. Since its introduction, the postdigital has neither been adequately defined nor scientifically demonstrated to be indefinable. If, on the contrary, the postdigital can be defined by a conceptual and genealogical analysis as a circuit of reflections upon the essential rupture of the digital, then the way that, in the digital, we calculate in writing can, in the postdigital, be assumed into a hyperbolic reflection in and from its more originary creative source. In this theological critique of Maggi Savin-Baden and John Reader’s volume Postdigital Theologies, I prosecute three theses: first, the postdigital has failed; second, postdigital theology is incompatible with Christian theology; and third, for mystical theology, the hyperdigital is the truth of the postdigital. The postdigital is not ‘ineffable’ but rather only appears indefinable because of a prior and contestable refusal to analyse the digital, as it predicates the ‘postdigital’ of the plural ‘theologies’, and as it speaks past theology. Once, however, it has been analysed into a circuit of reflections upon the rupture of the digital, the truth of the postdigital can be discovered in the hyper-negative or apophatic judgements of mystical theology. This theological critique of the postdigital has thus been written to prepare the mystical way of the digital or ‘via digitalis’ to read the digital and the postdigital on a spiritual ascent towards a hyperbolic cybernetic grammar, which, following Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, should be named the ‘hyperdigital’.

Censorship, Silence, and the Voices of Catholic Feminist Theologians

Abstract: This article argues that theological dissent is not only censored by church institutions but also silenced by mechanisms of self-censoring. Calling for recognition of the intertwining of censorship and shame as analytical categories, the article explores the simultaneity of the silencing of feminist theologians about sexual morality and gender theories, and the silence around the clergy sexual abuse committed by priests as well as the abuse committed by Catholic nuns. It examines the systemic control of critique by the institution of the Catholic Church, which is itself immune to any institutional or theological critique, and calls for a renewal process that involves remembrance, recognition, and responsibility.

Censorship, Silence, and the Voices of Catholic Feminist Theologians

Abstract: This article argues that theological dissent is not only censored by church institutions but also silenced by mechanisms of self-censoring. Calling for recognition of the intertwining of censorship and shame as analytical categories, the article explores the simultaneity of the silencing of feminist theologians about sexual morality and gender theories, and the silence around the clergy sexual abuse committed by priests as well as the abuse committed by Catholic nuns. It examines the systemic control of critique by the institution of the Catholic Church, which is itself immune to any institutional or theological critique, and calls for a renewal process that involves remembrance, recognition, and responsibility.

The God of Chance and Purpose: Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World

The God of Chance and Purpose: Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World

Feuerbach and Kierkegaard on Sin as Infinite Qualitative Difference

Abstract By contextualising the striking similarities in Feuerbach and Kierkegaard’s conceptions of sin as infinite qualitative difference, and the related question of the individual and the species as a shared response to the Hegelian Entzweiung, this article seeks to offer a new framework for understanding Feuerbach’s critique of Christian theology and of Kierkegaard’s famous articulation of the infinite qualitative difference as simultaneously ontological, hamartiological, and soteriological. It argues that Kierkegaard offers a modification of the Feuerbachian account to argue against Feuerbach’s conclusion that the Christian doctrine of sin negates qualitative differences between individual humans, and to conversely affirm that sin differentiates not just God and humans, but each single individual too. Kierkegaard might be said to at once uphold Feuerbach’s critique of Hegelian theology, while inverting Feuerbach’s anti-theological programme by harnessing the ambiguities that appear in Feuerbach’s account of sin. It is thereby shown how both Feuerbach and Kierkegaard make use of Hegelian logic, both through their formal application of the concepts of quality and quantity, as well as their creative appropriation of the notion of Entzweiung.

Theological Anthropocentrism: An Interpretation of Scripture and Semitic Theodicy in Overcoming the Environmental Crisis

This research aims to explore by offering theodicy as the basis for anthropocentric theology to purify God of all the bad images that occur creation of God, and theological criticism of the theocentric view which positions God with his absolute will to do anything, including creating and allowing environmental crises to occur also the anthropocentric opinion which positions humans with their free will has led to an environmental crisis. The contradiction of belief in God as the Most Perfect Essence with the fact that there is a problem of evil (imperfection) in creation of God that a perennial debate that has existed since the birth of these religions. These research method uses a literature review and data analysis using a qualitative hermentic approach. The results of the study describe the views of the Bible and the Qur'an about human freedom and present theodicy debates from traditional to modern in Christian and Islamic theology, about the role and ethics of humans towards nature or the environments. The results of the research are hoped it will become theological literacy or provide theological arguments for the need for human intervention to be fair, good, and true to the environment. Apart from being an implementation of faith in the Supreme Being, this intervention is also a human responsibility as a moral agent for protecting the environment.
 
 

PERSETERUAN IDEOLOGI DALAM DINAMIKA KRITIK HADIS ANTARA MUHAMMAD NASHIRUDDIN AL-ALBANI DAN ABDULLAH AL-GHUMARIY

One of the Takhrij Hadith activists who are phenomenal this century is Muhammad Nashiruddin al-Albani. However, the re-correction of the history with the narrative of the jarh that seemed impolite and against sanad, which was believed to be the ulama, was established and became the point of controversy for other hadith practitioners. There are many Muhadditsin figures who marked al-Albani regarding fiddling with Sanad again. One of them is a Moroccan hadith practitioner, Abdullah al-Ghumariy who is also known for his sauce. At first glance, the ideology and theology of al-Ghumariy and al-Albaniy, are clearly different. al-Ghumariy with his daughter and Tarekat is inversely proportional to al-Albani, a role model of Salafiy, who is aggressively voicing the error and bid'ah of Sufism. In his criticism of al-Albani, especially in Rasâ'il al-Ghumâriyyah, al-Ghumariy can be said to be more focused on the presentation of Sanad criticism carried out by al-Albaniy and there is no editor related to criticism of al-Albaniy's ideology and theology. The focus of the discussion of this paper is how a cross-opinion form correcting the hadith wrapped in ideological and theological differences between al-Albaniy and Abdullah al-Ghumariy. The method used is the comparative explanation (syarh muqaran) with a character study approach.

What (if Anything) Should Christian Theology Learn from the Cognitive Science of Religion?

ABSTRACT This article asks what, if anything, Christian theology should learn from the cognitive science of religion (CSR). Two possible answers are explored. The first is that Christian theology has nothing to learn from CSR. This is rejected in favour of the second: theology can learn from CSR by appropriating CSR insights carefully and critically to a theological understanding formed first and foremost by Scripture. Karl Barth’s theological critique of religion and his engagement with Ludwig Feuerbach are used as a model for this approach. The article concludes with specific proposals about how, and how not, to engage theologically with CSR.

Two theological critics of Honest to God

This article looks critically at the arguments of two of Bishop John Robinson’s Honest to God’s most formidable theological critics – Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Professor Eric Mascall.

A Theological Critique of the National Security Act from the Perspective of Universal Human Rights

Freedom of thought and conscience are fundamental human rights and are guaranteed in a democratic society. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that “the state has the duty to affirm and guarantee the inviolable and fundamental human rights of individuals”(Article 10). However, in South Korean society, this common sense goes out the window the moment someone is labeled a “bbalgaengyi” (reds) or a “jongbukjueuija” (followers of North Korea). This is because the National Security Act legally supports a divided country with anti-communism at the forefront. When it was first enacted in 1948, it was seen as a temporary device to maintain authoritarianism under the divided system, but the reality was different. Even as political democratization has progressed and inter-Korean relations have improved, it has remained powerful as a device for restricting popular movements and unification movements and controlling ideas. It has not only restricted social movements but also controlled academic and artistic activities and regulated people’s inner worlds. The National Security Act has been controversial since the 1987 democratization, but it is still alive and well in 2023. For a long time, research on the National Security Act was a taboo subject that was not easily accessible because it could be considered a violation of the law. Adding to the difficulty of research was the lack of access to documentation of cases where the law was applied. With the democratization of 1987 and the development of the Northern Policy and inter-Korean relations in the early 1990s, the environment was ripe for rethinking the meaning of the National Security Act. Pioneering studies before and after 1990 and the Constitutional Court’s unconstitutionality review process, which began in 1990, led to a serious examination of its legal issues. Theological commentary on the National Security Act is scarce. Not only from the point of view of the church, which was responsible for integrating the public into the anti-communist ideology during the formation and development of the pro- American anti-communist state, but also from the point of view of Minjung theology. For theologians, too, it was not a simple matter to overcome the taboo of anti-communism. They were always conscious of the limits of that taboo, and when they crossed them, they were bound to face the swift blade of state power. In the absence of a theological response to the National Security Act, this article begins that discussion. Approaching it from a theological position is based on an awareness of universal human rights that can no longer be avoided as a theological task today. After articulating that position, this article briefly reaffirms the problems with the National Security Act and addresses the issues of the rule of law and human dignity.

Pseudo Problems in Christian Theology

As a scientific theologian, Thomas F. Torrance advocated for an objective approach to theologizing. He was weary of approaching the contents of divine revelation out of a center in philosophy, culture, or the self. For him, an imposition to theology from without creates problems to theological content. This article focuses on his analysis of the Greek understanding of space that became the underlying—and unspoken—presupposition of early heretics that led them to advocate Christological profanity. Using qualitative content analysis as research design, the article scoured through Torrance’s own writings and secondary literature to present Torrance’s critique of philosophical theology and his own theological alternative. Greater emphasis, however, was given to primary sources so that Torrance’s own position is faithfully presented. The study is sympathetic to Torrance’s proposal that Christian theology may avoid doctrinal and theological problems if theologians interpret divine realities kata physin. Using the concept of space as an illustration, both in the past and the present, if both biblical and theological scholarships operate within cultural-philosophical categories and not from a center in the Gospel datum taken at face value, problems that are not supposed to be there surface. Theologizing becomes circularly self-collapses once prevailing popular and cultural worldviews are uncritically assimilated and accepted.

A Theological Critique of the Commodification of Religious Substances in Ghanaian Pentecostal–Charismatic Christianity

Abstract This article presents an empirical case study of the commodification of religious substances in a Ghanaian Pentecostal/charismatic church. The author argues that the primal goal of religion and the penchant for success and good health among Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians help in the easy commodification of religious substances by pastor-prophets. However, the commodification of religion or religious substances, the article argues, eschews godly values, beliefs, and practices that have implications for the faith and commitment of believers, their religious lives, and their commitment to the church and society.