Theological Method Research Articles

Defining Digital Theology: Barthian Reflections on the Role of Open Access and Electronic Publishing in the Theological Toolkit

As a student member of the Atla Press Coordinating Committee, the presenter has spent the past eight months evaluating, developing, and implementing digital tools to support the Press' initiatives in open access scholarship. This session frames those efforts in the context of theology's status as a "minor participant" (Hutchings 2015) in the digital humanities as well as the emergence of a trans-disciplinary domain increasingly identified as “digital theology” (Phillips 2014). Drawing on Anderson’s (2018) analysis of theology’s disciplinary distance from the main body of digital humanities work, the presenter outlines a case for the distinctive primacy of digital publishing tools and open access commitments in digital theology, as compared with the broader suite of research tools and methods that constitute the “cultural capital” (Schroeder 2016) of digital humanities as generally understood. Particular attention is paid in this regard to Karl Barth’s vision of a “proclamation-centered” (Hector, 2015) theological method as the basis for an ecclesiological critique of closed access publication models.

A pentecostal critique of the postmodern S/spirit: Amos Yong and David Tracy on theological method

ABSTRACTThe word ‘postmodernism’ has tended to induce a skeptical or even virulent reaction on the part of the Pentecostal/Evangelical side of the theological spectrum. But with the help of such scholars as James K.A. Smith, the tide might have changed. It is now possible to consider and benefit from the real insights of the postmodern critique without fright. In this paper, the works of the revisionist Catholic theologian and great thinker of postmodern theology David Tracy will be discussed alongside the works of the prolific Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong in order to assess the potential of a Pentecostal retrieval of the postmodern critique. It will be argued that both thinkers tackle real contemporary challenges with surprisingly similar interest and that Yong's proposal is a compelling argument - even if not comfortable - for a move forward without abandoning the core convictions of Pentecostal Christianity. Yong's pneumatological starting point allows him to develop a hermeneutical, ontological and epistemological model that allows for a theoretical rendition of the dynamic Pentecostal experience of the Spirit.

Development in Theological Method and Argument in John of Damascus

Terminological confusion exacerbated by councils divided the church in late antiquity. John of Damascus addressed the resultant terminological impasse by providing the re-established Jerusalem patriarchate with theological polemic that reemphasized the preeminence of the Council of Nicaea. John’s early works relied on scripture and patristic argument, but after his philosophical works, his theological method couched scripture and patristic argument in terms of a new philosophical acumen. Building on this change in theological method, I argue that John’s theological argument also underwent development using the term “perichōrēsis” as a case study, resulting in a provisional date-list of John’s polemical works. I then argue that development in John appears to have an ecumenical motivation by analyzing his redeployment of the theological technical term “perichōrēsis” from his Christology to his Trinitarianism. I argue that John subordinates his Christology to a terminologically clarified Nicene Trinitarianism in order to address concerns of his local inter-locutors by re-casting local christological debate in three ways: 1) he couched his Christology in terms of a specifically Nicene heresiology shifting fifth- and sixth-century theologians off-stage, whether Cyril of Alexandria, Severus of Antioch, or Maximus the Confessor, pushing Gregory of Nazianzus to the fore as universal authority; 2) he avoided the critique of Aristotelianism by couching his Christology in terms of the Nicene locus classicus, John 10.30; and finally, 3) he adroitly granted but restated the theological premise of his interlocutors turning their argument on its head. Thus, John grounds his innovative theological polemic in the tradition while providing his bishop and the newly re-established patriarchate with a more progressive and ecumenical theological method, argument, and polemic.

Mediation, Culture, and Religion: Approaching Lonergan’s Method in Theology

In this paper I explore the “Introduction” to Method in Theology and examine the presuppositions of this importanttext. These are concepts that Lonergan deemed necessary for introducing his work on functional specialization. I focus on mediation as a two-way process and the empirical notion of culture. It is interesting how these two significant ideas make their way into the brief introduction, which Lonergan wrote last when composing the text.

Rethinking Scholastic Communities in Latin Europe: Competition and Theological Method in the Twelfth Century

This paper explores the role of competition between masters and their communities in shaping the dynamism of theological debate in twelfth-century Europe. Whereas scholastic debate in the thirteenth century was heavily influenced by the structures and curriculum of the University of Paris, this was not the case in the twelfth century. While there were celebrated confrontations between individual monks and schoolmen (such as St Anselm against Roscelin of Compiegne, and Bernard of Clairvaux against Peter Abelard), it is inadequate to interpret these episodes in terms of simple opposition between monastic and scholastic theological traditions. Rather, we see the evolution of a range of educational communities, of monks, of regular canons, and of secular clergy, each with their own interpretation of Christian teaching, and with their own attitudes to the use of reason and the learning of classical antiquity. After 1150, there was an increasing tendency to professionalization in the teaching of theology, epitomized by the growing influence of Peter Lombard’s Sentences, but there was no consensus about the extent to which it should also engage in philosophical reflection. There was also competition between the cathedral school at Notre-Dame and the canons of Saint-Victor, who preferred to emphasize the role of experience in the spiritual life. The case of Richard of Saint-Victor’s writing on the Trinity shows how he sought to combine an experiential dimension to religious insight, with presentation of Christian teaching in terms of reason, rather like St Anselm, rather than through debating patristic authority, as followed by disciples of Peter Lombard. The label of scholasticism should not conceal the enduring diversity of approaches adopted by different communities.

Traditional folklore in the children's cycle of family rituals of the Kadar ethnic group

Value orientations, national mindset, and ethnic self-awareness have formed throughout multiple centuries by the means of traditional folklore. The texts of older generation referred to children, children compositions and practices along with upbringing techniques in the bosom of family or community ensured the development of personality traits of a child, introduction to labor, behavioral and communication norms, rituals, and all aspects of the national culture. The traditional folklore of family ritualism of Kadar people creates an ideal environment for the development of a child. This article is first to study the traditional folklore of family ritualism of the Kadar ethnic group in the children's cycle, as well as semantics of the indicated ritual processes. The existence of traditions and rituals in modern society ensures the continuity and reproduction of the cultural foundations of the Kadar ethnos, spiritual and moral wellbeing of modern society. It is revealed that rational, traditional and theological methods and techniques were closely intertwined in the rites of the children's cycle of the family ritual of Kadar people, and were aimed towards upbringing a healthy new generation. One of the main leitmotifs in the lullaby genre of Kadar folklore consists in a problem of the moral and aesthetic ideal of personality.

«Совершенно темное пятно»: супрематическая пангеометрия и проблема (не)ви́дения

The article examines the religious and philosophical components of K. Male­vich’s Suprematist paintings and the origin of their revolutionariness in the wide context of theoretical works: N. Lobachevsky’s “pangeometry”, El Lissitsky’s axonometry, P. Ouspensky’s fourth dimension, P. Florensky’s reverse perspec­tive, Z. Freud’s attraction to death, J. Lacan’s the symbolic and the real, the ab­solute presence of God through invisibility in the religious philosophy of J.-L. Marion. The author traces the stages of conceptualization of K. Malevich’s Suprematism: from the sketch of stage sets in opera «Victory over the Sun» (1913), where the predecessor of “Black square” (1915) first appeared, to the Suprematist abstract paintings with three-dimensional axonometric views of geo­metric figures and, finally, to their complete destruction. The phenomenon of to­tal invisibility, being a method of negative theology, becomes a condition for the birth of the Suprematist icons “Black square” and “White on white” (1917‒1918), which should be taken not as a regression to the two-dimensionality of paintings, but as an absolute form of the axonometric projection, the invisibility as a total seeing. The complete negation of geometric forms – a dead end, «an ut­terly dark spot» – can be understood as a space for transition toward the sacred transcendental Being, the presence of an absolute artistic form, which is en­dowed with the highest sacred meaning. The revolutionariness of Suprematism in this sense does not lie in its utopian contents. On the contrary, it is present in the “zero degree of forms” that denies even itself and in the contemplation per se on this emptiness as fullness.

Essence and Significance of the Christian Faith in the Modern World

The author offers a discursive analysis of the New Testament faith, based on the biblical definition of it (Heb. 11) and the realization in life of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, a model of faith in the three monotheistic religions. The author's choice fell to Abraham because of the similarity in God's guidance to him in the Old Testament and to the images in the New Testament. This leads to theological conclusions about what the biblically based Christian faith should be today. In the theological-ethical analysis of the successive stages in the stepwise development of the faith, visualized in the author's diagram, the correct definition, meaning and influence of each stage in the real life of the modern Christian stand out. The theoretical aspect of the research uses methods of systematic theology, biblical hermeneutics, egzegetics, as well as scientific research on the concept of "faith" (Vl. Sveshnikov, K. Barth, Al. Men, Vl. Solovov, D. Kirov etc.). The practical aspect of the study is based on the spiritual experience of Abraham, the historical experience of the Church, as well as the personal experience of the author - theologian and clinical psychologist. This text aims to inspire Christians to overcome daily trials by boldly climbing the steps of faith, which also elevates Abraham to the true glory God has given him. God's promise is that trials will never exceed the power of the one who has ben tested. Keywords: Faith, Christianity

Everett Tilson: Pioneer in the Condemnation of White Privilege

Everett TilsonPioneer in the Condemnation of White Privilege Paul Burnam (bio) In 1986, Dr. Peggy McIntosh of Wellesley College delivered a paper at the Virginia Women’s Association conference in which she explained at length the phrase “white privilege.” McIntosh began her presentation by explaining how she became deeply aware of what she called “male privilege”—that is, how most men unconsciously accept many advantages in higher education curricula that women cannot access. At that time, McIntosh taught women’s studies at Wellesley. She offered examples of male privilege in higher education beginning with the claim that men figure most importantly in the curriculum because they are the principal actors in life and civilization. McIntosh proceeded to explain that in discussions about curricular development when the reduction of the prominence of men’s contributions gets proposed, then male academics fall back on the inevitability of present gender relations and the distribution of power. She continued by pointing out how precedent, socio-biology, and psychobiology served as justifications whereby male domination functioned as a norm and resulted unavoidably from evolution. Other defenses of male privilege show in arguments putting forth human experience, religious doctrines, and social responsibility.1 After that acknowledgement of male privilege, McIntosh raised the bar by identifying white privilege. She [End Page 87] explained white privilege as a bundle of many advantages white people invoke without awareness every waking hour using terms such as “codebooks,” “emergency gear,” and “passports” that people of color can seldom, if ever, employ.2 In a later essay, McIntosh pointed out how oblivious whites are to the advantages and dominance they enjoy in society. She stated how strongly enculturated this attitude is in the United States to perpetuate the myth of meritocracy and the myth that democratic choice is available to all.3 With McIntosh’s juxtaposition of those two words, “white” and “privilege,” one encounters the phrase “white privilege” daily thanks to the explosion of multiple forms of media that swirl around and throughout contemporary American society. The phrase accelerated in its use and public awareness with the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008. Then white privilege became even more frequently mentioned with the 2016 election in which the Republican presidential nominee laced his rhetoric with frequent derogatory remarks about people of color, women, Muslims, LGBTQ persons, and anyone else outside the white male power structure. The concept of white privilege certainly existed long before McIntosh delivered her presentation in Richmond. She invested the most effort to construct and define the notion that makes white privilege a very important element in any discussion of economic, political, and social conditions in the United States today. Many others besides McIntosh wrote about and discussed the concept of white privilege years before she did. A late member of the faculty at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) railed against the concept of white privilege at least 30 years before Peggy McIntosh. Charles Everett Tilson (1923–2006) taught theological students about the Old Testament at Vanderbilt University Divinity School before he joined the faculty of the newly created MTSO (located in Delaware, Ohio) in 1960. Therefore, the purpose of this essay will be to highlight how Everett Tilson recognized and condemned the phenomenon now commonly called white privilege starting in the 1950s and on through his life. This essay will commence with explaining the significance of Everett Tilson in relation to the civil rights movement and his involvement in that historic turn in American history. The essay will point out where Tilson [End Page 88] identifies white privilege during the momentous events in which he participated. The two most well-known civil rights events in which Tilson played a part—the efforts to overcome lunch counter segregation in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1960 and the integration of white churches in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964—serve as examples of Tilson’s opposition to racial segregation. In addition, those events offer evidence of Tilson’s early criticism of how whites acted without understanding or sensitivity in their relations to people of color. Everett Tilson, in an oral history he recorded for the Nashville Public Library, told how his life started in a part of the...

John Dempster and the Missionary Origins of Methodist Theological Education

Research Article| January 01 2020 John Dempster and the Missionary Origins of Methodist Theological Education Douglas D. Tzan Douglas D. Tzan DOUGLAS D. TZAN is Director of the Doctor of Ministry and Course of Study Programs and Assistant Professor of Church History and Mission at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, and senior pastor at the Sykesville Parish (St. Paul's and Gaither United Methodist Churches) in Sykesville, Maryland. He earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (History of Christianity) from Boston University in 2013. He is the author of William Taylor and the Mapping of the Methodist Missionary Tradition: The World His Parish. The manuscript of that book was awarded the 2015 Jesse Lee Prize of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church. He teaches in the fields of church history and mission. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Methodist History (2020) 58 (1-2): 18–28. https://doi.org/10.5325/methodisthist.58.1-2.0018 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Douglas D. Tzan; John Dempster and the Missionary Origins of Methodist Theological Education. Methodist History 1 January 2020; 58 (1-2): 18–28. doi: https://doi.org/10.5325/methodisthist.58.1-2.0018 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectivePenn State University PressMethodist History Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 2019/2020 by The Pennsylvania State University. All rights reserved.2019/2020The Pennsylvania State University Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Educating for Social Holiness in Institutions of Higher Education in Africa: Toward an Innovative Afrocentric Curriculum for Methodist Theological Education

Abstract In 2016, South Africa saw student and staff protests calling for the decolonisation of the teaching curriculum in institutions of Higher Education. Although these protests were centred in public universities, the issue of decolonisation also affects private institutions such as seminaries that need to transform curricula from being permeated with Western idealism to being authentically African. This article explores this issue for Methodist theological education. It argues that decolonisation affects not only the content of the teaching curriculum but also matters such as staffing and curriculum development. Its focus is to develop ways of implementing an Afrocentric curriculum in African Methodist seminaries.

Matthew within Sectarian Judaism by John Kampen

Reviewed by: Matthew within Sectarian Judaism by John Kampen Charles Nathan Ridlehoover john kampen, Matthew within Sectarian Judaism (AYBRL; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019). Pp. xvii + 320. $65. When I began my postgraduate studies in the Gospel of Matthew, my first assignment was to tackle the question, How Jewish is Matthew’s Gospel? John Kampen, the Van Bogard Dunn Professor of Biblical Interpretation at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, takes this perennial question and answers it with nuance and sophistication. As a scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the NT, and Jewish history in the Greco-Roman period, K. brings his educational acumen to the “most Jewish” Gospel and argues that the evidence suggests a much more sectarian document than previously recognized. While Matthew has often been advanced as a Jewish Christian composition, K. sees a document created by later followers of Jesus that advocates a particular understanding of Jewish history and a proposal for Jewish life at the end of the first century. Particularly, K. argues that the literary features of his chosen passages are some of the clearest evidence for Matthew’s being a sectarian creation. To advance his argument, K. has arranged his material into seven chapters situated between an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction states the thesis of the book as well as defines some important terminology. K. carefully expresses his concerns about using the words “Judean” and “Jew,” as well as his arguments that Dead Sea parallels should be more prominent in studying Matthew’s Gospel. These introductory matters are taken up in more depth in chap. 1. Here, K. details “Matthew and the First-Century Jewish World,” highlighting four characteristics of the Gospel of Matthew and its provenance: (1) the First Gospel as a Greek composition; (2) Matthew’s audience as located in an urban environment; (3) the text of the Gospel as presenting a pronounced level of conflict with other Jewish groups; and (4) the dating of the Gospel reflecting a situation after the temple’s destruction. K. concludes, “This gospel is not about Jews or even about Jewish issues. It is the argument of this volume that it is addressed to Jews about substantive questions relevant to Jewish life immediately after the destruction of the temple” (p. 20; emphasis his). In chap. 2, K. details his understanding of Matthew within Jewish sectarianism. In defining sectarianism, K. follows the definition of Albert I. Baumgarten: “a voluntary association of protest, which utilizes boundary marking mechanism—the social means of differentiating between insiders and outsiders—to distinguish between its own members and those otherwise normally regarded as belonging to the same national or religious entity” (The Flourishing of Jewish Sects in the Maccabean Era [JSJSup 55; Leiden: Brill, 1997] 7). In chap. 3, K. deals with the issues in the Sermon on the Mount, concentrating on the historical details of the text and Jesus’s relationship to the law. [End Page 512] In chap. 4, K. examines the concept of wisdom in Matthew’s Gospel, giving special attention to Matthew 11. In chap. 5, he details communal organization and discipline in Matthew’s Gospel, examining the role of Lev 19:17 in Matt 18:15–20. Comparisons with 1QS indicate that Matthew was already well aware of the obligation to treat neighbors with “truth, humility, and loving charity.” In chap. 6, K. analyzes the dynamic between Jesus and his opponents, giving particular attention to Matthew 23 and 26–27. This chapter is perhaps K.’s strongest evidence for a sectarian reading because of the heightened tension between Jesus and his Jewish antagonists. Chapter 7 concludes K.’s investigation of the Gospel evidence. Here, K. repurposes the Great Commission (Matt 28:16–20) to address the commissioning of his proposed Jewish sect. He links this bit of teaching with earlier teaching in Matt 10:5–6: “Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” K. argues that these verses embody the eschatological vision that parallels the eschatology of sectarian Judaism and undergirds the First Gospel. The volume concludes with a summary of the aforementioned argument and a nod to the themes of separation and difference that serve to summarize K...

МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ (ИСТОРИКО-ПРАВОВЫЕ) ПРОБЛЕМЫ В ИССЛЕДОВАНИИ ВТОРОЙ МИРОВОЙ И ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ ВОЙН

The article deals with the key problem of methodological search in historical and legal research on the global theme of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic war. A synthesis of proven methods (formational, civilizational) using scientific metaphysics at the level of the theological method is undertaken. The study reflects the transition from monism to pluralism, taking into account both the regularities of the legal development of mankind, and the multi-variant nature of this process. In conclusion, it is concluded that there is no alternative to the new level of methodological search. A new level of methodological search entails the use of a new methodology that allows you to evaluate all the main subjects of the topic as right or wrong, which involves the development of appropriate criteria, depending on the methodological justification. Methodological work on this topic focuses historical and legal research on understanding the essence of legal existence in the context of the ancient Roman greeting of the triumphant memento mori.

A Discerning Church: Pope Francis, Lonergan, and a Theological Method for the Future

A Discerning Church: Pope Francis, Lonergan, and a Theological Method for the Future

"Beautiful Like Helen": A Study in Early Medieval Theological Method

"Beautiful Like Helen": A Study in Early Medieval Theological Method

O pluralismo religioso em Jacques Dupuis: uma perspectiva teológica para o diálogo inter-religioso

O pluralismo religioso de Jacques Dupuis se fundamenta no método indutivo, isto é, da experiência do encontro com a outra religião encontrar o caminho de síntese daquilo que é positivo e dar plausibilidade teológica ao diálogo inter-religioso. O autor fundamenta o paradigma do pluralismo inclusivista como aquele que mais se adéqua as exigências do diálogo, o qual é outra condição para um encontro entre as fés, sem desmerecer uma ou legitimar a outra. Todavia, Dupuis e a teologia do pluralismo religioso foram questionadas pela Santa Sé com dois escritos oficiais que são a Dominus Iesus e a Notificação a Jacques Dupuis. No encontro entre o pluralismo religioso e as críticas ao teólogo em questão surgem desafios fundamentais para a teologia, como sustentar um método teológico que permita o diálogo inter-religioso, um paradigma que evidencie o acolhimento ao diferente e uma insistência no diálogo como caminho para a paz e da tolerância.

The Semiotic Method of Cognition of Reality: Limits of Applicability

This article discusses the degree and usefulness of the applicability of the semiotic method in science, philosophy and academic theology. The philosophy of the semiotic method and its relationship with Orthodox theology are considered. A specific case of application of the semiotic method in Russian science in the study of theological texts in the works of S.S. Averintsev is presented and studied. It is concluded that the extensional universality of the semiotic method in all spheres of knowledge and its limitations in the ability to adequately reflect reality.

Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill ed. by Caleb T. Friedman

Reviewed by: Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill ed. by Caleb T. Friedeman Jason Whitlark Caleb T. Friedeman (ed.), Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2017). Pp. xx + 187. $25. This volume is a collection essays published in celebration of Gareth Cockerill’s scholarship and his ministry for over thirty years at Wesley Biblical Seminary. Over the course of his career, Professor Cockerill has made several contributions to the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, culminating in his substantial 2012 commentary on Hebrews in the New International Commentary of the New Testament series. Many of the contributors are from the Wesleyan tradition. The nine essays are grouped around three headings. Essays 1–4 focus on the interpretation of Hebrews proper: Rick Boyd, “The Use of Psalm 8 in Hebrews”; Scott D. Mackie, “‘Let Us Draw Near . . . But Not Too Near’: A Critique of the Attempted Distinction between ‘Drawing Near’ and ‘Entering’ in Hebrews’ Entry Exhortations”; Matt O’Reilly, “Rest Now or Not Yet? Temporal Aspects of Social Identity in Hebrews 3:7–4:11”; Jon C. Laansma, “The Living and Active Word of God: A Theological Reading of Hebrews.” Essays 5–7 examine topics in Hebrews in conversation with other [End Page 164] NT texts: Caleb T. Friedman, “‘You Are My Son’: Climactic Revelation in the Son of God in Mark and Hebrews”; Amy L. Peeler, “If Son, Then Priest: The Filial Foundation of Ordination in Hebrews and Other New Testament Texts”; Carey B. Vinzant, “Preexistence, Kenosis, and Exaltation in Hebrews, John, and Paul: Distinctive Explications of a Common Underlying Narrative.” Essays 8–9 consider Hebrews in light of both systematic and historical theology: Thomas H. McCall, “‘Son Though He Was, He Learned Obedience’: The Submission of Christ in Theological Perspective (in Dialogue with Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth)”; and Christopher T. Bounds, “Early Methodist Theology in the Book of Hebrews.” I will be able only to highlight representatives from each of these groups. From the first group, Mackie examines whether there is a distinction between the use of proserchomai and eiserchomai in Hebrews. Proserchomai is used with reference to the believers’ approach to God, while eiserchomai is applied to Christ’s entry into the heavenly realm. Mackie argues that there is no distinction and that behind the author’s language is a mystical experiential reality of the community. He especially points to Heb 6:18–20, where the community’s entry mirrors Jesus’s “full entry” and “represents a final nail in the alleged distinction” between the community’s approach and Jesus’s entry (p. 33). Mackie is certainly right to emphasize that the exhortation to approach God has an experiential reality behind it. Even so, there still seem to be good grounds for not blurring the distinction between proserchomai and eiserchomai in Hebrews. In Heb 6:18–20, there remains a distinction between Christ’s entry on the community’s behalf as their forerunner and the hope the faithful have of realizing Jesus’s own perfection. Mackie’s discussion, as well as others in this volume, helpfully invites a renewed consideration of what the author of Hebrews understands as the “now and not yet” in his eschatological perspective. From the second group of essays, Peeler examines the connection between sonship and priesthood in Hebrews, Paul, 1 Peter, and Revelation. Her basic thesis is that sacramental ministry is a birthright predicated on belonging to the right family. Thus, all believers are given priesthood and ministry by virtue of their inclusion in God’s family through Jesus. Peeler argues that sonship is granted on the basis of Christ’s power or authority in Revelation, whereas Paul, 1 Peter, and Hebrews ground sonship in God’s indwelling Spirit (pp. 105–6). One wonders if the basis of sonship is not fundamentally grounded in God’s election or choice similar to fathers choosing sons for inheritances in the ancient Mediterranean world. Such ideas can be found in Rom 8:29; 1 Pet 1:2; and possibly Heb 3:2. Peeler goes on to ask practically what justification there is for the special ordination of some if...

The Nature and Promise of Analytic Theology

Abstract In the past decade analytic theology has established itself as a flourishing research program that includes academic journals, monograph series, a dedicated annual conference, research centers on several continents, and a growing and diverse body of work produced by scholars drawn from philosophy, theology, and biblical studies. In this short monograph Oliver Crisp, James Arcadi, and Jordan Wessling introduce readers to analytic theology. The work provides an account of analytic theology, some of the main areas in which analytic theologians have worked, and some of the prospects for the future of analytic theology going forward. It also addresses some key objections to analytic theology as a theological method, and aims to acquaint scholars and students with this new and promising theological movement.

Further Along the Fourth Stage of Meaning: Lonergan, Alterity and ‘Genuine’ Religion

The chapter on religion in Bernard Lonergan’s Method in Theology is a rich compilation of many ideas that were important to his thought throughout his career. It is at once a theory of ‘genuine’ religion, a theory of the distortions of such religion, and an expansion of his theology of grace into a wider ecumenical multi-religious or universalist context, to name a few. This essay draws upon that chapter to investigate a further development of Lonergan’s thought of a fourth stage of meaning to be added to his three stages of meaning. Among other things, the fourth stage of meaning anticipates a global age of inter-religious and social cooperation. It also enables one to avoid the danger of the third stage with an overemphasis on interiority by bringing emphases upon vertical and horizontal alterity. Moreover, in the context of Method in Theology as a whole, this theory also raises questions about the future of systematic theology in view of the emerging fourth stage as a distinct differentiated realm.