Showing papers in "Theology in 2003"
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the background and meaning of the word logos in Jewish and Greek thought, and show how the theological and literary structure of the Prologue emphasizes the activity of the Logos in creation more than is usually admitted.
Abstract: The Prologue to St John's Gospel is one of the most widely known and frequently read texts of the New Testament. Its famous claim that 'the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us' (1.14) is familiar to Christians the world over. For centuries, the Roman Mass ended with the so-called 'last gospel' which was usually a reading (whether privately or aloud) of John 1.1-14. In most churches today, as in the past, the main gospel reading at Christmas is John 1.1-14. And the annual Christmas carol service at King's College Cambridge, and elsewhere, comes to a dramatic climax with the reading of this text. For most Christians, of course, the belief that the eternal Word of God was made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth comprises the very essence of Christian faith itself. However, in spite of its popularity, a full appreciation of the theology of John's Prologue is rare. A number of factors have contributed to this state of affairs: a general lack of awareness of the background and meaning of the word logos; interpreting the words 'He was in the world' and 'He came to his own home' (vv 10-11) as if they referred to the Logos incarnate in Jesus, rather than to the Logos in creation; and the common liturgical practice of reading only to v. 14 instead of to v. 18 of John 1. In this article I shall, first, discuss the background and meaning of the word logos in Jewish and Greek thought; second, show how the theological and literary structure of the Prologue emphasizes the activity of the Logos in creation more than is usually admitted; and finally, make some brief concluding comments underlining the fundamental theological connection between the incarnation and creation. My overall aim is to show that the Logos is by definition active in creation and that this is an important part of the theology of the incarnation in John'S Prologue. Too much emphasis on the incarnation of the Logos in Jesus in John 1.14 has sometimes obscured the equally important emphasis on the prior activity of the Logos in creation in the preceding verses.
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TL;DR: The most serious weakness of this book has nothing to do with the author at all: it is the translation (the original was in Dutch). Page after page contains sentences which are either entirely meaningless in English, or which require serious detective work in order to unearth what the author has in mind as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Alas, however, the most serious weakness of this bookhas nothing to do with the author at all: it is the translation (the original was in Dutch). Page after page contains sentences which are either entirely meaningless in English, or which require serious detective work in order to unearth what the author has in mind. One struggles on, but this reviewer was at length defeated by the logic of this kind of argument: 'Spiritual guidance does not coincide with supportive conversation. This would identify it too much with aid that is given in the stagnation of human development' (p. 28). There is much real substance here; but the author needs to find a new translator if non-Dutch readers are to profit from it.
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TL;DR: This paper found that around a quarter of all British people and around a third of all Europeans believe in reincarnation, despite the fact that it has never been part of mainstream Christian theology.
Abstract: Reincarnation has never been part of mainstream Christian theology. This is true in spite of periodic speculations by Christian theologians, and in spite of the fact that reincarnation believers sometimes wrongly impute belief in reincarnation to prominent Christian thinkers. Even so, in 1984 Paul Badham was able to point to statistics which indicated that as many Anglicans believed in reincarnation as believed in heaven and hell. This paper is based on the responses of the many Christians who were among informants in an interview study we conducted in 1997 in the south-west of England; our purpose was to investigate European Values Survey (EVS) statistics which suggest that around a quarter of all British people and, indeed, of Europeans more generally, believe in reincarnation.
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TL;DR: Carey's archiepiscopate witnessed several significant ecumenical developments, largely the fruition of initiatives begun by his predecessors as discussed by the authors, including the agreements of Meissen (1992), Porvoo (1996) and Reuilly (1999), which brought closer links with various Lutheran and Reformed Churches in mainland Europe.
Abstract: Among the numerous plaudits which George Carey received on his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was praised by Archbishop Hope of York for his 'steady persistence and quiet doggedness in pursuing the cause of Christian unity' despite a 'somewhat chilly ecumenical climate'.' Since long before his elevation to the episcopate, a passionate advocacy of ecumenism has been one of the marked features of Carey's teaching. For instance, he appeals for Christians 'to climb out of their bomb shelters and cross that no man's land of fear and suspicion, not to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but to end this civil war which has weakened historic Christianity and which mocks the name of Christ'v' Elsewhere he declares: 'We are so divided, so flawed. But God is doing new work among us. The old barriers are being torn down ... The time will surely come when we shall say in unison: \"This is madness; we have no reason to stay apart.\"' In his enthronement sermon at Canterbury in 1991, he insisted that 'we cannot rest content with our scandalous divisions.f Carey's archiepiscopate witnessed several significant ecumenical developments, largely the fruition of initiatives begun by his predecessors. For example, the agreements of Meissen (1992), Porvoo (1996) and Reuilly (1999) have brought closer links with various Lutheran and Reformed Churches in mainland Europe. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has continued its deliberations and Carey met six times with the Pope in Rome. He hosted dignitaries such as the Ecumenical Patriarch from Istanbul, the Georgian Patriarch and the Russian Patriarch, while meetings with leaders of other denominations were unceasing during the regular world tours required of a modern archbishop. Nevertheless, Carey warns against only engaging in 'long-range ecumenism' with overseas neighbours, which costs nothing: 'it is comparatively easy to enter into ecumenical agreements with people in South America, on the continent or even on the moon, because it is far away from US.,4 He insists on the need also to work towards local unity between Christians living in close proximity and has supported the Church of England's conversations with the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, as well as the Fetter Lane Agreement (1996) with the Moravians. As Archbishop, the
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TL;DR: The Inaugural Lecture of the 12th Principal of Ridley Hall, delivered at Great St Mary's, the University Church, Cambridge on 6 November 2001, can be found at www.ridley.cam.ac.uk as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 1 An abridged version of the Inaugural Lecture of the 12th Principal of Ridley Hall, delivered at Great St Mary's, the University Church, Cambridge on 6 November 2001. The original text, together with colour photographs of the chapel windows, can be found at www.ridley.cam.ac.uk. 2 The poem is Herbert's 'Windows'. See J. Tobin, George Herbert: The Complete English Poems (London: Penguin Books, 1991),p. 61. 3 Richard Baxter, TheReformed Pastor, ed. H. Martin (London: SCM Press, 1956),p. 82. 4 'The Soul's Conflict with Itself, and Victory over Itself by Faith' (1635) in B. Grosart, The Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1979), p. 192. I am grateful to Philip Seddon for this quotation. 5 From 'The Dedication Pamphlet', written by G. A. Schneider in 1892 and reprinted in TheBattlement, Vol.1 (1935), pp. 21-4. 6 'Dedication Pamphlet', p. 21. 7 'Dedication Pamphlet', p. 22. 8 F. W. B. Bullock, The History of RidleyHall Cambridge, Vol. 1 (Cambridge: CUP, 1941), p.262. 9 'Dedication Pamphlet', p. 22. 10 'Dedication Pamphlet', p. 23. 11 Cited in Bullock, Historyof Ridley, Vol.1, p. 310. 12 H. C. G. Moule, The Evangelical School in the Church of England (London: James Nesbit, 1901),p. 16. 13 C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1954), p.188. 14 Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students,p. 188. 15 'Dei Verbum', 12, in W. Abbot (ed.), The Documents of Vatican II (New York: Guild Press, 1966). 16 F. Martin, 'Spirit and Flesh in the Doing of Theology', Journal of Pentecostal Theology 18 (2001),pp. 5-31 (31). 17 William of St Thierry, The Golden Epistle: A Letter to the Brethren at Mont Dieu (Massachusetts: Kalamazoo, Michigan and Spencer, 1971),p. 92. 18 For an attempt to do so see C. J. Cocksworth and R. Brown, Being a Priest Today (Canterbury: Canterbury Press, 2002). 19 Cited in Bullock, HistoryofRidleyHall, Vol.1, p. 310. 20 The final verse of 'Windows' in Complete English Poems, p. 61.
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TL;DR: Wiley as discussed by the authors provides the reader with a study into the development of doctrine, and narrates its emergence during the first fifteen centuries of Christianity, by presenting a concise study of those biblical texts traditionally associated with the theme of original sin.
Abstract: In her book, composed of two sections equal in length and some seventy pages in notes and index, Wiley takes up the current unease towards the Church's teaching on original sin. Providing the reader with a study into the development of doctrine, she narrates its emergence during the first fifteen centuries of Christianity. The first chapter presents a concise study of those biblical texts traditionally associated with the theme (Genesis 3 and Romans 5), while the second examines the early formulations that pave the way for Augustine's synthesis. This chapter, unlike the rest of the book, adopts a somewhat systematic, less consequential, account. Chapter 3 discusses Augustine's laboured attempt at bringing into a coherent whole the various elements of patristic thought. As a pastor, deeply immersed in the controversies of his time, Augustine deals with the issue: a true challenge to his comprehension as a theologian. His thought sets the stage for Anselm and Aquinas, as well as Luther and Trent. Concluding the historical narrative, Chapter 4 rereads Luther and Trent in the light of medieval distinctions: (a) the difference between the sin of Adam and Eve and inherited sin; (b) original justice, and sin as the privation of what is good; and (c) Thomas's distinction between formal and material causes of inherited sin (the first being the 'privation of original justice' and concupiscence the second). The book's second part constitutes an original contribution, as the author bravely situates twentieth-century understanding of original sin within the context of modernity (Rousseau, Kant and Pascal). She thus reads Pius XII,Paul VI and Vatican II as the Catholic response to a set of questions different from those of Augustine, Anselm, Thomas and Luther. The sixth and seventh chapters turn to the theology of Piet Schoonenberg and Reinhold Niebuhr, Rosemary Radford Ruether and Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, to underline the new understanding of the social and the patriarchal dimensions of sin. In Chapter 8, Bernard Lonergan's theory of authenticity (and unauthentic human existence) becomes the key to a possible contemporary reading. The concluding chapter, made up of just four pages, indicates the strength of theological storytelling as well as its weakness: it falls short of a systematic approach and of the necessary fine-tuning of
TL;DR: The search for the historical Jesus is like looking into the vortex of a supernova hoping to uncover its history; at best, it yields distorted or fragmented images as mentioned in this paper. But what of resurrection minus one? Opinions vary, with many investigations abandoned on the grounds of impossibility or superfluity.
Abstract: The scholarly search for Jesus of Nazareth can be likened to a cosmologist's quest for the origins of the universe.' Billions of years ago, a high-temperature explosion of super-dense matter occurred, the socalled 'Big Bang', giving rise to all that exists. The enormity of this split-second wonder makes investigation into its causes (if, indeed, there are any) extremely difficult. What is more, those clues to date, black holes and the like, suggest a radically different order of things. Two thousand years ago, another explosion of indescribable capacity took place, creating faith out of its absence, while launching one fading Galilean star into divine orbit. Resurrection, the inauguration of Christian time. But what of resurrection minus one? Opinions vary, with many investigations abandoned on the grounds of impossibility or superfluity. Impossible, because the search for the historical Jesus is like looking into the vortex of a supernova hoping to uncover its history; at best, it yields distorted or fragmented images. Superfluous, because resurrection and Pentecost, the genesis of Christianity, are divine acts which can only be apprehended through faith and not proved (or disproved) through the canons of human inquiry. For all that, to change the metaphor, the digging continues, with enthusiastic archaeologists, undaunted by previous frustrations, returning to well-excavated sites in the hope of fresh finds. Participants in this latest wave of interest in Jesus set about the task of examining New Testament documents and other relevant sources with filters allegedly capable of sifting from the deposits of firstcentury Judaism and the accretions of nascent Christianity the genuine artefacts of what Jesus did and said, as well as details of the circumstances surrounding his death.i Then the business of reconstruction commences with various assemblies of 'assured results' generating sometimes widely divergent profiles. Occupying the same library classification, these scholarly identikits are forced to keep company on the same shelf: charismatic holy man, eschatological prophet, itinerant philosopher, social reformer, zealous freedomfighter, anointed messiah, Galilean sage, to name only some.' Confronting them en masse is like standing before a police identification parade without an eyewitness to single out the guilty man. How do you choose between them? Should we even try?
TL;DR: A collection of essays on the struggle to comprehend the mystery of evil and suffering from a religious perspective is presented in this article, with a focus on scholarly questions of method and interpretation.
Abstract: The fact of human suffering is perhaps the most widely given reason for the rejection of traditional religion in modem western culture. Many people find it impossible to reconcile suffering with belief in a good and loving God. Framing a response to this challenge is far from straightforward. The issue is complex in a number of ways. It is far from clear that any response can satisfy the sceptic. Suffering does not lend itself to intellectual enquiry. Theoretical approaches are unlikely to match the existential challenge of suffering. Furthermore, while believers recognize the nature and extent of human suffering, faith for them is neither an escape nor merely a response to suffering. When confronted by the sceptic's question one is tempted to say that no discussion of faith should begin here. Discussing religion from the point of view of suffering, makes suffering itself the point of religion. As this collection recognizes, the relation of religion to suffering is in itself complex and multifaceted. Some religions regard suffering as an illusion; others treat it as a precondition for the experience of salvation. This volume of essays, some of which were first delivered at a meeting of the American Academy of Religion, does not attempt a systematic or integrated approach to the problem of suffering. The editors draw on contributions from scholars working in a number of fields within the study of religion, and the overall approach is multidisciplinary in character. The authors of this book approach the problem of suffering from a number of different methodological perspectives and no attempt is made to draw common conclusions. Overall the approach is decidedly 'academic', with a focus on scholarly questions of method and interpretation. Anyone looking for a systematic theodicy will be disappointed. However, as we have suggested, traditional responses to the problem of suffering are looking increasingly sterile. Instead of an apologia for religion what we have here is a series of essays on the struggle to comprehend the mystery of evil and suffering from a religious perspective. Steven Kepnes offers a discussion of Martin Buber's interpretation of the book of Job. Cleo McNelly explores Kristeva's psychoanalytic
TL;DR: In this paper, a critical engagement with John Milbank's essay "The Name of Jesus", published as part of the collection The Word Made Strange, is presented, in which an approach to these areas which commences not with (second order, reflective) ecclesiology, but with the concrete and historically specific encounter of the nascent Church with its risen Lord is sounder.
Abstract: The category of the Kingdom is of central importance to the formulation of a political theology. If we understand the Kingdom as the entelechy of creation.i and thus of human societies, then the assertion of Percy Widdrington that 'the Kingdom is the regulative principle of theology'i' is clearly salient to political theology. This being so, the questions of how the Kingdom may be conceived as inaugurated in Jesus, and of how the Church relates to the Kingdom, become essential. In this article I seek to bring the discussion of the Kingdom, Jesus' inauguration of it and its relation to the Church into sharper focus by a critical engagement with John Milbank's essay 'The Name of Jesus', published as part of the collection The Word Made Strange.' Against what I identify as Milbank's postmodernist gnosticism,s I propose that an approach to these areas which commences not with (second order, reflective) ecclesiology, but with the concrete and historically specific encounter of the nascent Church with its risen Lord is sounder. Such an approach guards against the dangers, implicit in Milbank, of both christological non-realism and of compounding the Church and the Kingdom. Importantly, it therefore sets the stage for fruitful ecclesial involvement with praxis which is not explicitly Christian, and so opposes any lapse into sectarian exclusivism. Milbank's stated purpose in The Name of Jesus is to legitimate the 'secondary metanarrative' of incarnation and atonement, which overlays the primary narrative of Jesus and the arrival of the Kingdom.\" Milbank purports to undertake this task by 'focusing more upon the Kingdom than upon Jesus' it is salient to note that he apparently takes 'Kingdom' to be synonymous with 'Church',\" hence he describes his methodology as 'beginning with ecclesiology' . This compounding of categories, arguably necessitated by Milbank's methodological premises, will be explored later. Suffice it at the present moment to note that Milbank's way into Christology is more accurately described as focusing more upon the Church than upon Jesus. The rationale for this ecclesiological priority in Christology is that, for Milbank, the alternative of 'focusing on Jesus' will not yield
TL;DR: In this paper, the blurring of the time focus in these poems is directly related to Herbert's liturgical philosophy with respect to time and eternity, and an important further dimension is given to the time element by reference to the specifically Christian liturgical and sacramental context within which it operates.
Abstract: nourishment which Love has prepared. The sacrament is thus not only a type or foretaste of that heavenly feast, but a participation in it, and the means by which the unworthy are being made worthy as they accept God's grace and obey the present command to 'sit and eat'. Any poem composed in the present tense will inevitably contain an element of ambiguity, as the present of any poem remains eternally 'present' to all readers at all times. In the poems discussed here, an important further dimension is given to the time element by reference to the specifically Christian liturgical and sacramental context within which it operates. My intention has been to show that the blurring of the time focus in these poems is directly related to Herbert's liturgical philosophy with respect to time and eternity.
TL;DR: The relationship between the individual person's inner, invisible world of thoughts and feelings, and the external world of visible objects, came under scrutiny in the early 20th century as mentioned in this paper, and the ways in which external objects take on meanings that are projected on to them by the inner world.
Abstract: The relationship between the individual person's inner, invisible world of thoughts and feelings, and the external world of visible objects, came under scrutiny in the twentieth century. Important questions, such as how the internaI world of private experience is formed in infants and children, and how inner and outer worlds impact upon and influence each other throughout life, were explored. One dimension of this exploration concerned the ways in which external objects take on meanings that are projected on to them by the inner world. These objects come to stand for something which, looked at materially, they are not. Prominent examples of this process are the meanings that Klein1 believed infants attached to the 'breast' and Winnicott associated with their 'transitional object' (perhaps a piece of rag for chewingl.i The 'breast' and the 'transitional object' come to represent for the child more than they intrinsically are. They may temporarily symbolize or 'stand for' the whole of the external world and, in so doing, they facilitate the development and organization of the child's inner world. They are external objects that help to form the infant's inner sense of self as subject. We can sav that the infant constructs an 'I am' on the basis of what 'they are,.1 It also seems to be the case that part of the purpose of imbuing an outer object with meanings is to express or alleviate an inner need, or achieve internal tranquillity or satisfaction. Both children and adults use external objects to act out conflicts, dramas or myths that may trouble the inner world. In childhood this happens when toys are used to enact dramatically what exists in the imagination. The child may experiment with endings to problems that are disturbingly unresolved in her mind. Theatre or film can serve a similar purpose for the adult. Actors on the stage can be experienced as playing out the contents of the inner worlds of the audience. What the actors are doing, saying or feeling in some way resembles, or resonates with, what we, the onlookers, are. They express and enact Dur conflicts, Dur moral problems, Dur joys or unhappiness. Such enactments by external objects can provide a degree of resolution, bringing temporary closure to mental dramas that might otherwise
TL;DR: In this article, Hyman characterizes his own position as "fictional nihilism", a nihilism that recognizes that it can be metaphysically true (nihilism having dissolved metaphysics) and consequently accepts its own 'fictional' character.
Abstract: He writes: 'the chief difficulty with Cupitt's presentation of nihilist textualism lies in its eradication of the \"other'\" (p. 20). It neglects the strand of postmodernism that is acutely aware of how language operates to exclude. Furthermore, Cupitt's interpretation of Nietzsche trips over the dilemma that Nietzsche's fictionalization of truth leaves it impossible to regard Nietzsche's own theory as metaphysically true. Taking his philosophical cues largely from Derrida, Hyman characterizes his own position as 'fictional nihilism', a nihilism that recognizes that it can't be metaphysically true (nihilism having dissolved metaphysics) and consequently accepts its own 'fictional' character. Nihilism becomes a narrative like any other, though it continually errs towards its shadowy but impossible metaphysical version. The work of French Jesuit Michel de Certeau provides a starting point for Hyman to construct a remarkable theological form of fictional nihilism. Hyman shows how de Certeau's form of mysticism, in which the naming of God always fails, and in which the essential thing is to journey through namings, provides an attractive form of Christian identity. Hyman's response to Milbank and Cupitt is particularly excellent. However, his recommended fictional nihilism cannot claim greater truth than any rival theory, and since it remains parasitic on an evidently self-contradictory metaphysical nihilism it is clearly problematic. Nor is his suggestion of journeying between narrative communities (or language games) easy to accept. It would leave faith commitment a very ironic thing (and echoes Richard Rorty's idea of ironic and contingent solidarity community with no foundations). Where does this leave journeying within a narrative community? What about the journeyings of narrative? What about journeying as community? However, as a very sharply argued piece of provocative theological analysis, this book has a great deal to recommend it.
TL;DR: The authors describes and analyses a dialogical approach to evangelism which draws on both inter-faith dialogue and evangelism among people of other faiths, focusing on the practice of evangelism and dialogue as it responds to a Christ-centred understanding of salvation.
Abstract: Throughout history Christians have lived in multi-faith communities, yet in Britain today Christians have a sense of 'newness' about living alongside people of other faiths. The growth of religious pluralism since the end of World War 2 has proved variously to be a surprise, a challenge, a puzzle and an invitation to Christian communities. In response, Christians and the Church collectively have sought appropriate ways to relate to people and communities of other faiths. These responses have tended to take one of two forms, either dialogue or evangelism. A dialogical approach can be defined as people of different faiths meeting, building relationships and sharing in a joint search for truth and peace. An evangelistic approach can be defined as Christians meeting people of other faiths, building relationships and seeking to make disciples of Christ. Selecting which approach to take is usually based on soteriological beliefs. At one end of the spectrum there are those who believe that salvation is through knowledge and acceptance of Christ alone and who have chosen to be evangelistic in their approach, while those who believe that salvation lies within each different faith have chosen dialogue. It would be true to say that the two approaches of dialogue and evangelism have at times been defined in opposition to each other. In more recent years, however, those who are involved in dialogue have begun to identify more clearly the importance of witness in their approach and those involved in evangelism to identify more clearly the importance of dialogue. In this way, the choice between dialogue and evangelism has become less stark. Moreover, many Christians believe that there is no choice to be made because all Christians are called to both. This is the teaching of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, although it does not use the language of dialogue and evangelism but of dialogue and proclamation.' This article focuses on the practice of evangelism and dialogue as it responds to a Christ-centred understanding of salvation. It describes and analyses a dialogical approach to evangelism which draws on both inter-faith dialogue and evangelism among people of other faiths. There are critiques of this approach and this article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline and critique both forms of the claim that effective initiation affects the whole life of the church, and argue for the acceptance of a modified "harder" version.
Abstract: It is now commonplace to observe that we are living in a postChristendom society, but much of the rethinking that this change requires the churches to engage in is only just beginning to affect congregations at a grass-roots level. For established churches like the Church of England in particular, this shift to a post-Christendom understanding of the place of the church has had a great impact on approaches to initiation.' One consequence of this has been calls from many people to recognize that initiation, to be effective, must affect the life of the whole church. This claim in itself is fairly uncontroversial. Few would argue that effective initiation occurs without connecting to the life of the church as a whole. However, there are two distinct versions of this claim, reflecting two different ecclesiologies and views of the nature of faith. The 'harder' version can in some ways be seen as a reaction against the ecclesiology and understanding of faith behind the 'softer' version. I will outline and critique both forms of the claim that effective initiation affects the whole life of the church, and argue for the acceptance of a modified 'harder' version.