Mizpah of Benjamin

In this article I discuss the question of how to speak of the body in theology after Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of Christianity as nihilistic. A purely theoretical and a-historic approach, such as could be found in much doctrinal theology as well as philosophy after Descartes, runs the risk of objectifying the body through its representations of it. The phenomenological approach to embodiment would instead help theology to avoid treating the body as a thing and instead as a communicative and expressive medium for relationships with divinity as well as other human beings. A critical theological somatology after Nietzsche would have to speak of the body through genealogical accounts of the traces of the body in biblical and theological texts as well as in religious practices such as prayer, liturgy and hymns with the aim of correlating this theological tradition with the articulations and configurations of embodiment today.     

From,into, and back: translations of the Sami words noaidi and noaidevuohta in context

This article discusses how the Sami word noaidi and the word for the noaidi’s trade (noaidevuohta) have been translated in missionary texts and academic research. It traces context-related translations of these Sami concepts: first by clergy into terms connoted to ‘witchcraft’ and ‘sorcery’, then by scholars into the technical terms ‘shaman’ and ‘shamanism’, and finally by contemporary scholars by translating them back into indigenous terms. The article is divided into three parts that explore changes in translations of noaidi and noaidevuohta from three slightly differing perspectives: the translations from Sami to other languages, the translations of the Bible into Sami languages, and the academic practice of translating technical terms back to Sami. These changes open a window into the research history of Sami religion and the power asymmetries between the Sami and majority cultures: through this window one sees that translations are situated, context-bound, and laden with implicit assumptions.     

Three Questions about Minding God

Abstract. Gregory Peterson's Minding God does an excellent job of introducing the cognitive sciences to the general reader and drawing preliminary connections between these disciplines and some of the loci of theology. The book less successfully articulates how the cognitive sciences should impact the future of theology. In this article I pose three questions: (1) What semantics is presupposed in relating the languages of theology and the cognitive sciences? How do the truth conditions of these disparate disciplines relate? (2) What precisely does theology gain from what is central to cognitive science: the emphasis on information processing, inner representation, and the computer model of the mind? What exactly does cognitive science offer to theology beyond the now‐standard rejection of Cartesian dualism, the affirmation of an embodied mind, and the repudiation of reduction? (3) What can the cognitive sciences offer in tackling crucial questions in the theology‐science discussion such as divine agency and divine causation? Finally, I point to a possible begging of the question in the claim that cognitive science relates to theology because theology deals with meaning and purpose, and a particular interpretation of cognitive science grants more meaning and purpose to human beings than antecedent post‐Cartesian positions in the philosophy of mind.     

Christian Bioethics: Challenges in a Secularized Europe

This article summarizes in three specific sections the key challengesfaced by Christian and, particularly Orthodox, ethics in a secularizedsociety. The first section, focusing on the task and aim ofethics, defines Orthodox ethics, which is linked with asceticism(man's attempt to keep the commandments of Christ) and aimsat overcoming death and encountering the personal God. Put differently,the purpose of Orthodox ethics is the deification of human beings.The second section defines secularization and explores its consequencesfor the theology and pastoral work of the Church. Europe isdominated by scholasticism and moralism, whereas Orthodox theology,without rejecting it, transcends such a narrow preoccupationwith our own world. Orthodoxy does not regard human beings solelyfrom the perspective of their biological existence but assiststhem in going beyond mechanistic theories and the pursuit ofhappiness. The third section briefly describes how what canbe termed "bio-theology" surpasses anthropocentric ethics withregard to the relationship between creation and grace, birthand rebirth, cloning and incarnation, transplantation and deification,and death and resurrection. The article concludes that Orthodoxtheology (a) does not reject the achievements of biotechnologyor biomedicine; (b) assists humans in overcoming mortality byfinding meaning for their existence and fullness of life, and(c) does not simply postpone death, but overcomes the fear ofdeath and leads people to deification by grace.     

Sacred Indwelling and the Electromagnetic Undercurrent in Nature: A Physicist's Perspective

Wolfhart Pannenberg has related the concept of the physical field to the idea of God's divine cosmic field in all of creation. In this article I proffer a physicist's viewpoint by treating the subject from a more specific and focused perspective. In particular, I describe how electromagnetic interactions underlie the operation of all earthly nature, including human beings and their brains. I argue that this ubiquity constitutes a compelling physical analogy for the ubiquity of God's indwelling. The discussion includes the role of electromagnetism in quantum theory, concepts of time, and the evolution of life. I suggest the value of such analogical thought as an area of study to be exploited in the development of a theology of nature as well as a significant datum in the pursuit of a tenable natural theology. This article is intended to clarify, refine, and considerably expand upon an earlier article published in Zygon (Fagg 1996). Included also are discussions on the role of electromagnetism in our sense of evil and eternity.     

‘As in a Mirror’: Jonathan Edwards,Self-Love and Enlarging to Receive Another

Through a robust deployment of visual metaphors, Jonathan Edwards’s theology utilizes notions of vision to articulate his doctrine of God, creation, anthropology, redemption and ultimately glorification. Focusing on anthropology, this article attends to how human beings are constituted through sight, and reconstituted (i.e. regenerated) as they are contemplated in the Son and as they are given a vision of the Father in the Son by the Spirit of illumination. Put differently, Edwards’s anthropology is ordered around its teleology of becoming like God only if one can ‘see him as he is’ (1 Jn 3:2), which is anticipated by faith in this present age and ‘through a mirror dimly’ (1 Jn 13:12). After mooring his anthropology to broader theological concerns, the article narrows to consider how Edwards’s idiosyncratic personalism is developed around the notion of a ‘reflective self’ that can enlarge to internalize an ‘other’. Clarifying this notion is a brief comparison of a similar construction in Thomas Aquinas, showing how Edwards’s theory of loving neighbor as oneself is a unique contribution to questions concerning personhood, self-love and neighbor-love.     

Two sorts of natural theology

Usually, natural theology is understood as the project of providing arguments for the existence of God. This project is endorsed by Moreland and Craig. McGrath, on the other hand, says that this project fails. In the first part of this article, I show how McGrath’s dismissal of arguments for the existence of God follows from his view of natural theology. In the second part, I argue that McGrath’s natural theology contains an accurate critique of Moreland and Craig’s way of doing natural theology, a critique that exposes two major problems in their treatment of the moral argument for the existence of God. In the third part, I propose a way of providing arguments for the existence of God that avoids the problems pointed out by McGrath, namely a way of arguing that seeks to show how theology may improve a certain non-theistic understanding of a natural phenomenon.     

THEOLOGY AND COSMOLOGY: A CALL FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY ENRICHMENT

Today, there is a growing interest in interdisciplinary studies between theology and natural sciences. This article will reveal some “core” problems in this interdisciplinary relationship. It investigates how cosmic eschatology and natural sciences can benefit the most from each other while dealing with the scenarios which cosmology presents. Doing so, the main emphasis will be on rediscovering the impact of the Resurrection in Christian theology and the possibility of launching a dialogue between natural sciences and theology concerning the new heaven and the new earth.     

The Viability of Christian Same-Sex Unions: Why Scripturally Normed Faith Communities Must Support Homosexual Relationships

Abstract

This article examines the common, competing lay theologies employed to address the viability of Christian same-sex unions and critiques their problematic underpinnings. Particular attention is given to the unproductive hermeneutical dynamics that have characterized the debate over this issue. After a critical examination of the relevant biblical texts and other foundational assumptions, the author proposes a biblical theology of Christian same-sex unions as a constructive, conciliatory alternative. The author contends that Christian communities that grant a controlling influence to the Bible as Scripture must accept the biblical testimony on the identity of human beings and the calling of human beings to image God's covenant faithfulness through the gift of sexuality, regardless of sexual orientation. The article is written primarily with clergy in mind, specifically to offer resources for providing guidance in ecclesial processes of discernment on the issue of Christian same-sex unions.     

A Historical Overview of Liberation Theology Some Implications for the Christian Educator

What is it about the language of liberation theology that can inform and enrich our understanding of curriculum, leading to a pedagogical practice of hope and liberation? To understand that question, we must have an appreciation and realization of the historical roots of how liberation theology unfolded in the course of history in Latin America. To that end, this article gives a historical overview of the circumstances that led to the language and action of liberation theology. The article discusses how the theological praxis of liberation theology can inform the Christian educator, particularly when working with the poor.     

Analyzing the Muddles of Analysis: (Some of) What Analytic Theologians Can Learn from the History of Analytic Feminism

Analytic theologians have ironically experienced difficulties in precisely defining the meaning of ‘analytic’ with respect to their style of theology. In this article, I turn to the history of a similar research project, analytic feminism, to see how it went about defining ‘analytic’ in relation to the typically non-analytic subject area of feminist studies. I then consider two commonly referred to attempts to define analytic theology, one methodological and the other socio-historical, and discuss shortcomings of each. I close with a new definition of analytic theology that aims to incorporate all the insights in the discussions which precede it.     

Asian Ecumenical Contributions to Theologies of Justice and Peace

Issues of justice and peace have been at the centre of Asian ecumenical theology, which has developed within the context of the Asian reality of multi‐religiosity, on the one hand, and rampant poverty, on the other. This article examines how Asian ecumenical theological expressions, such as Dalit theology from India, Minjung theology from Korea, the many Asian womanist theologies, indigenous theologies, the theology of struggle from the Philippines, Burakumin theologies from Japan, and homeland theology from Taiwan, have sought to engage with these realities. It examines the impact of socio‐political movements on theological formation through a focus on the life and work of the Indian ecumenical leader M. M. Thomas, and offers a detailed examination of Dalit and Minjung theologies as expressions of the Asian ecumenical theological engagement with justice.     

The making of a sacred mountain. Meanings of nature and sacredness in Sápmi and northern Norway

A case study of sacred landscapes in the contemporary era, the article deals with a particular mountain and its rise to sacredness. Fuelled by plans of ski-slope development, the fate of Tromsdalstind caused a lively debate in local newspapers, as well as a report issued by the Sami Parliament. The report connected sacredness to Sami traditions in the past and to current laws on the protection of Sami cultural memories. This, then, was a case of sacredness constructed outside the context of organized religions and ongoing religious traditions, as well as a case of using secular laws as the primary basis for definitions of sacredness.Through this process, love for the mountain appears to have grown deeper and more religious, both for the Sami as well as for other northern Norwegians. Neither more nor less authentic than those of the past, these concepts of sacredness belong to the late modern world of law culture, nature romanticism, and to pan-indigenous spirituality as a “religion” in the making.     

Friendship and Trinitarian Theology: Response to Karen Kilby

Abstract:  In a recent article, Karen Kilby expresses the concern that some contemporary Thomistic theologians have, despite themselves, fallen into a form of theological rationalism. Kilby suggests that in fact some statements, while necessary for trinitarian grammar, are as unintelligible to theologians as to common believers. In dialogue with Kilby's critique, the present article suggests that the theology of friendship illumines how Augustine and Aquinas, like many other patristic and medieval theologians, offer their trinitarian theology as a 'spiritual exercise', and thereby indicates why their approaches do not constitute trinitarian theologians as a particular elite above all others.     

Descensus and Development: A Response to Recent Rejoinders

Two articles were published in this journal in 2009 responding to and criticizing my 2007 article on Hans Urs von Balthasar's theology of Holy Saturday. The article below responds to those critiques by establishing the following points: (1) Balthasar's theology of Christ's expiatory descent into hell (that is, one in which Christ's human soul suffered the pains of hell) is thoroughly traditional and can be found asserted throughout theological literature; (2) on the question of (the possibility of) universal salvation, the development from Augustine's consigning of the majority of the human race to hell to Vatican II's assertion that all human beings are connected to the paschal mystery took place independently of Balthasar's theology (a development which of course he accepts), and thus to criticize him on this point is implicitly to deny the very rules for authentic development as outlined by John Henry Newman that both my interlocutors claim to accept.     

Hope

Hope is a central topic in Christian theology. In the Nordic countries, it holds a prominent place in recent contributions. The present article discusses relevant elements related to Christian hope in a wider context of politics, other imaginaries, and constructive and critical proposals. Taking its point of departure in conceptual nuances suggested by Derrida, it discusses the recent contributions of Herms, Keller and McCord Adams with regard to how a theological explication of hope can be developed in contemporary constructive theology.     

K. H. TING'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONTEXTUALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

The spirituality and theology of Chinese Protestant believers and pastors is rooted in the profoundly conservative Evangelical‐revivalist and Pietistic missionary background of the Chinese church. Bishop K. H. Ting (b. 1915), the most prominent church leader and theologian of the Protestant church of China during the last decades, intends to broaden the narrow theological scope of the Chinese Christians. He emphasizes Trinitarian theology, natural theology, the theology of creation, and ethical principles common to all human beings. On the basis of these concepts, Ting attempts to find points of contact between the Christian faith, on the one hand, and traditional Chinese culture and modern secular Chinese society, on the other. Some critics of K. H. Ting claim that he is trying to introduce into Chinese Christianity liberal theological views which would eventually destroy some of the main pillars of the Evangelical faith. The present essay argues that this, in fact, is not the case; rather, K. H. Ting speaks for theological perspectives which belong to the theological mainstream, the ecumenical heritage of classical theology commonly accepted by a large number of both Protestant and Catholic theologians. Moreover, the essay points out that the contextualization of Christianity in China has been successful in adapting the Christian faith and life to the social, historical, and political context where the Chinese Christians live today. But the cultural aspect of contextualization, or inculturation, is just in the beginning. Younger Chinese theologians have a great challenge in facing the question: How to relate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to five thousand years of Chinese cultural experience, and how to connect this with various global cultural, economic, and other influences which so deeply affect the life of all people on this planet?     

Sebastian Rodrigues in Shusaku Endo's Silence as a Theologian of the Cross1

In his book, On Being a Theologian of the Cross, Gerhard Forde asserts, “[T]he theology of the cross is an offensive theology. The offense consists in the fact that unlike other theologies it attacks what we usually consider the best in our religion.” If causing an offense against Christian theologians and the populace in general is considered a criterion for this theology, Shusaku Endo surely sets forth the theology of the cross in his novel, Silence. Although he would not identify his thesis by such a term, Endo presents the theology of the cross challenging the conventional understanding of the Christian faith. This short article explores Endo's book, Silence, examines how it demonstrates an articulation of the theology of the cross, and argues that Sebastian Rodrigues, the main character of the novel, is a theologian of the cross.