A Systematic Theology from East Asia : Jung Young Lee's biblical-cultural Trinity by
A Systematic Theology from East Asia: Jung Young Lee's Biblical-Cultural Trinity considers the Trinitarian theology of Jung Young Lee, a twentieth-century Korean American theologian, unique for being based on the Bible but also inspired by the Book of Changes, a classical text from East Asian culture with wide appeal. This monograph examines the Christian scriptural-traditional and cultural roots of Lee's doctrines of God and the Trinity as twin pillars of his systematic theological system bearing out God's nature, purposes, and guidance for humanity and the world. In addition, this book outlines the autobiographical milieu of Lee's theology, its contribution to three distinct fields of Trinitarian doctrine (immanent-economic trinitarianism, social Trinity theory, and Cappadocian trinitarianism), and culminates in an assessment of Lee as a systematic theologian from East Asia, comparing Lee with other Asian American theologians.
Accountability to God by
The word 'accountability' is often used without much thought being given to what precisely it means. It is especially common in Christian circles, where there is frequent talk about being accountable to God, yet, still, without a clear grasp of this word. Accountability to God proposes, develops, and analyses two concepts of accountability as both a condition and a virtue. It also engineers these concepts to make them particularly apt for thinking about (1) accountability to God and (2) other relationships of accountability that exist under God. In its first part, the book builds a theological and general case for its particular views of accountability. In its second, it engages in the constructive work of developing a theology of accountability in relation to the doctrines of the Trinity, participation in Christ, the Fall, the fear of God, reconciliation, baptism, repentance, faith, and conversion. In developing this theology, Torrance interacts with a number of major theologians, such as the Apostle Paul, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Karl Barth. He also extensively engages with contemporary work in analytic philosophy, systematic theology (including analytic theology), biblical studies, and psychology. By bringing a diverse range of scholarship into discussion, Accountability to God is the first book to focus specifically on what it means to be accountable to God. It thereby proposes a more positive, constructive, and theologically apt way to think about accountability.
The Death and Life of Speculative Theology by
The Death and Life of Speculative Theology argues that speculative theology can be decoupled from classicism, transformed through modern science, philosophy, and culture, and made useful for addressing intellectual problems in this cosmopolitan age. Speculative theology can provoke, organize, regulate, and invigorate intellectual pluralism and thereby contribute to making the world a home for the human spirit. Drawing on the thought of Bernard Lonergan, Ryan Hemmer narrates the rise and fall of speculative theology, anticipates how it might be renewed, and repurposes some of its forgotten achievements to show that modern theology can be a modern science for a modern culture.
Mimetic Theory and Its Shadow : Girard, Milbank, and ontological violence by
Leading Girardian theologian Scott Cowdell seeks to resolve a long-standing challenge to mimetic theory: that it entails a fundamental brutishness--an ontological violence. Girard's account of scapegoating violence, seen as providing the initial stability for our species to emerge and consolidate, hardly seems compatible with Christian belief in God's good creation, with violence only appearing after a subsequent Fall. The brilliant but controversial theologian John Milbank has long raised this concern about Girard, grounded in a remarkably sophisticated (though seldom fathomed) philosophical theology. Unpacking Milbank's program, along with Girard's recasting of Continental philosophy in light of mimetic theory, Cowdell finds a way between two apparently irreconcilable positions. With irenic spirit but analytic tenacity, he probes for ways through Milbank's arguments while pressing on growth points in Girard's. Cowdell's proposals involve reframing divine creation in light of salvation history, reimagining divine participation by thinking Christ and evolution together, and developing a semiotic approach to mimetic theory that delivers ontological peace hermeneutically. Cowdell shows how Girard's vision of human transformation through faith in Christ reveals a different world beyond ontological violence while preserving the divine participation that Milbank champions.
The Tyranny of the Banal: on the renewal of Catholic moral theology by
Catholic positions on contested moral issues are rejected by the majority in the secular West and are increasingly rejected by Catholics themselves. In this book, David Deane argues that there are two main reasons for this. First, the dominance of secular approaches deprives Catholic positions of their claim to coherence. Second, the Catholic positions, Deane shows, have lost contact with the theology on which they were originally based. In response, Deane undertakes a deconstruction of the dominant secular positions, and seeks to restore Catholic positions to their theological roots. The result of this is a moral theology reconnected with the Trinitarian understanding of God and God's relationship with the world. Restored to its doctrinal foundations, the moral theology that Deane offers is more coherent, more beautiful, and more convincing than has been found in Catholic moral discourse for centuries.
Artificial Intelligence and the Apocalyptic Imagination: artificial agency and human hope by
The increasing role and power of artificial intelligence in our lives and world requires us to imagine and shape a desirable future with this technology. Since visions of AI often draw from Christian apocalyptic narratives, current discussions about technological hopes and fears present an opportunity for a deeper engagement with Christian eschatological resources. This book argues that the Christian apocalyptic imagination can transform how we think about and use AI, helping us discover ways artificial agency may participate in new creation.
Divine Contradiction by
Building on his paradigm-shifting work on the incarnation in The Contradictory Christ (OUP, 2021), Jc Beall extends a robust contradictory theology with an account of the trinity. Throughout the history of the Christian church, heretics, apophatics, mystics, atheists, and many others have long proclaimed that the doctrine of the trinity - one of the central doctrines of the Christian faith - is contradictory. In this work, Beall agrees; however, as Beall convincingly argues, one needn't abandon orthodoxy, play language games, inflate one's metaphysics, nor abandon the standard faith in the face of such divine contradiction. Instead, one can accept central axioms of the trinity at face value and, with a suitable account of logical entailment, accept the 'contradictory truths' thereby entailed. With the clarity and precision that only a logician could provide, Beall provided theology and the Christian church in general with a very simple and viable (and arguably correct) model of divine reality. Unlike the vast number of theologians and philosophers before him, Beall rejects the quest for a logically consistent account of divine reality. The triune god (viz., God) is truly and fully described only via contradiction. As such, attempts to remove the contradiction are attempts to remove truths of God.
Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding by
An investigation of what consolidating religion as a technology of peacebuilding and development does to people's accounts of their religious and cultural traditions and why interreligious peacebuilding entrenches colonial legacies in the present. Throughout the global south, local and international organizations are frequent participants in peacebuilding projects that focus on interreligious dialogue. Yet as Atalia Omer argues in Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding, the effects of their efforts are often perverse, reinforcing neocolonial practices and disempowering local religious actors. Based on empirical research of inter and intra-religious peacebuilding practices in Kenya and the Philippines, Omer identifies two paradoxical findings: first, religious peacebuilding practices are both empowering and depoliticizing and, second, more doing of religion does not necessarily denote deeper or more critical religious literacy. Further, she shows that these religious actors generate decolonial openings regardless of how closed or open their religious communities are. Hence, religion's occasional usefulness in peacebuilding does not necessarily mean justice-oriented outcomes. The book not only uses decolonial and intersectional prisms to expose the entrenched and ongoing colonial dynamics operative in religion and the practices of peacebuilding and development in the global South, but it also speaks to decolonial theory through stories of transformation and survival.
Theological commonplaces. On death. Part one by
Part 1. Introduction: On the last things in general -- On the nomenclature -- On the causes of death -- On the material of death -- On the form of death -- On the end purpose of death -- On the object of death -- On the attendant circumstances of death -- On the consequences of death with respect to the soul.
Three Powers in Heaven : the emergence of theology and the parting of the ways by
A fresh look at how Christianity and Judaism became two distinct religions through the parting of their intellectual traditions How, when, and why did Christianity and Judaism become separate religions? This book reinterprets the parting of the ways between Jews and Christians in late antiquity as a split between two intellectual traditions, a split that took place in the context of Christian theological debates. By demonstrating that the constitution of communal borders coincided with the elaboration of different ways of producing religious knowledge, Emanuel Fiano shows that Christian theological controversies, often thought to teach us nothing beyond the history of dogma, can cast light on the broader religious landscape of late antiquity. Fiano marks not only a historical but also a methodological intervention in the study of the parting of the ways and in the study of late ancient religion more broadly. In his thought-provoking book we observe Christianity fall away from Judaism through the constitution of its own intellectual tradition, sustained by new practices for religious inquiry.
New Life in the Risen Christ: a Wesleyan theology of baptism by
Baptism is a foundational rite and sacrament of the church. Over the centuries, the significance of baptism for Christian life and faith has been confirmed by the church, but baptism remains a highly controversial topic. Numerous disagreements exist between denominations and faith traditions--including the various descendants of the original Methodist movement--over the doctrine and practice of baptism. Who can be baptized? Why is baptism done? What does the rite mean? New Life in the Risen Christ: A Wesleyan Theology of Baptism seeks to address confusion over baptism and offer a coherent treatment of the sacrament from a Wesleyan theological perspective. Distinguished scholars from around the world are brought together in this volume to examine the writings of John Wesley and offer scholarly reflections on topics related to the sacrament of baptism. Their work is an invitation to remember and be thankful for baptism as the sign of divine grace that initiates Christians into a new reality: life in the risen Christ.
Good and Evil in the Garden of Democracy by
"Democracy faces threats from an emerging right-wing movement in democratic governments around the world. This may be even more prevalent in the United States because there is an evil that uses rhetorical tropes to undermine the anchor institutions of democracy: press, courts, universities, and Congress. This evil has a personification--former President Donald Trump. All the rhetorical critiques of Trump, that he is a demagogue, an authoritarian, a serial liar, a populist on steroids, fail to take into account the evil that is fomented by his angry and vengeful rhetoric. Pictures of evil in Scripture, philosophy, and rhetoric bear a striking resemblance to Trump. It is not enough to say that he is dangerous to democracy. Kennedy claims that he is the evil seed in democracy that is even now sprouting new versions of the Trump rhetoric as each acolyte attempts to outrage the next. Good and Evil in the Garden of Democracy screams at the evil, fights against the evil, and then attempts to sing the songs of goodness and democracy from poets, prophets, and rhapsodes. For the health of democracy these words have been written."
A Womanist Holistic Soteriology : stitching fabrics with fine threads by
A Womanist Holistic Soteriology is a construction of womanist holistic soteriology that is inclusive of many voices and perspectives and promotes communal responsibility. A soteriology which considers notions of personhood, theology, spirituality, and praxeology is one that is holistic, inclusive, and grace-filled.
Public Theology in the Secular State : a perspective from the global south (2022) by
This book gives a persuasive answer to the need for public theology today. Rudolf von Sinner can draw from a rich basis of scholarship and experience related to the topic of public theology. His clear awareness of the contextuality of public theology is the reason for his repeated assurance in this book that we cannot speak about "public theology" but always only of "a" public theology. At the same time it is very clear for him that there is also an "intercontextuality". One of the great strengths of this book is its embeddedness into an international discourse on public theology, with a special emphasis on the South-South exchange. It is a contribution to public theology scholarship in its best sense. I proudly welcome its publication in our series. (Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Evangelical Church in Germany}} Rudolf von Sinner is Professor of Systematic Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná at Curitiba, as well as Professor Extra-Ordinary at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The Doctrine of Good Works: reclaiming a neglected Protestant teaching by
In Titus, Paul says Christ redeemed a people "zealous for good works." Despite this declaration and others like it, the doctrine of good works has fallen on hard times in contemporary Protestant theology and practice. At best, it's neglected--as in most systematic theologies and in too much church teaching. At worst, it's viewed with suspicion--as a threat to salvation by grace alone through faith alone. In this important work addressing a significant gap in current theological literature, the authors argue that by jettisoning a doctrine of good works, the contemporary church contradicts historical Protestantism and, more importantly, biblical teaching. They combine their areas of expertise--exegesis, systematic and historical theology, and practical theology--to help readers recover and embrace a positive doctrine of good works. They survey historical Protestant teaching to show the importance of the doctrine to our forebears, engage the scriptural testimony on the role of good works, formulate a theology of salvation and good works, and explore pastoral applications.
In the Beginning, the Sun: the Dakota legend of creation by
A never-before-published book by famed Native American author Charles Eastman recounts the stories of the Dakota creation cycle as they were told a century and a half ago. In the 1860s and 1870s, the boy who would become known as Charles Eastman was growing up in a Dakota community in Canada. On long winter evenings, he listened to elder Smoky Day tell the twelve legends of the Dakota creation cycle. They include stories of the marriage of the Sun and the Earth, the parents of all living things; the animal tribes and their councils; the misdeeds of the trickster Unktomi; the education of the first human, Waceheska; the war that Unktomi fomented between Waceheska and the animals; and much more. These stories describe how humans earned the right to use the bodies of animals for their needs, but only if they respect the animals' spirits and do not destroy them wantonly. In the 1880s, as a young man at college, Eastman wrote down the twelve stories. Shortly before his death in 1939, he revised the text for publication, but no book was ever released. For more than 80 years, this manuscript--written by one of the best-known and most prolific Native American writers of the early twentieth century--remained unpublished. In this new publication, descendants of Charles and his brothers John and David Eastman have come together to present this extraordinary work, more than eight decades after its completion. Gail Johnsen, Charles's great-granddaughter, describes finding this manuscript in the family papers she inherited and turning to her relatives in Minnesota to learn more. Sydney D. Beane, great-grandson of John, outlines Eastman's career and the history of the Dakota community at Flandrau, South Dakota. Yvonne Wynde, great-granddaughter of David, recounts her early memories of Charles's many relatives and identifies current Dakota practices that reflect the teachings in the legends. Yvonne's daughter Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan offers new perspectives on Charles's work as an Indigenous artist and writer. And Kate Beane, daughter of Sydney, discusses the power and beauty of these teachings for Dakota people today.
Using Participatory Methods to Explore Freedom of Religion and Belief : whose reality counts? by
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.Examining countries where religious pluralism is in decline, including Iraq, India, Pakistan and Nigeria, this book brings together reflections, knowledge and learning about the daily experiences of religiously marginalized groups, generated using participatory research methods. It also showcases the participatory methodologies implemented by its international team of contributors and highlights the importance of using non-extractive methods for engaging with participants. Including a careful consideration of the ethics and limitations of participatory research with marginalized groups, the book reflects on the implications for people's agency when research creates space for them to reflect on their realities in a group setting and uses methods which put their own experience and analysis at the centre of the process.
The Ethics of Social Roles by
The various social roles we occupy, such as teacher, parent, or friend, shape our ethical lives and colour our perceptions of each other and ourselves. Social roles have long been a central topic in sociology, and specific social roles frequently feature within applied moral philosophy andprofessional ethics. In striking contrast, the normative significance of social roles per se--the 'ethics of social roles' as a distinct field of philosophical enquiry--has been relatively neglected. Indeed, the view that social roles have genuine ethical bite is often tacitly dismissed as sociallyregressive, as if the pull of a social role must always be towards 'knowing one's place'. The present collection aims to change this by putting social roles back where they belong: at the centre of normative ethics.After an editors' introduction aimed at readers new to the topic, fourteen original chapters by an international line-up of new and established authors show how the topic of social roles is a kind of missing link between several better-established topics, including collective agency, specialobligations, wellbeing, and social and political justice. These contributions are organized into four parts. The first looks at the topic through a historical lens, since philosophers have not always neglected social roles. The second addresses the source of the apparent normative force of socialroles. The third examines the relation of a social role's normativity to its wider institutional context. The fourth looks at implications for self and wellbeing.
Luther after Derrida : the deconstructive drive of theology by
In Luther after Derrida, Marisa Strizzi argues that Luther's theology has a significant deconstructive drive and, through the careful reading of texts, illustrates how this theology interacts with Derrida's thought.
Controverting Kierkegaard by
This is the first English edition of a major work by the Danish philosopher and theologian K. E. Løgstrup (1905-81). It is the culmination of his critical engagement with Kierkegaardianism, which had begun almost 20 years earlier. In this text, Løgstrup focuses on four main themes in Kierkegaard: his understanding of Christ and thus of Christianity; his understanding of suffering in human existence; Christian vs. secular ethics; and Platonistic influences on Kierkegaard's position, which Løgstrup characterises as nihilistic. Løgstrup presents his own alternative conception in response: that Christ revealed universal ontological ethical structures that put Christians and non-Christians on a par; that suffering is a basic human experience and so there is no such thing as a particular Christian suffering; that sovereign expressions of life such as trust, sincerity, and compassion are the fundamental phenomena of ethics that enable our lives to function, and are thus given as a gift of creation, not of faith; and finally that human existence as created is meaningful and holds value and so is not a Kierkegaardian 'nothingness' of mere relativity. As well as offering a classic and yet controversial critique of Kierkegaard, this text also develops Løgstrup's conception of the sovereign expressions of life, which was to become central to his later ethics, further deepening his distinctive understanding of the human condition. Here translated in full for the first time, it will now be possible for English-speaking readers to explore the issues that drew Løgstrup into his controversion with Kierkegaard.
Spectacular atonement : envisioning the cross of Christ in an African perspective by
Introduction -- Atonement in scripture -- Atonement in Christian theology -- Atonement in African Christianity -- African spirituality -- Atonement in African traditional ritual -- The problem of the African idea of God -- Christ and the ancestors -- The cross of Christ and evil spirits -- The cross of Christ and sin -- The cross of Christ and witchcraft -- The cross of Christ and suffering -- A new African humanity -- Cosmic harmony and an African hope.
The Artifice of Intelligence : divine and human relationship in a robotic age by
AI is becoming ubiquitous. Whatever its arrival portends for our future, whether riches or ruin, it cannot be avoided. The Artifice of Intelligenceexplores two questions at the heart of a theological response to AI. Is it possible for human beings to have authentic relationships with an AI? How does the increasing presence of AI change the way humans relate to one another? In pursuing answers to these questions, Herzfeld explores what it means to be created in the image of God and to create AI in our own image. It utilizes and expands Karl Barth's relational understanding of the imago Deito examine humanity's relationship both with AI and, through it, with one another. Barth's injunctions--look the other in the eye (embodiment), speak to and hear the other (communication), aid the other (agency), and do it gladly (emotion)--provide the basis for the main chapters, each of which concludes with a case study of a current AI application that exemplifies the difficulties AI introduces into human relationality. The Artifice of Intelligenceconcludes with an examination of the incarnation, one that points toward the centrality of embodiment for full relationality.
Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post-Pandemic World by
Technology is an integral part our world. But how does inter-human technology affect our ability to be present to one another, to God, to ourselves, and to the world around us? Modern technologies are reshaping human relationships. While they offer new possibilities for presence across time and space, they also function as either a substitute for human relationships or as a filter that mediates relationships between ourselves and others. In our technologically saturated world, it is vital that we become aware of how these technologies alter our perceptions, our actions, and our relationships. Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post Pandemic World offers a variety of positions on how technology is influencing religious communal and cultural life. There is no doubt that our interaction with technology will shape the human community up ahead. These essays provide a basis for thoughtful choice and action.
Embodied Existence : our common life in God by
This book makes a case, from an ecumenical Christian perspective, for a theological anthropology and a missiology that are based on the essential significance of story, body, imagination, and relationality, in order to understand what it means to be human vis-a-vis God, the other, and creation. Such an interpretation, moreover, enables seeking and pursuing a common life for the whole creation in the force field of God's radical and transformative reign. To advance its argument, it engages contemporary culture, including cinema and, to a lesser extent, fiction and music.
Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church by
Christian theologians and students are aware that evangelicals in the Majority World now outnumber those in North America and Europe, and many want to know more about emerging voices in the global church. At the same time, these voices are largely absent from Western evangelical theology. Stephen Pardue seeks to bridge this divide by arguing, biblically and theologically, that it is imperative for Western evangelical theology to engage with the global church, and he provides examples of how this can be done. Case studies throughout the book illustrate opportunities for fruitful engagement with non-Western theology in various areas of Christian doctrine. Readers will be given an introduction to the riches available within the worldwide body of Christ and learn how to engage productively with the global church.
Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate by
"Andrew J. Brown surveys interpretations of the creation week in Genesis from the first few centuries CE up through the Reformation and assesses how they have been appropriated in the contemporary creation debate"-- Provided by publisher."A careful and unbiased analysis of how thinkers from church history interpreted the creation narrative in Genesis How literally are we meant to take the creation week of Genesis 1? In this polarizing debate, contemporary interpreters invoke great theologians from history to support their own side, whether that be a young Earth or theistic evolution. The problem lies in trying to force ancient authors into contemporary boxes, as Andrew J. Brown shows in this thought-provoking volume. Covering Philo, Basil, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and more, Brown carefully interprets great thinkers' readings of Genesis 1 in their intellectual contexts. He then assesses how these authors have been subject to cherry-picking and misappropriation in the trenches of the modern creation debate. By studying the intellectual history of the church in this way-to revisit rather than recruit the ancients-we can enrich our own biblical interpretation. Irenic and magisterial, Brown's guide will interest both scholars of historical theology and anyone invested in the creation debate"-
Explaining the Practice of Elevating an Ancestor for Veneration by
The Bisa people of Nabwalya, Zambia love their culture and gladly celebrate all their traditional festivals. This book presents exciting research into Kusefya pa ngena, rituals through which the Bisa elect ancestors for veneration. The Bisa speak freely of how their belief in ancestor veneration does not conflict with their worship of God. For them, the two work hand in hand. Traditional practices are considered vital to the community because they enhance life, reinforce cultural values, and explain life events. Those questioned said ancestor veneration should continue because it benefits current and future generations. For example, their most celebrated ancestor, Kabuswe Yombwe, when petitioned, provides rain and a good harvest for the community. People affirmed that rain fell each time they petitioned Kabuswe. One woman, who is married to an elder in a Pentecostal church, vowed not to give up ancestor veneration, to which she attributed the healing of her son and daughter. She pledged her allegiance to both Jesus Christ and to her family's ancestors. In another story, an ancestor appears in a dream to an expectant woman demanding that her child be given a feminine name. The mother obeys to avoid the child being born with a sickness . . .
Zionism : an emotional state by
Emotion lies at the heart of all national movements, and Zionism is no exception. For those who identify as Zionist, the word connotes liberation and redemption, uniqueness and vulnerability. Yet for many, Zionism is a source of distaste if not disgust, and those who reject it are no less passionate than those who embrace it. The power of such emotions helps explain why a word originally associated with territorial aspiration has survived so many years after the establishment of the Israeli state. Zionism: An Emotional State expertly demonstrates how the energy propelling the Zionist project originates from bundles of feeling whose elements have varied in volume, intensity, and durability across space and time. Beginning with an original typology of Zionism and a new take on its relationship to colonialism, Penslar then examines the emotions that have shaped Zionist sensibilities and practices over the course of the movement's history. The resulting portrait of Zionism reconfigures how we understand Jewish identity amidst continuing debates on the role of nationalism in the modern world.
Enjoy the latest articles by Luther Sem's own Faculty, from Word & World, most recent issues in 2022 & 2023, accessed via Luther Library's subscription to ATLA -Religion Database. Here's a few samples:
Looking back to imagine going forward, by Jennie Wojciechowski
Also found in the ATLA Database is the Lutheran Quarterly--- Here are a few examples from their most recent issues: Current Perspectives on Luther’s Biblical Interpretation by Robert Kolb (Lutheran Q); Bonhoeffer's Luther Bible, by Shetler (see PDF below); What womanist theology taught me about God, by Lauren Reliford in Sojourners Magazine, Mar.23, 2023