scholarly journals Postmodernism and the hermeneutical challenge: some theological reflections

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-413
Author(s):  
G.J. Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Church History ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
Modem World ◽  
Critical Tension ◽  
Interpretive Communities ◽  
Historical Authority ◽  
Historical Reflection

How can one achieve the critical tension between contextual relevance in a post-modem world and "responsibility before history"? What is the justification for theological method as critical reflection within a tradition? What is the relation between ground texts that have historical authority (Scripture), the infonning tradition of interpretation of these texts (Church History), and the interpretive communities that read them (context)? Raising these questions, the article argues that for all its useful insights, postmodemism fundamentally challenges theological (and historical) reflection. Theology has always contextualised itself ever since its origins. What is different in this encounter is that we are dealing with an intractable ideology that not only undercuts the fundamentals but disallows the "long view" (the infonning and continually renewing tradition) and the communicativeness of theology (proclamation).

The Early Reception of Karl Barth's Theology in Britain: A Supplementary View

2001 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-527
Author(s):  
D. Densil Morgan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Church History ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
To Come ◽  
English Speaking World

One of the axioms of modern church history in Britain is that whereas Anglo-Saxon thought was on the whole impervious to the appeal and achievement of Karl Barth, it was among the Scots alone that the Swiss theologian's theories found any real resonance and creative response. Stephen Sykes in a 1979 volume of studies in Barth's theological method, mentions the somewhat bewildered response to his publications in Britain and the United States between 1925 and the mid-1980s and goes on to say that ‘from now onwards it is in Scotland that Barth is taken with the greatest seriousness in the English speaking world’. In a later volume of centenary essays, R. H. Roberts traced the reception of the theology of Karl Barth ‘in the Anglo-Saxon world’ by quoting the evidence of such late 1920s and early 1930s figures as J. H. Morrison, John McConnachie, H. R. Mackintosh, Norman Porteous and A. J. MacDonald to claim that ‘it is clear from an early stage that enthusiasm for Barth's work … was primarily a Scottish attribute’. In another essay in the same volume, Colin Gunton contrasted the usual English attitude to Barth with that of theologians from other lands: ‘For the most part and despite exceptions’, he claimed, ‘the English find it difficult to come to terms with the theology of Karl Barth’, while in a companion volume Geoffrey Bromiley noted that this was hardly the case for theologians and pastors ‘in such diverse lands as Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, Hungary, and Scotland’. Again and again, it is Scotland which is emphasised as being the place within the British Isles where Barth's ideals took root.

An Accidental Historian: Erasmus and the English History of the Reformation

2013 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory D. Dodds
Keyword(s):  
Mental Image ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Church History ◽  
Desiderius Erasmus ◽  
English History ◽  
Catholic Clergy ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Historical Authority

When post-Reformation English authors sought to describe pre-Reformation Catholicism, they turned to the writings of Desiderius Erasmus for historical evidence to back up their arguments justifying the break from Rome. For many later English schoolboys, Erasmus was one of the only Catholic authors they read and the depictions of Catholicism found in the Praise of Folly and, especially, in the Colloquies, became their picture of Catholic clergy, as well as foundational imprints for their mental image of relics, pilgrimages, and other Catholic practices. References to Erasmus as a historical authority for his times appear in dozens, if not hundreds, of texts from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ignoring the literary and fictitious nature of Erasmus's satirical texts, they used Erasmus to justify their depictions of Catholic corruption, superstition, and irrationality. Over time, these descriptions became an almost uncritically accepted portrayal of the Catholic world prior to the rise of Protestantism. This constructed reality thus became the worldview of English speaking Protestants from the mid-sixteenth century up to nearly the present. Examining how later English authors used Erasmus helps us understand the subsequent nature of English historical consciousness and the development of English and Protestant narratives of Church history.

World Christianity: Its Implications for History, Religious Studies, and Theology

Horizons ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Phan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Church History ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
World Religion ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
World Christianity ◽  
Popular Religiosity

ABSTRACTThe paper traces the emergence of the concept of “World Christianity” to designate a new academic discipline beyond ecumenical and missiological discussions. It then elaborates the implications of “World Christianity” for the History of Christianity in contrast to Church History and for the study of Christianity as a “world religion.” The paper argues for an expansion of the “cartography” and “topography” of Church History to take into account the contributions of ecclesiastically marginalized groups and neglected charismatic/pentecostal activities. Furthermore, it is urged that in the study of Christianity as a world religion greater attention be given to how local communities have received and transformed the imported Christianities, the role of popular religiosity, and the presence of Evangelical/Pentecostal Churches. Finally, it is suggested that “World Christianity” requires the expansion of theological method and reformulation of some key Christian doctrines.

Reading Revolution

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-228
Author(s):  
Polly Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Self ◽  
Reader Responses ◽  
Soviet Literature ◽  
Interpretive Communities ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
Soviet Model

This chapter analyses the large and hitherto unexplored archives of readers’ letters to Politizdat and to individual authors about the series (Iurii Trifonov, Natan Eidel′man), in order to challenge understandings of how late Soviet literature was read, and to diversify the ‘uses’ of Soviet biography. Reader responses to the series reveal a vibrant multiplicity of late Soviet ‘interpretive communities’ and hermeneutic practices: the traditionally Soviet model of remoulding the self in the image of the hero; both factographic and more sophisticated historical reflection; and critique of the late Soviet public sphere and its constraints on self-expression. The ‘Fiery Revolutionaries’ series thus exemplifies the ways in which late Soviet ‘official’ culture could also contribute to pluralization and ‘diverse thinking’ (raznomyslie), which is often identified only with the underground. The historical collaboration and solidarity facilitated by the correspondence between the series’ authors and their readers also suggest the survival of intelligentsia networks and ideas of literary professionalism from the Khrushchev-era thaw.

An Introduction to an Oral History and Archive Project by the Anglican Church of Congo

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 445-462
Author(s):  
Emma Wild-Wood
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Church History ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Protracted Conflict ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Archive Project ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
Eastern Half ◽  
Christian Denomination

Congo has for decades faced sustained neglect of all its institutions and now suffers a protracted conflict. Most Congolese attempt to survive hunger, sickness, and war. In this context the preservation of historical information is fraught with difficulties. Nevertheless, the oral history and archive project detailed in this paper set out to collect historical sources from one Christian denomination in Congo. It is but a small part of a huge depository of historical data held by churches in the country.Mission and Church bodies have significantly contributed to nation-building and the establishment of social structures throughout the twentieth century. In Congo the churches continue to run many of the schools, hospitals, and community development programs in the country and provide a conduit for relief aid. They are involved in the daily negotiations for survival on which life depends. While there is significant overlapping of religious adherence between ‘traditional’ beliefs, Christianity, and Islam, over 90% of the population acknowledge allegiance to a Christian denomination. For this reason church bodies provide invaluable resources to the historian. This project sought not only to protect the bureaucratic documents produced by one particular denomination, but to gather oral testimonies from a wide range of individuals connected with that church in order to begin a process of historical reflection. When finally collated and cataloged, it will be of use to Africanists and social anthropologists interested in the eastern half of Congo, as well as those with a particular interest in church history in Africa.

The Politics of Prophecy: The US Culture Wars and the Battle Over Public Education in the Left Behind Series for Kids

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Ann Abate Michelle
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
Church History ◽  
Good News ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
School Prayer ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Religious Books ◽  
The Us

This essay argues that in spite of their obvious Biblically-based subject matter, clear Christian content, and undeniable evangelical perspective, the Left Behind novels for kids are not simply religious books; they are also political ones. Co-authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins may claim that their narratives are interested in sharing the good news about Jesus for the sake of the future, but they are equally concerned with offering commentary on contentious US cultural issues in the present. Given the books’ adolescent readership, they are especially preoccupied with the ongoing conservative crusade concerning school prayer. As advocates for this issue, LaHaye and Jenkins make use of a potent blend of current socio-political arguments and of past events in evangelical church history: namely, the American Sunday School Movement (ASSM). These free, open-access Sabbath schools became the model for the public education system in the United States. In drawing on this history, the Left Behind series suggests that the ASSM provides an important precedent for the presence not simply of Christianity in the nation's public school system, but of evangelical faith in particular.

Canon and Curation

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Robert Saler
Keyword(s):  
Church History

This paper offers commentary on the relative merits of the RPP in the specific areas of theology, church history, and philosophy. The encyclopedia's treatment of these themes, while largely adequate, raises substantial meta-questions within the discipline about how notions of "canon" function with authority in a time of unprecedented disciplinary fragmentation, particularly within theology itself.

Sedes Doctrinae in the Eucharistic Christology of Martin Chemnitz

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-67
Author(s):  
Michal Valčo
Keyword(s):  
Theological Method ◽  
Greek Text

Sedes Doctrinae in the Eucharistic Christology of Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz uses thorough exegesis to interpret relevant texts pertaining to the sacraments in the Scriptures. This was not so common in his day and age. Medieval theologians tended to repeat and elaborate on ancient and more recent tradition instead of delving into the mysteries of the original Hebrew and/or Greek text. Chemnitz presents a mature and complex theology of the Eucharist under the title Fundamenta Sanae Doctrinae which later became known as De Coena Domini. We can observe his common theological method here as well.

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