Faith and Theology

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Inhabitatio Dei
2007-06-30 23:29:00
In case you had?t noticed, the very best theological blogging at the moment is taking place over at Halden?s blog, Inhabitatio Dei. Halden is in the midst of a brilliant series on radical trinitarianism, and yesterday he posted a wonderfully grumpy polemic against Radical Orthodoxy, as well as a probing critique of George Hunsinger?s reading of Robert Jenson.Speaking of Jenson-criticism, I recently posted a critique of Oliver Crisp?s reading of Jenson, and I pointed out that Crisp?s article ?hasn?t made the necessary imaginative effort of entering into the writer?s own thought, in order to critique that thought from within.?Well, if you want to read a much better critique of Jenson ? a critique arising from a real engagement with Jenson ? then you should check out Paul Cumin?s excellent new article: ?Robert Jenson and the Spirit of It All: Or, You (Sometimes) Wonder Where Everything Else Went,? Scottish Journal of Theology 60:2 (2007), 161-79.
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Ten theses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer: theologian, Christian, martyr
2007-06-29 09:09:00
A guest-post by Ray Anderson, Fuller Theo logical Seminary1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian theologian. Rather, one should say that he became a Christian theologian. Eberhard Bethge, his former student and biographer, notes the year 1933 as a ?transition from theologian to Christian.? In 1936 Dietrich wrote to a girlfriend and confessed: ?I plunged into work in a very unchristian way.? [T]hen something happened, something that has changed and transformed my life to the present day. For the first time I discovered the Bible?. I had often preached. I had seen a great deal of the church, spoken and preached about it, but I had not yet become a Christian? (Bethge 2000, 203-5). By his own admission, his two most scholarly writings, Sanctorum Communio (1927) and Act and Being (1930), were written by a theologian who was not yet a Christian. I take the word ?Christian? here to mean ?disciple? ? one who does not merely believe in Christ, but experiences Christ.2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was...
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For the love of God
2007-06-29 08:58:00
A friend asked me for a link to last year?s ?For the love of God? series. So I?ve tagged the series, and you can now see all the posts listed together under these two tags: Part 1 and Part 2. If you missed this series, I reckon it was fantastic ? 26 guest-posts on a wide range of theologians from various traditions, with a special focus on contemporary theological thinkers.
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Encounters with tradition (5): becoming a global Baptist
2007-06-28 09:21:00
A guest-post by Michael Westmoreland-White I was not raised Baptist . I grew up in a family of active United Methodist Christians. Some of the strengths of that tradition are with me still: a stress on faith as an act of free will, a focus on piety of the heart, and strong emphasis on both personal and social sanctification ? although I have never accepted any form of perfectionism or ?entire sanctification,? not even Wesley?s ?perfection of love.? But I quit catechism classes at age 12 and was never confirmed. In my late teens, God used African-American Christians, primarily Black Baptists, as the human agents in my conversion. But before I could find a church home and be formed in the practices and virtues of Christian discipleship, I joined the US Army. A friend who was opposed to my joining the military challenged me to memorize the Sermon on the Mount during Basic Training. I did, and it led to much cognitive dissonance, but I compartmentalized my doubts and was soon deployed to...
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An interview
2007-06-27 10:43:00
Our Welsh friend Guy Davies has interviewed me as part of his new series. We talk about books, blogging, Barth, evangelicalism, how to act like an Aussie, and much more....
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Kim's ten confessions
2007-06-27 00:47:00
Here is Kim?s contribution to the new meme.I confess that:1. I think a lot more about baseball and sex (the order varies, particularly in the off season) than God.2. I much prefer Mark to John (a little less conversation, a little more action, please), and the wit of Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde to the wisdom of Solomon.3. I find the state of the church ? and not only denominationalism but also the snake oils of managerialism, therapeutics, and the latest ?vision thing? ? to be much more threatening to my faith in God than the reality of suffering.4. I consider the doctrine of biblical inerrancy to be a veritable compendium of Christian heresies.5. I stand in awe at the edifice of Roman Catholic theology, as one might stand before Chartres Cathedral ? or the Tower of Babel.6. I hold in equal contempt ministers who do not read theology and theologians who do not read poetry and fiction.7. I have no time for the cultured despisers of the Enlightenment on the one hand and of ?postmoderni...
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Google Street View: a shocking sighting
2007-06-26 11:40:00
When Google Maps first announced their new Street View function, I couldn?t help wondering whether this was another sign of our spiritual bankruptcy; whether the conversion of entire cities into material for voyeurism was indicative of our fundamental cynicism about human society; whether our craving for more comprehensive techniques of surveillance arises from a deep secret belief that we really don?t exist; whether, at the core of all this voyeurism, is a gaping void.Well, my worst fears were confirmed when I saw this image: the void itself has been sighted on a busy San Francisco street?.
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A spreading meme
2007-06-26 09:15:00
Here are some of the contributions to the new out of the closet meme ? I?ll update this list as more posts are added:Your Own Personal JesusThe New Perspective on RobA Thinker?s ProgressKim FabriciusPonderings on a Faith JourneyFallen into KnowledgeJim WestThe Normal Christian LifeLevellersInhabitatio DeiAaron GhiloniDeep FurrowsThe Fire and the RoseHomilia of a NT ScholarFlying FartherAnd it?s good to see that Benedict XVI himself has decided to participate in this meme ? he writes: ?I confess: when I turned 70 (ten years ago), I would have so much desired that the beloved John Paul II would allow me to dedicate myself to study and research.? Yep, we?ve all been there?.
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Out of the closet: a meme
2007-06-25 09:35:00
Peter Leithart lists a series of theological ?confessions? ? so I thought I?d do the same. If you?re easily shocked, you might want to skip this.... Then again, perhaps we should make a meme of it ? the ?out of the closet meme.? To participate in this meme, just post a list of intellectual confessions. Here are some of mine:I confess: though I?ve read John Milbank, I?ve never quite seen what all the fuss was about.I confess: one of the great turning-points in my life was reading Pannenberg?s christology (Jesus ? God and Man).I confess: no theologian makes me feel more comfortable, more at home, than Rudolf Bultmann.I confess: I tend to read Karl Barth through the metaphysical lens of Robert Jenson?s theology.I confess: until I read John Webster?s Confessing God, I was convinced that theology should rid itself completely of the doctrine of God?s ?attributes.?I confess: I get inordinate pleasure from reading Plato and Hegel and Marx.I confess: I sometimes wonder whether Schillebeeckx ...
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Brevard Childs
2007-06-24 23:24:00
Jim West relates the sad news that Brevard Childs has died. Kevin Wilson has posted a moving personal tribute to this great scholar.Walter Brueggemann once said of Childs: ?The late twentieth century is not an easy place for faithfulness. In a daring way, Childs has shown us what faithfulness might now mean. His reading is indeed ?against the stream.? He may, in the end, even reverse the flow of soft-minded, embarrassed theological accommodation.?There?s a helpful site devoted to Childs? writings here.

Where, we ask, is God today?
2007-06-24 06:24:00
A hymn by Kim Fabricius(Tune: Emma)Where , we ask, is God today ?     in the gaps that science leaves,     gaps that close as knowledge grows?Such a God is on reprieve.Where, we ask, is God today ?     in the private place of prayer,     where we find security?Such a God?s a teddy bear.Where, we ask, is God today ?     in the church, behind its walls,     for a cause in quarantine?Such a God is far too small.Where, we ask, is God today ?     in jihad or cruel crusade,     in the council room of war?Such a God?s the devil?s aide.Where, we ask, is God today ?     in the questions that we ask,     in the puzzles and the pain?God is in the toils and tasks!Where, we ask, is God today ?     are we where his Christ would be, ...
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Interpreting the past with Karl Barth
2007-06-23 14:36:00
The excellent Karl Bart h Blog Conference has come to an end. Travis should be congratulated for conceiving and organising this project. He did a great job ? and, happily, he?s planning to organise a similar event next year.I?ve written a concluding post, which you can read here. And if you want to read the best part of the whole series, then be sure to check out David?s excellent discussion of Barth and Hegel.
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Is dogmatics useful?
2007-06-23 09:40:00
?Of course, dogmatics ought not to be preached: one cannot ?use? it immediately in pastoral care, not even in Christian education or parish study groups. But the serious study of dogmatics helps us to become acquainted with the framework of theological interconnections, and it affords us with numerous perspectives from which to perceive the ambiguities of human life as well as showing us their limits of applicability.??Gerhard Sauter, Protestant Theology at the Crossroads: How to Face the Crucial Tasks for Theology in the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), p. 62.
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The Other Journal
2007-06-22 15:02:00
JR Woodward alerts us to a new(ish) online journal, which looks superb:The journal combines theological reflection with progressive social and political perspectives ? they?ve had articles by heavyweights like William Cavanaugh, John Milbank, Miroslav Volf, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sallie McFague, and Stephen Webb; and they also feature poetry, paintings, film reviews, and music.Some of the recent issues have focused on capitalism, sexuality, and the environment. What more could anyone want in a journal?
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Chocolate Jesus
2007-06-21 14:28:00
One of my favourite songs at the moment is Tom Waits? ?Chocolat e Jesu s ,? from the album Mule Variations (1999). He gave a stunning performance of the song a few years back on the David Letterman show ? you can watch it below (or you can read the lyrics here).It?s a wonderfully entertaining song, and it?s packed with genuine theological insights. ?It?s kind of an immaculate confection....?
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The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
2007-06-21 00:14:00
Over one hundred German theologians have expressed support for Peter Hünermann?s recent call for an ?intelligent restructuring? of the Vatican?s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith . Hünermann observes that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ?has preserved the structure of a censor?s office, which it had at the beginning of the modern era.? And he notes: ?Today, it?s necessary to elaborate the ratio fidei in a very complex culture, with its grave social, scientific and human problems. This presents a degree of complexity that a censor?s office according to old models is absolutely not capable of handling, even on an organizational and technical level.? He is, of course, exactly right.In 1968, Ratzinger himself signed the Nijmegen Declaration ? a similar call for reform, which stated that the teaching office of the pope ?cannot and must not supersede, hamper and impede the teaching task of theologians as scholars.?
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Alister McGrath's scientific theology: is it scientific?
2007-06-20 00:52:00
The latest issue of Theo logische Zeitschrift 63:1 (2007) includes a fascinating exchange between Alister McGrath and Heiner Schwenke.In his article, ?Theologie als Mathesis Universalis? Heinrich Scholz, Karl Barth und der wissenschaftliche Status der christlichen Theologie? (pp. 44-57), McGrath introduces his project of Scientific Theology to German-language readers by exploring the debate between Karl Barth and Heinrich Scholz over the ?scientific? status of Christian theology. He emphasises the priority of ontology over epistemology, and the fact that theological science is responsible: that is, it seeks to respond to reality itself; and its findings are accountable both to the Christian community and, ultimately, to God himself. The crucial thing in this article, however, is McGrath?s translation of ?scientific theology? as ?naturwissenschaftliche Theologie? ? it is this choice of terminology that draws such sharp criticism from Heiner Schwenke in the following article.Schwenke?s...
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Here and there
2007-06-19 14:00:00
Halden discusses radical trinitarianism, and he also describes a fascinating and unlikely debate about same-sex relationships. In case there was any doubt, Shane makes it clear that Thomas Aquinas is not a semi-Pelagian, while Aaron asks who can hope, and Michael raises the important question whether jazz is the meaning of life.Meanwhile, Andy asks whether Moltmann is a theological giant (the answer is No: but Pannenberg is another story). Scott gives some nice insight into theology at Aberdeen, and he also alerts us to some online lectures by Slavoj ?i?ek (I was especially interested in these, since I?m currently reading ?i?ek?s Interrogating the Real). Last but not least, Chris has come up with own new statement of biblical inerrancy (here and here) ? and for his trouble, he was even branded a ?faithless demagogue?!
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Eschatology with a five-year-old
2007-06-18 13:34:00
A recent theological conversation with my five-year-old daughter:?When will God bring all the dead people back to life??God will bring everyone back to life at the end of the world. And we?ll all live again with him.?Here, or in heaven??Here in this world. But he?ll make the whole world brand new.?And the lion won?t eat the lamb anymore??That?s right. In God?s new world, no one will be hurting anyone else. We?ll all be at peace. Do you know what ?peace? means??It means it?s quiet.?Yes, it could mean it will be quiet. But it also means that no one will fight anymore, no one will ever get angry or hurt ? and there?ll be no more wars. Everyone will be friends. And because of that, there?ll be no more tears in God?s new world.?No tears ever??Nope.?Not even tears of happiness??Oh yeah?. Well, I?m sure we?ll still have tears of happiness. Have you ever had tears of happiness??Yes, of course I have.?When??Umm?. When you come home from another country.?Oh, I see. Actually, that makes me thi...
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Essential films of 2006 for theologians
2007-06-17 09:50:00
Biblical scholar and film aficionado Tyler Williams has posted his definitive list of Essential Films of 2006 for Theo logians (following the success of last year?s post). I haven?t seen some of these yet, but it looks like a very good list. Some of my favourite films of the year are there (Babel, Borat, The Departed, and especially Children of Men); and I might also have expected films like United 93, Sophie Scholl, and the delightful Thank You for Smoking to have made the list as well. I haven?t yet seen the German film The Lives of Others, but I?ve heard that it?s outstanding too.For those of you who enjoy the finer things in life, I should also mention some excellent Aussie films of 2006: Candy, Jindabyne, Ten Canoes, and (the most crappy film ever made) Kenny.
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A book for each doctrine
2007-06-16 14:38:00
Following my previous post, Andy Goodliff asks: if you had to choose one book for each major doctrine, what would you choose? And so he posts a list of one book for every doctrine. I thought I?d attempt a similar list ? but I found it impossible to choose just one, so I?ve expanded it to two books for each doctrine. Here are my suggestions (with no more than two books from a single author ? otherwise, the whole list might be overrun by Barth and Pannenberg). Which books would you choose?Theological method: Eberhard Jüngel, God as the Mystery of the World (1983)John Webster, Confessing God (2005)Doctrine of God: Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics II/2 (1942)Robert Jenson, The Triune Identity (1982)Creation: David Bentley Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite (2003)Joseph Ratzinger, In the Beginning (1995)Christology: Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus ? God and Man (1964)Kathryn Tanner, Jesus, Humanity and the Trinity (2001)Anthropology: Wolfhart Pannenberg, Anthropology in Theological Perspective (198...
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A dogmatics for every occasion
2007-06-15 00:47:00
An imaginative dogmatics: Origen, De principiisA majestic dogmatics: Calvin, InstitutesAn informative dogmatics: Donald Bloesch, ?Christian Foundations?An encyclopaedic dogmatics: Pannenberg, Systematic TheologyAn intricate dogmatics: Schleiermacher, The Christian FaithA patient dogmatics: Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiaeA deep dogmatics: Tillich, Systematic TheologyA legalistic dogmatics: W. G. T. Shedd, Dogma tic TheologyA dogmatics for worshippers: Geoffrey Wainwright, DoxologyA dogmatics for the oppressed: Gutiérrez, A Theology of LiberationA dogmatics for theorists: D. B. Hart, The Beauty of the InfiniteA cultural dogmatics: Langdon Gilkey, Message and ExistenceA boring dogmatics: Louis Berkhof, Systematic TheologyAn energetic dogmatics: Robert Jenson, Systematic TheologyA sleep-inducing dogmatics: Charles Hodge, Systematic TheologyA nightmare-inducing dogmatics: Herman Hoeksema, Reformed DogmaticsA traditional dogmatics: Thomas Oden, Systematic TheologyAn untraditional dogmatic...

Whosoever will
2007-06-15 00:07:00
?As it is the Lord?s Supper, Jesus Christ is the host who presides and invites participants to the table?. Insofar as it is Christ?s table, the church is invited, and therefore the church and its officers are not the presiding hosts. The church people who do preside at the table are only the servants who have themselves been invited?. [T]he table is a place of welcoming by God to sinners. When we get too strict about the right intentions, we might tend to lose sight of the fact that we are sinners welcomed to a table we do not deserve and over which we do not preside.??Joe R. Jones, A Grammar of Christian Faith (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), 2:673-75.

Ten propositions on heresy
2007-06-13 09:07:00
by Kim Fabricius (his 25th set of propositions!)1. Heresy comes from the Greek hairesis (literally ?choice? or ?thing chosen?) and denotes an ?opinion? or a ?school of thought.? In I Corinthians 11:19 the RSB translates haireseis as ?divisions?, the NRSV as ?factions?; and while Paul suggests that ?there have to be (???) factions among you,? as a way of separating the wheat from the chaff, nevertheless, as the context confirms, he deploys the word in a negative sense. See also the list of vices (?works of the flesh?) in Galatians 5:20: ?factions? (NRSV), ?party intrigues? (REB).2. Of course what constitutes heresy is not pre-packaged; there is no timeless, pure dogma, discovered, simpliciter, like a diamond. On the other hand, a purely constructivist account of orthodoxy is inadequate, as if it were costume jewellery. There is a real sense in which dogma gives expression to what has been given to the church from the beginning, to what the church already knows before it recognises it...
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Karl Barth blogging conference
2007-06-13 00:21:00
Travis is hosting the first Karl Barth Blog Conference (in anticipation of this year?s Princeton Barth Conference, which will commence later this month).The blog conference will focus on Barth?s great work on Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century. Each day (until 23 June), Travis will feature a guest-post on this work ? and I?ll be contributing some concluding reflections at the end.See the two initial posts ? and be sure to keep an eye on the series as it unfolds over the next couple of weeks. If you?ve got a theology blog, you might also consider adding a temporary widget to your sidebar (as I?ve done here).
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The real sin of Sodom
2007-06-13 00:03:00
What was the real sin of Sodom ? Kim sets the record straight.
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Encounters with tradition (4): from Pentecostal to Vineyard
2007-06-12 00:30:00
A guest-post by Frank EmanuelThere is a saying in the Vineyard : you don?t join the Vineyard, you find out you always were Vineyard. This captures the sense of family that I experienced when I finally found my home in the Vineyard movement. The Vineyard began in the 70s in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, John and Carol Wimber, easily the most recognizable names from the Vineyard movement, had left their Quaker church to be part of the Vineyard movement within Calvary Chapel. Calvary Chapel was the denomination made famous for starting the Jesus People movement of the early 70s ? images of thousands being baptized in the Pacific Ocean made the cover of Life magazine.The Vineyard blends Pentecostal spirituality with conservative evangelical theology. Many of the early Vineyard leaders were associated with Fuller Seminary, a conservative evangelical institution. For me, and many others, the Vineyard represents the best of both worlds, bringing together the passion of the Pentecostals ...
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The book meme continues
2007-06-12 00:21:00
Believe it or not, the one book meme (started nearly a year ago) is still making the rounds: see the four most recent posts. Maybe it?s time to start a new meme ? any suggestions?
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On theological communities
2007-06-12 00:20:00
Recently Andy Goodliff posted some nostalgic reflections on Colin Gunton?s famous Research Institute in Systematic Theology. He notes that ?these kinds of theological communities are sorely needed ? communities that cross theological boundaries, places where ideas can be tried out and positive critique can be given.?
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20 great Satanic characters in novels
2007-06-11 03:01:00
Following our list of literary Christ-figures, Kim and I decided to put together a list of great Satanic characters as well. Here are our top 20, listed in chronological order:1. Daniel Quilp: Char les Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop (1841)2. Roger Chillingworth: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850)3. Ahab: Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)4. Simon Legree: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom?s Cabin (1852)5. Count Fosco: Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1859)6. Ivan Karamazov: Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880)7. Mr. Hyde: Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)8. Dracula: Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)9. Kurtz: Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)10. Naphta: Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain (1924)11. The bureaucrats: Franz Kafka, The Trial (1925)12. Pinkie Brown: Graham Greene, Brighton Rock (1938)13. O?Brien: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)14. Johann Ulrich Voss: Patrick White, Voss (1957)15...
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