The Future of the Past: The Contemporary Significance of the Nouvelle Théologie

Abstract:   The nouvelle théologie was a noticeably diverse movement, but if it had a core it was not in opposition to Thomism, or in a claim that patristic sources were to be privileged in theology. Rather, it was in a serious examination of all historical theological resources that both recognized their diversity and partiality but also sought to find in them resources for the renewal of theology. In contrast to the situation into which the nouvelle théologie developed, the danger for theology today is not a captivity to a particular historical source, but a refusal to engage seriously with any historical material, because it is seen as irrelevant, or positively harmful, to the theological task for various reasons. The chastened traditionalism of the nouvell théologie might thus be seen to have something to say to our own day, as well as its own.     

The Churches and the Evolution of Europe

This article offers the reader some theological reflections on the 2014 ‘Agreed Statement on Christology’ (ASC). Its scope is thus limited to shedding light on certain aspects of the document that appear to the author as theologically complex and not self-explanatory. The author’s intention is not to provide the reader with a comprehensive theological evaluation of the document, but to initiate a discussion about the content of the statement so as to provide some theological groundwork for a future comprehensive evaluation. The article starts with a brief and schematic exposition of theological developments during the fourth to early fifth centuries that threatened ecclesial unity. It then delineates certain problematic aspects of Christological thought that pushed a united Christendom to the state of disunity. The main body of the article then endeavours to elucidate two sections of the ASC which were of particular interest to the author. An assessment (necessarily partial) of the ASC’s theological significance and of its ecumenical import concludes the article.     

Reference Ethics: Theological Librarianship in Conversation with ALA Reference Ethics Guidelines

This particular article will look at one ethical concern that is likely to be very familiar to most theological reference librarians. This question is what the theological reference librarian's ethical responsibilities are when the American Library Association's Code of Ethics seems to conflict with an institution's expectations for an employee of that institution. In order to adequately solve this question, the article will first summarize the basic elements of the American Library Association's Code of Ethics that relate to the reference interview. Next, the special nature of theological reference librarianship will be discussed. Third, the Association of Theological Schools accreditation guidelines will be examined to determine the relationships that theological librarians have to their religious institutions. Fourth, in light of the theological librarian reference ethics that emerge from the proposed investigation, possible ethical solutions will be suggested. The article will conclude that the article's research question is actually a false question, not because theological librarians have not raised it or because it is not worth considering, but because the American Library Association's Code of Ethics and the Association of Theological Schools accreditation standards expect the same thing from their librarians.     

The Argument from Design: What Is at Stake Theologically?

This article offers a brief overview of the argument for God's existence grounded in the evidence of design. It gives particular attention to the way the argument has evolved over time and in relation to changing scientific perspectives. The argument from de-sign has in fact been formulated and reformulated in response to the discoveries and challenges it has encountered from the field of science. The conclusion of the article explores the theological importance of this argument—its extent and its limits.     

Positive Paradigm Shifts in Health Care

The American health delivery system is undergoing enormous change. Some of the changes threaten the spiritual underpinnings of the hospital movement and discount theological insights into the nature of healing. This article identifies and advocates six health care paradigms that are grounded in the Judeo-Christian ethic.     

Hasidism and Its Response to Change

The article has two distinct parts. The first reviews the current state of scholarship on Hasidism and its history, especially the changes that have taken place over the course of the past two decades. The second is a discussion of theological reflections on change and creativity found in the early sources of Hasidism. The movement’s creators were willing to make far-reaching assertions about the legitimacy of generational change, even considering it an obligatory undertaking. This call is a familiar part of youth culture in many diverse settings. The author suggests that early Hasidism was indeed largely led by young men shaping a revivalist religious movement that called for throwing off the shackles of mere traditionalist behavior. At the same time, it is notable that this potentially powerful radically revisionist claim was in fact used to make only minor changes in the actual patterns of religious behavior, setting the stage for the ultra-conservative wave that was to overtake Hasidism after 1800 and the beginning of its battle with modernity.     

NOT EXPLANATION BUT SALVATION: SCIENTIFIC THEOLOGY, CHRISTOLOGY, AND SUFFERING

The view that Christian belief is explanatory is widespread in contemporary theology, apologetics, and philosophy of religion and it has received particular impetus from attempts to correlate science and Christianity. This article proposes an account of explanatory thinking in theology based on the principle that theological explanations should be disciplined by the internal logic of Scripture. Arthur Peacocke's biologically construed Christology and Alister McGrath's argument that suffering is an anomaly in the Christian explanatory scheme are shown to yield theological results which are inconsistent with this principle. This article's theological argument complements philosophical criticisms of the view that religious belief is explanatory.     

From object to subject: pastoral supervision as an intersubjective activity

The author sketches the development of psychoanalysis in terms of its trends from notions of objectivity to intersubjectivity and how this movement can inform contemporary pastoral supervision. The article argues that these same trends may be noted in the development of contemporary educational and theological theories.     

The Civil Rights Movement as Theological Drama—Interpretation and Application

In this essay, Charles Marsh sketches a theological interpretation of the American civil rights movement. Marsh argues that interpretation must begin by reconsidering the theological legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., taking into account his deep, though largely overlooked, confessional convictions as well as his sympathy with the theology of Karl Barth, whose influence on King has been ignored. Marsh further argues that a theological interpretation of the civil rights movement should not be a matter of writing religious genealogies of moral actions, of civic piety or of representations of human goodness, but of understanding the detail of theological convictions in their lives particularity. Marsh thinks it is altogether appropriate for theologians to retell the story of the American civil rights movement as the story of the church.     

Redeeming the image

This article questions conventional assumptions concerning the nature and function of formal theological anthropology and its place in the doctrinal corpus. Taking the image of God as its focus, the discussion begins by interrogating the assumption that understanding of the image (and the task of theological anthropology more generally) be framed primarily within the context of a doctrine of creation, often narrowly construed. Where a static understanding of creation operates, the image becomes a tool for what is consequently regarded the primary task of theological anthropology – defining human nature, often in essentialist and universal terms. Alternative possibilities are opened through conscious connection with soteriology. Following engagement with black theology, feminist theologies and the post-9/11 discussion of torture, the argument moves towards a performative, particular and contingent understanding of the image and of theological anthropology, drawing both into much closer connection with theological ethics than is conventionally the case.     

Interfaith Dialogue in Lebanon: Between a Power Balancing Act and Theological Encounters

This essay explores trends and directions of interfaith dialogue in Lebanon with a special focus on developments since the Ta'if Agreement (1989) signed at the end of the civil war. While viewing the encounters of interfaith dialogue in Lebanon against the background of political and social developments, the particular focus of this study is the ventures and potential of “inter-theological dialogue.” In particular, it explores the new initiatives whose focus is on theological and spiritual dialogue, since they seem to have been virtually ignored by recent studies in the field, even though inter-theological discussions have constituted an important part of inter-religious dialogue in Lebanon. The article proposes that theological dialogue in Lebanon is necessary in order to reach true ta?āyush (living together), particularly because politics and religion are intricately intertwined. Focusing on two initiatives within the past 15 years, it shows how they strive to make theological discourse – sometimes a merely intellectual exercise – relevant for society.     

Explorations in a Theological Metaphor: Boethius,Calvin, and Torrance on the Creator/Creation Distinction

This article explores a theological metaphor, comparing God and creation to an author and story. Framed as an Einsteinian thought experiment, and broadly in the genre of theological retrieval, it seeks to resource the use of this metaphor in contemporary theology by bringing it into dialogue with three areas of theological reflection throughout church history: Boethius' doctrine of divine foreknowledge, the so‐called extra Calvinisticum, and Thomas Torrance's account of Christ's ascension. It is suggested that the story metaphor brings into greater visibility what unites and determines each of these different doctrines, namely, a simultaneously robust and dynamic Creator/creation relation. In particular, it is suggested that the metaphor of story illumines the ontological priority of God over creation, as well as the importance of the incarnation and ascension as the determining events for their relationship.     

Contemplating the One who Remains the Same: Augustine,Swinburne, and Psalm 102 on the Relation between Divine Immutability and Theological Reason

This article defends a classical doctrine of divine immutability by contending that the most influential objections lodged against it by theologians and philosophers such as Richard Swinburne–i.e. that divine immutability is speculative rather than practical, is philosophical rather than biblical, and fails to cohere with a ‘personal’ God who relates to creatures–are rooted in a particular construal of theological reason. I diagnose Swinburne’s account of theological reason with the help of Karl Barth’s interpretation of Anselm, and put forth a contrasting account of divine immutability, rooted in a distinct approach to theological reason, through a theological interpretation of Psalm 102, an analysis of the Creator/creature distinction, and an examination of Augustine’s De trinitate.     

The Pedagogy of the Online Wisdom Community: Forming Church Ministers in a Digital Age

Abstract. While electronic learning is transforming the face of higher education today, some in the theological community question whether it is appropriate for the specific goals of graduate level theological formation for ministry. Drawing on the work of one theological faculty, this article answers yes. The author describes the school's hybrid model of distance education pedagogy. He discusses the underlying teaching and learning principles that guided the faculty in their development of this model, and, in particular, the pedagogical ideal of the learning cohort as a “wisdom community.” Web‐based instruction can be effectively designed to nurture wisdom communities for integrative learning. The author describes the “pedagogy of the online wisdom community” from his experience of Web‐based distance education teaching. The growing demand for ministry formation programs, particularly in mission areas, underlines the urgent need for continued study of the role of technology in theological pedagogy.     

Orthodox Influences on Methodism

This article describes the influence of the Orthodox tradition on Methodism in the course of the development of the ecumenical movement. It relates the proposals made in the 1990s for an international dialogue between the traditions, proposals which have yet to be acted on. The article also describes a series of resonances between the two traditions that exist from earlier parallel developments, as well as emphases that have occurred independently but that can now be recognized as establishing commonalities that could be fruitful in later dialogue. Mention is made of commonality in the theological use of hymnody (Charles Wesley and St Symeon in particular) and of common emphases on trinitarian theology holiness/theosis, the divine image in human nature and on holistic mission.     

Reviews

Abstract

By juxtaposing the findings, analysis and conclusions of a recent educational paper with appropriate theological writings, this article seeks to problematize Anglican bishops' commitment to listen to the experience of lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) people. The article starts by describing the educational research, its general conclusions and some of the methodological issues around voice raised by qualitative enquiry. Continuing the theme of voice, it looks at three elements of theological method, which might prevent the hearing of such accounts. Given this evidence, and the way in which lifestories of marginalized people tend to be devalued, the argument is reversed to ask whether Church authorities can be entrusted with them. Returning to the study of trainee teachers, more attention is given to their particular stories as the basis for theological reflection, around three emerging themes: discrimination, resistance and identity. Finally, methodological concerns are highlighted, which enable narratives of emancipation to be pursued, and to encourage a more fluid view of Jesus as storytelling ‘exemplar of resistance’.     

English for Bible and Theology: Understanding and Communicating Theology Across Cultural and Linguistic Barriers

This article introduces English for Bible and Theology (EBT), an inherently interdisciplinary field that merges English language learning with the content of biblical and theological studies in a context that is, by nature, cross‐cultural. Within this collaboration there exists the possibility not only to enable theological study, but also to enhance it through a focus on personal meaning and its communication, both of which are foundational to the communicative language classroom. That is, EBT seeks both to aid students worldwide in attaining the specialized language and cultural proficiency necessary to access English theological resources and to provide a community in which students can connect theological content to their lives. It is this second aim that provides EBT its relevance across a range of theological contexts, as native English‐speaking students likewise stand to benefit from the application of EBT's principles.     

Transsexualism: Some Theological and Ethical Perspectives

Abstract : The debates in church and theological circles regarding sexuality have been dominated by the subject of homosexuality. There has been far less theological discussion and ethical reflection regarding transgendered people and transsexualism in particular. This article introduces readers to some basic facts about transsexualism and to a selection of theological and ethical responses to this phenomenon with particular attention to how the notion of “disordered sexuality” is a factor in both the debate over the ethical status of transsexualism and homosexual unions.