Apathy in caregiving –

Over the years little attention has been given to a practical theology of compassion. Even in the discussion on theopaschitic theology, and the implication of a theology of the cross for theory formation in practical theology and the praxis of ministry, the emphasis was mainly on reconciliation, forgiveness, and the notion of restorative justice. Ethical and moral issues dominated the discourse. In the meantime, it seems that people in their quest for a humane society, social justice and human dignity are exposed to a gradual inflation of compassion. The migrant crisis has become a crisis of replacement and apathy; xenophobia represents and antipathy of local communities towards strangers. The emphasis on wealth and importance in affluent societies create carelessness, insensitivity and even antipathy against the demands of strangers and poor people. Zygmunt Bauman (2013) refers to “moral blindness and the loss of sensitivity in liquid modernity”. At the same time, disillusionment breeds a kind of antipathetic anger, captured in a very poignant and harsh expression: “F*ck you” (Manson 2016). This phenomenon of antipathy and indifferentism had already been identified as a huge stumbling block for ministry in medieval times and life in monasteries. Sloth had been earmarked as one of the seven deadly sins. How then should a theology of compassion and the praxis of pastoral caregiving respond to these very challenging phenomena of apathy, indifferentism, sloth, and life fatigue?

The Rise of the Third Rome: Russkii Mir and the Rebirth of Christendom

This essay brings Douglas John Hall’s engagement with the theology of the cross for a post-Christendom context into dialogue with the political theology of Russkii mir by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Russkii mir is a theology that claims to be Christendom reborn. It signals a new alliance between the ROC and the Russian Federation by sanctioning military conquest of foreign lands, including Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. This essay documents the emergence of this new political theology in terms of its historical precedents and how this history is being distorted, and even invented, to justify the claims to Christendom. Particular attention is given to the architecture and militaristic symbolism for the newly christened Cathedral for the Russian Armed Forces, dedicated on June 14th, 2020. Finally, these claims are critically examined using Hall’s theology of the cross as a disestablishment for all such “theologies of glory” in light of scripture, tradition, and the true mission of the church. I also bring Hall’s work into dialogue with similar thought from the Orthodox East.

The Rise of the Third Rome: Russkii Mir and the Rebirth of Christendom

This essay brings Douglas John Hall’s engagement with the theology of the cross for a post-Christendom context into dialogue with the political theology of Russkii mir by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Russkii mir is a theology that claims to be Christendom reborn. It signals a new alliance between the ROC and the Russian Federation by sanctioning military conquest of foreign lands, including Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. This essay documents the emergence of this new political theology in terms of its historical precedents and how this history is being distorted, and even invented, to justify the claims to Christendom. Particular attention is given to the architecture and militaristic symbolism for the newly christened Cathedral for the Russian Armed Forces, dedicated on June 14th, 2020. Finally, these claims are critically examined using Hall’s theology of the cross as a disestablishment for all such “theologies of glory” in light of scripture, tradition, and the true mission of the church. I also bring Hall’s work into dialogue with similar thought from the Orthodox East.

Apocalyptic Birth Pangs: The Cross, Corporeality, and Epiphanic Manifestation in Apostolic Practice

Thinking with, against, and after Ernst Käsemann’s appropriation of the biblical metaphor of eschatological birth pangs, this article seeks to reassess our understanding of what it means to be a theologian of the cross. It does so by way of a depiction of Paul’s apostolic practice as a social and embodied—and yet cruciform—mode of epiphanic manifestation. Thinking with Käsemann, it brings to the fore the significance of this apocalyptic understanding of apostolic practice for contemporary theological reflection at the interface of biblical studies, philosophy, and ethics. Thinking against Käsemann, it demonstrates ways in which this reading of Paul enables us to address more effectively major criticisms of a theology of the cross and Pauline theology in general. Finally, thinking after Käsemann, it discusses the ways that this portrayal of Paul’s practice funds resources for reconfiguring theological education ‘after whiteness’.

A Theology of Paradoxes

Why does God’s Spirit grant the gift of faith to some but not to others? Erasmus solved the dilemma by admitting minimal freedom to the human side, a wrong use of free choice is to be blamed. This is the way of maintaining credibility in the justice of God. Luther’s solution to the dilemma was a distinction between the concepts of “the revealed God,” Deus revelatus, and of “the hidden God,” Deus absconditus. On the notitia level, i.e. in regard to knowing who is elected, we are in total darkness; it is a secret of the hidden majesty. We are restricted to the usus level of election, i.e. to revelation which says that God wills everyone to be saved. God’s will does not follow any human logic of justice, God’s will itself is the norm for itself and cannot be subjected to any rule outside itself. Asking why God does what he does is a concern arising from religious pride; the sovereignty of the divine will utterly annihilates speculation about any grounds for bargaining with God. Luther follows the paradigm of “the theology of the cross”: Anyone who has become “desperate about him/herself” is, paradoxically, already in the state of grace. This paradox brings about certainty of salvation: God has taken the question of salvation completely “outside ourselves” into his hands, this results in peace in the scruples of salvation, the believer is liberated from “the pestilence of uncertainty.” Luther prefers the Biblical term “election” to the philosophical concept “predestination.”

Plague, Pentecostalism, and Pastoral Guidance

Plagues and pandemics are nothing new for the Christian church. Throughout its history, believers have been forced to grapple with outbreaks, the latest being the COVID-19 crisis of 2020. As a relatively young branch of the Christian faith, Pentecostalism itself does not have a great deal of experience with this subject compared to many older traditions. In addition, with its emphasis on divine healing, a triumphalist attitude has unfortunately hindered some segments of the movement from developing a robust response to sickness and suffering at all. Martin Luther’s sixteenth-century response to the Black Death outbreak in Germany, however, might offer a prime example for contemporary Pentecostals to emulate. His pastoral wisdom, approach to suffering, and distinctive theology of the cross together compose a prudent yet ultimately optimistic take on how Christians should behave in such instances, making his voice an invaluable one for the contemporary church to learn from.

The 1950s: The Ironies of American Power

In the 1950s, Reinhold Niebuhr advanced a theology of history rooted in his theology of the Cross. From that vantage point, he challenged conventional, dualistic interpretations of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and America’s post-Second World War economic and technological prominence. While he favoured democracy over communism, African American rights over segregation, and abundance over scarcity, he rejected what he thought of as the human pretension to simplify such complex historical phenomena by appeals to American goodness. Instead Niebuhr saw the logic of the Cross as the surest route for navigating the confusion and ironies of history while also creating the conditions for greater forms of justice in history.

Cross and Glory in Post-Metaphysical Perspective

The paper is devoted to the recent book of John D. Caputo “Cross and the Cosmos: A Theology of Difficult Glory”. Caputo’s project is examined as one of the most representative explications of postmetaphysical discourse in contemporary theology. We consider the key concepts of Caputo’s theological hermeneutics – the impossible, the event, and the kingdom of God as a context for a radical theology of the cross. The paper emphases on the coming nature of the event that signals its openness to surprising possibilities that constitute even the possibility of the impossible. The author highlights the main features of the theology of the cross in Caputo’s early works, where the cross is conceptualized as a paradigmatic expression of the event of the kingdom. The analysis of the work “Cross and the Cosmos” outlines the ways of radicalization of theology of the cross and the strategy of reinterpretation of the concept of divine glory. The article highlights the problem of Caputo’s theopoetic method and considers its critique in analytical theology. We argue that a radical theology of the cross is hermeneutics of open-ended transformations in this world, a theology of the divine call embedded in temporality and mortality.