Faith and Theology

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The witness of chaplaincy
2007-06-11 02:48:00
Over at Swords to Plowshares, Scott asks whether military chaplaincy can be a valid form of Christian witness. And he also points us to some excellent online video-lectures by Stanley Hauerwas.
More About: Witness

Because I'm afraid
2007-06-10 11:27:00
A prayer by Kim FabriciusIt?s because I?m afraid, Lord.I?m afraid of you:afraid of your presence,afraid of your absence,afraid of what you expose and what you demand.I?m afraid of me:afraid of what I know,afraid of what I don?t know,afraid of what I might discover.I?m afraid of others:afraid they?ll get too close,afraid they?ll let me down,afraid they?ll challenge and change me.It?s because I?m afraid, Lord,that I hide from you,lie to myself,and shut out others.Lord, love my fears away,so that I may trust and serve you,accept myself without deceit,and reach out to embrace others:Amen.
More About: Raid

25 great Christ-figures from novels
2007-06-09 14:58:00
Kim and I got together and compiled a list of our favourite Christ -figures from novels. Here?s our top 25, listed in chronological order:1. Don Quixote: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605, 1615)2. Dinah Morris: George Eliot, Adam Bede (1859)3. Prince Myshkin: Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot (1869)4. Jim: Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (1885)5. Billy Budd: Herman Melville, Billy Budd (begun c.1886)6. Gerassim: Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886)7. Benjy: William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929)8. Gandalf: J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1937-49)9. Jim Casey: John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1940)10. The priest: Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory (1940)11. John Singer: Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940)12. Tarrou: Albert Camus, The Plague (1947)13. Stephen Kumalo: Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948)14. Aslan: C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)15. Santiago: Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (1952)16...
More About: Novels , Great , Figures , Figure

What is historical theology?
2007-06-08 09:03:00
A little thought-experiment: here are four proposed theoretical points for understanding ?historical theology.?1. What is the history of theology?The history of Christian theology is a history of conflicts and negotiations over the identity of God.2. What is historical theology?Hist orical theology is a disciplined analysis of the conditions of these conflicts and negotiations, resulting in the construction of narratives about the dispute over the identity of God.3. What is the relationship between historical theology and dogmatic theology?By constructing histories of theology, the discipline of historical theology makes available the conditions of theological dispute for contemporary reflection, and in that way it participates in contemporary disputes over the identity of God.4. Does historical theology have a history?Very little work has yet been done on the history of theological history ? but such work would aim to demonstrate the specific conditions under which the historicising...
More About: Theology , Tori , Ology

Kevin Vanhoozer: The Drama of Doctrine
2007-06-07 00:35:00
Kevin Vanhoozer, The Dram a of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Louisville: WJKP, 2005), 488 pp.A guest-review by Byron SmithWhat is the place of doctrine in following Jesus? Is it a human construction that distorts the Bible? Or a luxury of decadent, introspective Christianity substituting for practical action? Neither, claims Vanhoozer in The D rama of Doctrine; doctrine is precisely what relates the Scriptures to our individual and corporate obedience. In doing so, he aims to reclaim doctrine as energetic, energising and ecumenical in an age that sees it as dull, distracting and divisive.Taking his cue from the world of theatre, he proceeds at some length to develop the metaphor of drama in four directions: drama, script, dramaturge and performance. First, adopting and adapting work by Balthasar, he recasts salvation history as a divine comedy, a ?theo-drama? in which God is protagonist and Jesus the pivotal climax. Of course, like all good plays, th...
More About: Kevin

Here and there
2007-06-07 00:29:00
Rory Shiner highlights the theological value of Christopher Hitchens? atheism, while Patrik reflects on the constructedness of nationalism and patriotism. Inspired by Kim?s recent post, David has launched a new series on theology and film; and LeRon Shults has two excellent guest-posts on interdisciplinary theology.Meanwhile, Paul Helm has posted a draft of his forthcoming essay on Barth and McCormack. Scott Prather, who is writing a dissertation on Barth and Yoder at Aberdeen, has started a new theology blog, Swords to Plowshares. And at GodSpy there is an excellent interview with William Cavanaugh ?about the Eucharist, politics, consumerism, war, and how Catholics can repair the rift between faith and life.?
More About: There

Encounters with tradition (3): from Congregationalist to Reformed Baptist
2007-06-06 00:33:00
A guest-post by Guy DaviesCharles Haddon Spurgeon began his Christian life as a Congregationalist who believed in infant baptism. But soon after his conversion, he embraced Baptist views. His Congregationalist parents were a little disappointed in Charles? decision to seek baptism. But they gave him permission to follow his conscience. His mother wrote: ?Ah, Charles, I often prayed to the Lord to make you a Christian, but I never asked that you might become a Baptist.? The dutiful son replied with a note of typical Spurgeonic wit: ?Ah, Mother, the Lord has answered your prayer with his usual bounty, and has given you exceedingly abundantly above all you asked or thought.?I began my Christian life as a rather charismatic Congregationalist. I quickly became disillusioned with charismatic experiences as it became obvious to me that my ?speaking in tongues? was just me blurting out incomprehensible nonsense. I needed something that would give my new Christian life depth and stability an...
More About: Tradition , Count , Form , Counters

The event of election
2007-06-06 00:19:00
?What happened for us and to us at Golgotha and was revealed on Easter Day, that ? though it happened in time ? is our eternal election.??Karl Barth , Gottes Gnadenwahl (Munich: Chr. Kaiser, 1936), p. 17.
More About: Event , Election , Vent

Do nothing to change your life
2007-06-05 00:37:00
Now here?s a great idea: Stephen Cottrell has written a book entitled Do Nothing to Chan g e Your Life (2007). According to this report, Cottrell advises us ?to ditch endless ?to do? lists, constant streams of emails, and an increasingly 24/7 culture.? We can create a space for silence and reflection ?by binning instant tea and coffee in favour of traditional methods ?, appointing a ?happy hour? when all televisions and radios in the house are switched off, baking bread, or simply enjoying a lengthy lie-in.? Well, with two (soon three) young kids in the house, I certainly haven?t enjoyed ?a lengthy lie-in? in a good few years. But I think these are splendid proposals. The most refreshing and therapeutic parts of my day include my two cups of morning espresso and my afternoon pot of tea. And although I love television as much as the next person, there?s nothing more calming than a quiet evening of conversation and reading. Better still is a long drive through the countryside: if you?re...
More About: Thing

More filmic Christ figures
2007-06-04 23:17:00
David has posted his own excellent list of filmic Christ figures.
More About: Figures , Figure

Twelve great filmic Christ figures
2007-06-04 06:10:00
by Kim FabriciusHere is an even dozen of my favourite filmic Christ figures. By ?Christ figure? I mean a protagonist who fulfils the following criteria:The character comes from another world/environment.The character is ?other?, alien, strange.The character transcends his/her/its surroundings.The character is salvific, i.e. bestows blessings like inspiration, liberation, transformation, reconciliation, justice, healing to other people or a community.The character arouses opposition and/or suffers.And, crucially ? it eliminates a host of famous potentials ? the character does not maim or kill, i.e. is fundamentally non-violent (there go westerns like Shane and science fiction flicks like Terminator 2).To narrow the field further, the character cannot be biblical, or even religious (so no priests or nuns), nor historical (e.g. Ghandi or Schindler), nor come from an animated film (sorry, Shrek!).Here they are, then:1. Luke ? Cool Hand Luke (1967)2. Randle McMurphy ? One Flew over the C...
More About: Great , Figures , Twelve , Figure

Holy Theotokos
2007-06-04 05:59:00
Kevin Edgecomb posts a Mariological hymn from the Orthodox church: Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theo tokos. It?s an extraordinary hymn which demonstrates ? as Kevin notes ? that ?Mariology is really only Christology when properly understood.?
More About: Mary

A prayer in a broken world
2007-06-03 04:29:00
by Kim FabriciusIt?s a world of confusion, Lord:we are muddled in our thinking;we are mixed in our emotions;we are inconsistent in our actions.It?s a world of lies, Lord:we deceive ourselves about our motives and intentions;we mislead others with double-speak and spin;we exploit you as an agent of social control and repression.It?s a world of greed, Lord:we worship the idol of the market;we honour the false prophets of profit;we reduce people to punters and nations to debt.It?s a world of violence, Lord:we deploy the technology of terror to protect our own interests;we invest our children in the business of bloodshed;we justify war as first strike, last resort, or final solution.It?s a world of vengeance, Lord:we allow the wounds of history to fester;we refuse the healing of memories;we betray the living out of mistaken loyalty to the dead.O Lord,in this world of confusion, make us a people of clarity;in this world of lies, make us a people of integrity;in this world of greed, make ...
More About: World , Prayer , Broken , Raye , Pray

A prayer for the virtues
2007-06-03 04:24:00
by Thomas AquinasO Almighty and all-knowing God, without beginning or end, who art the giver, preserver, and rewarder of all virtue:Grant me to stand firm on the solid foundation of faith, be protected by the invincible shield of hope, and be adorned by the nuptial garment of charity;Grant me by justice to obey thee,by prudence to resist the crafts of the Devil,by temperance to hold to moderation,by fortitude to bear adversity with patience;Grant that the goods that I have I may share liberally with those who have not,and the good that I do not have I may seek with humility from those who have;Grant that I may truly recognise the guilt of the evil I have done,and bear with equanimity the punishments I have deserved; that I may never lust after the goods of my neighbour, but always give thanks to thee for all thy good gifts...Plant in me, O Lord, all thy virtues, that in divine matters I might be devout, in human affairs wise, and in the proper needs of the flesh onerous to no one......
More About: Prayer , The V , Virt , Virtue , Raye

Barth's Grandeur
2007-06-01 23:42:00
David has posted my entry in his poetry contest ? this is adapted from Gerard Manley Hopkins? poem, ?God?s Grand eur?:Bart h ?s brain was charged with the grandeur of thought,It swirled out, like soap suds in the sink,It smeared reams of paper like the ooze of inkSpilt. Must we all then follow him? Generations adored, abhorred, or fought his thrall;Moltmann went beyond him, Pannenberg disproved him,Torrance hung awe-rapt on every word: and allOf us (brains small, confused and dim) cobble systems fat or slim. Yet for all this, God does not fling us off;He crouches at our systems? edge, peers hungrily through holes,Sneak-watching for the moment when we sigh and say?Oh, bugger! all these thoughts I can?t command? ?Then breathless as a madman or a child, God lunges,And tumbling floorward fall our thoughts, while we fall into ah! safe hands.
More About: Karl Barth , Grande

Encounters with tradition (2): from evangelical to post-evangelical
2007-06-01 00:21:00
A guest-post by D. W. CongdonThere are certainly problems with calling ?evangelicalism? a tradition. To some, it refers simply to the Protestant churches born out of the Reformation. To others, it refers to the pietistic, Anabaptist traditions. To others, more recently, it refers to the American Free Church movement, which is more a sociopolitical reality than anything else. And to others still, it refers to a kind of Christian fundamentalism. I wish to affirm all of these uses of the term, and all of them apply to my own journey as an evangelical Christian.I grew up in your textbook American evangelical home: strong nuclear family, large extended family (presently over 50 first cousins), rooted in Scripture (devotions every night; Bible memory verses at every dinner), committed to biblical inerrancy and a male-female complementarianism (i.e., hierarchicalism), avid believers in six-day creationism, distrustful of anything related to the secular academy, loyal Republicans, Baptist h...
More About: Tradition , Post , Evangelical , Count , Counters

Barth in techno
2007-05-31 13:47:00
Ladies and gentlemen: Jon?s wonderful Karl Bart h techno mix is now available on YouTube, together with a new film clip (the audio is from Barth?s American lectures). So if you need a good chuckle, be sure to head over and check out the Barthman?s Decklaration.
More About: Techno

Rethinking mission
2007-05-31 09:19:00
David points us to a valuable essay by John Stackhouse on ?A Bigger ? and Smaller ? View of Missi on .? Here?s an excerpt:?Does this mean that other religions are salvific? Certainly not. No religion is salvific: not Hinduism or Shinto or Islam, but also not Christianity. God is salvific. Practicing religion, however correct it is and however correctly one practices it, will not save you. That is basic Christian conviction. It is trusting God that will save you ? that also is basic Christian conviction.?
More About: Sion , Thinking

Pre-release articles
2007-05-31 09:15:00
The International Journal of Systematic Theology has an excellent new feature: online early. This allows you to read selected articles online before they are officially released in the next issue. There are some very good articles available at the moment ? including Jean-Yves Lacoste?s profound and challenging essay (translated by Oliver O?Donovan): ?More Haste, Less Speed in Theology.?
More About: Articles , Release , Lease , Ease , Artic

Encounters with tradition (1): from Pentecostal to Anglican?
2007-05-30 14:09:00
A guest-post by Aaron GhiloniI did not leave Pentecostalism because I had somewhere else to go. I wasn?t conscripted by the Catholics or pursued by the Presbyterians. I left because I had to. Theologically frustrated, spiritually dry and emotionally exhausted, I quietly bid farewell.Like many Pentecostals, I was nurtured in revival. From birth, I was born-again on a weekly basis (if not more frequently). This was my life, my family?s life. Therefore, departing was incredibly difficult. If you?ve gone through this, you will know what I mean. It was obvious that I must leave ? still, leaving was gruelling.And so, I not only left holy-rolling and tongue-talking behind, but also good friends and a lifetime of memories. I had nowhere to go. I shook, sighed, and swayed. The vertigo of an ex-Pentecostal is ferocious. Since my Pentecostal days I have worshipped with a Baptist congregation, studied at an evangelical seminary, and been employed by various churches (non-denominational, Methodi...
More About: Tradition , Costa , Count , Counters , Counter

Would Jesus vote green?
2007-05-30 14:08:00
Here in my own very conservative state of Queensland, many churchgoers simply take it for granted that they should vote for conservative parties, or even (shudder) for right-wing ?family values? parties. This situation makes Byron?s excellent series very relevant: would Jesu s vote green? On the same topic, Aussie readers might enjoy the recent Quarterly Essay (a great periodical on Australian political and cultural life): Amanda Lohrey, Voting for Jesus: Christianity and Politics in Australia (2006).
More About: Green , Vote , Would

A Barthian limerick
2007-05-30 00:26:00
Inspired by David?s poetry contest, here?s a nice limerick by Kim Fabricius:    There once was a gourmet named Bart h ,    who had tasted Rousseau and Descartes,    and though Hegel bar none    was his haute cuisine Hun,     he dogmatically dined à la carte.
More About: Lime , Erick

Poems for Barthians
2007-05-29 14:31:00
David Congdon is hosting a nifty poetry contest at the moment: you have to write a poem about not-being-a-Bart h ian. There have been some entertaining entries already ? and this one is fantastic.So if you?re in a creative mood, why not head over and submit an entry.
More About: Poems

On Kevin Vanhoozer
2007-05-29 08:37:00
Guy points us to Andreas Köstenberger?s extended review of Kevin Vanhoozer?s Drama of Doctrine, together with a good-natured response by Vanhoozer. The Drama of Doctrine is an extraordinary work ? probably the most important study of the hermeneutics of doctrine since Lindbeck. To be honest, I read this some time ago with the intention of posting a review here at F&T ? but I still haven?t found the energy to review it. I found it a difficult book to review ? it?s so big and ambitious and wide-ranging that it?s hard to know what to say about it. But seeing Köstenberger?s review (as well as earlier reviews by Guy and Michael) makes me feel very lazy. So I?ll try to come up with a review of it within the next month or so.

New series: encounters with tradition
2007-05-28 09:12:00
Understanding the function of tradition remains a central task for theology today ? and ecumenical progress requires an ever deeper understanding not only of one?s own tradition, but also of the internal ?grammar? of other Christian traditions. But this is by no means easy. Indeed, as Gerhard Ebeling once remarked, relatively few Christians have ever had to made a real choice between traditions ? in most cases, one?s own tradition simply maintains its own powerful self-evidentness in contrast to all other traditions.Ebeling?s observation highlights the complex difficulties surrounding ecumenical understanding: if I have never encountered (say) the Roman Catholic tradition as a genuine possibility for faith, and so have never had to choose between this possibility and the possibility of my own tradition, then I?ve not yet really begun to understand the Roman Catholic tradition at all.For this reason, we can learn a lot from people who have made a transition from one Christian traditi...
More About: Series , Tradition , Count , Counters , Counter

Holy Spirit, sudden gust
2007-05-27 12:33:00
A hymn by Kim Fabricius(Tune: Kelvingrove)Holy Spirit , sudden gust     and darting tongue of flame,one whose presence is a must      or worship?s limp and lame,as we gather here to meet,come and sweep us off our feet,where we?re cold, turn up the heat ?       it?s new creation time!Holy Spirit, gentle dove,      all-animating breath,you bear fruit in peace and love,      you bring life out of death,draw together those apartwith your reconciling art,stimulate the stony heart ?       it?s new creation time!Holy Spirit, one of three,      the God who goes between,you declared the Jubilee      through God the Nazarene,through the church communicatewords and deeds that liberate,and the world will be a fête ?       It?s new creation tim...

An icon for Pentecost
2007-05-27 12:25:00
My friend Ann Chapin, who often contributes to our discussions here at F&T, kindly sent me some photos of her huge and wonderfully vivid icons. Here is her Pentecost tryptych, entitled ?The Descent of the Holy Spirit ? (each of the three murals is about ten feet tall):
More About: Icon

On being a bibliophile
2007-05-27 08:05:00
Our friend Todd loves books.
More About: Phil , Bein , Being

Ten reasons why baseball is God's game
2007-05-26 04:42:00
by Kim FabriciusThe story is told of the aristocratic English cricket supporter who dies and appears at the Pearly Gates. St Peter checks his list, but, alas, the old gentleman is not on it. ?There must be some mistake,? the man protests, ?I have a permanent seat in the Lord?s enclosure!?Well, Lord?s may be the home of cricket, but if cricket is heaven ? and I write as an American expat who has lovingly lived in the UK for over thirty years ? then heaven is as the cartoonist Larson depicts it: a bored bespectacled soul sitting on a cloud, thinking (in his thought balloon): ?Wish I had a magazine.? Cricket is indeed baseball on Valium, while baseball is ?chess at ninety miles an hour? (Roger Kahn). Baseball is God?s game. And here are just ten reasons why.1. ?The game of ball is glorious? ? Walt Whitman.2. Baseball is about coming home. The whole point of the game is to finish where you begin ? home plate ? and once you are home you are finally safe.    ?In my beg...
More About: Game , Reasons , Sons , Ball

Oh mercy!
2007-05-25 12:28:00
Now this is good news ? may the name of the Lord be praised.
More About: Bob Dylan , Mercy , Merc