Character Of Theology Research Articles

The Targum of Lamentations (review)

The Targum of Lamentations. Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes by Philip S. Alexander. [The Aramaic Bible, Vol. 17B.] (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press. 2008. Pp. xvi, 224. $99.95. ISBN 978-0814-65864-2.) Targum Lamentations contains fewer than 2900 words across five chapters. Despite this brevity, Philip Alexander's thoughtful and thorough study begins with 100 pages of introduction followed by 100 pages of translation and commentary. The volume's centerpiece is, of course, the translation, on which the commentary and the introduction depend, and it accurately reflects the Aramaic's meaning with a high degree of precision. Alexander has an ear not only for the Aramaic's meaning but also for conveying that meaning in an English style that is literal while remaining clear and expressive. When nuances cannot be captured in the English, they appear in the notes. Alexander translates Targum Lamentations' Western recension, which provided the foundation for the later Yemenite recension, as recent scholarship has demonstrated. Unfortunately, he translates the unpublished manuscript Heb. 110 of Paris' Bibliotheque Nationale. The best available Western text to use with Alexander's translation is Urbinus Hebr. 1 from the Vatican Library, which appears in Christian Brady's The Rabbinic Targum of Lamentations (Leiden, 2003), alongside Brady's own translation. Sperber 's readily available text (in volume 4a of The Bible in Aramaic [Leiden, 1968]) should be avoided, since it constitutes an idiosyncratic combination of a Yemenite manuscript with selections from Bomberg's second Rabbinic Bible. The commentary constitutes a model of the tradition-history approach to the analysis of Jewish texts and takes up most of the book's second half. Beginning with close attention to the lexical meaning of each word, Alexander then considers the interpretation conveyed through inner-scriptural exegesis (both in the Hebrew text and other Targums), which conveys nuances and connections of the Targum with the Hebrew Bible. Beyond that, Alexander's remarks range across comparisons with rabbinic literature; the Dead Sea Scrolls; other ancient translations such as the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Vulgate; as well as medieval Jewish writers such as Saadya Gaon. Comparison with the rabbinic midrash Lamentations Rabbah rightly receives most attention. The volume's critical introduction fulfills the same purpose as it does in the other Aramaic Bible volumes. But rather than slavishly reiterate previous scholarship, Alexander pushes the envelope, bringing in not only the best of the past but also putting together well-argued and solidly founded new proposals. Although he readily addresses textual, dating, and linguistic matters, Alexander's primary interests stand out in the explorations of the theological, liturgical, and literary character and context of Targum Lamentations; he believes, along with Brady, that it was composed as a single, unified work. …

From the Sacristy to the Public Square The Public Character of Theology*

Abstract This article is a study of the public role of Christian theology in contemporary democratic societies. It focuses on the role of theologians as intellectuals in the public square, as defenders of values like justice, democracy and peace. After a brief reflection on Brazilian experiences of the presence of Christians in public debates, it discusses the role of intellectuals such as Habermas, Bourdieu, Said, Bauman and others.

Theology, Faith, Universities: From Specialization to Specification in Theology

AbstractThe issue of hyper-specialization within the various academic fields has often been raised in the context of recent discussions concerning the purpose or end of the modern university. Theology, one such field in which continual specialization seems prevalent, is further complicated by questions regarding the relationship between faith and the scientific character of theology, as well as the role of the university with regard to that relationship. Though seemingly diverse, a resolution to both of these questions may be found by giving an account of how the sciences, like theology, are specified. It is the purpose of the present article to explore the classical Thomistic position on this subject, and to apply its principles to the case of theology. It is shown that the specification of a science can be understood in terms of both the “formal object which” is known in a given science and the “formal object under which” it is known. The former can provide a correct starting point for managing the multiplicity of “sub-fields” and various specializations within the science of theology, while the latter can help to answer the question of the interrelation between faith and theology as a science in a university setting.

Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan and the Theological Origins of Secular International Politics

In recent years, the type of secularism accepted in much scholarly work on international affairs has been criticized for its theological roots and character. This article substantiates this view by re-appraising the intellectual contribution of Thomas Hobbes to the secularization of politics and the separation of state and Church. The argument developed demonstrates that the English philosopher, far from simply excluding religion from politics, participated in the creation of politics as a form of theology. Through scriptural exegesis and based on a specific doctrine of salvation, Hobbes privatized religion, temporalized salvation, and transfered the halo of sanctity of the Church to secular sovereigns. This resulted in the legitimization of secular states as saviours from the violence and intolerance of religion.

Les conditions de possibilité de la théologie comme science

RÉSUMÉ : Les théologiens des xiiie et xive siècles ont ardemment débattu à propos de la scientificité de la théologie. J’expose ici la position d’Hervaeus Natalis, un penseur fort singulier du premier quart du xive siècle. Selon Hervé, la notion centrale pour résoudre la question en présence est celle d’abstraction. Cet article offre une analyse historique et philosophique de sa position qui s’appuie sur une traduction française inédite d’une portion significative d’un Quodlibet d’Hervé que j’ai réalisée à partir de ma propre édition de l’original latin.

99 Thesen zur »Weiterentwicklung von Theologien und religionsbezogenen Wissenschaften« im Spiegel der Wissenschaftsratsempfehlungen vom 29. Januar 2010

99 Thesen zur »Weiterentwicklung von Theologien und religionsbezogenen Wissenschaften« im Spiegel der Wissenschaftsratsempfehlungen vom 29. Januar 2010, 10.1628/004435410792826807, Jahrgang 107 (2010) / Heft 3, 0044-3549 (1868-7377)

To Whom Was Christ a Slave (Phil 2:7)? Double Agency and the Specters of Sin and Death in Philippians

AbstractPaul’s so-called “Christ-hymn” in Philippians 2:6-11 regarding its origins, purpose, format, and the theological components of its Christology. One factor in the determination of this Christology is the interpretation of doulos in 2:7 focusing on the question to whom was Christ a slave? While a number of answers have been put forward, it will be argued that the best explanation involves “double agency.” That is, when the hymn is closely examined, as well as the theological character of the whole letter, Christ appears to be a subject and agent of the powers Sin and Death, but Paul knows and communicates the reality that he is really God’s agent who subverts and enervates these hegemonic powers. This not only illuminates Paul’s Christology, but can be identified as a model for other believers discussed in Philippians, including himself.

John R. Franke, The Character of Theology: An Introduction to its Nature, Task, and Purpose (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), pp. 206. $17.99.

John R. Franke, The Character of Theology: An Introduction to its Nature, Task, and Purpose (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), pp. 206. $17.99.

Contextuality and Catholicity: The Task of Orthodox Theology in Ecumenical Theological Education

AbstractThe essay unfolds theological foundations for theological education in ecumenical perspective from Orthodox perspectives seeing it as a worldwide enterprise fundamental to the mission of the church, not in its institutional character, but in its eschatological awareness of being a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. The relation between early ecumenical optimism and enthusiasm towards the goal of the visible unity of the church and the wide application of contextuality, i.e. the recognition of the contextual character of theology as a method from the 1970s onwards is discussed. According to the Orthodox perspectives, the ecumenical movement has lost its momentum and coherence and its determination for the quest of visible unity with the predominant acceptance of contextuality as the guiding principle in ecumenical discussions and theological education. The author argues that Orthodox theology has to deepen the understanding of its own contextuality and soften the existing antithesis between contextuality and catholicity of theology and theological education. Orthodox perspectives should underline the relevance of a fundamental unity of divine revelation, as represented in the broad understanding of Christian tradition, which is for the entire created world, not only for believers and which is challenging both a potential distortion, wherein unity is identified with the maintenance of denominational loyalty, as well as all contextual expressions of Christian theology with regard to their relation to the overall goal of church unity. The paper concludes with a plea for all Orthodox theological education to be of some real service to the church in deciding to deal both with current issues (to be contextual) and not to lose sight of the past (to be oriented to catholicity and church unity), to both open up to ecumenical theological education while at the same time maintaining a strong commitment to the common church tradition.

“The Missing All”: Emily Dickinson's Apophatic Poetics

The words the happy say Are paltry melody But those the silent feel Are beautiful-- --Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson has long been regarded as a peculiarly enigmatic figure for her puzzling and oftentimes paradoxical poems, as well as for her evidently idiosyncratic religious faith. I will make no attempt to investigate that faith, except as it is expressed in the poetry. (1) However, if we focus on the faith together with the poetry as having the character of a negative theology, much that is enigmatic, without ceasing to be so, begins also to make a clear kind of sense. I contend that Dickinson's poetry is best understood as a form of negative theology, or as what I will call discourse. My guiding idea is that Dickinson's exploration of modes of negation in poetic language enabled her to discover and express what are, in effect, negatively theological forms of belief. I will use apophasis, the Greek word for negation, to designate the sort of radical negation of language per se, of any language whatsoever--rather than only of specific formulations and of certain types of linguistic content--that characterizes this outlook, or rather sensibility, which suspects and subverts all its own verbal expressions. This term and its adjectival form evoke in the first place the ancient Neoplatonic tradition of speculation concerning the ineffable One as supreme principle of reality. Likewise commonly designated as apophatic are certain traditions of medieval mysticism concerning an unutterably transcendent deity. In such traditions, the encounter, in incommunicable registers of experience, with the Inexpressible is marked by a backing off language (apo--away from phasis--speech or assertion). Of course, this backing off is itself then registered in language, language that in various ways unsays itself. (2) The resultant apophatic modes of discourse, in their very wide diffusion throughout Western culture, especially in the domains of philosophy, religion, and literature, can be seen to have had a decisive bearing on Dickinson's writing. This can be inferred the poetry itself, whether it is conscious and deliberate on her part or not. The apophatic tradition, I maintain, whether directly or indirectly, influences Dickinson's reflections on the limits of her ability to express the reality she endeavors to approach and the experience she aims to convey in her poetry. Precisely the impediments to expression become her central message in telling ways, for they tell obliquely of a beyond of language. Dickinson's highly original writing makes her a maddeningly difficult poet, one whom eminent critics confess baffles them. Yet her poems become startlingly readable when read according to their apophatic grammar and rhetoric: the words and phrases fall into place--the place they make for what they necessarily leave unsaid but let show up distinctly silhouetted in their hollows and shadows. The poems selected to illustrate Dickinson's apophatic poetics in this essay generally thematize a negative method of thought and perception, but they are only the most explicit representatives of a poetic corpus that is, throughout, profoundly apophatic in nature and inspiration and that rewards being read as such, while it stiffly resists readings that ignore this orientation. Dickinson Criticism and the Apophatic Paradigm Although the poems often proved impossible for her contemporaries to penetrate, they have won immense appreciation in more recent critical appraisals, particularly those attuned to apophasis and the poetics of the unsayable. Even if rarely with explicit acknowledgment of the apophatic tradition as a primary context, this framework has already been operative in scholarship aiming to illuminate Dickinson's poems. Readings of Dickinson pointing in this direction have insisted on compression and abbreviation as features that distinguish her style, especially as against the stylistic canons of her own time. …

Black Theology in Britain

This article provides a summary for the definition, development and future direction of Black theology in Britain. The author seeks to outline the character and intent of Black theology in Britain, comparing and contrasting the nature of this enterprise with the established theory and praxis of this discipline within the United States of America. The article concludes with a brief assessment of the future direction of Black theology in this country. Given that Black theology is still in its infancy within the UK, this work offers an important introduction to the nature and intent of this discipline.

Luther Studies in Germany—The Presence and Absence of Theology

Abstract: German Luther studies are still affected by the constellation of the years after the Second World War. Gerhard Ebeling's interpretation of Luther continues to frame the discourse. At the same time, in both systematic theology and church history, genuine interest in Luther has waned. There are some approaches that promise change. Some contributions in systematic theology have revealed the complex character of Luther's theology. Luther is becoming more contextualized. Most significant is the study of Luther with a view to medieval piety, especially mysticism.

Stale Expressions: the Management-Shaped Church

Managerialism in the Church is rooted in the very character of Reformation theology. The letter's understanding of salvation as imputation and its reduction of the importance for salvation of belonging to the Church encourages the idea that there is a religious 'product' which can be managed and marketed. Modern evangelicalism consummates this tendency and uniquely allows a combining of the capitalist product with the capitalist actor. 'Fresh Expressions' in the Church of England fuses this trend with a liberal ideology of choice and the assumption that parish life must inevitably decline. The new modes of Church which it sponsors deny the very idea of the need to encounter different others in a specific locality which is crucial to the Pauline notion of the Body of Christ. It is hence a misconstrual of Christianity as such.

A Short Course in Christian Doctrine – By George Pattison Clues to the Nicene Creed: A Brief Outline of the Faith – By David Willis The Character of Theology: An Introduction to its Nature, Task and Purpose: A Postconservative Evangelical Approach – By John R. Franke

A Short Course in Christian Doctrine – By George Pattison Clues to the Nicene Creed: A Brief Outline of the Faith – By David Willis The Character of Theology: An Introduction to its Nature, Task and Purpose: A Postconservative Evangelical Approach – By John R. Franke

Is Africa Incurably Religious? III: A Reply To A Rhetorical Response

AbstractWe reply in this article to Kehinde Olabimtan's polemical response to our article, 'Is Africa Incurably Religious?: Confessing and Contesting an Invention' [of Tradition], both published in this journal in 2003. We first review the setting of this exchange: the theological character of the journal Exchange, and then point to Olabimtan's strategy of polemically presenting our analysis in the terms of the old 'war' between atheist and religious scholarship on religions. Having carefully summarised the 'weapons' he used in his 'counter-attack' on our analysis, we dispassionately respond to them by pointing out first that our analysis was not inspired by an atheist approach to religions, but by methodological agnosticism, and then reply to Olabimtan's other misrepresentations of us and of p'Bitek. We conclude by pointing to the 'bridges' between his and our approaches, which Olabimtan did not explode.

Les aspects philosophiques de la théologie selon Jean Duns Scot: de la science à la pratique

Theologians of the 14th C. agreed that theology is scientific knowledge based upon the truths of revelation. But the very introduction of Aristotle's and aristotelian philosophy into theology turned out to be problematic. Above all, it was questionable to integrate theology—as a science based on revelation—within the aristotelian framework of sciences. This problem is difficult for Scotus in two ways. On the one hand, he uses the concepts elaborated in greek philosophy, but, on the other hand, his franciscan spirituality compels him towards the opposite solution. Scotus only has the Aristotle's division of theoretical and practical sciences at his disposal to determine the character of theology, and he chooses to classify theology as practical science. Scotus is pouring “new wine” of Christian revelation into “old wineskins” of greek philosophy, the fact causing noticeable problems when interpreting many Scotus' ideas and views.

The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose. By John R. Franke

The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose. By John R. Franke

The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose – John R. Franke

The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose – John R. Franke

Closer to the Shifting Ground: The Rise of Relationship in God-Talk

Abstract: The article argues that God-talk has changed significantly over the last fifty years and identifies the rise of the notion of relationship (reflecting postmodern dissatisfaction with modernity) as a key factor in this change. That factor is cited in Trinitarian studies, the Creator's relationship with and to the creatures, the science and religion conversation, the connection with context, and the increasing recognition of the adjectival character of theology. In closing the author looks ahead to further relational work in soteriology, anthropology and metaphysics.

The ethics of John Capreolus and the "nominales"

In his discussion about moral theology, Capreolus shows an impartial way of presenting the positions of the moderni. Capreolus was aware of the differences between the authors of this group. With respect to the notion of grace, he even regarded Aquinas's position as a happy medium between authors who were later attributed to the via moderna. The topics touched upon on this realm were not exposed to polemics. This can be explained by the explicitly theological character of the dispute. While Capreolus's polemics were directed against the use of theological tools in philosophical discussion, the realm of theology itself does not present a place of conflict. His discussion of moral theology does not mention voluntarism. These concepts were not part of how the moral theology of the later called via moderna was understood at the beginning of the 15th century.