Western Theology Research Articles

Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin by Audy Santoso

Reviewed by: Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin by Audy Santoso John W. Hoyum Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin. By Audy Santoso. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021. 298 pp. By putting Robert Jenson’s view of theosis in conversation with John Calvin’s, Audy Santoso’s work takes up a subject of intense interest in recent years. Jenson’s retrieval of theosis and his appropriation of the new Finnish reading of Luther might suggest that it [End Page 490] is Luther, instead of Calvin, who would be the right Reformation figure to include in this study. Yet in focusing on theosis as a point of contact between (Jenson’s) Lutheranism and (Calvin’s) Reformed theology, Santoso nevertheless takes up a subject of great ecumenical significance. This book rightly identifies both figures with a common legacy that imagines salvation as union with God. The first, introductory chapter sets out the general features of theosis in the broad heritage of Christian theology. Among the instances of theosis in Western theology, Santoso includes the Finnish reading and its contention that, in Luther’s doctrine of justification, there is a real presence of Christ in faith itself. As for Calvin, Santoso helpfully notes Calvin’s own criticisms of Osiander’s tendency to ascribe the indwelling righteousness of Christ to the divine nature alone. The second chapter explores Jenson’s theology in more detail, culminating with an examination of his turn toward deification as a paradigm for figuring human salvation as participation in the divine life. Santoso rightly draws creation into this discussion, because it is creation’s original envelopment by the divine life that underwrites the eschatological reconciliation of created being with its proper end in God, as Jenson sees it. Chapter three examines Calvin’s use of union as the inclusive image of human salvation. One crucial subtext of the engagement with Calvin is a debate over the status of union in Reformed theology: is the doctrine of justification the overarching principle of human salvation, conceived as a declaration extra nos? Or is justification properly situated within the wider and more inclusive horizon of union with God? Santoso prefers the latter alternative, rejecting Bruce McCormack’s contention that justification is the principal paradigm of salvation in Calvin’s theology. Having set forth the doctrines of deification that appear in Jenson and Calvin, Santoso proceeds to a discussion of the Lord’s Supper as a point of contact between Calvin’s view of union and Jenson’s theology of deification. Santoso suggests that Jenson sublates Christ and the church to the degree that the eschatological tension between the present and the future is lost, thus resulting in an over-realized eschatology that cannot properly distinguish Jesus, the Spirit, and those gathered at the table. [End Page 491] In the fifth, evaluative chapter, Santoso concludes by noting the similarities and differences between Calvin and Jenson. He uses three criteria to assess the coherence of their accounts of theosis: the creator-creature distinction, the mediatorial role of Christ, and the Holy Spirit’s reconstitution of the human self. Santoso contends that Jenson’s Lutheran emphasis on hearing undermines the physical dimensions of salvation: thus participation in God is not simply hearing the internal triune conversation, but is doxology involving all the human senses in everlasting worship before the throne of the lamb. This book compares and contrasts Jenson and Calvin, with Calvin supplying the needed supplement to some of Jenson’s weaker formulations, especially his conflation of Christ, the Spirit, and the church. However, the work would have been strengthened if the constructive significance of these comparisons were drawn out, perhaps especially with ecumenical dialogue in view. John W. Hoyum Denny Park Lutheran Church Seattle, Washington Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc

The Holy Spirit in the World: The Impact of World Christianity on Contemporary Pneumatology

One of the biggest drivers of current attention to the Holy Spirit in contemporary Western theology is the rise of world Christianity. The reason is not only that pentecostal, charismatic and independent spirit-type movements are prominent globally but also that majority-world theologians are rethinking theology for their contexts, in which concepts of Spirit, spirits and spirituality are already well developed. This article highlights some of the critical issues that this discourse raises and asks what considering the Holy Spirit in world perspective means for the future of pneumatology.

Puo Pha!: African theology is a public theology of dialogue

In this article it is aimed to demonstrate that African theology is a public theology and a theology of dialogue based on its vocalism and oralism. The starting point is the definition of African theology, including its theologising methodologies. The method of research is a critical analysis of literature studies across the disciplines. A Sesotho proverbial or idiomatic puo pha! (orality) is used to illustrate that the decolonisation of theology is possible through African proverbs. This approach enhances African theology in its endeavours to unshackle itself from the western theology. As puo pha! African theology is the voice that addresses social menaces without compromises. It is the voice speaking not from the top, but from below. It is the voice of the masses, more than that of the intellectual elites. As puo pha! it engages African realities and experiences to make theological conclusions. It is argued here that African theology operates in public spaces since it is person-centred, expresses itself through processes of inculturation and is prophetic in character. Results show that African theology is a theology of encounter, and it is interactive. It becomes dialogical in nature, as it invites cultural contexts and eco-sciences in through dialogue in order that it may become relevant to African realities. The conclusion is the recommendation that African theologians embrace and promote an integrated theological method that synergises puo pha! with written theology for African theology, to have both biblical fidelity and cultural relevance.Contribution: The article intends to impress the validity of African proverbs in explaining theology, practised within African context. It demonstrates the sensibilities of African theology as a public theology and a theology of dialogue.

MITOLOGI TIRTA EMPUL DALAM TEKS USANA BALI: KAJIAN TEOLOGI SOSIAL

Hindu theology from the beginning was different from classical theology. Where religion or divinity does not conflict with science. God is not placed in the sky but exists and permeates His creation. Such a conception of God would be difficult to understand in Western theology. In the text of Usana Bali, concrete and solution-based theology or divinity is implied, which is narrated through the mythology of Tirta Empul and the story of Mayadanawa. Where God in his manifestation as Dewa Indra becomes a liberating agent for the social problems of society. Eradicating the evil king Mayadanawa, providing prosperity through abundant water sources, and giving meaning to the Galungan holiday as an effort to improve the quality of life (winning the inner dharma). This research is a literature study, using the Usana Bali text as primary data. The purpose of this research is to explore theological teachings in a mythology, in order to develop the role and social values in it.Keywords: Mythology, Social Theology, Usana Bali

Invitation

Invitation

The Pactional Model of Salvation and Its Undoing in St. Catherine of Siena

A symbolic economy based on a system of merits and demerits that determines the salvation or damnation of the believer is at the root of Western theology. Even in its most sophisticated formulations, this form of moral bookkeeping (or pactional structure) produces paradoxes that stem from the unresolved relation between divine transcendence and earthly immanence. Contextualizing her work in relation to dominant Patristic and Scholastic theories of salvation, this essay illustrates how St. Catherine of Siena resolves the ontological opposition between the infinite (transcendence) and the finite (immanence) through the notion of infinite desire for the other. As she undoes much of the structure of debt of the moral economy, she moves away from a system of accountability toward one of relationality.

Kwame Bediako Makes an Offer

This review essay addresses the major themes of Ghanaian theologian Kwame Bediako’s thought, as presented in Tim Hartman, Kwame Bediako: African Theology for a World Christianity. Bediako advocated examining the traditional spirituality of African peoples, studying the Bible in vernacular languages, and asking how the person and work of Jesus Christ engage local cultures. He insisted that Western theology was not central and normative to the Christian faith, and that African theology provided a better model for the development of contextual theologies worldwide.

The Tradition of Micro-Cultivation and Ancient Eastern Civilizations

Humanity has traveled thousands of years of civilization and has made a long and patient struggle for its survival and betterment in order to achieve all the different values ​​and styles and the consciousness of humanity that has been acquired through science and technology. This does not mean that humanity has achieved its goals. The first is that each new age or new phase continues to create new goals, and new ideals. The purpose of building and creating another human world is still a shameful fulfillment in which the evils of poverty, injustice, ignorance, inequality do not exist or at least. Personalities have been striving for the creation of conscious classes, for the good and for the ideals of justice and fairness. An intellectual and rational movement flourished in the West in the seventeenth century and its fruits came to light in the eighteenth century. This movement was called Enlightenment and Rationalism. The basic connection between Rationalism and enlightenment is obviously from Western theology and philosophy. But the difference between the two is that the nature of the East is not rational despite being rational and rationalist, so its knowledge and thought includes all aspects of esoteric experiences with sensory experiences and study of its effects in Eastern society can be done. Oriental civilizations have played a very active role in the evolution of human civilization.

Changing Metaphors in African Theologies: Influences from Digital Cultures

The incursion of globalisation presents both opportunities and challenges for mission in Africa. This is especially visible among the younger generation whose cultural perspectives have been influenced by global digital cultures. Although the youth in Africa are very much aware of their indigenous identities, they also participate actively with their peers elsewhere around the globe. As a result of these global interactions, many of the pre-colonial theological metaphors which have been accepted as authentic grassroots African theologies seem to have become less meaningful to emerging generations. Analysing contemporary oral sources such as music, prayers, poetry and everyday conversation among young Africans, this paper argues that there is a seismic shift in theological metaphors that speak meaningfully to the contexts of emerging Africans. The paper argues that many young people in contemporary Ghana, for example, do not see mmoatia (dwarfs) and sasabonsam (forest monster) as symbols of threat: they have new threats. A theology that describes Jesus as a hunter could be so impotent in the face of contemporary realities of some young people in Ghana, as Western theologies made a corresponding adjustment in Majority World countries a few decades ago. The paper concludes that these changing metaphors have implications for local theologies in Africa and must be engaged by theologians, missionaries and all who are interested in African theologies for the purpose of meaningful contextualisation in contemporary African Christianity.

A portrait of the teacher for the West in the interior of the Synodal era: Dissertation by I. V. Popov on Blessed Augustine

Early 20th century Russian academic theology showed considerable interest in St. Augustine’s theology. Among a significant number of works on the latter, one that stands out in terms of its scale and being well-founded, the doctoral thesis “The personality and legacy of St. Augustine” (1916) by I. V. Popov, a professor of the Moscow theological academy. Although the first volume of the Popov’s work is the only one that remains, it is of substantial interest because it witnesses the continuous intellectual evolution of its author, who made a sharp turn from the Eastern patristics towards the Western patristics in his studying the topic of “deification.” However, today there is no unanimous agreement among scholars on the presence of “deification” concepts in the Western theology, and Popov himself does not use the term “deification” in his doctoral thesis. Nevertheless, Popov’s conclusion that “ontologism,” being understood as the possibility of a direct communication with God in this life, was characteristic of St. Augustine represents in some sense the next stage of Popov’s search for an organic integration of the moral and mystical contents of Christian life. Containing an implicit but relevant for the early twentieth century critique of Harnack’s rationalism, Popov’s work had as well an impact on the mid-twentieth century Russian thought, having been in demand in the diaspora. It should be especially noted that, despite its unconditional significance both for the history of Russian patristics and of Russian theology in the twentieth century Popov’s “Augustine” has not attracted special attention of researchers so far.

All Dogs Go to Heaven: Animal Resurrection and the Problem of Theodicy in Western Theology

All Dogs Go to Heaven: Animal Resurrection and the Problem of Theodicy in Western Theology

Theologizing in Black: On Africana Theological Ethics and Anthropology

Theologizing in Black: On Africana Theological Ethics and Anthropology

A Pantheology of Pandemic: Sex, Race, Nature, and the Virus

A Pantheology of Pandemic: Sex, Race, Nature, and the Virus

Рецензия на издание: Что такое Богословие? Методология православного богословия в его практике и преподавании / пер. с фр. Н. Петуховой, О. Арсеньевой, С. Чернова, У. Рахновской, П. Доброцветова, М. Вдовиченко, А. Вавиловой, В. Лепахина, иерод. Иоанна (Ахматханова), С. Кузнецовой; науч. ред. П. Доброцветова. М.: Паломник, 2021. 175 c. ISBN 978-5-87468-136-4

One of the fundamental works on the methodology of modern theology is Method in Theology (1972) by the Canadian Catholic theologian B. Lonergan which has been translated into Russian and is still virtually the only work which considers in detail the specifics of the theological method. Not surprisingly, even in Western theology, the theological method continues to be a subject of discussion rather than a recommendation for how theology should be dealt with. A telling example is P. Allen's book Theological Method: A Guide for Doubters, in which the author also admits that practising the methodology of theology seems to many like "trying to sharpen a knife without any desire to use it". From this it becomes clear that J.-C. Larcher's book "What is theology? The methodology of Orthodox theology in its practice and teaching" is interesting not only because it is a unique phenomenon in itself, but also because it offers an excellent opportunity to open a discussion about the methodology of Orthodox theology in Russia.  

Генезис русской религиозной философии славянофилов А. С. Хомякова и И. В. Киреевского

The article is devoted to the philosophical, religious and world views of A. S. Khomyakov and I. V. Kireevsky. Based on the analysis of the authors’ creative and epistolary heritage, the authors show the ambiguity of their judgment from the point of view of Orthodox theology. The hermeneutic method allowed the author to analyze the primary sources of A. S. Khomyakov and I. V. Kireevsky, their contemporaries and followers from the point of view of Orthodox theology to determine the degree of their compliance with Orthodox doctrine. The purpose of the work is to compare the creative heritage of the founders of the religious and philosophical movement of the Slavophiles A. S. Khomyakov and I. V. Kireevsky. This is a new look at the formation of the religious and philosophical worldviews of A. S. Khomyakov and I. V. Kireevsky. The strongest sides of A. S. Khomyakov are the following: he presents the Church as a single moral union of those who preach the teachings of Christ, based on love for their neighbor. Rationalism is not conducive to the establishment of faith, and everyone who is separated from the Church does not have love. I. V. Kireevsky, on the other hand, followed the path of knowledge of Roman philosophy and its influence on the formation of Western theology; analysis and conclusions in assessing the development of theology in Russia and Europe; negative effect of ritualism on the worldview of true Orthodoxy in Russia.

Revisiting Black Theology of Liberation in South Africa: Through ‘new voices’ of women black theologians

Black Theology of Liberation (BTL) has done significant work for many decades in the struggle for the liberation of black people. Black Theology of Liberation is a theology which restores human dignity and identity for black humanity, and it needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. One of the most important contributions BTL made was the creation of new forms of ecclesiological knowledge, resulting from a critical look at the use of the Bible with Eurocentric perspectives, and the organisational structures of the church divided between black and white, leading to, amongst others, the dismantlement of black African knowledge, systems and their culture. From a black theological perspective, ecclesiology focused on restoration of the dignity of black persons by dismantling Eurocentric views about faith and ecclesiology that have continued to demonise black lives. Black theology, with its positive contribution, focused on racism and other constructs of oppression such as class, with very little and limited focus on sexism and patriarchy. This article will demonstrate how significant the contribution of BTL has been and also decry or denounce the fact that patriarchal violence and the liberation of women were not given equal attention.Contribution: The article contributes to theological discourse in South Africa (SA) today. It is written from the perspective of BTL and premised by the experience of oppressed black persons. In this article, it has been stated that black persons and their lived experiences are epistemologies in the quest for liberation of black humanity as a whole. The article will therefore bring forth BTL epistemologies that have been put in the periphery by western theology.

Writing ecological disfigurement: First Nations poetry after ‘the black grass of bitumen’

This article examines selected First Nations poetries, showing how intertextual parodic language strategies, dynamic elegy and polyphonic poetic registers critique proleptic environmental mourning, simplistic environmental apocalypticism and compromised visions of political reconciliation – ‘all this potplanting in our sovereignty’, as Evelyn Araluen (2020b, p. 81) describes it. Alison Whittaker, Jeanine Leane, Evelyn Araluen, Ellen van Neerven, Alexis Wright and others are also shown as inheritors of the environmental-activist poetries of Oodgeroo, Kevin Gilbert and Lionel Fogarty. I analyse how each of these poets represents Country in a ‘permanently disfigured state’ (Daniels & Lorimer, 2012, p. 5), bearing witness to environments that exist after settler ‘nature’, dismantling Western theologies of poetic nature alongside. To wit, I also show how poems assert temporal vantage points outside the linear telos and material endgames of extractive colonial time, reinforcing enduring and intrinsic spiritual fealty with Country, community and ‘ancestor time’. In Ali Cobby Eckermann’s words, ‘These poems are taking the time. They are honouring the story’ (2020, p. 147).

Giving Up Our Cultural Addiction

This article will begin with an overview of the sources of our cultural addiction to patriarchal culture and its values in Western cultures. Of particular importance to this was the development of the daughter languages of Sanskrit with their dualistic structure. A further major source lies in the Biblical Genesis creation text and subsequent Western philosophy and theology. These things together supported the delusional consciousness which led to individual suffering and the exploitation of others and the earth. The article will then look briefly at some of this addiction’s manifestations and their effects and then explain how Buddhist practice can help with the withdrawal process and foster a ‘new’ way of life although it must be acknowledged that there are real questions as to whether Buddhist practice will be used extensively enough to do so in time to save us from ourselves.

The logic of antinomy in religious discourse: Pavel Florensky’s meta-language of theology, science and art

Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky is a towering figure of the 20th century. He is recognised among many significant thinkers of the world’s cultural and philosophical panorama of the previous century. In the face of cultural repression and religious persecution of the Soviet regime, he preferred martyrdom to exile and not to deny his faith. The legacy of Florensky is incredibly multifaceted. His works span across the most varied fields of science and knowledge with clear competence. Florensky was the first scholar who attempted to combine Orthodox theology with modern logic. He argued that religious truth transcends known categories and Christianity tends to be antinomical. This article argues that a paradoxical notion would be more appropriate than antinomy in his thinking.Contribution: The authors introduce Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky to Western theology and share some thoughts of this much-neglected scholar. The focus is mainly on the spiritual vision of this Orthodox priest-scientist about Nature, exploring his legacy in the theology and science debate. Florensky taught us that there is a distinctive trait of the Christian faith’s attitude to Nature and that there always lies a surplus of meaning that remains inaccessible to reason alone and, therefore, Nature should be approached fundamentally with a contemplative approach and regarding a theology and science resonance, a creative mutual interaction could materialise.

Decolonising African Theology

The main purpose of this paper is to show that previous methods of decolonising African theology have failed because they have by and large employed Western models (e.g. the scholastic model) as criteria. I propose that the first step towards decolonising African theology must begin with Africans themselves. First, Africans are called to soul search with the purpose of identifying the reasons why they have been so prone to abuse. Why do they lack self-esteem? It is easy to say that they lack self-esteem because they have been abused by outsiders, and especially Westerners. It is not enough to say that African cultures have been prone to abuse because of their malleability, flexibility, and receptivity which made them vulnerable to outside influence. Second, one of the major weaknesses of the African approach is to try to measure up to European standards using European scales, thus feeding off of the very system which it is trying to fight. The value of African theology is not that it has to be similar to Western theology, but rather that it has a value in itself.