Putting the Protest Back into Protestant

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on 31 October 1517, he did so in protest at abuses in Catholic theology and practice. Contemporary times, too, call for protest. The first “protest” concerns the revitalization of education and an increased commitment to intellectual excellence. The second “protest” concerns a recovery of Luther as a figure of protest. While scholars have tamed Luther's dangerous doctrines, the popular imagination still perceives him as an urban legend who spoke truth to power. An expansive notion of scholarship on Luther is required in order to approach a Luther who continues to inspire people around the world. The third “protest” is a critical protest of Luther's religious intolerance, specifically his anti‐Judaism. Christian theologians must acknowledge Luther's anti‐Judaism as central to his theology and radically revise this legacy to promote justice in inter‐religious relations.     

The Holy Spirit and Unity: Getting out of the Way of Christ

This article argues for a limited pneumatological definition of Christian unity, in favor of a more exclusive christological explanation. It traces some of the theological problems associated with tying Christian unity too closely with the Holy Spirit, by examining the works of three near‐contemporary seventeenth‐century theologians, Bossuet, Baxter and Owen. The pneumatological ‘expansionism’ in each of these writers, still common in contemporary discussions of ecclesial unity, are not only counterproductive but obscure the specific kinds of charismatic gifting demanded by Christian reconciliation.     

The Messiah and Rabbi Jesus: Policing the Jewish–Christian border in Christian Zionism

For all their ostensible difference and separateness, Judaism and Christianity have a long history of mutual engagement and profound entanglement. I take Daniel Boyarin's assertion that ‘…the borders between Christianity and Judaism are as constructed and imposed, as artificial and political as any of the borders of the earth’ (2004, 1) as my starting point. But what Boyarin sees as an ongoing process of differentiation between Judaism and Christianity and distinct identity-building in late antiquity, I look for still today in Christian Zionism. The busy border crossing continues to separate people and ideas at the same time as it serves as the meeting place between them, the uncomfortable place where Judaism and Christianity rub up against each other. This paper examines some constructions of the Jewish–Christian border by way of two case studies of prominent religious leaders, each firmly at home in their respective communities, Jewish and Christian, who ventured out to the borderland of Christian Zionism. This is the story of what happened when they returned home to find themselves examined by those who monitor the Jewish–Christian border, and deemed to be over the limit with intoxicants brought over from the ‘other side’.     

Five problems for the moral consensus about sins

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - A number of Christian theologians and philosophers have been critical of overly moralizing approaches to the doctrine of sin, but nearly all...     

THE SOCIAL ARTICULATION OF TIME IN EUGEN ROSENSTOCK‐HUESSY

Sociologists and theologians have both devoted considerable attention and energy to time, but the two rarely speak to one another. Sociologists investigate the effects of clock time, railway schedules, and calendars on culture, while theologians examine God's relation to time, usually the time of physics. The neglected German‐American thinker Eugen Rosenstock‐Huessy can help to bridge this gap. In his historical work, he paid particular attention to the role of rituals and calendars in shaping time, but he was also a Christian thinker who confessed that Jesus Christ brought in the “fullness of time.” This article considers some aspects of Rosenstock‐Huessy's rich account of time in the hopes that both theologians and sociologists, but especially theologians with sociological interests, will find his insights fruitful and mine them further for the productive possibilities.     

LOVE AS SACRIFICE,LOVE AS MUTUALITY: RESPONSE TO JEFFREY TILLMAN

Jeffrey Tillman is perceptive in noticing that certain Protestant theologians have used evolutionary theory to become more sympathetic to Roman Catholic views of Christian love. But he is incorrect in saying that these formulations deemphasize a place for self‐sacrifice in Christian love. Christian love defined as a strenuous equal‐regard for both other and self also requires sacrificial efforts to restore love as equal‐regard when finitude and sin undermine genuine mutuality and community.     

Henry David Thoreau's Anti‐Work Spirituality and a New Theological Ethic of Work

Although Henry David Thoreau stands outside the Christian canon, his outlook on the relations among spirituality, ecology, and economy highlights how Christian theologians can develop a theological work ethic in our era of economic and ecological precarity. He can furthermore help theologians counter the pro‐work bias in much Christian thought. In Walden, Thoreau shows that the best work is an ascetic practice that reveals and reaps the abundance of nature and connects the person to the immanent divine and thereby glimpsing eternity. Thoreau thus offers the outline of a transformed theology of work even as he challenges Protestant vocationalism in the early industrial era. He is therefore a fitting if challenging guide for formulating a theology of the self as agent and product of work, at a moment when the postindustrial ideal of work that is both meaningful and remunerative seems ever more unattainable while the negative impact of our work on nonhuman nature is ever more apparent.     

‘What do these stones mean?’ Inscriptions on stone from an ancient monastery in Ireland that address Jewish–Christian relations

Etched on a stone from a monastery from the Middle Ages at a small village in County Roscommon in Ireland is a combination of Jewish and Christian symbols. The Menorah sits atop a cross. At the base of the cross and at both ends of the crossbar are three small extensions. The image is one of religious integration. Augustine, whose argument for the Trinity and respect for Judaism, comes across on the inscribed stone. His influence on Irish Christianity is evident. The article argues not for the Christian take-over of Jewish symbols to the exclusion of Judaism, but for the recognition of Judaism as the bearer of religious meaning that enriches Christian faith. Here is an object lesson for wholesome relations between Jewish and Christian worshippers.     

Reconsidering theological exchange between China and the West

ABSTRACT

By reviewing the Chinese theological publications in the twentieth century, especially during the 1920s–1930s and after the 1980s, this article aims to show that it is not a zero-sum game between the translation of western theological works into Chinese and the publication of original Chinese theological works. The selection of the western works for translation exhibited a certain creativity from the Chinese side, and in turn, the translated works also inspired original Chinese theological works. In the twenty-first century, the Chinese studies of Christianity developed rapidly. Many Chinese Christian theologians published pro-actively in western languages. Due to the recognition of the importance of Christianity in contemporary China and the awareness of the global context for Christian theology, there was a growing interest among western theologians in non-western Christian theology, including Chinese Christian theology. The exchange and collaboration between Chinese and western theologians were particularly prominent on global and public issues.     

Responding to Anti‐Judaism and Antisemitism in Adult Learners’ Work

This article is designed to facilitate discussion and exchange among continuing education tutors on an important topic which has previously been somewhat neglected. It begins by offering educational and ethical arguments in support of the necessity of an active, creative tutorial response to anti‐Jewish (and other negative) prejudice in the adult religious and theological studies context. A number of ‘case study’ examples drawn from verbal and written statements made by students participating in adult education programmes are then discussed. Finally, the limitations of the case‐by‐case approach are acknowledged, and suggestions offered as to other more proactive and institution‐wide means of countering anti‐Judaism and antisemitism in adult learners’ work.     

Nirvana as the Last Thing? The Iconic End of the Narrative Imagination

The essay argues that the life of the world to come, the hoped‐for final end of the individual Christian, cannot be characterized or represented narratively; that it can be represented both formally and ironically; and that what Buddhists have said about Nirvana may serve Christian theologians in the development of more adequate formal and iconic representations of the life of the world to come. This is, then an essay in Christian theology concerned primarily to elucidate, at a relatively high degree of abstraction, some syntactical elements in the Christian master text; and secondarily, to comment upon some semantic elements therein.     

Catholic Theological Education in a Religiously Pluralistic Age

Abstract. This article describes the transformation of Catholic theological education over the last fifty years from a highly defensive posture vis‐à‐vis other religions toward dialogical engagement with members of other religions and all persons of good will. Until Vatican II, most Catholic theologians and officials distrusted exploration of other religions as leading to a dilution of Catholic identity. Vatican II condemned anti‐Semitism and called for dialogue among religions in pursuit of common values. Since the Council, there have been developments in interfaith education on three levels: religious studies, comparative theology, and inter‐religious practice.     

MESSIANIC JEWS AND JEWISH IDENTITY

In recent years Messianic Judaism has grown considerably worldwide and has caused much concern within the contemporary Jewish community. Messianic Jews claim they are completely Jewish, but they are considered by the majority of the Jewish community to be Christian apostates. This paper considers the practices and beliefs of the Messianic community, explores the issue of their identity and reflects on this in relation to Jewish identity throughout the universal Jewish community. It explores the question of placing Messianic Jews outside the Jewish fold, given that the various branches of contemporary Judaism are deeply divided over central tenets of faith and practice. It considers the Messianic belief in Jesus as the Messiah in the light of normative Jewish approaches to aspects of Halakhic teaching.     

THE SECULARIZATION OF CHANCE: TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF THE PROBABILITY REVOLUTION ON CHRISTIAN BELIEF IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE

This article gives a brief history of chance in the Christian tradition, from casting lots in the Hebrew Bible to the discovery of laws of chance in the modern period. I first discuss the deep‐seated skepticism towards chance in Christian thought, as shown in the work of Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin. The article then describes the revolution in our understanding of chance—when contemporary concepts such as probability and risk emerged—that occurred a century after Calvin. The modern ability to quantify chance has transformed ideas about the universe and human nature, separating Christians today from their predecessors, but has received little attention by Christian historians and theologians.     

BRICOLAGE AND THE PURITY OF TRADITIONS: Engaging the Stoics for Contemporary Christian Ethics

This essay is a response to C. Kavin Rowe's critique of my 2011 argument that certain dimensions of Roman Stoic ethics are at work in Jonathan Edwards's moral thought. Rowe raises questions about the act of selectively retrieving ideas from a philosophical tradition to support constructive work in another tradition. I argue for the importance of acknowledging how Christian thought has been shaped by what Jeffrey Stout describes as moral bricolage, the selective retrieval of ideas from various traditions, and I contend that this bricolage can continue to be a fruitful means through which Christian ethics engages external traditions. Moreover, the importance of Stoicism's retrieval in early modern philosophy makes the work of eighteenth‐century theologians such as Edwards a particularly valuable resource for exploring the plausibility of Christian engagement with the Stoics.     

The Soul of Trans‐Humanism

Abstract: This article tackles the question: how should Christian theologians think about the human soul in light of the challenges posed by the new emphasis in brain‐mind identity in neuroscience and trasn‐humanism? Ways of improving human nature through medical therapy, genetic enhancement, and trans‐human cybernetic immortality are explored; and their assumptions are correlated with a spectrum of Christian theories of the soul such as substance dualism, emergent dualism, nonreductive physicalism, and materialism. Finally, the article concludes that the human person should be thought of relationally, and the dimension that is decisive for resurrection is the relation of the soul to God.     

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?     

A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR CHRISTIAN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

Science and religion are the two strongest influences on the conduct of human life, yet their respective truth claims frequently clash. To facilitate better communication between scientists and theologians on these rival truth claims, the author recommends that Christian theologians use the language and current methodology of science as far as possible so as to present the content of Church teaching in an idiom that would be intelligible not only to scientists but to the educated public as well. In this way, the rival truth claims might complement rather than compete with one another. That is, clothed in the language of science, the truth claims of religion would gain in rational coherence and intelligibility. Natural scientists in turn would have conversation partners better able to deal with philosophical and ethical issues arising out of new scientific discoveries.