Theological Endeavour Research Articles

The Agencies of God’s Word and Spirit: Modern Science as a “Sacred Reminder”

In this essay, I argue that modern science can function as a source of “sacred reminders” for aspects of Christian theology, like the doctrine of the Trinity, that are not normally engaged with in the empirical world. This approach is an alternative to the usual ways of relating scientific and theological endeavors in terms of conflict, separation, or consonance. I demonstrate this by beginning with the thoughts of two representative physicists (John Archibald Wheeler and Steven Hawking), particularly focusing on a fundamental distinction they make about the underlying ideal of the physical sciences. Noting a striking similarity of this distinction with some of the biblical imagery of God’s Word and Spirit, I review biblical texts along these lines to show partial continuity with the groundbreaking ideas of our physicists, and to show how they can be generalized to include (a) levels of organization beyond those of physics; (b) intensive, localized agencies of Word and Spirit as well as the more extensive agencies suggested their ideas; and (c) the commissioning agency of God the Father. A review of the theology of Irenaeus shows that these distinctions in biblical imagery were developed in the early Church and played an important role in early Trinitarian theology.

Anthropological Case Studies As Research Design For Intercultural Theology

This article explores the suitability of anthropological Case Studies (CSs) as a research design for research related to intercultural theology. The introduction refers briefly to the crisis of modernity’s missiological paradigm and the emergence of contextual theologies and intercultural theology as responses. It subsequently focuses on the ambivalent historical relationship between anthropological research and theological endeavors and the current relevance of culture studies for theological research. The following section targets the characteristics and aims of CSs and their nature as a research design rather than a method, along with the nature of the cases, their types, and their selection criteria. It also evaluates the possibilities of CSs as a research design for intercultural theology with special attention to two “research styles”: action research and participatory action research. The main criticisms of the CS design (reliability, internal validity, and transferability) as well as the comparison issue among cases are explained. Finally, this describes how the conjunction of theological research and models from cultural studies transcends a purely practical approach, implying the epistemological and even ontological postulates that sustain both disciplines.

Mythos and Postdigital Theology: Beyond the Limits of Digitalization

The effect of digital technologies on religion generally and Christian theology more particular is a topic attracting increasing interest. This article argues that the role of theology is to provide a counter to the tendencies of digitization. Digitization is understood as the division of knowledge into discrete units and valuing this division over models of knowledge that seek to connect and integrate human experiences. The article argues for the need for a postdigital theology that seeks to encounter transcendence in the spaces where human experience exceeds the limits of digitization. Methodologically, the article draws on the interdisciplinary field of postdigital theory. It finds that theology is a work of defracturing or reconnecting forms of human knowledge in weaving together a coherent narrative of human experience that provides hope for relationality in the midst of the destructive tendencies at play in the world. Such defracturing opens a space for an encounter with transcendence, understood in a broad sense that includes encountering the vastness of existence as well as the realm of potentiality from whence liberative hope is fostered. The openness to transcendence that comes from exceeding digitization allows for a theological interpretation of an encounter with the divine within that transcendence. The article then lays a potential framework for such a theological endeavor. This methodological framework is an approach to overcoming the divide between logos and mythos, holding scientific and artistic approaches as equally valid contributions to understanding reality in the production of a religious or theological narrative.

Methodist Christology: From the Wesleys to the Twenty-First Century

All too often Methodist theology can fall into one of two camps. On the one hand, it can become a scholastic (better still, encyclopaedic, in the unlovely sense of that word) engagement with the thought of the Wesleys—repeating them with an ever greater exactitude and believing that to do so is to fulfil the task of theology, speaking as if the gulf of nearly 300 years to the present did not exist and was of no importance. On the other hand, Methodist theology can act in such a manner as to believe that gulf so insurmountable (never mind the 1,700 years of theology preceding it) that we should proceed as if we were working always with a novum—reinventing the theological bicycle with engagements that owe more to creative writing than serious engagement with the theological traditions. This volume of serious historical, dogmatic, doctrinal, systematic, contextual, and constructive engagements is not only important, therefore, in terms of its discussion of Christology but also in moving Methodist theology in general beyond the unhelpful binarized forms it so often takes. Here, tradition and history are explored and taken seriously but neither viewed through the chilly light of scientific historicism, nor treated as a museum piece to be treasured and preserved at all costs. And the theological enterprises that follow engage in a manner that brings the tradition(s) to life in dialogue with other major theological movements, dealing formatively with the contours of Methodist thought on Christology in relation to a variety of figures, movements, contexts, and theologians. False dichotomies of the constructive or the systematic, the dogmatic or the creative, the historical or the theological are finally put to bed. This is a volume whose significance is far beyond the essays it contains on Christology.Vickers and Van Kuiken have assembled an excellent cast of (North American) authors to tackle questions relating to Christology. Identifying the centrality of Christology to the Christian faith (and Methodism more specifically) and the contested ground on which Christological dogmas sit, the essays are arranged into three sections: first, an historical discussion of the Wesleys, the early Methodists, and the nineteenth-century Methodist dogmaticians; second, a focus on the twentieth century and Methodist engagements with Christology in this century (albeit the choices of figures are a little narrow perhaps); and third, a series of essays on the future of Methodist Christologies, including discussion of womanist, feminist, Latina/o, and Christologies ‘after’ significant figures or movements.If I were to be (overly) critical, it might have been good to see some more biblical engagement, and to consider the significant contributions that have been made by Methodist scholars (perhaps dominantly this side of ‘the Pond’) to New Testament Christology: Morna Hooker, James Dunn, and C. K. Barrett all spring to mind. And, as is all too often the case (in our theology), the essays lacked much detail on the preceding context that leads to the Wesleys: chapters on the Reformation and on Patristic Christologies as context for the first section would have helped. But only so much can be done in any volume. And this one is a tremendous achievement of first-rate theological endeavour.

Dialog Profetis

The focus of this study is prophetic dialogue of the church’s mission for domestic migrants in the Diocese of Tanjung Selor, North Kalimantan. The socalled prophetic dialogue is very relevant to be applied in the Diocese. The local church is an example of the multi-cultural face of the Church. The Diocese of Tanjung Selor has greatly been influenced by the presence of migrants who come in from the various tribes and cultures throughout the country. The theological method used in this study is that of Stephen B. Bevans’ theological endeavors. Based also on the theology of Second Vatican Council, such as the Decree of Ad Gentes and referring to the thoughts of today’s theologians, the article promotes the prophetic dialogue to be taken into consideration within the Diocese. This research will specifically discuss how the prophetic dialogue is applied to migrant workers.

The Ecological Literacies of St. Hildegard of Bingen

Literacy is, literally, a question not of education but of the letter. More than that, it is the question of the letter in the two senses the word has in English: as a symbol of the alphabet and a piece of correspondence. It is my hypothesis that ecological literacies may learn a great deal from the literalization, or even the hyper-literalization, of the letter and that they may do so by turning to the corpus of twelfth-century Benedictine abbess, polymath, and mystic St. Hildegard of Bingen. After all, Hildegard, who was exquisitely attuned to the vegetal world, which was at the core of her theological and scientific endeavors, corresponded through letters with the leading personalities of her times and also invented a language, called lingua ignota (the unknown language) replete with ignotas litteras (the unknown letters). Who better than her can spell out the senses of ecological literacy?

The theologian as dreamer: on theological imagination and human enhancement

This article reflects on the theologian as dreamer in the context of human enhancement, artificial intelligence and digital technology. In positioning the theologian as the dreamer of possible futures, I argue that it is the responsibility of the theologian to engage in exploration of such an imagined future in our service to the public, both in the ecclesial community and beyond. This theological endeavour is both practical (in that it begins with lived experience) and constructive (it seeks to construct theology that responds to the needs of a rapidly changing society). I offer two examples of imagined futures as case studies of this mode of theology in practice, before considering potential difficulties in such a theological mode. Finally, I offer a mandate for the theologian as dreamer of distant futures; the theologian as one with responsibility to imagine the impossible and reflect on its meaning and impact on humanity.

Doing Theology And Our Theological Education: An Indonesian Perspective

The article argues that the doing theology in multi-cultural and multi-religious society expects a close collaboration of multi-disciplines. Such interdisciplinary approach makes theology possible to look at the problems of the people in a comprehensive way. The church in Indonesia has been struggling quite a lot in this theological endeavour. The International Joint Conference held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (March 2019), was an important event of this kind. And responding the discussions at the conference, this article attempts to deal with the importance of doing theology in context and its impacts on theological educations in the country. The article then suggests everyone to revisit our traditional theological programmes and to make necessary revisions needed in responding the contemporary world. In this way the church could claim the relevance of its existence and its public theology for the goodness of the country and the betterment of the society at large.

Classical Pentecostal Bible reading practices and Baconian common sense

Although early Pentecostals read the Bible in terms of common sense, it differed from fundamentalists’ use in their theological endeavours. However, by the 1940s, the vast majority of Pentecostals adopted a fundamentalist view of Scriptures. Since the 1990s, Pentecostal scholarship has revisited early Pentecostals’ use of Baconian common sense. In postmodern times, it is important to define a balanced Pentecostal hermeneutic to reconsider the use of Baconian common sense realism in Bible reading practices. A scientifically informed and Spirit-inspired inductive hermeneutic is proposed that emphasises the context of a text, leaving room for the viewpoints of other interpreters and reading in terms of contemporary encounters with God. This will enhance the exegetical process, by enabling the reader to read the Bible for its impact, value and significance.

The angry and aggressive patient in clinical pastoral care: Towards a spiritual and hermeneutical approach within the interplay between hoping and dread

Aggressive behaviour is quite common to ailments and diseases that imply impairment and has an impact on mobility, communication and logical expression of frustration and disappointment. Within a clinical environment and medical setting, anger and aggressive behaviour impacts on the quality of caregiving and nursing. The phenomenon of anger, as related to the existential realm of anxiety and dread, is researched in order to detect its impact on coping mechanisms and human well-being. For example, what is the possible constructive value of anger in processes of healing and wholeness? Within the dilemma of bottling-up or uncontrolled catharsis, the moral dimension of anger is addressed. Within a pastoral approach to human wholeness, the spiritual and religious dimension of anger is explored. In this regard, the article probes into the realm of God-images. A praxis approach is proposed wherein a diagrammatic depiction of the interplay between hoping and the expression of anger is developed. It is believed that such a portrayal will contribute to a hermeneutics of hope care. To start ‘seeing the bigger picture’, is decisive for an understanding of pastoral caregiving as a theological endeavour.

“The Pattern for Jewish Reformation”: The Impact of Lessing on Nineteenth-Century German Jewish Religious Thought

AbstractThe widespread Jewish sympathies for Lessing’s pre-Hegelian, pro-Jewish, progressive Deism from the Education of the Human Race spurred some Jewish authors to return to and discuss Lessing’s religious thought within the theological endeavors of the Wissenschaft des Judentums in nineteenth-century Germany. To be able to rely on Lessing, even retroactively, was welcome proof for Jewish Reformers that the humanistic approach to religious problems that stood at the very center of their project was at once Jewish and universal. It was the spirit of Lessing’s Education that was appropriated here for Judaism rather than Lessing’s letter. With Lessing in the camp of Reform Judaism the intended modernization of Judaism was safeguarded against the accusation of political and social egoism on the part of the Jews. It was the universal idea of religious progress that they shared with Lessing, not just the sloughing off of the yoke of outdated talmudic law.

THE DISAVOWAL OF THE FEMALE “KNOWER”

Pamela Sue Anderson’s project about vulnerability and the silencing of the female speaker began with her realization of the female philosopher’s position within academia. Exposing the disavowal of the female “knower,” Anderson lays bare the mechanisms of excluding women from intellectual, artistic and religious discourse. Moving beyond the negative configuration of vulnerability associated with an openness to violence, Anderson refigures it as an openness to affection. The denial of thus refigured vulnerability has led to the literal and discursive oppression of women through the “wilful ignorance” of their intellectual, emotional and sexual needs. In this article Filipczak analyses manifestations of this oppression exposed by female writers who illustrate the predicament discussed by Anderson in their fiction. Starting with Anderson’s refiguring of Antigone as a figure of dissent and marginality in her early work, Filipczak discusses Maggie Tulliver from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, Morag Gunn from The Diviners by Margaret Laurence and Mary Magdalene from The Secret Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Michèle Roberts. What connects these characters is the fact that they are disavowed as knowers in intellectual, artistic or theological endeavours by male figures of authority who deny vulnerability as an openness to affection, and rely on social collusion with such denial. The analysis also refers to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Aritha van Herk’s Places Far From Ellesmere.

Las manos: el lenguaje estético-teológico de la solidaridad. Intuiciones para una teología simbólica

Tres investigaciones en pastoral urbana con población en situación de desplazamiento forzado en Ciudad Bolívar, localidad de Bogotá, nos ha dado la pauta para adquirir nuevas comprensiones sobre el quehacer teológico. En este artículo se entrelaza la teología con el mundo simbólico que representa la corporeidad de mujeres cuyos cuerpos se convierten en relatos vivos que, con la ayuda de la estética, se transforman en textos de lectura para abrir caminos de re-significación teológica y de salvación integral.

A FEMINEST PERSPECTIVE ON THEOLOGY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO BLACK FEMINIST THEOLOGY

Feminist theology is defined in the broader context of feminism. A review of how theology was practised in the past is given in order to highlight the exclusion of women in any serious theological endeavour. Feminist theology emerges as women’s plea for recognition as full and equal human beings in the practise of theology. The situation of black women is portrayed. In conclusion, a proposed black/African feminist reading of the Bible is presented as one of the possible ways of liberating black/African women theologically.

Art: a conversation partner in theological education

ABSTRACTThis article explores the role of art as a source for theological reflection. Art extends an invitation for viewers to discover connections between their experiences and their frameworks for interpreting reality and meaning. This examination draws on Tim Gorringe’s argument that art offers a secular parable with a three-fold function: (i) leaning into an eschatological view of an alternative future; (ii) inviting a vision of shalom that contributes to a greater good; and (iii) inviting viewers to attend to what is, and, therefore, to see more deeply. This engagement with art stimulates theological conversation toward insight as viewers ponder their responses and integrate their experiences with their meaning-making frameworks. In this way, art provides a significant resource for ministry and an invaluable source for reflection within the theological endeavour.

The Spirit and the law

In this article, the relation between a theology of the Spirit and a theology of biblical law is explored. This is performed in reference to the theology of Michael Welker. In the first part of the article, it is shown how the relation between the Spirit and the law, which could be considered to be his main and most unique contribution towards a theology of the Spirit, serves as the framework for his entire theological endeavour. In the third part, his understanding of the law as life-furthering security of expectations is explored in light of reductionist understandings of biblical law, which is examined in the second part. This is followed by an explanation of Welker’s in-depth understanding of the biblical law, of Recht , mercy and knowledge of God. It will then be possible to ask about the relation between this differentiated understanding of biblical law and the Spirit. The conclusion asks how Welker’s understanding of this relation, which allows for a more complex understanding of the Spirit’s role in reality, moves beyond morality. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article’s focus is on the theology of Michael Welker, who’s understanding of the relation between law and Spirit is the result of intradisciplinary (Old- and New Testament, Historical Theology, Systematic Theology etc.) and interdisciplinary research (law, sociology etc.). The intra- and interdisciplinarity of his understanding of the relation further differentiates discourses caught up in diverse abstractions, dichotomies and dualisms.

Out of the Ivory Tower and into the Play Room

This article seeks to demonstrate how the church can rediscover the task of doing theology for the life of the church. Taking a critical reflection on the bifurcation of theology and the consequential anthropocentric tendencies of theologizing as a point of departure, it proceeds to engage in a constructive theology of being parents as a case study, demonstrating how every theological endeavor should proceed from the Triune God and for the life of God’s household. Then the article explicates how this theocentric theology may be employed to serve Christian families in God’s household.

African theology and African Christology: Difficulty and complexity in contemporary definitions and methodological frameworks

There is an ongoing challenge in defining African theology because of two important reasons: (1) the quest for a definitive African theology is a fairly recent pursuit and (2) the vastness and diversity of the African continent. Given this, this article presents the complexity of defining African theology and its methodological approaches through a background sketch of the development of African theology. Regardless of many definitions of African theology and its purposes, the article acknowledges African Christian theology as theology that should be derived from the interplay between Scripture, Christian tradition and African cosmology. In deriving theology from the aforementioned aspects, African theology should also seek to develop contextual African theologies with global relevance. In this way, African theology can claim its space in the universal church. Although we are conscious of the values and challenges associated with the task of doing African theology, we argue for its necessity. We further argue that if the centrality of Scripture is maintained in the African theological endeavour, it will cause African theologies to have some shared reference point with other Christian theologies and hence engaging globally, while contributing unique African perspectives to global theological discourse.

The Dutch Reformed Church as a prominent established South African church: In transition towards the 21st century

The Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) is in transition because of the influences of the more recent South African epochs of democratisation, Africanisation and globalisation. The histories of these epochs extend over more than 20 years and have had a significant influence on the church. The Dutch Reformed (DR) Church changed institutionally because its place and influence within society changed considerably as a result of political and social transformation since 1994. The ongoing process of Africanisation that accompanies these transformations brings certain reactions to the bosom of the church via the experiences of its members. Most are Afrikaners being more inclined to westernised social frames of reference. Ironically, these people are more susceptible to the effects of globalisation, especially secularisation, which transposes the religious set-up of the DR Church into an open and individuated system. These developments pose major challenges to the DR Church in the sense that it has to reconsider how it approaches society, what it can contribute to the ecumenical church, why it is necessary to reflect on its denominational identity and what its academic, theological endeavours in these regards entail.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article has an interdisciplinary scope because the multiplicity of the present-day calls for interdisciplinary academic reflection. For the purpose of this article, Church Historiography helps to systemise recent ecclesiastical developments within the DR Church. To clarify the influences of these developments on the DR Church, sociological premises are incorporated to describe them within a broader social context. References to the conducted empirical study serve to explain respondents’ (members of the DR Church) social and religious constructs regarding these ecclesiastical and sociological phenomena.

Vindicatio Mundi: The Concept of Mundane Life in Melanchthon’s Theological Endeavours seen from an Asian Perspective

SummaryThe present paper examines Melanchthon’s affirmative concept of mundane life which was distinct from a negative attitude to the world prevailing in the ancient and mediaeval Christian thought. Since Christianity emerged from Judaism, which adopted a positive outlook on mundane life reminiscent of the Reformation perspective, the Jewish affirmation of the world was discussed briefly in the present essay as well. The 16th-century Reformation vindicated the positive status of the world primarily through the idea of vocation and through the concept of education as the instrument for unfolding human nature and for equipping human beings for life in the community which was viewed by the Reformers as founded upon social bonds eventuating from a sense of the extended filial piety. In addition, the Reformation concept of mundane life was situated against the Asian tradition which in the present article was represented by Confucianism.