Way Of Theology Research Articles

Searching for the Way of Theology in Postmetaphysical Age: An Evaluation of Heidegger’s Ontology and its Influence on Theology

Searching for the Way of Theology in Postmetaphysical Age: An Evaluation of Heidegger’s Ontology and its Influence on Theology

Recovering core identity, hermeneutical and contextual preaching

The church has the privilege of participating with God in his saving mission in a broken and suffering world, also known as the missio Dei (Bosch 1991:8–11, 390–393). This is its core, missional identity. However, many local churches are facing an identity crisis at their very core. The reasons are numerous. This article seeks to define, in a theoretical and theological way, the core identity of the local church and in the light thereof to explore two areas: (1) how the local church and particularly its pastor view the core identity of the local church, and (2) whether the identity of the local church is affected through the ministry of preaching – preaching that takes into specific consideration the aspects of hermeneutics and context. The research indicates that while the church may have an understanding of its core identity – certainly when it answers the questions ‘who are we?’ and ‘what are we called to be and/or do’ – it lacks significantly in its missional identity. Contributing factors are mentioned and remedial action is proposed.

Poverty, Politics, and Faithful Witness in the Age of Humanitarianism

Beginning with a critique of humanitarianism, this essay explores alternative, theological ways of framing responses to the poverty and suffering of strangers. A particular focus is the differing kinds of neighbor-love at work in humanitarianism and democracy and how a christological and eschatological frame of reference re-configures them so as to enable the formation of a people that seeks the flourishing of the whole.

Benedykt XVI doktorem honoris causa Akademii Muzycznej i Uniwersytetu Papieskiego Jana Pawła II w Krakowie

Dnia 4 lipca 2015 roku Jego Świątobliwość Benedykt XVI, emerytowany papież, otrzymał w Castel Gandolfo godność doktora honoris causa dwóch krakowskich uczelni: Akademii Muzycznej w Krakowie i Uniwersytetu Papieskiego Jana Pawła II w Krakowie. 20 kwietnia 2015 roku Senat Uniwersytetu Papieskiego Jana Pawła II w Krakowie po wysłuchaniu recenzji nadał stopień doktora honoris causa papieżowi emerytowi Benedyktowi XVI. W uzasadnieniu zostało zapisane, że doktorat zostaje przyznany za: „wielki szacunek dla tradycji muzycznej Kościoła oraz niezwykłą wrażliwość na dialog muzyki z wiarą; okazywanie, przez wiele lat na wszystkich stanowiskach, jakie piastował, szczególnej troski o szlachetne piękno muzyki kościelnej i jej właściwe miejsce w sprawowaniu świętych obrzędów liturgicznych Kościoła; podkreślenie w swoim nauczania znaczenia via pulchritudinis – drogi piękna, która może stać się drogą poznania i wielbienia Boga dla współczesnego człowieka; odważne dawanie swoim życiem, posługą, nauczaniem i pracą naukową świadectwa Prawdzie, która umacnia wiarę chrześcijańską w czasach duchowego zamętu spowodowanego przez liberalizm, postmodernizm i relatywizm oraz niestrudzone dążenie do przywrócenia Europie jej duchowego wymiaru; za życzliwe wsparcie działań uczelni zmierzających do przekształcenia Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej w Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie”.22 kwietnia 2015 roku Senat Akademii Muzycznej w Krakowie przyjął uchwałę Rady Wydziału Twórczości, Interpretacji i Edukacji Muzycznej, a po wysłuchaniu wyjątków z recenzji nadał stopień doktora honoris causa papieżowi emerytowi Benedyktowi XVI. Wyznaczył też Senat na laudatora prof. Stanisława Krawczyńskiego. W uzasadnieniu uchwały Senatu Akademii Muzycznej w Krakowie zapisano, że tytuł zostaje nadany za: „wskazanie swoim przykładem wzorców postawy moralnej i obywatelskiej w wymiarze głęboko religijnym i humanistycznym; nauczanie, w którym odnosi się do wartości najwyższych, niezmiennie obecnych w ludzkim życiu i twórczości; umiłowanie muzyki i wskazanie jej szczególnej roli jako integralnej części uroczystej liturgii Kościoła katolickiego towarzyszącej człowiekowi w akcie wyznania wiary”.Papież emeryt Benedykt XVI podziękował raz jeszcze za uznanie, z jakim się spotkał w sprawie nadania mu doktoratów honoris causa. Papież powiedział: „cieszę się przede wszystkim, że w ten sposób jeszcze bardziej pogłębił się mój związek z Polską, z Krakowem, z ojczyzną naszego wielkiego świętego Jana Pawła II. Bez niego bowiem trudno sobie nawet wyobrazić moją drogę duchową i teologiczną. Swoim żywym przykładem ukazał on nam również, jak mogą się ze sobą łączyć radość wielkiej muzyki sakralnej i zadanie wspólnego uczestnictwa w liturgii, podniosła radość i pokorna prostota celebracji wiary”. Następnie, przypominając historię odnowy muzyki kościelnej, zwrócił uwagę na szczególne umiłowanie przez siebie muzyki Mozarta. „Na trwałe, na przykład, wpisało się w moją pamięć, że skoro tylko zabrzmiały pierwsze nuty Mszy koronacyjnej Mozarta, to jakby otwierało się niebo i można było bardzo głęboko odczuć obecność Pana”. Ważne wydaje się stwierdzenie dotyczące pewnego napięcia na linii participatio actuosa i miejsca muzyki kościelnej w dzisiejszej liturgii, zwłaszcza tej uroczystej z chórem i orkiestrą. Genialne wręcz stało się postawione w tym także kontekście pytanie papieża emeryta: „Czym właściwie jest muzyka? Skąd pochodzi i do czego zmierza? Myślę, że można wskazać trzy «miejsca», z których wypływa muzyka”. I tu nastąpiła prawdziwie prorocza wizja dotycząca miejsca muzyki w dzisiejszej liturgii. Wymieniając więc owe trzy „miejsca”, z których wypływa muzyka, papież mówił, że pierwszym jej źródłem jest doświadczenie miłości, drugim źródłem muzyki jest doświadczenie smutku, dotknięcie śmiercią, bólem i otchłaniami istnienia, trzecim miejscem pochodzenia muzyki jest spotkanie z tym, co Boże, od początku w jakiejś mierze definiującym to, co ludzkie. Dla Międzyuczelnianego Instytutu Muzyki Kościelnej w Krakowie, dla pedagogów i studentów jednostki, która inspirowała całe wydarzenie i łączy obie uczelnie wspólnie prowadzonym kierunkiem studiów muzyka kościelna, to słowa mobilizujące do dalszej wytężonej pracy w służbie pięknu wiary. Wzruszające były także słowa wypowiedziane przez papieża w języku polskim: „Niech Pan was błogosławi!”.

Christian Implication and Non-Christian Translation: A Case Study of The Merchant of Venice in the Chinese Context

The Merchant of Venice is generally recognized as a “Christian text” with theological conflicts and historical interrelationships of Old Law and New. But for the readers who are alien to the original context, is it really possible to understand the text in a theological way? In the year of 1914, American missionary Laura M. White translated this play into Chinese as A Tale of Cutting off Flesh, deliberately diluting the Christian ideas, highlighting the basic moral teaching, adapting to the tastes of Chinese readers, and conveying Christian implications in a somehow non-Christian translation. The author of this article argues that Laura Whiteof this a reflected in a more extreme manner the real reading patterns of the common readers, and her delicate and deliberate efforts are precisely the entrance to understand a transformed text as well as the context transformed it.

Natural Law for Reformed Theology

This paper outlines a constructive account of natural law for the twenty-first century, rooted in the Reformed theological and confession heritage. It suggests how natural law can provide us with a deep theological way of affirming the existence of an objectively meaningful natural order, discusses the importance of natural law for maintaining the accountability of all human beings before the divine judgment, and reflects on how natural law serves as crucial foundation for the church’s ministry of the gospel to a hurting and needy world.

To Renew and Act Anew: Approaching Forgiveness in The Long Nineteenth Century

AbstractThis essay seeks to survey recent scholarship exploring the topic of forgiveness within nineteenth‐century British literature. Though historically rooted in Judeo‐Christian religious tradition, forgiveness has now emerged as a secularized theory for communal and psychological renewal. Recent global efforts to promote reconciliation and healing in communities ravaged by genocide and crimes against humanity have inspired a new wave of intellectual inquiry into the nature of forgiveness. Julia Kristeva and Jacques Derrida are two of the most prominent contributors to this discourse within the last decade. Even as forgiveness has emerged on a globally popular level in its secularized form, literary criticism has also witnessed a shift in scholarship that seeks to reengage the dialogue between theology and literature, paving the way for theory and theology to meld in the pursuit of a more nuanced theory of forgiveness. Though literary forgiveness remains a relatively unexplored topic in nineteenth‐century scholarship, recent articles by Richard Hughes Gibson, Emma Mason, Karen Pagani, and Jan‐Melissa Schramm demonstrate that conceptions of forgiveness in the Romantic and Victorian imagination exist at the intersection of sacred and secular, much like our modern theories also suggest. As critics pay closer attention to the role of forgiveness, and its multiple complexities within the fiction, drama, and poetry of the nineteenth century, they will turn their attention to the creative power of forgiveness, ultimately viewed as formative, possessing the power to shape narratives, individual lives and psyches, and social history.

Comparative Theological Learning as an Ordinary Part of Theological Education

AbstractThis essay argues, as its title suggests, that learning that is both comparative and theological can be an ordinary – possible, beneficial, even necessary – part of theological education and, like other fields of study, may be incorporated in the curriculum in ways that meet practical curricular needs. Once the professor has undertaken the initial, minimal learning, teaching comparatively can become a natural and integral part of any seminary course. The study of the other is not exotic or in a class by itself; if we can study our own religious tradition today, we can study others as well. The thesis is argued in several parts: (1) interreligious diversity is integral to the context of contemporary faith; (2) comparative theology engages diversity in an intentionally theological way and needs to be distinguished from other disciplines; (3) a comparative theological approach aids in the process of ensuring that attention to diversity is integral to theological education; (4) teaching comparative theology is not different from teaching other forms of theology. None of this, I suggest, requires a liberal or pluralist theological starting point.

Pastoral Care and Politics: Introducing a Special Issue

One never knows. A couple of years ago, I (Ryan LaMothe) had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn about political issues and pastoral care. We both have deep concerns about the current state of affairs in the United States and what it means for the future generations. Together, we mused about inviting various scholars to address the broad topic of the political dimensions of pastoral care and politics. Our hope was/is to expand the conversation and, perhaps, to mobilize further scholarly and civic engagement. Having corresponded with Lewis Rambo over the years, I proposed to him the idea of devoting an issue of Pastoral Psychology to pastoral care and politics. Because of Lewis’s own passion about politics, he enthusiastically agreed to do this. When we invited authors, we decided to keep the topic sufficiently vague so that people would be creative in their choice of subjects. I think we succeeded. One never knows what will emerge in a conversation. We believe the articles can be grouped into three areas, each article with its own unique contributions. The first two articles draw attention to the political dimensions of pastoral care and how this might alter pastoral theology methodology, addressing its possibilities as a form of public theology. In his article, Ryan LaMothe contends that pastoral theology can contribute to the political theological discourse. Toward this end he offers a general outline for a political pastoral theology. Troels Norager argues that pastoral care and politics is a sub-set of the larger issue of religion and politics in a democratic society. He focuses on two interrelated issues: the compatibility of religion and democracy, and the connection between religion and morality. The second grouping of articles addresses some aspects of how pastoral care and pastoral theology respond to diversity and oppression. Richard Coble’s essay examines Anton Boisen’s political negotiations within the identity categories of ministry andmadness in the aftermath of his own repeated episodes of psychosis. He argues that while Boisen sought to changemany of the practices of pastoral care for those consigned to madness, he simultaneously reestablished the very boundaries and exclusions he sought to displace. The next article, by Hellena Moon, discusses the oppressive political effects of Asian theologies that idealize sorrow and personal sacrifice. The article by Cody Sander questions whether traditional or theistic theologies intrinsically lend themselves to violence and oppression, proposing a way for pastoral theology to move beyond metaphysical and foundationalist thought. Nancy Ramsay suggests the adoption of an intersectional theoretical approach that furthers the efforts of pastoral theologians as they seek to analyze, engage, and resist oppression and privilege in response to forms of difference. Pastoral Psychol (2014) 63:373–374 DOI 10.1007/s11089-013-0559-z

A Public Praise with Neither Purse Nor Scrip: Old Elizabeth and Womanist Theological Ways

Using Scripture to contest eighteenth- and nineteenth-century societal norms, Elizabeth’s memoir of her life in slavery contests the legal and cultural structures that rendered her as secondary, inferior, and subhuman. In answering the call to public ministry, Elizabeth embodies womanist ethics by being outrageous, audacious, and courageous in spite of the vocal opposition to her ministerial vocation.

Three Ways of Engaging Theologically with Modernity

AbstractThe paper discusses three theological ways of responding to modernity, all of which rely in some way upon the analogy of the church as a culture. First, Friedrich Schleiermacher represents the turn to the subject and the turn to the church. Second, Stanley Hauerwas's rejection of the turn to the subject is shown to require a sharper turn to the church. Third, David Kelsey's recent work is used to present a modification of that turn substantial enough to constitute a third way. Kelsey's analysis of various theological logics and how they are often conflated in modern theology, together with his account of church practices, is used to integrate a more traditional theocentric theological approach with a more contemporary focus on the church's practices. Some conclusions are then drawn for critical congregational study of enactments of church practices.

Gesinsbediening in ’n postmoderne kerk vanuit Bybels-teologiese perspektiewe

Biblical perspectives on family ministry in a postmodern church. The aim of the article is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context. In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard.

Dos modalidades de transmisión de la Identidad Judía: la Shoa y Jabad

The analysis of two actual strategies in the reformulation of the J ewish identity in Israel and the diaspora, are the central themes of this article. The historie memory ofthe Hebrew people in cognitive and emotional terms affirms the collective commitment with Judaism. One ofthe strategies is secular and the other religious. The first is based on ¡he transmission of¡he Shoa (Holocaust) to the new generations as an exemplary event experienced by the Jews Ihat pretends not to be forgotten lo avoid its recurren ce in other groups. The message has a universal dimension that incrusts in the Jcwish hislory wilhin the westem culture and reinforee secular values sueh as democracy, tolerance, respecI lo olhers, pluriculturalism and social justice. In the Jabad case, by the theological way, Ihe objective is the relígious re-enchanlment of Ihe world in all Ihe aspects of life lo create a social milieu that emJlates what they consider the authentie Judaism inspired in the shtetI, the premodem commu¿ities of the ashkenazi Jews in Eastem Europe. In both cases, the historical and cultural legacy acquire new meanings that summon Jews, giving conlinuity lo Judaísm.

The Practice of Christian Ethics: Mindfulness and Faith

The central thrust of this article is to prompt new consideration of how faith and reason are understood to be at work in the discipline of theological ethics. To bring into question contemporary assumptions, a close reading of Aristotle is undertaken to illuminate his understanding of phronesis as a uniquely self-involving way of thinking that is transformative of the thinker. Phronesis, which may be translated as mindfulness, is shown to distinguish what is essential to ethical thinking. This philosophical preparation may clear a way for theology likewise to be understood anew. Kierkegaard’s reflection on Abraham’s experience of faith in Fear and Trembling discloses how theology is the working out by means of phronesis of the salvation disclosed to faith in the believer’s soul. In these two phenomena—mindfulness and faith—lies what is essential to the practice of Christian ethics.

The resiliency of children and spirituality: a practical theological reflection

Resilience is described by Richardson as ‘the motivational force within everyone that drives them to pursue wisdom, self-actualisation, and altruism and to be in harmony with a spiritual source of strength’.The author discusses this view from a Christian theological perspective and in reference to the debate concerning the self-actualisation theories of Maslow and Frankl. The article examines and seeks to clarify the way in which spirituality and resilience mutually support each other. Resilience refers to an ecological model of development and support of children (and others), where different elements cooperate. This does not mean that human responsibility should be disregarded. In the first step, this article sheds light on a proper understanding of the term ‘resilience’ in the context of childhood studies. In the second step, the author shows how resilience can be interpreted in a theological way, thereby referring to three key themes, ‘spirituality’, ‘grace/agency’ and ‘resurrection/hope’. In the third phase, the article explores the relevance of the concept of resilience for pastoral care to children and families.

O Cristo solitário em busca de companhia: uma análise da imagem de Cristo no protestantismo a partir da cristologia de Jon Sobrino

This paper analyzes the image of Christ in the Protestant Christology, in order to show its theological deficiency while compared to the Christological debates in Latin America. As Latin America Protestantism [Brazilian, especially] has its theological roots in the Protestant Mission, the Protestant Christology did not follow the debate and the development of the main questions of the Latin-American Christology, becoming an apathetic Christology in a social way, and a transcendent Christology in a theological way. This paper proposes to dialogue with Jon Sobrino's Christology, seeking for hermeneutical aspects for a reformulation of the Protestant Christology.

The search for the theological third way: Review of Marion Grau, Of Divine Economy: Refinancing Redemption

Roland Boer reviews Review of Marion Grau, Of Divine Economy: Refinancing Redemption (London: T. and T. Clark International, 2004).

Thinking Like an Animal: Theological Materialism for a Changing Climate

Theological materialism, it is argued, provides an important ethical orientation towards climate change. Following the tradition of practical materialism inaugurated by Karl Marx, materialism is here interpreted in a non-reductive sense that includes a stress on human praxis. Such a materialism is comprehensive in the sense that it identifies the sources of climate change as twofold: as rooted in a capitalist crisis and as rooted in a crisis in our conditions of life. Such a materialism is also theological: it is ‘flesh made word’ (Nicholas Lash). One implication of this theological materialism is that creation is to be understood as good. This theme is explored by way of the ‘revolt of nature’: this trope provides a theological way of exploring nature in a changing climate. At the conclusion, critical issues raised by the title, Thinking like an animal, are addressed.

Jesus and the minjung revisited: The Legacy of Ahn Byung-Mu (1922-1996)

AbstractAhn Byung-Mu was not only one of the leading theological thinkers of 20th century Korea, a mediator between Western, especially German theological tradition and Korean Christianity, but also a persistent regime critique under South Korea's development dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s. Originally a New Testament scholar he also became one of the founding fathers of minjung theology by giving this political theology in the Korean context a biblical foundation. In his studies on the Gospel of Mark, Ahn advocates the thesis that German historical-critical exegesis viewed the Markan ochlos from the perspective of form criticism as a dramatic element similar to the “antique choir”, thereby failing to acknowledge its social and theological significance. In contrast, he emphasizes Jesus' unconditional commitment to the ochlos, which is displayed in the Gospel of Mark. The Galilean ochlos, an amorphous, and in its membership varying group of people from the Galilean lower class, is the addressee of Jesus' mission. The article reconstructs Ahn Byung Mu's theological way of thinking and tackles the question how his legacy can be re-contextualized.

On Relinquishing and Receiving

It is an ancient realization, always relearned in resistant, recalcitrant ways, that we cannot receive what is new without relinquishing something of what is old. The anniversary of Tikkun is a time to notice that Tikkun, from the outset, has advocated receiving what is new for Israel and the Palestinians.The Hebrew Bible is saturated with that learning. Abraham and Sarah had to “set out” in order to receive the new land. The Egyptian slaves had to “depart” to the risk of the wilderness to get to their new place. And Isaiah (43:18-19) reminded the generation of deportees that a “new thing,” a restored Judaism, required the relinquishment of old, treasured miracles:Do not remember the former things,or consider the things of old.I am about to do a new thing,now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?In sports parlance, it is “No pain, no gain.” In Christian confession, in popular summary, it is “No cross, no crown,” by which it is asserted that the Friday death of Jesus was essential to Easter newness in the world.Put in such poetic or theological ways, the cost of newness seems clear enough. It is less clear and less compelling when put to the test of real issues. And that is what Tikkun has been doing all this time, testing such hope against the unforgiving facts on the ground. The hope of Tikkun and its many readers is for a safe, peaceable, viable “Holy Land” with a guaranteed existence for the state of Israel. That is what we hope to “receive.” But we cannot, so it seems, get from here to there. We cannot because we variously cannot relinquish old claims and old imaginations, old claims for a “Greater Israel,” or old imaginations for a land without the nation of Israel. So we go round and round without relinquishing. And we learn, many times over, that there are no new gifts given in such resistance.We of course may know this, because the same truth is given in the great insight of Freud that has led to contemporary psychotherapy. The process to health is the acknowledgement and relinquishment of old patterns of self, and the embrace of new self, the incorporation of what has been denied and resisted. For the most part, consequently, we choose to remain our less-than-healed old selves, finding relinquishment too demanding.The same hard learning presses against imperial dimensions of the American dream. We are now, manifestly, at the end of the “American Century” (Henry Luce). We are finding our economy less than viable, with old extravagances now obsolete. We are finding (since Vietnam) that our military prowess is unable to meet local realities. We are finding our imperial policies less than effective; the sugar plums that have danced in our heads are no longer in full supply. It would of course be possible to “receive” a more realistic American dream. But old posturing and pretense die hard, and we keep imagining that more effort, more expenditure, or one more casualty will somehow let us be the way we were. We would like to embrace Tikkun magazine’s teaching that “homeland security” can no longer be achieved through domination of others, but rather through generosity based on a new understanding that must emerge in the West (an understanding that our well-being depends on the well-being of everyone else on the planet and the well-being of the planet itself). This message emerges from the holy scriptures not only of the Jews and Christians but also of most spiritual and religious traditions of the world. Yet the resistance to this new understanding is intense.It is a Christian insight, appropriated from Israel’s exilic experience, that Holy Saturday—just between Good Friday and Easter—is a null point that was (and is) reached in historical reality, in liturgic performance, and in risky imagination, from which may come new life. But of course we fear the null point when the old dies: we are left no longer in control and at the behest of what will be given next. That, however, is the only venue in which new gifts are given in the historical process. We live in hope, but mostly grudging and fearful, remembering the old “flesh pots” amid old enslavements.