Showing papers in "Theology in 1996"
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical insider is defined as one who identifies himself as an evangelical, an Anglican, and someone who has learned to think as a child of modernity, with the advantages and disadvantages of each of these.
Abstract: The number of people affected by the charismatic movement would itself make it one of the most significant features of spirituality in Britain in the latter part of the twentieth century, and its emphases raise a number of theological issues. My aim here is to discuss these as a critical insider. I am seeking, that is, to reflect on my own experience and that of my friends (for although I count myself as an insider rather than an outsider, 1 do that despite having failed to have a number of the right experiences). I also write as one who in addition identifies himself as (among other things, and in approximate historical order), an evangelical, an Anglican, and someone who has learned to think as a child of modernity, with the advantages and disadvantages of each of these. Generally when 1 say 'they' in what follows, then, I indicate that I am seeking to write from a slightly detached position, not that I actually dissociate myself from 'them', for I do not. There are always drawbacks in discussing the nature of Christian traditions and contrasting them with each other. Many people dislike 'labels' such as charismatic, evangelical, orthodox, liberal and catholic; my defence for using them is the conviction that there are real differences between these traditions, and that, if this is so, the use of the labels facilitates communication. As my self-description implies, 1 do not believe they are mutually exclusive (I expect there are people who describe themselves as charismatic evangelical orthodox liberal catholics, though 1cannot quite yet do that myself). To belong to one tradition does not imply that one disapproves of all the others; one's position is a starting point for entering into an appreciation of the others rather than a vantage point from which one condemns them. To put it another way, I am seeking to look at elements in a typology of spirituality rather than to look at different groups of people. Indeed, most of the people for whom this paper was given (in the context of the course in spirituality at the college where I teach) would firmly refuse to confine themselves to one tradition.
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TL;DR: Deleuze's influence now pervades our academic culture to the extent that human knowledge has attained an unprecedented level-although we neither know what we are talking about, nor why we were talking about it, we do know that we must talk twice as much-this being the elusive "postmodern condition".
Abstract: My confession of a 'theological passion' for the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze may seem somewhat bizarre-perhaps symptomatic of a perverted spirituality or sexuality, or indicative of the contemporary climate of cultural confusion in which young theologians look beyond the sacred presence and history of the Church for inspiration from the most ephemeral of sources. Deleuze appears to be a most unlikely thinker to generate any theological passions: he is one of a handful of radical French theorists whose influence now pervades our academic culture to the extent that human knowledge has attained an unprecedented level-although we neither know what we are talking about, nor why we are talking about it, we do know that we must talk twice as much-this being the elusive 'postmodern condition'. Deleuze himself subscribes to a 'quiescent atheism' in which all questions and problems concerning God must be removed or forgotten before philosophical thought can begin. Deleuze's work is often eclipsed by less talented and more accessible contemporariespartly due to its conceptual obscurity, and partly due to his reclusive lifestyle and ill health, 'chained up like a dog' to cylinders of oxygen. Few theologians have studied his work.' If known at all, Deleuze is notorious for his innovation of the 'new', French Nietzsche, his 'philosophy of desire', his attack upon psychoanalysis, his espousal of a revolutionary anarchy which epitomizes the world-wide youth movements of the 1960s, and his critical praise of exemplars of high modernity in literature, art and cinema.' Deleuze's work still awaits a critical champion who can understand, articulate, and assess the essence of his philosophy apart from its culturally imposed masks.' My passion for Deleuze emerged from an engagement with the thought of Nietzsche, and Deleuze's significance for theology can be expressed in terms of a Nietzschean problematic. For the most fundamental aspect of Nietzsche's attack upon Christianity has perhaps still not been properly addressed-while we are familiar with Nietzsche's caricatures of Christian motivations, and can brush off his direct assault as an entertaining and perhaps even edifying misrepresentation of what Christians, or the best of us, really are, Nietzsche's description of the growth of 'European nihilism' involves a critique of the presuppositions which dominate modern reason.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of 50 years of the Catholic Church within the WCC 1945-1995: A Study Guide (Peeters Pr.), n.p.
Abstract: Arens, E., Christopraxis: A Theology of Action (Fortress Pr.), n.p. Bauckham, R., The Theology of [urgen MoItmann (T. & T. Clark), n.p. Brinkman, M. E., Progress in Unity? 50 Years of Theology within the WCC 1945-1995: A Study Guide (Peeters Pr.), n.p. Bull, M., Apocalypse Theory and the Ends of the World (Blackwell), £50 hbk; £15.99 pbk. Capon, R. F., The Romance of the World (Fowler Wright), £12.99. Catechism of the Catholic Church (Pocket Edn) (Geoffrey Chapman), £5.99. Fiorenza, E. S., Faith and the Future (Orbis), £14.95. Ford, D. W. C., Preaching What We Believe (Mowbray), £8.99. Gill, R., Readings in Modern Theology (SPCK), £17.50. Gready, J., God, COSffZOS, Nature and Creativity (Scottish Acad. Pr.), £9.95. Gregory Jones, L. and Fowl, S. E. (eds), Re-thinking Metaphysics (Blackwell), £13.99. Grenz, S. J., Theology for the Community of God (Paternoster Pr.), £19.99. Gunton, C. E., God and Freedom (T. & T. Clark), £16.95. Gunton, C./ A BriefTheology of Revelation (T. & T. Clark), £16.99. Harries, R., Questioning Belief (SPCK), £9.99. Hogan, L., From Womens Experience to Feminist Theology (Sheffield Acad. Pr.), £14.95.
TL;DR: The natural momentum of the search for explanation may lead one to the conclusion that there is a possible answer, an answer which is already metaphysically available as mentioned in this paper. But it will not answer our further question, 'Why is all this so?'
Abstract: But it will not answer our further question, 'Why is all this so?' Now let us be clear: one need not ask this further 'Why?' One need not, but the natural momentum of the search for explanation may lead one to. Again, one may ask the question but think that there is no answer; one may think that all that can be said is that things just are so. But equally one may notice that there is a possible answer, an answer which is already metaphysically available. We have seen that the belief in objective value commits us to the belief that this objective value can make a difference. We have seen that this opens up the possibility that it might make a difference not only at the level of thought, but more generally. Well then, we could take advantage of this possibility. Impelled by the natural momentum of the search for explanation we could take a further step. We could say that there is a universe such as this, obeying laws such as these, because it is good that it should be so. The step is not compulsory, but it is possible:
TL;DR: In the eucharistic experience, the body of Christ is not so much an effectual influence of heavenly power as a reflection, in which we dimly see, in our seeming death and rebirth, the true death and resurrection of Christ as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Physicists speak of the 'eureka moment', when an intuition about nature falls intuitively into place and becomes a theorem. One such moment occurred for me around twenty years ago, when I learned that for some Eastern Churches there are more sacraments than seven, and that one of the many sacraments is ... milk. This 'revelation' of sacramental reality took me by surprise; it has been the seed of a long search into the sacramentality of nature, both the physical nature within which I live, and the personal nature which lives within me. Discussions of the sacraments in classical theology seem to focus first of all on the power of language and the quality of matter, recognizing that word and substance are always the 'atoms' of every sacramental event. Ambrose's innocent question, 'How effectual is the heavenly word?', would lead him eventually to a concept of sacrament which is both dynamic and almost 'chemical': 'Bread,' he writes, 'when the words of Christ have been added ... is the body of Christ.\" There is, of course, something compellingly incarnational in this way of viewing the eucharistic meal, and it is better to speak of a holy union of word and matter than of a holy abstraction of word from matter. But to speak so assuredly of the miraculous union of 'Christ's language' and the 'body of Christ' is a conceptual leap as well as a leap of faith; it should be looked at soberly. In an earlier age, Cyril of Jerusalem, closer perhaps to the biblical roots of the early Church, did not speak in 'alchemistic' terms of miraculous transformations. For Cyril, the mystery of sacrament lies in the tension between appearance and reality: 'Our imitation is but a figure, while our salvation is a reality.\" A sacrament is not so much an effectual influence of heavenly power as a reflection, in which we dimly see, in our seeming death and rebirth, the true death and resurrection of Christ. The key term is 'likeness': 'Christ was in truth crucified ... and you in likeness'3-a term which evokes the 'image and likeness' motif of Genesis.'
TL;DR: Theology is an intensely exciting and interesting subject and it is also a challenging discipline in its own right and can and is pursued successfully by people without any personal background in, or commitment to, Christianity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: three-year degree. It is an intensely exciting and interesting subject. Theology is in many ways a general education. A theologian will need to develop the skills of a literary critic, a historian and a philosopher. Some theologians will need to be expert in languages, others in anthropology, sociology and psychology. A theologian needs to have a sense of history as well as an awareness of what is going on in our contemporary world, and an understanding of the implications of the natural sciences as they affect our overall understanding. From a Christian perspective a theologian should ideally be sensitive to the things of the spirit and a participant in the life of the Church. But theology in the university must not be confined to the committed Christian only. It is also a challenging discipline in its own right and can and is pursued successfully by people without any personal background in, or commitment to, Christianity. What the seekers search for is to understand the phenomenon of Christianity, and to consider what it might or might not offer to their own personal quest.
TL;DR: Tillich as discussed by the authors used the notion of revelation in his Systematic Theology, Vol. 1.1 (SCMPress 1978),Part Two, the chapter entitled "Being and God".
Abstract: 3 S. T. Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, ed. J. Shawcross (The Clarendon Press 1907), I, XIII, p. 202. 4 Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, I, XIII, p. 202. 5 Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, II, XIV, p. 12. 6 'The Eolian Harp' in Coleridge's Poetical Works, ed. E. H. Coleridge (Oxford University Press 1912), p. 10l. 7 See Collected Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ed. E. L. Griggs, Vol. 1, 1785-1800 (The Clarendon Press 1956),p. 626. 8 Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, I, X, p. 107. 9 Coleridge, The Statesman's Manual, p. 437. 10 Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, I, IX, p. 100. 11 Coleridge, The Statesman's Manual, p. 436. 12 Coleridge, The Destinyof Nations, p. 132. 13 For a discussion of these concepts see Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 (SCMPress 1978),Part Two, the chapter entitled 'Being and God'. Also Dynamics of Faith (New York, Harper and Brothers 1957),especially chapter one. 14 Tillich uses this notion frequently in his discussion of revelation in his Systematic Theology, Vol. 1. 15 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 4l. 16 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 42. 17 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 41f. 18 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 42. 19 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 42. 20 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 43. 21 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 43. 22 'The Religious Symbol' in Religious Experience andTruth, ed. Sydney Hook (Oliver and Boyd 1962),pp. 301-21. 23 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 6l. 24 Tillich, 'The Religious Symbol', p. 303. 25 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 96£. 26 Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, p. 97. 27 Tillich, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 216.
TL;DR: In this paper, the power and the danger inherent especially in religious symbols are discussed, and two established writers whose awareness and discussion of symbols is especially challenging are Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Paul Tillich.
Abstract: No one is in any doubt that symbols form an integral part of human religious belief and practice. In all ages and places humanity's search for meaning and truth has found expression in symbolic form. A glance at the rites and practices of the various religious traditions of the world is enough to substantiate the general observation. However, one could say, without exaggeration, that human religious consciousness is, by its very nature, 'symbolic' in that it arises through and is expressed in symbols. Such symbols, be they narrative images, objects, actions or historical events, lie at the very heart of religious awareness and faith. For Christians, events in the life of Jesus, the narrative imagery of the Bible, liturgical rites and practices and the furnishings of our churches constitute powerful and formative symbols. The fundamental difficulty in relation to such symbols, however, lies in the business of determining how they are best to be understood. How do they function in relation to God and what is 'going on' in our engagement with them? How is human perception involved and what are the dangers? There has been a great deal of attention paid to this subject in recent years, either in the context of a study of symbols as such, or within the wider concern with aesthetics. In this article I shall tum to the work of two established writers whose awareness and discussion of symbols is especially challenging. They are Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Paul Tillich. These two together enable us to grasp, perhaps more clearly than is often the case, what is at stake in our relation with symbols. Through looking at their work I shall emphasize the power and the danger inherent especially in religious symbols. In doing this I shall underline the capacity of symbols both to engage us with the holy but also to 'provoke idolatry'. Let us begin with the contribution of S. T. Coleridge.
TL;DR: Tillich as mentioned in this paper argued that the idea of a purely natural sacrament is unacceptable, and since faith, even the personal faith of this individual, is always traceable to a root in a word/action tradition,'sacraments cannot be created arbitrarily; they originate only by virtue of historical fate' (p. 110).
Abstract: example of the latter is the 'circumcision of the heart' of Deut. 10.16 and [er, 4.4, cited by Stephen W. Sykes, 'The Sacraments' in Readings, ed. Hodgson and King, p. 277. Later, Hassidic teachers would refer to kavana, the inner intent for which recited prayer is the sacramentum tantum. 7 Paul Tillich, The Protestant Era, tr. J. L. Adams (University of Chicago Press 1948), chap. VII, pp. 94-112. 8 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 95. 9 Tillich, Protestant Era, pp. 99-101. 10 Tillich, Protestant Era, pp. 103-6. 11 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 110. He goes on to develop this theme: 'Sacraments originate when the intrinsic power of a natural object becomes for faith a bearer of sacramental power' (p. Ill, emphasis mine). Intrinsic natural power exists, but this is not enough. 'For a Christian the idea of a purely natural sacrament is unacceptable' (p. 110). And since faith, even the personal faith of this individual, is always traceable to a root in a word/action tradition, 'Sacraments cannot be created arbitrarily; they originate only by virtue of historical fate' (p. 111). Tillich might have written as well: 'historical faith'. 12 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 110. 13 Zohar: The Book of Splendor, selected and ed. Gershom Scholem (New York, Schocken, 1949), p. 38. 14 E. Schillebeeckx, The Eucharist (London 1968), p. 103. 15 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 98. 16 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 96. 17 Tillich, Protestant Era, pp. 97, 110. 18 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 112. 19 Sykes, 'Sacraments', p. 292. 20 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 106. The thought of nature entering history introduces the subject of the eschaton. For Christian theology, and certainly for Tillich, the end of history is understood as 'the end (=the aim, the purpose) of the ways of God'. That divine purpose Tillich sees first of all in corporality (becoming body), and then in 'participation for life under all dimensions', an eschatological quality found especially in the 'strongly sacramental churches, such as the Greek Orthodox' (Systematic Theology, (University of Chicago Press 1951), pp. 201 and 377). It is not a coincidence that it is a Russian Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann, who writes: 'Unless the false dichotomy between Word and Sacrament is overcome, the true meaning of both ... cannot be grasped.' Another echo of Tillich's thought is in Schmemann's resistance to the idea of 'causality' in the Eucharist, and his view of the 'natural end' of the eucharistic sacrament in 'the world to come', what Tillich calls 'the ultimate aim of history', that is, the realm of the Spirit (Alexander Schmemann, The World as Sacrament (Darton, Longman and Todd 1966); cited in Hodgson and King, Readings, pp. 283ff. 21 Tillich, Protestant Era, p. 109. 22 Cf. Protestant Era, translator's note on p. vii. 23 Tillich, Systematic Theology III, p. 123. 24 Tillich, Systematic Theology III, p. 201. 25 Tillich, Systematic Theology III, p. 121.