Theological Method Research Articles

On Theological Aporias

Modern theology has attended explicitly to issues concerning method, that is, how theological authors creatively offer interpretations that advance disciplinary knowledge. This article explores the role of aporias—logical impasses—in theological interpretation. After considering two philosophical paths for negotiating the aporia in the work of Nicholas Rescher and Jacques Derrida, it applies these interpretive paradigms to what it calls the central Christian aporia. It argues that mindfulness about the role of aporias in theological method enhances appreciation for the complexity of theological hermeneutics.

The Implications of James Cone’s Critique of Barth and Barthians for the Practice of Academic Christian Theology

ABSTRACT Fifty years have passed since James Cone wrote _Black Theology and Black Power _ critiquing the unbarthian ways Barth was being appropriated in Europe and North America. This article identifies key weaknesses in a Barthian theological method that may explain the conspicuous silence of White Barthian theologians in response to Cone’s critique. It suggests three lessons for ethical theological enquiry arising from attention to Cone’s analysis: first, the need to recognise the ways in which the Christian theological tradition has been shaped in racist, White supremacist, and colonialist ways in order to avoid reproducing theologies Cone identified as racist; second, the responsibility of Christian theologians to give an account of the relationship of their projects to questions of ethics and practice, in order to avoid the vice of curiosity; and third, the responsibility of theologians to take particular care to avoid disadvantaging students and colleagues of colour in their professional practice.

An Interdisciplinary Theological Method from the Knowledge of the Forgotten

This essay articulates an interdisciplinary theological method from an historical reality as a theological locus for doing theology in dialogue with marginalized voices. Viewed from a liberating perspective, it advances previous articulations of the theological method developed in Latin America to include new theological methods from specific contexts marked by oppression and marginalization. The author argues that contemplation and dialogue are key foundations for the development of theology in any context. He offers a methodological account of doing theology that is grounded in the historical experience of marginalized communities of faith and advanced through contemplation and dialogue. In doing so, he demonstrates how contemplation and dialogue sustain a methodological framework for doing theology that emerges from hermeneutical mediations (interlocutors in dialogue) through which the transcendent is manifested in the immanent and the ethical implications for a community of faith are made evident.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Intersectional Methods and Moral Theology

In this introductory essay, the co-editors explain why a special issue on intersectional methods in moral theology is necessary, introduce intersectionality, and provide a brief overview of the essays.

Table of Contents, Vol. 12, Special Issue 1, Intersectional Methods and Moral Theology

Intersectionality is a tool for theological analysis that invites sustained critical reflection on how gender, race, social class, sexual identity, citizenship status, and other forms of difference shape people’s perceptions of God, the human person, the church, and the moral life. Scholars of moral theology increasingly recognize how the biases of one’s lived experience integrally shapes one’s theological reasoning. Beyond the need to name, identify, and analyze our biases as an integral part of our theological methods, we also need to create space for discourse that seeks to bridge our differences. This special issue of the Journal of Moral Theology brings together seven essays that focus on intersectionality as a theological method and its implications for the practice of moral theology. Scholars in moral theology, liberation theologies, feminist and womanist theologies, and decolonial theologies demonstrate how intersectional methods are employed in constructive theological discourse.

Makan sebagai sarana pengasuhan, persekutuan, dan hospitalitas: Sebuah konstruksi Teologi Makan dengan lensa trinitarian

This article raises the issue of eating, which is rarely discussed theologically, while the issue of eating has been widely discussed in various other disciplines. This article aims to construct a theology of eating through the lens of Trinitarian theology of eating. Using the doctrine of the Trinity as a lens to re-understand the theological meaning of eating, I argue that the theological meaning of eating is a means of nurturing, communion, and hospitality. This article uses a constructive theology method with a qualitative approach that examines various kinds of literature that discuss the doctrine of the Trinity and eating and the relationship between the two variables to construct a Trinitarian theology of eating. The results of this study indicate that the meaning of eating should not be reduced to merely satisfying hunger because eating is a means through which God nurtures human life and establish communion and hospitality between individuals and even with God himself. AbstrakArtikel ini mengangkat masalah makan yang jarang dibahas secara teologis, sedangkan masalah makan telah banyak dibahas di berbagai disiplin ilmu yang lain. Tujuan artikel ini adalah untuk mengkonstruksi sebuah teologi makan dengan lensa teologi makan Trinitarian. Dengan menggunakan doktrin Trinitas sebagai lensa untuk memahami kembali makna makan secara teologis, saya berargumen bahwa makna teologis dari makan adalah sebagai sarana pengasuhan, persekutuan, dan keramahtamahan. Artikel ini menggunakan metode berteologi konstruktif dengan pendekatan kualitatif yang mengkaji berbagai literatur yang membahas tentang doktrin Trinitas dan makan, dan juga hubungan antara kedua variabel tersebut dalam rangka mengkonstruksi sebuah teologi makan Trinitarian. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa makna makan tidak boleh direduksi sekadar memuaskan rasa lapar karena makan adalah sarana yang melaluinya Allah mengasuh kehidupan manusia, dan menjalin persekutuan serta keramahan antar pribadi dan bahkan dengan Allah sendiri.

Lyric Theology: Art and the Doctrine of Creation. By Thomas Gardner

In the Introduction to Lyric Theology: Art and the Doctrine of Creation, Thomas Gardner notes how the recent upsurge in scholarly interest in the lyric has provided resources for a greater understanding of the theological significations of lyric thinking. This book is timely, not only due to its engagement with current developments in lyric theory. It also resonates with movements in the theological sphere where, building on the major contribution made by reflections on the narrative and dramatic modes to discussions of theological method and theological aesthetics, interest is now turning to lyric modes of God-talk. Gardner writes as a literary critic and lyric essayist with a deep interest in theology, as attested to in his earlier work, John in the Company of Poets: The Gospel in Literary Imagination (Baylor University Press, 2011). His treatment of his subject is theologically literate, rooted in the Reformed tradition of Jürgen Moltmann, Colin Gunton, Belden Lane, and Jeremy Begbie, but also drawing more widely across the theological spectrum, from figures such as David Bentley Hart and Rowan Williams. Gardner presents lyric as a form that understands a truth by inhabiting it. Describing reading as ‘a lyric act’ (p. 9), Gardner presents his book as itself a lyrical exercise that draws the reader into the experiences it describes. He employs this perilous power of the lyric voice adeptly and sensitively, resulting in a work that goes beyond scholarly discourse towards a meditative and spiritual form of writing that is a demonstration of lyric theology in action.

Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology, by Catherine Cornille

Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology, by Catherine Cornille. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2020, pp. 214 + ix. $ 47.95 US. ISBN: 978-111-953-5225

Taingyintha theology in the making in Myanmar: a public theological perspective.

ABSTRACT Since almost all Christians in Myanmar are taingyintha Christians, Myanmar must have a taingyintha theology that makes a serious attempt to analyze the reality of the socio-political context of Myanmar and evolve a meaningful theology that is relevant and contextual to the contemporary reality of Myanmar. In this article, the author highlights that the task of taingyintha Christians is to struggle for tiangyintha liberation from their socio-politically discrimination and Burmanization in their homeland, to empower the inner person of the taingyinthas, and to strive for their empowerment in all spheres, and to lead inclusive humanism for the goal identity and humanity of the taingyinthas within the human community. The objective is to emerge taingyintha theology not only from the experience of taingyinthaness in their socio-political setting but also from the fundamental biblical categories like equality, justice, peace, and hope for socio-political transformation. In interpretation, an inductive theological method will be applied to examine the taingyinthas’ struggle for identity in the context in which they struggle in order to actualise their vision of a genuine federal Union and to empower taingyinthas to be the transformational role in the contemporary socio-political setting.

On Scheeben's Place in Nineteenth-Century Catholic Theology and the Question of His Theological Method

On Scheeben's Place in Nineteenth-Century Catholic Theology and the Question of His Theological Method

The architecture of transcendence: John Webster and Dietrich Bonhoeffer on divine agency, Christology and theological method

AbstractJohn Webster and Dietrich Bonhoeffer are two theologians invested in prioritising certain conceptions of divine transcendence within their respective theological projects. Specifically, both appeal to conceptions of divine transcendence and agency amidst what they understand to be the problematic naturalisation of theological discourse in modern Protestant theology, particularly within its liberal German traditions. The way they understand transcendence, however, and the doctrinal loci they choose to affect it, leads to different conceptualisations of the possibilities, scope and organisation of systematic theology. Where Webster (especially in his later work) seeks to prioritise God's immanent perfection and aseity through theology proper, Bonhoeffer instead emphasises God's freedom pro me within the person of Jesus Christ. These differences in first theological foundations have important consequences for the shape of theological method and doctrinal architecture within the practice of contemporary systematic theology.

Sexual misconduct amongst evangelical leaders: a practical theological reflection

ABSTRACT A number of recent examples of sexual misconduct by prominent evangelical leaders has stimulated conversation regarding why Christian men exhibit such behaviours. This article adopts Osmer’s practical theological method to analyse the phenomenon and suggest more faithful practice for the Church and Christian organisations. Resources for the practical theological activity include three recent prominent cases of sexual misconduct by evangelical leaders brought into dialogue with biblical resources and wisdom related to male hegemony, psychology, power and accountability. The research concludes that sexual misconduct is connected with a faulty hermeneutic, self-justification/rationalisation, power differentials, and the failure of accountability structures. It suggests that safeguarding principles be implemented in evangelical organisations to foster safer environments for members.

“Priests are obliged to be turbulent”

“Priests are obliged to be turbulent”

The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

Social Justice and the Search for the Common Good in Southern Africa

Social injustice and inequality create existential worries and social instability. Public theology, as a method rather than as a discipline, developed as a response to fortify Christian witness in the public arena and to answer to issues such as social injustice. This article builds on this theological method for social engagement and on the inherent social capital that religion holds to produce the common good in a secular environment. As part of reflecting upon the significance of theology in the public sphere, I first will examine the role theology can play to shape our social vision. Secondly, I will examine how the notions of covenant and neighbourliness could be providing a turning point regarding social justice. Thirdly, I address the search for the common good as God's tool to inform alternative and humane associational life. Fourthly, the article will explore theology's role to inform and create a vibrant civic society. The dialogue partners in the article are intentionally chosen to formulate a theological pedagogy distinctive from defensive, and at times violent, postures witnessed in social justice dialogues. I aim to create a space for a more objective examination of habits and practices in search of a fuller description and embodiment of God's Kingdom in Southern Africa. The article explores the following question, how can theology, through pursuing the common good, become a significant social capital generator to influence social justice in Southern Africa?

Religion in the Digital Age: An Irreversible Process

Digital technology is fundamentally changing what it means to be human, in particular what it means to be a religious or spiritual human being, as it becomes an “irreversible” process. Indeed, the process is having a seismic impact on the religious and spiritual lives of “digital natives”, who have never known a world without the Internet. This paper will seek to determine, by way of the Digital Theology method put forward by Sutinen and Cooper, if the religious-disaffiliation trend among younger populations is connected to the digitalization of society, either causally or correlationally, and what, if anything, religious leaders and faith communities can do about it. Research on the effects of high social media usage will be given special attention, in order to highlight the double-edged nature of digital technology.

Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) and the training of pastors in the Russian ecclesiastical school in the first half of the 19th century

The main focus of study is aimed at the development of institutional forms in 19th century Russian Empire. This period is the era of emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I and partly Alexander II — the time of rapid state, church and public institutions development. During this period clergy was becoming the subject of government regulation. The body of clergy itself is acquiring corporate features, and the number of clergies who have passed through educational institutions is growing. Theology is faced with a question that is still relevant to this day — how much the practice of preparing the clergy can correlate with the theological understanding of the priesthood? One of the solutions can be seen in activities and works of St. Philaret (Drozdov). Since the role of St. Filaret in this activity has not fully determined, therefore, the purpose of study is to clarify the role and results of St. Filaret’s educational activities, based on the analysis of the most complete corpus of sources. For this, an interdisciplinary approach i. e. combination of general scientific, special historical and theological methods was applied. The study allows us to establish: activities of St. Philaret in the context of preparation and comprehension of the pastor had a multi-vector complex character. Its results allow us to speak about the understanding by contemporaries of the problem of priesthood training and attempts to solve it, which, however, were not crowned with success. The experience of predecessors is certainly relevant today in the context of constant educational paradigms’ refinement.

Significance and Liturgy: Victoria Welby, Semioethics, and a New Method for Liturgical Theology

Significance and Liturgy: Victoria Welby, Semioethics, and a New Method for Liturgical Theology

Rodzina obrazem Boga w świetle nauczania Jana Pawła II, a szczególnie Listu do Rodzin

This article presents the concept of family as the image of God in light of the teachings of Pope John Paul II. The theological method of critical text analysis was used here. The concept of family as the image of God has accompanied Pope John Paul II from the beginning of his pontificate. Man is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). This issue has a long theological history, rooted in the Bible. The problem of man created in the image of God has not only an individual but also a communal dimension. The family as a community of persons is the image of God. This way of understanding this topic was presented by Pope John Paul II. The genius of this approach is clearly visible against the background of the traditional interpretation of the creation of man in the image and likeness of God.

Teologia jako nauka

The article explores how theology functions within the scientific context. It begins by noting that Christian theology differs from the theology of other religions, as well as among its own branches, such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Theology, viewed as a systematic study of Christian revelation, has a long history dating back to the 2nd century AD and was regarded as a science for many centuries. Currently, questions arise about its place in the academic environment and its adherence to scientific criteria. The article suggests that theology must justify its value both internally, in terms of research and teaching, and externally, in relation to other fields. Critics point out differences in theological methods of knowledge acquisition and challenges in adapting to scientific discoveries. Various theological approaches are discussed, ranging from Origen to contemporary thinkers who emphasize the importance of critical and systematic methodologies in theology. The concluding section reflects on the potential role of theology as a science, highlighting its potential for critical analysis of ideological and scientific narratives.