A teleological interpretation of Bonhoeffer's concept of “A World Come of Age”

This paper explores Dietrich Bonhoeffer's concept of “the nonreligious interpretation of biblical terms in a world come of age,” best known from his Letters and Papers from Prison (LPP). As a case study of its possibilities, we will survey South African thinkers who have explored the concept in rapidly changing contexts. Our leading question is whether academic theology can develop a teleological narrative for a nation that has “come of age.” When a nation or culture becomes so secular that it “outgrows” a traditional use of biblical terms, can those terms be reinterpreted to provide a teleological narrative for the nation? Bonhoeffer can be a resource for academic theologians to address issues in public theology, especially the suffering and oppression of communities still in pain despite a democratic system.     

A ‘Glaring Misunderstanding'? Schleiermacher,Barth and the Nature of Speculative Theology

Both Friedrich Schleiermacher and Karl Barth attempted to keep Christian dogmatic theology free from abstract philosophical speculation. However, Barth thinks that Schleiermacher is guilty of the very speculative theology to which Schleiermacher is so averse. This article will defend the claim that Barth misreads Schleiermacher's Glaubenslehre, such that Schleiermacher's theological method and formulations are just as anti‐speculative as Barth's. To defend this claim, this article examines what Barth considers to be speculative theology as well as his accusation that Schleiermacher is guilty of such speculative proposals. After considering Barth's challenges, this article defends Schleiermacher's methodology and theology as anti‐speculative. Finally, several additional accusations against Schleiermacher (those of Bruce McCormack and Thomas Curran) are overcome.     

The Theology of Atonement in Eastern Orthodoxy and Lutheranism Viewed Through Hymnody

Abstract : The last twenty years have seen a resurgence in dialogue between Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodoxy, especially as the dialogue pertains to deification, known as theosis. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, theosis is one way to describe atonement. This paper approaches the theology of atonement through the lens of each tradition's hymnody. Although the images in the hymns are not identical, their themes are similar enough to reinforce the present‐day dialogue between these two traditions.     

THE HUMAN BEING SHAPING AND TRANSCENDING ITSELF: WRITTEN LANGUAGE,BRAIN, AND CULTURE

Recent theological anthropology emphasizes a dynamic and integral understanding of the human being, which is also related to Karl Rahner's idea of active self‐transcendence and to the imago Dei doctrine. The recent neuroscientific discovery of the “visual word form area” for reading, regarded in light of the concept of cultural neural reuse, will produce fresh implications for the interrelation of brain biology and human culture. The theological and neuroscientific parts are shown in their mutual connections thus articulating the notion that human beings shape and transcend themselves both at the biological and at the cultural level. This will have relevant implications for the timely topic of human uniqueness in science and theology, and in proposing a new research perspective in which theology may consider culture along with its biological import, but not necessarily in strictly evolutionary terms alone.     

A Compelling Trinitarian Taxonomy: Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theology of the Trinitarian Inversion and Reversion

In trinitarian theology, the problematic place of the Holy Spirit in the taxonomy of the immanent Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) does not seem to correspond to what is revealed in the economy (Father, Holy Spirit and Son). Because of this pneumatological problem, some theologians have abandoned the traditional trinitarian taxonomy. This approach, however, does not provide a finally convincing answer that is consistent with both the biblical witness and the theological tradition. In this article, I argue that Hans Urs von Balthasar's theology of the trinitarian inversion and reversion does provide a convincing answer to the trinitarian taxonomy problem. After supporting my thesis by first referencing the traditional trinitarian taxonomy offered in Augustine's de Trinitate and then examining the possibility of abandoning the taxonomy given by Jürgen Moltmann and Leonardo Boff, I will offer von Balthasar's solution as the most compelling trinitarian taxonomy, especially in light of the ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.     

THE RECEPTION OF DIONYSIUS IN TWENTIETH‐CENTURY EASTERN ORTHODOXY

This essay surveys diverse interpretations of the CD by twentieth‐century Eastern Orthodox theologians. This essay argues that the evaluation of Dionysius' contribution crucially depends upon the master narrative within which the CD is considered. For example, for Vladimir Lossky, Dionysius' apophaticism was the “dogmatic ground” of Byzantine mystical theology, whereas according to John Meyendorff, Dionysius' theology was in need of a “Christological corrective” later provided in the theologies of Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas. The points of contact and contrast between Dionysian mystical theology and Russian sophiology are also discussed. Finally, this essay argues that modern Orthodox readings of the CD are characterized by a profound irony: while they are in various degrees indebted to the Western intellectual tradition (as, for example, Christos Yannaras is to Heidegger), Orthodox theologians often use Dionysius to forge an anti‐Western Orthodox theological identity.     

For and Against de Régnon: Trinitarianism East and West

Modern systematic theologians frequently claim that Eastern trinitarianism begins with the persons while Western trinitarianism begins with the divine essence, and fails to truly differentiate the persons. This article explores the origins of this claim in the writing of Theodore de Régnon, noting recent criticism of his paradigm's applicability to the patristic era. In response to these criticisms, I argue first for the limited validity of the de Régnon paradigm by demonstrating its applicability in the Carolingian–Photian dispute surrounding the filioque. I then argue against the deployment of the paradigm as a controlling schema in systematic theology by pointing to problems this narrative has created in the theology of Robert Jenson and John Zizioulas.     

Through Sensus Fidelium to Deification: Listening to the Voice of the Faithful in Eastern Orthodoxy

The most significant challenge facing Eastern Orthodoxy is the laity’s lack of engagement with their faith. In this article, I argue that this issue can be overcome by reintroducing the practice of consulting the laity in matters of faith (sensus fidelium). I begin by focusing on the benefits of sensus fidelium, as developed by Roman Catholic theology. I then move to demonstrate that sensus fidelium is also part of the Eastern Orthodox heritage. In the third section, I show the main risk the implementation of sensus fidelium raises, namely, confiscation by ultraconservative groups. Finally, I deal with this risk in the last section by placing the criteria for discerning the authentic voice of the laity in relation to the doctrine of deification.     

Contemporary views of man in psychology

Summary Contemporary views of man in psychology are in flux. The American tradition of experimental materialism is being modified by serious attention to personality theory. The existential movement in Europe is beginning to have a serious influence on both theory and therapy. The development of psychosomatic medicine is part of a vital reconsideration of the problems of mind-body. And within the psychotherapeutic disciplines, serious attention is being given to the role of patient-therapist values and the therapeutic concept of man. The relevance of spiritual concepts is being given serious consideration, and potential modifications of theology and psychology are being entertained by both disciplines. Hopefully, out of this interchange will develop more adequate concepts of man and God.Presented at Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary, January, 15, 1965, as one of the 1964–65 lecture series on Contemporary Views of Man.     

Divine Energies or Divine Personhood: Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas on conceiving the transcendent and immanent God

This essay explores a debate between two contemporary Orthodox theolo-gians, Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas, over how to adequately conceive the doctrine of the Trinity as an expression of the realism of divine-human communion, and hence, of the God who is transcendent and immanent. The essay critically analyzes the implications of Zizioulas's reworking of the patristic category of hypostasis . Zizioulas's theology is suggesting a paradigm shift in contemporary Eastern Orthodox theology insofar as it prioritizes hypostasis over energies for expressing the realism of divine-human communion. The implications of this study also extend to debates within contemporary trinitarian theologies over the adequacy of the concept of "person" for conceptualizing the Trinity.     

The Human Mind in This World and the Next: Scientific and Early Theological Perspectives

The understanding of the mind usually adopted within the current science-theology dialogue is questionable. It fails to take into account something necessary to provide a non-reductionist understanding of religious faith: what in ancient and medieval theology was termed the nous. While this concept may require re-interpretation for our present age in terms of a different philosophical framework, any recognition of its reality will have a major impact on two aspects of current discussion: our response to philosophical idealism and our understanding of the eschatological state.     

What Love Is Not: Lessons from Martin Luther King,Jr.

Focusing on the concept and practice of love sheds light on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s negative political theology. King was fundamentally concerned with what love is not, and it is this negation that colors his political vision. I do not take King’s political theology to be either primarily derivative of American liberal Protestantism or primarily derivative of folk African American religion, or of some syncretism of these. Rather, I take King to be participating in a tradition of negative theology that pairs the critique of idolatry with attention outward and inward, to the marginalized and to spiritual life.     

Transgressing the father figure: performing queer theology as an act of liberation

ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the intersection of power, ritual, and the sacred through the lens of performing drag as a tool to subvert dominant notions of theological discourse. Grounded in Cheng’s assertion that queer theology is transgressive (Radical Love) and Althaus-Reid’s Indecent Theology, the foundational text which introduces the concept of theology as destabilizing and grounded in subversion, particularly in the realm of sexuality, we critique the forces of power operating within Catholicism. We ask: Whose bodies are allowed to play a powerful role in Catholicism? How has ritual performance perpetuated the colonization of the mind/spirit and how can it be used to undo that same colonization? In discussing a public drag performance using George Michael’s “Father Figure,” we suggest the possibility of liberation that exists in bringing theology into queer spaces, extending theology beyond the realm of religious institutions or the academy.     

Ekstasis as (Beyond?) Jouissance: Sex,Queerness, and Apophaticism in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition

Ekstasis (ecstasy) is central to Eastern Orthodox theology, an encounter that sets the self on the way towards knowledge of and union with God. Ekstasis is fundamentally apophatic — achieved through the eschewal of cognitive knowledge, and experiential — precipitated by practices that foster self-renunciation and transcendence. This article examines how this notion of ecstasy, as narrated in the Orthodox theology of Staniloae and Lossky, can aid, and be aided by, queer theoretical claims regarding sex. Through examining Lacan's notion of jouissance and Bersani's utilization of it, as well as Williams's analysis of sex as “the body's grace,” this article explores how sex, particularly orgasm, can function as a spiritual resource, as a site of and practice towards ecstasy. This article concludes with a brief examination of the ethical implications of this frame.     

‘Mystic Atheism’: Julia Kristeva's Negative Theology

Abstract

This article examines Julia Kristeva's paradoxical concept of a ‘mystic atheism’. It falls into three parts. First, it briefly surveys Kristeva's psychoanalytic account of Christian theology in Au commencement était l'amour (1985). Secondly, it assesses Kristeva's analysis of the Christian mystical tradition from Teresa of Avila to Angela of Foligno in such works as Le féminin et le sacré (1999) and the three volumes on Le génie féminin (1999-2002). For Kristeva, Christian mysticism represents a key moment in the transition from theology to psychoanalysis: what she locates within the work of the female mystics is a so-called ‘mystic atheism’, that is to say, an affirmation of an other within the subject as opposed to the divine other that supposedly lies outside it. Finally, the article offers some critical comments upon Kristeva's own ‘mystic atheism’: I argue that—like much negative theology—Kristeva's psychoanalysis remains ontotheological in form and that this dimension expresses itself in a problematic tendency to anthropomorphize the other within. In conclusion, I will suggest that Kristeva's ‘mystic atheism’ ultimately remains within the theological tradition it seeks to call into question.     

A Luminous and Splendid Truth: On the Mystery of Predestination in Matthias Scheeben

Matthias Joseph Scheeben has been described as one of the greatest and least read theologians of the modern era. This article provides an overview of his theology of predestination, which remains a significant but little-studied aspect of his thought. Section I offers a general sketch of Scheeben's theology of predestination, employing the chapter on this topic in The Mysteries of Christianity as a primary source. Section II takes a deeper look at Scheeben's theology of predestination through an engagement with relevant sections of his untranslated masterwork, the Dogmatik. This section will highlight Scheeben's relationship to both the de auxiliis controversy and the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Connections between Scheeben's theology of predestination and his other theological positions are noted throughout.     

Reception of Analogy of Being in Contemporary Eastern Orthodox Theology

This article examines the relationship between the analogy of being (which is a fundamental principle of Catholic theology and metaphysics) and the most significant contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians. This question of analogy touches upon the fundamental theological problem of the conceptualization of the relationship between God and creation. Even though there is no analogy in Eastern Orthodox theology, it has two polar positions regarding Western analogy of being—pro and con.     

The Rabbit and The Duck: Antinomic unity in Dostoevskij, the Russian religious tradition, and Mikhail Bakhtin

At the core of Dostoevskij’s philosophy and theology lies a concept according to which the Truth (Istina) is antinomical: it contains both a thesis and its antithesis without expectation of synthesis. This concept can be traced to Eastern Patristics. After Dostoevskij, the theory of antinomies was elaborated by 20th century Russian religious thinkers such as Pavel Florenskij, Sergej Bulgakov, Nikolaj Berdjaev, Semën Frank, and Vladimir Losskij. Their ideas help us to understand that Dostoevskij’s dialogism, made famous in its secular guise by Bakhtin, has a theological underpinning. Dostoevskij’s exposition of conflicting truths should therefore be seen not as a case of irresolvable contradiction or paradox but as an organic wholeness.     

The political theology of Fichte’s Staatslehre: immanence and transcendence

Given its use of religious concepts and language, it is tempting to class Fichte’s rarely discussed Staatslehre as a political theology. I argue that the Staatslehre can be classed as a political theology because of the way in which it can be understood in terms of the concepts of immanence and transcendence. The concept of immanence applies to Fichte’s account of history in particular. Fichte himself allows for a moment of transcendence at the very beginning of history. I argue that the concept of transcendence is also implicit in the Staatslehre in relation to some problems faced by Fichte’s own account of the role of the Zwingherr in the historical development and actualization of right and moral freedom, despite his attempt to avoid introducing theologically based explanations of political concepts at this stage of his Staatslehre.     

Luthers Geschichtsauffassung

Luther's theological reputation took a severe blow throughout the course of twentieth-century Swedish academic theology. In this paper, I seek to show that a major reason for the increasingly negative evaluation of Luther in Swedish theology had to do with widespread misgivings over Luther's rejection free choice in De servo arbitrio (1525). I give an account of the emergence of these misgivings, trace them through a number of prominent Swedish theologians, and show how they eventually led to severe criticisms of Luther.