A Theological Reflection on Torture and Democracy

Abstract : First, I summarize the major findings of a new comprehensive resource, Torture and Democracy, by Darius Rejali, as corrective for the current state of confusion and concealment in United States with regard to the persistence of torture. Second, I respond theologically to the insights from this scholarship through a) reflection on victims of torture as ‘nonpersons’ in light of theological anthropology, and through exploring the role of Christians in the public square, and b) addressing the problem of sacrificialism.     

The Discipline and Habit of Theological Reflection

This article describes the process of theological reflection and the necessity of its practice in the formation of pastoral identity and development of ministry. Drawing upon the philosophy of C.S. Peirce, pastoral theology of the past twenty-five years, and the authors' clinical and classroom experiences, the essay illuminates the distinctive work of pastoral care givers that makes them unique in health care settings.     

Creation,Theological Imagination and Questions about Discipleship

Science yields factual data about the unfolding nature of the universe that challenges us profoundly and with urgency. This data verifies we are living in a dynamic world within a dynamic universe that is still in the process of creation. This process is wrought with risk and is also defined by relationships that emerge from the most basic elements of life. These times require a new cosmology. Haught reminds us that the adventurous narrative of love and liberation at work beneath the surface available to science is the work space of theologians. The patterns of relationships in all life forms evoke the image of the Trinity as a communion of relations. Discovering a new way of seeing requires doing theology in new ways and Delio notes this means a search for the newness of God evident in the New Testament. Ultimately, new ways of seeing require examining discipleship. Contemplation through the ages permits us to grasp that this Trinity of Love is our God who dwells with us. Our insight into God continually unfolds in history through the continuity of the Paschal Mystery of Christ in his incarnation, death and resurrection. Profound suffering, disaster and tragedy mark the age in which we live. Yet God is not absent. The call to discipleship with the One who has realized God's presence among us in the Paschal Mystery is a realization of a humility that is far removed from power, control and domination. We discover a humble God in the place of the poor because this is how God has become incarnate among us.     

Creation and Construction: On the Theological Appropriation of Postmodern Theory

Postmodern theory can be appreciated by theological anthropology along the following lines: it interprets the cultural conditions that shape personal identity, including the elements of construction and contingency in identity-formation. It emphasizes the necessity for a multifaceted approach to the question about what it means to be human, and for avoiding closure. This is expressed in the doctrine of the human as created, as sinner and as restored—as none of these perspectives captures the whole picture. Postmodern theory also focuses on the importance of otherness for establishing identity, thereby offering a new way of interpreting human beings as created in the image of God.     

Muhammad in Contemporary Christian Theological Reflection

After briefly surveying the generally polemical pre-modern Christian views of Muhammad, this essay considers a range of recent Christian approaches. Daniel Madigan explores often unrecognized complexities involved in the question; he considers Muhammad's message a “salutary critique” prompting Christians to a fuller understanding of their faith. Hans Küng insists that Christians should recognize Muhammad as a prophet; Islam is akin to early Jewish forms of Christianity, whose validity should be recognized. Jacques Jomier and Christian Troll are respectful of Muhammad but argue that, if Christians call him a prophet, they effectively deny their own faith. Kenneth Cragg presents a “positive, critical position”, encouraging sympathetic Christian interpretation of Muhammad's achievement in his context, but expressing reservations about the “political equation” in his ministry and contrasting this with Christ's way of redemptive suffering. Cragg's approach is upheld against criticisms as an exemplary model of Christian theological engagement with Islam.     

Teaching Theological Reflection Well,Reflecting on Writing as a Theological Practice

Abstract. In order to teach theological reflection well, it is necessary to teach students how to write it well. This paper probes the writing of theological reflection as a rhetorical process and a theological practice by (1) situating theological reflection broadly within a “correlation” model, adapted for theological writers; (2) identifying two “generic” styles of theological reflection papers, the pastoral reflection paper and the systematic reflection paper; (3) following a writer's progress as she writes a one‐page pastoral reflection paper and constructs a working theology in the process of writing it. In conclusion, the correlation‐based “Reflecting on Paper” process provides a pedagogical bridge between the writing and teaching of “pastoral” and “systematic” theological reflection, and exemplifies the dynamic interplay between teaching theological reflection and reflecting on writing as a theological practice.     

The Destiny of Creation: Theological Ethical Reflections on Laudato Si'

In this essay, I ask what the precise relation is between Laudato si's theology and its claims about our individual and corporate responsibility for the environment and the plight of the poor. To do so, I first clarify the relationship between the theological claims and its account of moral norms, situating the text within the history of western ethical theory. I then turn to reconstruct the submerged theology of the encyclical, focusing on Pope Francis's accounts of the techno‐economic paradigm and the possibility of an “integral ecology” paradigm. I end by assessing the text in terms of the coherence and plausibility of its argument as an ethical and theological statement.     

Theological Education: A Theological Framework for Renewed Mission and Models

Abstract : This essay explores renewed ways to reimagine theological education. Incarnation is used as a theological lens that engages anew “the transmission of Christian memory, the education for God's peace and justice, and the formation of church and community leadership.” Attention is given to apprenticeship, project‐based learning, distributed learning, and global learning, and concludes with implications for governance and faculty.     

Justified ex nihilo: Retrieving Creation for Theological Anthropology with Luther and Bonhoeffer

This article seeks to articulate a framework for theological anthropology that takes seriously the doctrine of creation, while also remaining christologically grounded and soteriologically informed. Toward this end, I will look briefly at how Martin Luther understands the relationship between justification, anthropology and creation, before turning to the way in which Dietrich Bonhoeffer picks up on Luther’s tripartite, justification‐based definition of the human being. In doing so, Bonhoeffer will help to clarify the essential role that creation plays in grounding and orienting a theological anthropology which seeks to take seriously the soteriological realities of sin and reconciliation.     

Love as a Starting Point for Pastoral Theological Reflection

This article draws on recent work in the theology of love to propose steps toward the development of a pastoral theology of love in order to inform the practice of pastoral care. A pastoral theology of love is a necessary foundation for an ecclesial practice of pastoral care that promotes growth in love. The article defines love and addresses key issues in the theology of love, namely, human agency and the analogies that exist or do not exist between human and divine love and the concept of growth in love, or sanctification. The article concludes by proposing and sketching some key features of a pastoral theology of love for pastoral practice.     

Communion and Covenant: A Theological Exploration

In discussion of the proposed Anglican covenant, surprisingly little attention has been paid to biblical and theological understandings of covenant-making. After demonstrating this through a survey of the original Windsor Report proposal and subsequent contributions to the covenant process, this article explores six aspects of covenant-making in Scripture relevant to the Anglican Communion crisis and argues that these can and should shape work on the covenant. It draws attention to the bond between covenant-making and communion; the identity-giving nature of covenanting; the importance of promise-making and trust-building within covenants as a response to fractured relationships; the sacrificial nature of covenants; the power of covenants to assist recollection and restoration in relationships; and the missiological heart of God's covenant-making. These characteristics demonstrate some of the theological riches in the concept of ‘covenant’ which may help the Communion address its current difficulties and should be made more explicit.     

Middlesex: A Pastoral Theological Reading

This article, written for the Group for New Directions in Pastoral Theology’s conference on the theme of “Emotion, Mood, and Temperament,” focuses on Middlesex, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, Professor of Creative Writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. The novel, set in 20th century America and written as a fictional memoir, is a coming-of-age story of Cal/Calliope, a man with an intersex condition caused by 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. The mission statement of the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) states that the organization is “devoted to systemic change to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female.” This essay employs the resources of pastoral theology to assist in the project of ending shame regarding intersex conditions by offering a pastoral theological reading of Middlesex. As such, this essay is an example of the discipline of pastoral theology being employed in the field of medical humanities in particular and the field of clinical humanities more broadly, and it also serves as an example as to how one might offer a pastoral theological reading of a novel.