THE PARTICULARITY OF ANIMALS AND OF JESUS CHRIST

Clough's theological account of animals critiques the familiar negative identification of animals as not‐human. Instead, Clough highlights both the distinctive particularity of each animal as created by God and the shared fleshly creatureliness of human and nonhuman animals. He encourages Christians to recognize Jesus Christ as God enfleshed more than divinely human, and consequently to care for nonhuman animals as those who share with human animals in the redemption of all flesh. This move risks downplaying the possibilities for creaturely specific forms of redemption; limiting the cosmic efficacy of salvation in Christ; and losing the particularity of Christ's divine and human natures. Another, possibly less risky, direction to take Clough's insights about creatureliness and well‐formed theological ethics might attend to the perverse ways that humans assess the worthiness of human and nonhuman animals by substituting particularities of use and abuse for the particularities of creation and salvation.     

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.     

Religious and Theological Journals Online

ABSTRACT

Multiculturalism is less about “the pursuit of recognition,” than about “the pursuit of transformation.” After showing how western theological libraries have been impacted by major western cultural movements such as the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Enlightenment, the author challenges theological librarians to recognize how the experience of western colonialism and imperialism marginalized non-western cultures and believers. The major consequence for theological education and libraries has been to view non-western peoples as “the other,” either hiding their histories or shifting their religious experience to the margins. Sawyer reminds readers that contemporary Christianity is growing fastest “at its old ‘margins’ while diminishing in its historic ‘centers’; therefore, theological librarians must shift their collecting and their collections in response to changing needs and new categories. Otherwise, some collections will become “veritably archival, as use-rates plummet.”     

The Function of Web Catalogs in Theological Libraries

SUMMARY

The World Wide Web is an environment in which academic libraries are able to improve and extend their services, and help achieve the goals of their institutions. The Web catalog is one tool that can help advance these goals. Theological libraries are beginning to utilize Web catalogs in order to improve access to their unique collections. This article summarizes a study of 132 theological library Web catalogs in North America, and attempts to identify and interpret the roles these catalogs play. The essay concludes with thoughts on the future shape of Web OPACs, and an identification of the major gateways to these catalogs.     

The Design of an Information Literacy Program at a Non-Traditional Seminary

ABSTRACT

The exponential growth in information resources and the new demands of the information age have put increasing demands upon faculty and students to access appropriate information quickly, to process that information with critical thinking skills, and to communicate both verbally and in writing a product that is practical, interesting, and meaningful. The job of teaching of research methods must include the integral components of an information literacy program. Students need to be encouraged to expertly retrieve the information required for the writing of a paper. They must be helped to think critically, synthesizing ideas and concepts from the numerous information sources.

It is vital that the faculty and librarian at Seminary of the East work together to develop a comprehensive information literacy program that is not only supported by both faculty and library staff, but periodically evaluated to validate the program and to measure its progress in addressing the information literacy needs of both students and faculty.     

The Evangelical Necessity of Creedal Confession in the World of Empire

The author argues that in the world of Empire where greed, violence, and idolatry pervade, the Church is challenged to recognise that it exists to witness to the radical, liberating message of the gospel of the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ. The Church is challenged to recognise and acknowledge how it is a beneficiary of Empire, but that its focus is to be on the Lord Jesus Christ and not the ‘Caesars’ who cannot give the life, healing, and forgiveness that only God can give. Faithfulness to the gospel calls for creedal‐confession that becomes both inevitable and necessary because the church's confession is communal. The community in Christ needs one another in order to be faithful through mutual creedal‐remembering and reminding of the identity of the God of Jesus Christ.     

Theological Influences in Scientific Research Programs: Natural Theology “in Reverse”

The Boyle Lectures were created to promote natural theology, where science leads to belief in God. Russell's 2017 Boyle Lecture moves in the ‘opposite’ direction, showing how theological convictions held, often implicitly, by research scientists can play a creative role in both the construction of scientific theories and the choice between existing theories. As examples, Russell explores the conflicts over Big Bang versus Steady-State cosmologies, and between Einstein and Bohr about quantum mechanics. Against the claim that these influences die off once the conflict is over, Russell shows that they continue to be inherited by successive generations of scientists.     

Re‐Imagining Theological Education for the Twenty‐First Century: “What Has Theological Ed to do with Higher Ed?”

Abstract : In re‐imagining theological education for the twenty‐first century, Stortz examines two late‐twentieth‐century proposals for seminary education: ecumenical consortia and “clustering,” or merging seminaries within the same communion. Given the relative failure of such proposals, she explores a “back to the future” move—a return of seminaries to the church‐related colleges from which many of them sprung. The move might prove mutually beneficial on three fronts: helping the respective institutions with twin emphases on formation and professionalization, sorting through mission and identity issues, and facilitating a greater awareness of the global context which both theological and higher education serve.     

The Future of Theological Education: A Speculative Glimpse at 20321

Abstract : While the long‐term future is unpredictable, institutions need a way of seeing their work past the present. This article identifies the forces that cause change in theological schools and speculates about the characteristics that theological schools will exhibit in twenty years in light of the most significant forces that will influence them, including denominational and congregational issues, the changing racial/ethnic composition of the American population, the changing character of global Christianity, and the changing practices of American higher education.     

The Effects of Protestant Theological Conservatism and Trust on Environmental Cooperation

Recent studies indicate that Protestant theological conservatism is associated with lower levels of generalized trust. In this article, we ask: What are the implications of theological conservatives’ lower trust levels? Specifically, does their lower trust impact environmental cooperation? Past research finds that trust promotes cooperation, and we theorize that because theological conservatism undermines trust, it should negatively impact cooperation directly. Thus, we suggest an interaction between trust and theological conservatism on cooperation. We test the arguments in the context of environmental social dilemmas, including decisions about recycling, water and energy consumption, and individuals’ willingness to protect the environment, using data from the 2010 General Social Survey. Our results support the theory that trust levels among Protestant theological conservatism more acutely undermine environmental cooperation, and we further discuss the implications of these findings.