THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY: ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

Stanley Hauerwas and Gavin D'Costa develop theological arguments for inclusion of constructive theology in Universities' curricula; Andrew Shanks offers an equivalent. They share the conviction that the practice of theology cannot be separated from religious practices. Beyond that, however, their arguments scarcely intersect, in part because of differing analyses of the "secularity" that underwrites the academy's skepticism of theology as a "discipline." Hauerwas analyses secularity theologically; Shanks urges that even secular societies exhibit "will to Honesty" (think, perhaps, "ultimate concern") that is inherently religious and theological; D'Costa argues that central to secular liberalism is a commitment to genuine pluralism that ought to foster theologies in their particularities.     

Science and the Future of Theology: Critical Issues

The ambivalent reputation of theology as an academic discipline is attributed to the often circular character of its procedures based on presumed authoritative sources. Recently, science too has come under the shadow of "postmodernist" critiques but, it is argued, has been able to withstand them successfully and make epistemologically warrantedclaims to be depicting reality—thereby vindicating human rationality. Evolutionary epistemological considerations also reinforce confidence in the more general deliverances of the human exploration of reasonableness through inference to the best explanation (IBE). The consequences of applying IBE, with its associated criteria, in theological investigation are considered in relation to theology as it is and as it might be. A number of issues critical for thedevelopment of a credible theology are identified. In spite of the challenging and somewhat negative view of contemporary theology to which this leads, hope is expressed that a genuinely credible "evangelical,""catholic," and liberal theology may yet emerge for the new millennium.     

Contextuality in the Theology of Douglas John Hall

The theology of Douglas John Hall has much to offer us in a time of wanton warfare and social injustices. Hall contends that the modern paradigm, supported by an "eternal, universal theology of glory" proves inadequate for addressing the problems of the world in which we live, and offers us a "contextual theology of the cross." This theology, unlike theologies of glory, is not afraid to "walk" into the darkness; in fact, Hall contends that is the only place where the light of God is revealed.     

Divine Unity and the Divided Self: Gregory of Nyssa's Trinitarian Theology in its Psychological Context

In the last hundred years Gregory of Nyssa's Trinitarian theology has received a substantial amount of attention. Unfortunately, it has been appropriated because of its perceived psychological content—so much so that Gregory's Trinitarian theology becomes re–stated as the Trinity as "personal relationship" or as "locating consciousness(es) in the Trinity." To be sure, a knowledge of Gregory's psychology reveals its role in his Trinitarian theology; however, it also makes clear that personal relationship or consciousness are not important, substantial psychological concepts in the way that they are often taken to be by contemporary interpreters. Rather, Gregory's psychology takes its fundamental shape from a concern for the integrity of the will in its action.     

Does a Real Albert Nolan Need Don Cupitt? A Response to Ronald Nicolson

In this paper, in response to Nicolson's claim that South African liberation theology is non-realist – or at least is non-realist in its language – I suggest that Albert Nolan's important book God in South Africa is not based on such an "exotic" philosophical basis but is a reflection using the populist Marxism of the anti-apartheid struggle of the 1980s. The clue here is Nolan's use of the Colonialism of a Special Type thesis, an integral part of ANC and Communist Party discourse since the 1960s. Nolan himself has described his work as "historical materialist" in its philosophical language. Such a position seems far removed from non-realism, although they certainly sound similar in Nolan's God-language.
I then examine non-realist theologian Don Cupitt's model of "militant religious humanism" (from his Life-Lines ) and conclude that a non-realist liberation or political theology along these lines suffers too much from a sense of relativism or absurdity for it to be of use to those who use liberation theology. From this I try to suggest how a non-realist liberation theology might be developed. In the end, however, I conclude that though such a theology could be constructed, it would probably not be effective: liberation theology requires a real God who really sides with the poor.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Access</Emphasis> denied: a reply to Rickabaugh and McAllister

In their recent paper, Brandon Rickabaugh and Derek McAllister object to Paul Moser’s rejection of natural theology on the grounds that Moser is committed to a principle, Seek, which commits Moser to another principle, Access. Access in turn can be rationally motivated for at least some nonbelievers only by the arguments of natural theology. So Moser is in fact committed to the epistemic usefulness of natural theology. In this paper, we show that Seek by itself does not commit one to Access, and that even if Moser is committed to Access, he is not thereby committed to the epistemic usefulness of natural theology for all nonbelievers. While we find this argument offered by Rickabaugh and McAllister lacking, we do not deny their conclusion that natural theology is epistemically useful to all nonbelievers.     

A Theology of the Cross and Ministry in Our Time: How Do You Call a Thing What It Is When You Don't Know What the Thing Is?

Abstract :  This article explores our cultural context and the issues it raises for ministry and theology in our time, especially as it relates to a theology of the cross. By drawing on the work of Jean Baudrillard the article asserts that we live in a time of hyper-reality, when nihilism is ever-present under the thin crust of our entertainment and information-saturated society. In responding to this world, it is argued that a theology of the cross has too often been misappropriated to serve as justification for taking on either the style of a postmodern aesthetic, which provides people a brand in new, hip forms of ministry, or adopting a fundamentalist stance, which provides people with a foundation in a world where it seems there is nowhere stable to stand. By returning to Luther's Heidelberg disputation, it is argued that "calling a thing what it is" in thesis 21 is not a style or foundation, but the invitation to enter (and do theology and ministry) in the nihilism of despair. Therefore, ministry and theology in our time should begin in the nihilism (the nihilism of the crucified Christ).     

“Rise Up and Walk”: Psychology,Comparative Theology,and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion</Emphasis>

This article provides a review and assessment of the Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion (2014) as a resource for the emerging discipline of comparative theology and, in particular, Hindu-Christian studies. Co-editor Lewis Rambo has highlighted the importance of this volume as an example of a new multi-disciplinary approach to the psychology of religion, one that incorporates the insights of theological studies along with phenomenology of religion, history of religions, and other disciplines. In the vision of the Handbook, however, theology would seem to remain an object of inquiry, as its norms and patterns inform a broader, integrative, social scientific project. The article argues that theology can emerge as a subject as well as an object, opening at least the possibility of a deepened, renewed, and truly constructive comparative inquiry into the phenomenon of religious conversion.     

Unknow Thyself: Apophaticism, Deconstruction, and Theology after Ontotheology

This essay investigates the relationship between post-structuralist thought and apophaticism, arguing via Pseudo-Dionysius and Meister Eckhart that theology at its most negative eludes logocentric determinations by disabling the two lynchpins of ontotheology. These are the self-determined "self" and the conceptually domesticated "God"; by unhinging the self as epistemologically constituted, the apophatic voyage destroys the mutually-reinforcing cogito and causa sui . It is ultimately suggested that the complete abandonment of "self" and "God", prefigured by negative theology and now provoked by post-structuralist critique, might enable their transformed restoration as relational, conditioning the possibility of an anti-ontotheological theology.     

A Review of Emmanuel Y. Lartey’s Postcolonializing God: An African Practical Theology

This review of pastoral and practical theologian Dr. Emmanuel Lartey’s 2013 Postcolonializing God: An African Practical Theology summarizes the book’s specific contribution to African pastoral and practical theology as well as to the broader fields of pastoral and practical theology. The reviewer outlines Lartey’s three movements of reversal, recovery, and transcendence intertwined in the active process of postcolonializing. She raises questions about developmental theories of postcolonial change and commends Lartey for locating postcolonializing in pastoral practice rather than developmental achievement.     

Theology and Science within a Lakatosian Program

The writings of Ian Barbour and Arthur Peacocke can be construed as initial contributions to a Lakatosian research program on the relation between theology and science, the core theory of which is the thesis that theology belongs at the top of a nonreducible hierarchy of sciences. The positive heuristic of this program involves showing that theology and the sciences have enough in common epistemologically to be so related and arguing for nonreducibility. The author in this essay "rationally reconstructs" some of her philosophical work as a contribution to these tasks.     

Theological and Biblical Interpretations of Current Movements and Emerging Paradigms Within Bereavement Studies

Among the predominant themes in the last few years of bereavement studies have been those around disenfranchised grief, masculine grief, spirituality and grief, and the movement from medical/hierarchical models of grief work/counseling to a more non-hierarchical model that emerges internally, inherently, and intrinsically within the bereaved. In the latter model the grief counselor becomes a facilitator or, as Alan Wolfelt noted at the Chicago ADEC conference, a companioning presence. The intent of this article is to take this conversation into the realm of theology, and/or biblical theology. The following offers theological analysis of what is already good clinical theory. Integrating theories from anthropology and theology, this article will explore the concepts of voice, etic and emic theory, and incarnational theology as they relate to emerging patterns in bereavement studies. It will also relate a model of the Kingdom of God to disenfranchised grief, as well as offer support for the theory of masculine grief from biblical sources and complementary fields of study.     

RETURNING BARTH TO ANSELM

This article focuses on Barth's explication of Anselm's Proslogion 2-4 in his book on Anselm and attempts to show how Anselm helped clarify for Barth the ontological nature of his own early theology, in particular what he meant by the "is" in his affirmation "God is God." Our contention is that Barth's continual pointing to Anselm's Fides Quaerens Intellectum as a vital key to his own theology should not be overlooked. In fact, we argue that only by returning Barth to Anselm in this way can we begin to understand more thoroughly one of the key contributions of Barth's theology generally and its potential relevance to contemporary onto-theological debates.     

SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE THEOLOGY OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

The German theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer is not widely known for engaging with scientific thought, having been heavily influenced by Karl Barth's celebrated stance against natural theology. However, during the period of his maturing theology in prison Bonhoeffer read a significant scientific work, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker's The World View of Physics. From this he gained two major insights for his theological outlook. First, he realized that the notion of a "God of the gaps" is futile, not just in science but in other areas of human inquiry. Second, he felt that an infinite universe, as considered by science, would be self-subsistent and could exist as if there were no God. Bonhoeffer replaced Barth's radical critique of religion with the even more extreme view that it is a mere passing phase in history that grown-up humanity can dispense with. At the same time Bonhoeffer began an important critique of Barth's reaction, namely, the latter's retreat to a "positivism of revelation." While Bonhoeffer did not go quite as far as one might like, his approach opened up hopeful avenues for an answer to "the liberal question" and even a revived place for some kind of natural theology.     

John Polkinghorne and the Task of Addressing a "Messy" World

As a physicist-theologian, John Polkinghorne has done a great service for the community of scholars engaged in the theology-and-science dialogue as well as for a broader audience of interested persons. We examine Polkinghorne's theological method to see what it suggests about his understanding of the function of systematic theology and his philosophy of science. His strong emphasis on rationality in theology corresponds to his epistemological discussions. Polkinghorne links his methodology to "thinking," so "experience" seems relegated to the minds, and not the lives, of the believers. Consequently, his theology does not easily engage ethical, political, and cultural landscapes where the concrete contexts of particular people's lives engage their faith. The challenge for those of us in religion-and-science is to come to grips with this messy, complicated world.     

Aesthetic Truth and Pastoral Theology: A Proposal for a New Method of Reflection and Practice

Pastoral theology needs to clarify its identity as an autonomous theological discipline by developing its own knowledge base, body of research, and practice methods. It needs to broaden its scope to include not only a concern for personal issues, but also larger sociocultural and anthropological ones as well. Additionally, there is a pressing need for moving beyond the confines of traditional methods of correlation. This essay offers a new method for pastoral theological reflection and practice that is grounded in Hans-Georg Gadamer's understanding of aesthetic truth and hermeneutics. It offers a new way of conceptualizing the relationship of pastoral theology to such conversation partners as the Bible and theological tradition, the social sciences, and practical wisdom, demonstrating how these can contribute to the pastoral theological task.     

冯至与基督教浪漫主义

本文以冯至诗作为例,考察"五四"新文化运动所折射出的基督教浪漫主义思潮。本文认为:情感与想象力是连接二者的桥梁;独特的抒情风格与气质使冯至诗作与基督教浪漫主义话语产生了若隐若现的关联。由这样的一种关联,能够回溯至欧洲浪漫主义诗人与神学家们在构建"诗化神学"时的一些追寻与思考,本文据此提出:神学不必局限于高堂讲章,神学完全可以以诗意之思去开启新的存在方式。     

The Virtue of Heaven: From Calvin to Cyber-Talk and Back

Protestant theology at the beginning of the twentieth century, as represented by such influential figures as Johannes Weiss, Albert Schweitzer, Franz Over‐beck, and later Rudolf Bultmann, asked what was no longer believable in the Gospel talk of heaven given the modern frame of reference. A century later the opposite question invites at least equal attention: what is no longer believable in the modern frame of reference given the Gospel talk of heaven? Calvin’s references to the real (or true) presence of Christ's heavenly life as "virtus" invite a conversation with computer talk of virtuality that illumines by contrast the current task of dogmatic theology in addressing what is heard today in the Gospel message as "the real world".     

Explorations in the Aesthetic Pastoral Theology of Donald E. Capps

This paper will examine the curative effects of art and the reorienting perspective of poetry in the aesthetic pastoral theology of Donald E. Capps by exploring two key volumes, The Poet’s Gift and At Home in the World. The paper identifies some of the key contributions of Capps’s exploration of art and poetry including the recovery of perception, the advancement of reframing perspective, the notion of embodied pastoral conversation and the roots of religious sensibility. The therapeutic effect of the imaginative aesthetic pastoral theology in these two volumes is further developed by integrating three corollary themes in Capps’s particular orientation to pastoral theology, namely hope, freedom and authenticity.