Theological Reading Research Articles

Van baardmans naar vrouw met baard: Jezus queeren in kunst en populaire cultuur

Abstract The predominantly masculine imagery and theological conception of God and Jesus have often been criticised by feminist theologians and artists, for instance by investing in ‘Christalogy’ as an alternative systematic theological reading of Christ and by sculpting and painting ‘Christas’ or female cross figures. In this essay, I argue that such a feminised depiction of Christ does not solve the problem of the gender dichotomy. I discuss two examples of art/popular culture that represent a gender ambiguous Christ figure. Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin’s photograph The Last Supper (1998) first of all depicts Jesus among leather people and transvestites, sipping on champagne and eating crisps. The second example shows Conchita Wurst, the so-called ‘lady with the beard’, who won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, and who can be read as a contemporary Christ figure. Both examples demonstrate that the gender identity of Jesus can be destabilised, adding to the archive of a ‘queer Jesus’ who defies norms of gender and sexuality.

Habakkuk and the Problem of Suffering: Theodicy Deferred

ABSTRACT A theological reading of the book of Habakkuk offers insight into the problem of suffering. Approaching the text canonically, this study aims to explore Habakkuk's theological response to suffering and the potential to relate this to Christian and classically theistic attempts to articulate a theodicy. Although Habakkuk puts forward no theological objection to the idea that the suffering experienced by God's people is, in some sense, deserved, he nonetheless questions the extent of the suffering and the justice of the God who permits it from a perspective of faith and eschatological hope. The answers to the questions posed by evil and suffering are apparently deferred by Habakkuk, who persists in faith despite the present lack of resolution to these questions. This sort of reading lends support to models of theodicy that prioritize the practical dimensions of suffering, and challenges accounts that would insist on satisfactory explanations for suffering as a condition for faith.

Habakkuk and the Problem of Suffering: Theodicy Deferred

ABSTRACT A theological reading of the book of Habakkuk offers insight into the problem of suffering. Approaching the text canonically, this study aims to explore Habakkuk's theological response to suffering and the potential to relate this to Christian and classically theistic attempts to articulate a theodicy. Although Habakkuk puts forward no theological objection to the idea that the suffering experienced by God's people is, in some sense, deserved, he nonetheless questions the extent of the suffering and the justice of the God who permits it from a perspective of faith and eschatological hope. The answers to the questions posed by evil and suffering are apparently deferred by Habakkuk, who persists in faith despite the present lack of resolution to these questions. This sort of reading lends support to models of theodicy that prioritize the practical dimensions of suffering, and challenges accounts that would insist on satisfactory explanations for suffering as a condition for faith.

Toward a contextual theological reading of John Amos Comenius

John Amos Comenius developed a revolutionary philosophy of education in seventeenth-century Europe. He argued for ideas such as universal education, which was virtually unheard of in his time but has become standard in modern western society. In the middle of the twentieth century, Comenius’s ideas were heralded in the secular educational community. Jean Piaget and Vladimir Jelinek are prime examples of those who promoted the conclusions of Comenius’s educational philosophy while ignoring, and even refuting, his theological presuppositions. Comenius’s educational philosophy, however, was built specifically on his theological beliefs, and reading him holistically has resulted in more accurate interpretations.

“Putrid Boils and Sores, and Burning Wounds in the Body”: The Valorization of Health and Illness in Late Antique Manichaeism

Recent publications concerned with attitudes to the human body in the religion of Mani have revealed a complex spectrum of ideas. A reading of the “Manichaean body” informed by a gnostic polarity of flesh versus spirit has been largely rejected, and a more complex, ambivalent portrayal of the body, shaped by specific cosmological and theological readings of its origin and purpose, has come to light. New interpretive tools and approaches have changed perceptions of classical texts and revealed how the “subjugated, perfected [Manichaean body was] put into use in the process of salvation.” For example, rereading chapter 70 of the Coptic work theKephalaia of the Teacher, we encounter a complex lesson that betrays the Manichaeans’ understanding of the dual heritage of the human body. Here the Mani of theKephalaiainstructs his disciples about the correspondences that exist between the fleshly body and the universe and formulates them in a manner that suggests a simultaneous patterning of the two forms: “Mani says to his disciples: ‘This whole universe, above and below, reflects the pattern of the human body; as the formation of this body of flesh accords to the pattern of the universe’” (70.169.28–170.1). The organs and limbs of the body resemble specific astral structures and elements in the universe, and both body and universe are afflicted by a range of competing powers. Chapter 70 offers a melothesiac reading of these archontic powers as zodiacal signs fused with the organs, bones, and sinews of the body (cf. chapter 69). As archons they exercise a malevolent influence over the flesh. However, they are also constantly in conflict with each other, and the cause of bodily sickness lies in their “creeping, and moving within the body. . . [where] they shall beset and destroy one another. . . they shall erupt from the body of the person who will die; and make putrid boils and sores and burning wounds in the body” (70.175.12–14, 16–18). Leaving such colorful descriptions of lesions aside, chapter 70 also indicates that human beings, specifically the Manichaean elect, possess enormous potential as the ones who are able to facilitate the release of the “light” by subduing the activities of the “five camps” (i.e., the face, heart, genitalia, stomach, and ground).

Spike Lee Can Go Straight to Hell! The Cinematic and Religious Masculinity of Tyler Perry

This article provides a Black theological reading of the cultural production of African American producer, writer, actor and entrepreneur, Tyler Perry, in conversation with the African American writer, director, producer and polemicist, Spike Lee. In this article I seek to explore issues of masculinity, as addressed through the prisms of cinematic and religious imagery, juxtaposing Perry and Lee and their differing conceptualizations of Black masculinity. In looking at the work of Tyler Perry I hope to explore how Black male identity is played out in terms of religio-cultural tropes within the mainstream culture of America. What I offer in the pages that follow is a reading of Tyler Perry that locates him within a tradition of masculinity in America. What I forward is a historicist interpretation of Black masculinity, which sees Tyler Perry as a gendered throwback from the not too distant past. In light of this reading, I argue that Perry embodies a cultural legacy of African Americans, which has not been fully engaged, a legacy that is worthy of critical examination.

Holiness as Priesthood

Abstract‘Who are we?’ as Christian believers, as Church, is a question that each generation of Christians, collectively and as individuals, is impelled to ask. Vatican II's teaching on the universal call to holiness marks a significant step in our journey toward addressing this question. This paper focuses on the call to holiness as deeply rooted in a sharing in the priestly ministry of Christ. The core of the paper is an exploration of the radical and unique nature of the priesthood of Christ. The paper continues by exploring the significance of the universal call to holiness as priesthood in the light of the unique nature of Christ's priesthood. The paper claims that the priesthood into which we are all baptised is at once Chrisological and ecclesiological, and suggests that, in the light of this theological reading, new answers may then arise in regard to the ever-urgent questions of Church order.

Films, Values, Absolutes: Why Theological Readings of Films are Morally and Politically Essential

Films, Values, Absolutes: Why Theological Readings of Films are Morally and Politically Essential

Postsecular theology: Daly, Hampson, Buber, and Gordon

Rooted in the postsecular turn of the study of religion and society, postsecular theology is conceptualized in this article as an umbrella term for theologies offering hybrid interpretations of religiosity and spirituality within a framework that adopts numerous ostensibly secular values and perceptions. In this article, I apply postsecular theological reading to two pairs of thinkers: post-Christian feminist theologians Mary Daly and Daphne Hampson and non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers A. D. Gordon and Martin Buber. Assessing the similarities between them, I sketch the details of their common “postsecular” ground, aiming at enrichment of our understanding of postsecular theology. I then discuss differences between the theologians from a feminist perspective, suggesting that Daly’s and Hampson’s feminist sensitivity exposes Buber’s and Gordon’s gender blindness, while Buber and Gordon introduce Jewish-oriented ideas that may enrich the Christian-dominated field of postsecular feminist theology.

O rompimento do frasco (Mc 14,3)

In Bethany, a woman breaks a flask of perfume in order to spill its contents over Jesus’ head. How can we understand more precisely this act narrated in Mark 14:3? Perhaps this is an irrational gesture? Why destroy a precious flask as it might be used again? Or was it necessary or even common to break such a flask to use the aromatic essence it contained? Appearing with this is a question with repect to possible symbolic-theological connotations implied in the act of the woman from Bethany. The aim here is to present an historical study of flasks of perfume in the ancient world, a semantic study of the word “break,” and a theological reading of the narrative detail of the breaking of the flask.

Son, Sent, and Servant


 
 
 This study challenges the claim that Jesus is the archetypical servant leader as described in contemporary leadership literature. Based on a theological reading of the Fourth Gospel, the paper suggests that, as a servant, Jesus cannot be understood apart from his mission and obedience to God. Consequently, Jesus was not primarily a servant leader but rather the Son who was sent to the world to enact the Father’s will. In this regard, the Fourth Gospel provides a unique perspective that is barely noted in the current discourse on servant leadership modelled on the example of Christ. Although certain aspects of servant leadership theory correspond to John’s portrayal of Jesus, the study concludes that other descriptions of him as a servant leader suffer from a one-sided and reductionist Christology. Implications of this view for Christian ministry are briefly sketched out.
 
 

Liberation and dependency: a theological reading of social sciences in Latin America

Introduction: In the early 1970s, social movements directed Latin American theology to a creative process of deprivatization of the Christian faith, reconfiguring - from the community practices of liberation and their holistic implications - the theoretical exercise concerning its political and social commitment. Consequently, the notion of liberation began to be addressed by the opposite equivalent of dependency within the methodological framework of the biblical-theological approach. Objective: To understand the meaning of the opposite correlation between liberation and dependency from their specificities in accordance with the vision of liberation intellectuals, and identify the way in which dependency was appropriate to respond to the responsive and socio-analytical theoretical framework of these intellectuals, linking the reading of reality to the Latin American community practice. Methods: Historical and systematic research, exploratory, under an analytical-descriptive orientation, organized from conceptual schemes. Results: Based on the finding regarding the theoretical refraction of dependency through liberation, the concept emerges as the theological interpretation of an entire theoretical field taken indistinctly, namely the Dependency Theory. Conclusion: The opposite correlation between dependency and liberation as a finding that reveals the similarity between the real that is theorized (dependency) and the hypothetical conceptualization of maxims of action (liberation), comprehended within the general theory of anti-imperialism, resulted in an interdisciplinary theological reflection.

Preaching God’s Overwhelming Freedom - A Homiletical Practice of Reading on the Book of Jonah (4:4-11) -

This study is motivated by re-thinking of what the primary task of preaching is. One of preacher’s pitfalls is to think that preaching ministry can go without biblical readings or reading the text is one thing; designing the sermon is another. However, Preaching, in its nature, is the church’s practice on the biblical text. Before going to sermonic notes, preaching gets into the text in order to bring out the message of gospel for the church today. Thus, in order to re-establish preaching task in right place and integrate biblical readings and sermonic designs, homiletic methods need to be developed. This paper is originated as one of case-studies for the integration of the two. In order to do so, this study reads scene seven (4:4-11) of the book of Jonah and finds out a homiletical outlet for preaching God’s overwhelming freedom. The first course of reading is textual studies on Jonah 4:4-11. They are made up of three assignments: one is intentions of Jonah, another is structure of 4:4-11, and the other is the problem of 4:5. Through the textual reading, the reader gets to know, as Jacques Ellul points out, that Jonah story is a revelation to open up human’s relation with God and God’s way of dealing with the human world. The second course of reading is rhetorical one which includes four tasks. Rhetorical reading helps the reader sense what the text discloses through its rhetorical and literary compositions. Specially, its symmetrical structures and rhetorical questions play key roles to open up the conflicts and ironies of the story and God of overwhelming free will to compassion as a resolution. The third course of reading is theological one. The previous textual and rhetorical readings give some ideas to theological reading. Walter Brueggemann’s reading on God’s free governance of compassion supports Rodolf Stertenbrink’s description of Yahweh in Jonah story. Last task for the paper is to present a homiletical outlet based on the previous readings. The biblical, rhetorical, and theological readings help the preacher create the sermon subject of “God’s freedom for compassion.” The thesis for the sermon is that God’s freedom for compassion irresistibly overwhelms our freedom for hostility. And, the preacher suggests the four-page plot designed by Paul Scott Wilson for the message.

Nature, Revelation, and Grace in Psalm 19: Towards a Theological Reading of Scripture

Does biblical criticism have anything to contribute to a theologically engaged study of Scripture? The answer implicitly provided by many scholars, both within the guild of modern biblical scholarship and outside it, is clear: The biblical critic's findings are irrelevant to constructive projects. These findings may be the product of intensive philological, comparative, and historical work, but they are no more connected to the tasks of the modern thinker than artifacts dug up by an archaeologist. Indeed (some theologically and literarily minded readers assume), biblical critics often produce work that impedes an interpreter who is oriented towards larger ideas. Those ideas, after all, emerge from textual wholes that are subtle, creative, and innovative, while biblical critics (these readers believe) have a penchant for dismembering texts or reducing them to hackneyed representatives of types of thinking or textual genres found elsewhere in the ancient Near East. As a result, not a few theologians and philosophers who attend to the Bible shun the work of biblical critics.

The Efficacy of Salvation in the Allegorical Reading of Scripture: Learning from Origen

Introduction This article explores the possibility of returning the practice of ancient allegorical interpretation as a resource for developing a post-critical theological reading of Scripture that prioritizes its formative significance for contemporary scriptural readers. What I am after is not the specific theological conclusions proposed within an ancient reading of a scriptural text. Those conclusions are, no doubt, interesting, but often force the comparison between ancient allegorical practice and various modern exegetical strategies in a distracting and unhelpful way. I want instead see allegorical reading as a phenomenon that arises within a set of theological commitments about the impact of scriptural reading--its soteriological efficacy--on the reader. I go about this task in three steps. First, I problematize the contemporary scholarly distinction between and allegory, seeing it as supporting an often unwarranted anxiety about ancient allegorical practice. This anxiety, usually involving the relationship between interpretation and history, presses allegorical readings into a predetermined opposition history in a way that argumentatively begs the question in favor of discreet typological reading. It will be important notice how such modern discreet categories not only obscure the variety of nonliteral reading practices in the ancient period--not noticing how they work together--but also belie certain theological commitments about the efficacy of scriptural reading that gives allegorical forms their force. Second, I take up the discussion of scriptural reading in Erich Auerbach's essay Figura, showing how his theory of figural interpretation both preserves and surpasses the assumptions of the allegory/typology distinction, thus providing a framework that pinpoints the benefits and dangers of nonliteral interpretation. Nevertheless, recognizing Auerbach's hesitance affirm the procedures of the allegorical readings of Origen of Alexandria, the paragon of ancient Christian allegorical interpretation, I turn Origen's theology and his second homily on Genesis explore how his reading strategies depend on a picture of scriptural soteriological efficacy, bringing the ancient writings bear on the contemporary ecclesial formation of the Christian reader. With the help of Henri de Lubac and Karen Jo Torjesen, I argue that Origen's allegorical reading presumes a theological relationship between Scripture and the reader that allows past events preserved in ancient Scripture contribute the contemporary soteriological formation of the reader, thus including the reader into the transformative import of the scriptural text. (1) Allegory and Typology The term [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] has been used since the ancient period and is associated with interpretive strategies that have been questioned and criticized for about just as long. No doubt the origin of its meaning, literally to say something other, (2) has often sparked a suspicion that interpretive uses of allegory do a disservice the meaning of the text under analysis. Yet the Christian incorporation of allegory as a way of reading Scripture has involved a distinct set of questions that attempt determine whether ancient Christian allegorical reading bears direct methodological influence from early Platonic, Gnostic, and Philonic uses of allegorical interpretation. Attempting differentiate between allegory and what has come be called typology (derived from the Latin typologia) has been thought assist modern scholarship on ancient Christian exegesis in differentiating between properly Christian interpretive commitment regarding Scripture and otherwise non-Christian influences that bore on ancient Christian interpretation. One of the first twentieth-century scholars incorporate this distinction, Jean Danielou, attempted discern what in Origen's exegetical writings derived from the Christian tradition and what involved carryover from other non-Christian sources. …

Ethics and Spirituality. Edited by Charles E. Curran and Lisa A. Fullam. Readings in Moral Theology, no. 17. New York: Paulist Press, 2014. xii + 275 pages. $29.95 (paper).

Ethics and Spirituality. Edited by Charles E. Curran and Lisa A. Fullam. Readings in Moral Theology, no. 17. New York: Paulist Press, 2014. xii + 275 pages. $29.95 (paper).

The ethical implications of 2 John 10�11

The imperative in 2 John 10�11 not to receive a visitor with a false doctrine into one�s house is one of the most controversial prohibitions in the New Testament, especially in light of the commandment of love, ancient hospitality conventions, and modern-day expectations of open discussion. This raises the question what this prohibition is specifically about and whether hospitality is really asked for. This question is considered in some detail in this article. A widely held view is that the prohibition in 2 John 10 is not in line with generally accepted Christian ethics, since it militates against the attitude of love, care, and hospitality. This view is dominant in commentaries. This article aims at countering this view by proposing that the issue is not hospitality but endangering the identity and tradition of the group. This should be regarded as a positive Christian value.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: I challenge theological readings of 2 John 10�11 that regard the text as unchristian in its exhortation. The results of the research show that hospitality is not the communicative centre of the text, but protection of the group, which was a common feature, not only in Christianity, but also in the ancient world in general. The future discourse should now move from focusing on moral issues related to hospitality to issues related to preserving tradition within a religion.

Sartre: An Augustinian Atheist?

This article attempts to redress the neglect of Sartre's relationship to Augustine, putting forward a reading of the early Sartre as an atheist who appropriated concepts from Augustinian theology. In particular, it is argued, Sartre owes a debt to the Augustinian doctrine of original sin. Sartre's portrait of human reality in Being and Nothingness is bleak: consciousness is lack; self-knowledge is impossible; and to turn to the human other is to face the imprisonment of an objectifying gaze. But this has recognizable antecedents in Augustine's account of the condition of human fallenness. The article, therefore, (a) demonstrates the significant similarities between Sartre's ontology of human freedom and Augustine's ontology of human sin; and (b) asks whether Sartre's project – as defined in Existentialism Is a Humanism – 'to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position' – results in a vision of the world without God, but not without sin. It is proposed that this opens the possibility for a previously unexplored theological reading of Sartre's early work.

There’s no sex in your violence: Patriarchal translation in Ezekiel 16 and 23

Ezekiel 16 and 23 describe shocking scenes of sexual debauchery and gendered violence, which the prophet uses to personify God’s judgment of Jerusalem and Samaria. In turning these chapters into Scripture, translators have filtered out offensive terminology as much as possible, but they have amplified the patriarchal bias within the text. They have chosen patriarchal language for sexually active women (“whore!” “harlot!” “slut!”) and preserved the pornographic presentation of God’s humiliation—violent and sexual—of his faithless wife, which is a troubling revenge fantasy. This softening and reframing of the biblical text makes our theological reading more natural, and our critical resistance to the text more difficult. If we consider Ezekiel 16 and 23 to be pornographic and violent—and unacceptable as an image of God’s dealings with humanity—we must interpret these oracles carefully, perhaps reading against the text in order to resist this damaging subtext and reading with those whom the text abuses and silences.

Re-visioning the Spaces of Church: A Feminist Theological Reading of Church Architectures

Re-visioning the Spaces of Church: A Feminist Theological Reading of Church Architectures