Doctoral Dissertations in the Nordic Countries 1999

First, in order to understand historically how the formative beliefs about Jesus emerged, one must begin with the interpretations of Jesus' death, as Dahl so clearly pointed out. Second, the “quest of the historical Jesus” in all its varieties suffers from the fallacies of a peculiarly modern conception of human identity, which has now been abandoned in many areas of social science and critical theory. In our age we will understand the identity of Jesus in the early church better if we adopt a social model of the self and conceive of identity not as essence but as transaction and process. Third, the process by which Jesus' identity was formed in the communities of his followers was at its heart an interpretive process.     

RECENT BOOKS IN…NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES

Exploring the Gospel of John: Essays in Honor of D. Moody Smith , R. Alan Culpepper and C. Clifton Black (eds) Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings , Majella Franzmann, T. & T. Clark Renewal through Suffering: A Study of II Corinthians , A. E. Harvey, T. & T. Clark The Social Ethos of the Corinthian Correspondence: Interests and Ideology from I Corinthians to I Clement , David G. Horrell, T. & T. Clark Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Research , C. J. den Heyer Who Did Jesus Think He Was? , J. C. O'Neill, E. J. Brill Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church , Luke T. Johnson The Human Condition: Anthropology in the Teachings of Jesus , Paul and John, Udo Schnelle, T. & T. Clark     

Body-symbols and social reality: Resurrection, incarnation and asceticism in early Christianity

Mary Douglas has invited historians of religion to test her hypothesis about the social meaning of body symbols. Her view that body symbolism always points in the direction of social concerns and that efforts to separate body and spirit indicate sentiments of revolt and alienation has proved fruitful in several areas. Of course there is nothing particularly novel in the proposal that the body can be seen as a symbol of wider realities. The Stoics spoke of the universe as a body; Paul could describe individual Christian congregations as a body; and Priscillian referred to the human body in depreciating terms as a figura mundi. Victor Turner has shown that the body symbols of the Ndembu in Zambia are part of a wider pattern which uses ‘an aspect of human physiology as a model for social, cosmic and religious ideas and processes’, including, he adds, ‘the human body [as] … a microcosm of the universe,’⁵⁷ There is even a considerable literature on the subject.⁵⁸ Indeed, one cannot help but be struck by the fact that with the great abundance of work devoted to body symbols in general, so little has been done with early Christianity.What distinguishes Douglas from other theoreticians of body symbolism is her Durkheimian orientation. By taking seriously the social dimension of body symbols and by positing the revolutionary character of symbols which separate body and spirit, she is able to uncover latent dimensions of doctrinal controversy and to restore flesh to the dry bones of theological debate. In her own preliminary studies, she has limited herself to one symbol, i.e. incarnation, and one controversy, i.e. the Arian. In extending her initiative to other symbols and controversies, I have proceeded on the assumption that body symbols of different sorts should reflect the same condensed message about society. I would argue that this effort has been largely successful. Expectations of imminent resurrection or views of the resurrection which deny the physical aspect are regularly associated in early Christianity with separatist-sectarian behaviour generally. The recession of hopes for an imminent resurrection accompanied the transition of Christianity from sect to church. Conversely, and this would warrant further study, subsequent sectarian movements within Christianity seem to be accompanied by a return of hopes for physical resurrection. Particular sorts of sectarianism, especially those which stress individualism and spiritualism, are prone to view the resurrection in other than physical terms. Even the mainstream of Christianity refused to abandon altogether the doctrine of a future resurrection. Orthodox believers could always point to the denial of resurrection as an unmistakable signpost of heresy. At one level we may treat this doctrinal survival as little more than a memory of Christianity's sectarian pedigree, as a vaguely disquieting memory. At another level, however, its very survival, against heavy odds, may also be seen as a permanent symbolic indicator of Christianity's ultimate refusal to identify itself completely with the secular order. Beyond this, the survival of belief in resurrection has meant the persistence of a latent symbol of protest, alienation and transformation. For in the final analysis, it is not the case that symbols merely reflect social reality. As symbols, they also possess the power to shape it.In this observation lies perhaps an explanation for the fact that our effort has not been fully successful. We have not found it to be true in every case that statements of protest in one symbolic medium, say, asceticism, will inevitably be replicated in other media, say, incarnation and resurrection. This does occur often enough to be interesting and more than coincidental. The Testimony of Truth from Nag Hammadi is a paradigm case. Paul's Corinthians, Paul himself and Arius come close. The ascetics of Egypt are the most interesting ‘deviants’. The connection between their asceticism and the message of alienation and protest is clear. Their views of the resurrection have not been much studied, but in view of the symbolic function of their bodies and their view of ascetic practice as a means of restoring the natural state of Eden, it is not too much to suggest that their conception of resurrection would have emphasized the restored and purified nature of the resurrection body in contrast to the orthodox view of the absolute identity of that body with the present physical one. As for their views of the incarnation, there is some evidence of leanings in this direction. While those who held to docetic christologies generally favoured asceticism, the reverse was not always true. Part of the reason for the absence of docetic views of the incarnation among the ascetics—assuming, of course, that they should have been docetists—is that they say so little about doctrines of any kind. Part may also be due to the orthodoxy of those who wrote about the monks. Part may be due to the fact that the primary target of ascetic protest was not the physical universe, or matter as such, or even the world of social and political reality, but rather the church in and of the world—a differentiated and thus moderated protest. But part may also be due to a more or less conscious decision to draw a line between expressions of alienation, so to speak, a symbolic quid pro quo. The quid was the recognition by the church at large that ascetic piety could not be proscribed by the successor generations of the martyrs. The pro quo would then take the form of doctrinal orthodoxy. Thus the absence of docetic christologies among the ascetics would result not just from the imposition of episcopal authority but from the power of doctrine to shape reality.Body symbols thus provide us with a new thread for tracing the transformation of Christianity from an obscure cluster of sects in Palestine to an institution of unparalleled spiritual and political power in the Roman empire. Of course, not everyone accepted this transformation as an act of divine providence. Some reacted by denying that God had taken on a human body in the person of Jesus; others tortured their bodies; and from time to time in succeeding centuries still others gathered in small communities to await the resurrection of the body and with it the birth of a new world.     

Scaling Satan

The influence on social behavior of beliefs in Satan and the nature of evil has received little empirical study. Elaine Pagels (1995) in her book, The Origin of Satan, argued that Christians' intolerance toward others is due to their belief in an active Satan. In this study, more than 200 college undergraduates completed the Manitoba Prejudice Scale and the Attitudes Toward Homosexuals Scale (B. Altemeyer, 1988), as well as the Belief in an Active Satan Scale, developed by the authors. The Belief in an Active Satan Scale demonstrated good internal consistency and temporal stability. Correlational analyses revealed that for the female participants, belief in an active Satan was directly related to intolerance toward lesbians and gay men and intolerance toward ethnic minorities. For the male participants, belief in an active Satan was directly related to intolerance toward lesbians and gay men but was not significantly related to intolerance toward ethnic minorities. Results of this research showed that it is possible to meaningfully measure belief in an active Satan and that such beliefs may encourage intolerance toward others.     

Ninian Smart

Mary Douglas has invited historians of religion to test her hypothesis about the social meaning of body symbols. Her view that body symbolism always points in the direction of social concerns and that efforts to separate body and spirit indicate sentiments of revolt and alienation has proved fruitful in several areas. Of course there is nothing particularly novel in the proposal that the body can be seen as a symbol of wider realities. The Stoics spoke of the universe as a body; Paul could describe individual Christian congregations as a body; and Priscillian referred to the human body in depreciating terms as a figura mundi. Victor Turner has shown that the body symbols of the Ndembu in Zambia are part of a wider pattern which uses ‘an aspect of human physiology as a model for social, cosmic and religious ideas and processes’, including, he adds, ‘the human body [as] … a microcosm of the universe,’⁵⁷ There is even a considerable literature on the subject.⁵⁸ Indeed, one cannot help but be struck by the fact that with the great abundance of work devoted to body symbols in general, so little has been done with early Christianity.

What distinguishes Douglas from other theoreticians of body symbolism is her Durkheimian orientation. By taking seriously the social dimension of body symbols and by positing the revolutionary character of symbols which separate body and spirit, she is able to uncover latent dimensions of doctrinal controversy and to restore flesh to the dry bones of theological debate. In her own preliminary studies, she has limited herself to one symbol, i.e. incarnation, and one controversy, i.e. the Arian. In extending her initiative to other symbols and controversies, I have proceeded on the assumption that body symbols of different sorts should reflect the same condensed message about society. I would argue that this effort has been largely successful. Expectations of imminent resurrection or views of the resurrection which deny the physical aspect are regularly associated in early Christianity with separatist-sectarian behaviour generally. The recession of hopes for an imminent resurrection accompanied the transition of Christianity from sect to church. Conversely, and this would warrant further study, subsequent sectarian movements within Christianity seem to be accompanied by a return of hopes for physical resurrection. Particular sorts of sectarianism, especially those which stress individualism and spiritualism, are prone to view the resurrection in other than physical terms. Even the mainstream of Christianity refused to abandon altogether the doctrine of a future resurrection. Orthodox believers could always point to the denial of resurrection as an unmistakable signpost of heresy. At one level we may treat this doctrinal survival as little more than a memory of Christianity's sectarian pedigree, as a vaguely disquieting memory. At another level, however, its very survival, against heavy odds, may also be seen as a permanent symbolic indicator of Christianity's ultimate refusal to identify itself completely with the secular order. Beyond this, the survival of belief in resurrection has meant the persistence of a latent symbol of protest, alienation and transformation. For in the final analysis, it is not the case that symbols merely reflect social reality. As symbols, they also possess the power to shape it.

In this observation lies perhaps an explanation for the fact that our effort has not been fully successful. We have not found it to be true in every case that statements of protest in one symbolic medium, say, asceticism, will inevitably be replicated in other media, say, incarnation and resurrection. This does occur often enough to be interesting and more than coincidental. The Testimony of Truth from Nag Hammadi is a paradigm case. Paul's Corinthians, Paul himself and Arius come close. The ascetics of Egypt are the most interesting ‘deviants’. The connection between their asceticism and the message of alienation and protest is clear. Their views of the resurrection have not been much studied, but in view of the symbolic function of their bodies and their view of ascetic practice as a means of restoring the natural state of Eden, it is not too much to suggest that their conception of resurrection would have emphasized the restored and purified nature of the resurrection body in contrast to the orthodox view of the absolute identity of that body with the present physical one. As for their views of the incarnation, there is some evidence of leanings in this direction. While those who held to docetic christologies generally favoured asceticism, the reverse was not always true. Part of the reason for the absence of docetic views of the incarnation among the ascetics—assuming, of course, that they should have been docetists—is that they say so little about doctrines of any kind. Part may also be due to the orthodoxy of those who wrote about the monks. Part may be due to the fact that the primary target of ascetic protest was not the physical universe, or matter as such, or even the world of social and political reality, but rather the church in and of the world—a differentiated and thus moderated protest. But part may also be due to a more or less conscious decision to draw a line between expressions of alienation, so to speak, a symbolic quid pro quo. The quid was the recognition by the church at large that ascetic piety could not be proscribed by the successor generations of the martyrs. The pro quo would then take the form of doctrinal orthodoxy. Thus the absence of docetic christologies among the ascetics would result not just from the imposition of episcopal authority but from the power of doctrine to shape reality.

Body symbols thus provide us with a new thread for tracing the transformation of Christianity from an obscure cluster of sects in Palestine to an institution of unparalleled spiritual and political power in the Roman empire. Of course, not everyone accepted this transformation as an act of divine providence. Some reacted by denying that God had taken on a human body in the person of Jesus; others tortured their bodies; and from time to time in succeeding centuries still others gathered in small communities to await the resurrection of the body and with it the birth of a new world.     

Scaling satan

The influence on social behavior of beliefs in Satan and the nature of evil has received little empirical study. Elaine Pagels (1995) in her book, The Origin of Satan, argued that Christians' intolerance toward others is due to their belief in an active Satan. In this study, more than 200 college undergraduates completed the Manitoba Prejudice Scale and the Attitudes Toward Homosexuals Scale (B. Altemeyer, 1988), as well as the Belief in an Active Satan Scale, developed by the authors. The Belief in an Active Satan Scale demonstrated good internal consistency and temporal stability. Correlational analyses revealed that for the female participants, belief in an active Satan was directly related to intolerance toward lesbians and gay men and intolerance toward ethnic minorities. For the male participants, belief in an active Satan was directly related to intolerance toward lesbians and gay men but was not significantly related to intolerance toward ethnic minorities. Results of this research showed that it is possible to meaningfully measure belief in an active Satan and that such beliefs may encourage intolerance toward others.     

The Tree of life and the Tree of death: A study of Gnostic symbols

This article is an analysis of the symbol of the Tree in Gnostic religion. The most striking characteristic of this symbol is that its qualities and functions are determined more by anthropology than by botany. In Gnostic religion the physiological processes of human fertilization and gestation are used as metaphors for the process of making a spiritual man. The Tree is life-giving, and can be perceived as being either female or male. In the latter case, the male generative Tree is opposed by a female Tree of death. The symbol of the Tree is applied both in Christian Gnostic systems and in systems which are not Christianized. The Tree can be personalized and may be associated either with Jesus or with Eve. In the Conclusion, the problem of the Tree as a universal symbol is discussed.     

What If the Church Really is the Body of Christ?

Abstract : What does it mean to claim that the church is the body of Christ? Following the lead of the New Testament, Bonhoeffer, Jenson, and Hauerwas, this article articulates how the church becomes the body of Christ through the narrative of Scripture and the practices of worship. As Jesus Christ has a distinctive character, so also the body of Christ has a distinctive character. This character is described through the four classical marks of the church—one, holy, catholic, apostolic. These notae ecclesiae are to be interpreted not only in relation to the inner constitution of the church but ethically in relation to the church's calling to be “shalom church” for the life of the world in peacemaking, doing justice, caring for creation, and defending human dignity. Particular communal practices that embody this character are proposed for the life of the church.     

A CHRISTIAN NATURALISM: DEVELOPING THE THINKING OF GORDON KAUFMAN

This essay develops a theological naturalism using Gordon Kaufman's nonpersonal idea of God as serendipitous creativity in contrast to the personal metaphorical theology of Sallie McFague. It then develops a Christian theological naturalism by using Kaufman's idea of historical trajectories, specifically Jesus trajectory₁ and Jesus trajectory₂. The first is the trajectory in the early Christian church assuming a personal God in the framework of Greek philosophy that results in the Trinity. The second is the naturalistic‐humanistic trajectory of creativity (God) that evolves from nonpersonal interactions in the universe and life to creativity in persons and is manifested in Jesus as love. This is elaborated further with Dean Keith Simonton's Darwinian understanding of genius and Marcus Borg's analysis of Jesus as Jewish mystic, teacher of alternative wisdom, and nonviolent resister to the domination system of the Roman Empire. What makes Jesus a religious genius is his exemplifying unconditional, universal love—a new mode of creativity (God) that has evolved from nonhuman to a human form.     

A Study of Rural Church Health Promotion Environments: Leaders’ and Members’ Perspectives

This study examined the beliefs of church leaders about health and associations between these beliefs and the church health promotion environment (CHPE). Perceptions of the CHPE by leaders and members of the same churches were also compared. Interviews were conducted with pastors (n = 40) and members (n = 96) of rural churches. They were Baptist (60%), and 57.5% were predominantly White, while 42.5% were Black. Leaders’ beliefs regarding talking about health topics in sermons were associated with the presence of health messages in the church. There was also a significant association between leaders’ beliefs about members’ receptivity to health messages and the presence of messages in the church. Leaders’ and members’ perceptions of the CHPE were discordant. While some leaders’ beliefs may be related to the CHPE, other factors may explain why programs and policies exist in some churches and not others.     

Intrinsic religiosity protects believers from the existential fear of a human Jesus

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the role of internalised religious beliefs in defending against existential concerns aroused from a creaturely Jesus. Prior work has found that biologically human traits (e.g., vomiting, sweating, etc.) can increase death concerns when applied to both humans and a god. Intrinsic beliefs, however, have been shown to reduce mortality awareness. In the current study, religious participants were primed with thoughts of either a human or neutral Jesus followed by a single item measure about fear of death. A moderated regression analysis found that whereas high intrinsic individuals were buffered from existential concerns, low intrinsic individuals experienced a greater fear of death when primed with a human Jesus. These results replicate prior work within terror management theory and the psychology of religion suggesting that internalised beliefs serve a protective function against existential anxieties.     

From Consumerism to Stewardship: The Troublesome Ambiguities of an Attractive Option1

Abstract : Problems with consumerism may lead Christians to project the idea of responsible stewardship as an alternative. But this would be highly problematic. Although a part of many American Christians’ experience, and apparently bolstered by the authority of Jesus himself, the construct resists normative theological definition. It is too closely allied in our culture with “the spirit of capitalism” and tends to re‐enforce secular understandings of private property. The construct stewardship, therefore, should be used sparingly, if at all, in church circles.     

Eschatological Images of Prophet and Priest in Edward Schillebeeckx's Theology of suffering for Others

Eschatological images of Jesus as found in Jewish and Christian texts constitute the foundation of Edward Schillebeeckx’s positive orientation to suffering for others. Jewish prototypes provided the early Christians with an understanding of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection as the advent of the eschaton. The pre‐existing biblical figures, which early Jewish Christians appropriated in the aftermath of the devastating crucifixion, provided traditional categories through which the life and death of Jesus could be meaningfully interpreted. Jesus as the eschatological prophet‐martyr and Jesus as the suffering, eschatological high priest of the Epistle to the Hebrews are the most prominent and complex of the ancient figures. In Schillebeeckx’s analysis, each of the two composite titles ascribed to Jesus is an amplification of a prophetic or priestly prototype. The use of both models is predicted on Jesus’ compassionate and redemptive response to suffering – healing the sick, comforting the bereaved, giving hope to the oppressed, and proclaiming eschatological salvation. Schillebeeckx’s historical‐critical investigation of Jesus’ perception of his anticipated death, as revealed in the Last supper narrative, and his analysis of the meaning ascribed to the crucifixion in primitive Christianity establish the basis for a theology of redemptive suffering in the early church. Schillebeeckx has critically examined three pre‐New Testament interpretations applied to Jesus’ crucifixion: (1) the death of the eschatological prophet‐martyr in the Deuteronomic tradition of the prophets whose proclamations were typically misjudged by Israel; (2) the fulfilment of the divine scheme of salvation through the suffering of the ‘righteous one’, who is ultimately exonerated by God; and (3) a vicarious, atoning sacrifice (the Jewish prototype that later influenced Anselm’s substitution theory). The interpretative categories examined by Schillebeeckx with respect to the crucifixion are closely related to the biblical images upon which his theology of suffering is based.     

The Woman at the Well

The woman at the well argued theology with Jesus, and he listened to her and engaged her in conversation. Theological education today must make spaces for the voices of the marginalized to be heard and prepare church leaders to listen respectfully to people from the margins.     

Preschool Ontology: The Role of Beliefs About Category Boundaries in Early Categorization

These studies examined the role of ontological beliefs about category boundaries in early categorization. Study 1 found that preschool-age children (N = 48, aged 3–4 years old) have domain-specific beliefs about the meaning of category boundaries; children judged the boundaries of natural kind categories (animal species, human gender) as discrete and strict, but they judged the boundaries of other categories (artifact categories, human race) as more flexible. Study 2 demonstrated that these domain-specific ontological intuitions guide children's learning of new categories; children (N = 28, 3-year-olds) assumed that the boundaries of novel animal categories would be narrower and more strictly defined than novel artifact categories. These data demonstrate that abstract beliefs about the meaning of category boundaries shape early conceptual development.     

Humanity in Schillebeeckx’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology. Towards a Methodology

This paper offers an analysis of Edward Schillebeeckx’s insights on different perceptions of revelation as related to concepts like salvation, God, church, human experience and creation in the work Jesus in Our Western Culture. The incentive of Schillebeeckx’s hermeneutical method in nowadays Western phenomenology, upon which God “breathed his breath of life”, triggered our interest in meanings which Schillebeeckx ascribes to human history as the realm of God’s work for the benefit of men and women. This meaning is suggested in the very beginning of the book by its original Dutch title If Politics is not Everything. As stated in this work’s introduction, Schillebeeckx’s main theme is the origin of salvation in the humanum, from the Abba experience to nowadays revelatory events. Our attempt is to see how Schillebeeckx’s humanum, which is the embodiment of human experience of consciousness, becomes relevant for the Christian doctrines and why Schillebeeckx reckons that bringing them together would impact both his worldview and Western culture.     

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Heretics: The Other Side of Early Christianity , Gerd Lüdemann Spitting at Dragons: Towards a Feminist Theology of Sainthood , Elizabeth Stuart Hermeneutics as Theological Prolegomena: A Canonical Approach , Charles J. Scalise Gnostic Truth and Christian Heresy: A Study in the History of Gnosticism , Alastair H. B. Logan, T. & T. Clark Judas - Betrayer or Friend of Jesus? , William Klassen Celibacy: A Way of Loving, Living and Senving , A. W. Richard Sipe, Gill & Macmillan Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism , Grace Jantzen Postmodem Theologies: The Challenge of Religious Diversity , Terence W. Tilley (ed.) On Naming the Present: cod, Hermeneutics and Church , David Tracy The Character of Our Communities: Toward an Ethic of Liberation for the Church , Gloria Albrecht The Future of Anglicanism - Essays on Faith and Order , Robert Hannaford (ed.) Our Lady: The Mother of Jesus in Christian Faith and Devotion , Norman Pittenger The Cross on the Sword Catholic Chaplains in the Forces , Tom Johnstone and James Hagerty, Geoffrey Chapman In Search of the Sacred: Anthropology and the Study of Religions , Clinton Bennett Transforming Practice: Pastoral Theology in an Age of Uncertainty , Elaine Graham Religion in the Modern World: From Cathedrals to Cults , Steve Bruce Global Gods: Exploring the Roles of Religions in Modem Societies , David W. Shenk     

A Missionary Church: Introduction and Chapter One of Evangelii Gaudium

The article provides a summary and synthesis of the Introduction and Chapter One of Evangelii Gaudium (EG 1–18 and 19–49), where Pope Francis outlines his vision of the church and the program of his pontificate. He envisions the church as fundamentally a missionary church and sees the role of his pontificate as bringing about the transformation of the church into a missionary church. The article concludes by showing that Pope Francis’ vision of the church in EG echoes Vatican II's decree Ad Gentes and is shaped by his experience of the church in Latin America. Thus, it ends with two observations: first, that with EG, Ad Gentes’ statement that “the Church is missionary by her very nature” ceases to be merely a theological declaration and now becomes a concrete pastoral program of action; and second, that EG, where the concerns of the third world are allowed to shape the vision of the universal church, is an eloquent manifestation of the church becoming a World Church.     

The Gnostic heritage of Heavy Metal

The religious impulse in early Heavy Metal music is fundamentally Gnostic. An ancient religious tradition emphasising the rule of evil and the remoteness of salvation, Gnosticism was integrated into hard rock music in the late 1960s. Early Heavy Metal musicians encountered Gnosticism as it had been absorbed into popular fiction and film, including especially the works of Dennis Wheatley and J.R.R. Tolkien. Prominent in giving Gnosticism musical form was the band Black Sabbath, whose first three albums in 1970 and 1971 pioneered the patterns of musical practice that would become the conventions of the genre. Heavy Metal’s alternately heavy and giddy affect, created via a synthesis of musical practices and complementary verbal and visual representations, brought Gnostic beliefs into meaningful intersection with the everyday lives of young blue-collar males in Britain and the United States, as they confronted the post-industrial age in the context of a waning sixties counterculture.