Contribution and Reduction of Narrative Theology to Biblical Hermeneutics in the Postmodern Era

This research examines narrative theology, which began to develop in the 1970s in the United States, and is now widely practiced in theological discourses, including in Indonesia. This theology, sometimes called postliberal theology, uses the postmodern interpretation paradigm, which seeks the meaning “in front of” the text (readers-oriented). The intended readers are the community, who have the same language, culture, and traditions. It turns out that narrative theology, which initially served as a theological reflection on Christianity’s claims to the biblical texts, has shifted into a hermeneutical lens in reading the biblical texts. Using analytical studies of library research and systematic review, the author discusses the contours of narrative theology starting from the thoughts of its pioneers (such as Hans W. Frei, George A. Lindbeck, Stanley Hauerwas, and Sally McFague), describing its characteristics, and evaluating them. The analysis results are presented in two points. The first is an appreciation of the contributions of narrative theology, i.e., simple-practical, confessional-dogmatic, relational, and inductive. The second is an evaluation of some reductive aspects of narrative theology, i.e., postmodern hermeneutics; a disregard of historicity and genre diversity; traditional-dogmatic fideism; sectarianism; and pragmatism.

The Challenge of Biography: Reading Theologians in Light of their Breached Sexual Ethics

Though their biographies vastly differ, Karl Barth's long-term extra-marital relationship with Charlotte von Kirschbaum and John H. Yoder's sexual crimes have been the focus of a range of reactions and proposed approaches on how to read the theology of the two theologians given their biographies. This article will examine those critical responses using an analytical framework appropriated from Sameer Yadav's work on cognate conversations about locating and remedying the causes of white supremacy in the church: are the problems due to problematic theology, problematic institutional practice, or both? A correct diagnosis helps the theologian to then propose the right remedy. This adapted framework will be applied to the cases of Barth and Yoder to critically examine how Steven Plant and Rachel Muers respond to Barth's biography and how Stanley Hauerwas and Hilary Scarsella respond to Yoder's biography. After demonstrating how the different respondents address the issue as one primarily of problematic theology or problematic institutional practices, I will argue that it is both theology and practice that must be addressed in order to satisfactorily deal with the reality and scale of infection when it comes to influential theologians. Sample treatments will be offered for responding to Barth's and Yoder's biographies.

On be...ing political: Empat model identitas ramah-gereja di bawah bayang-bayang kanopi suci kebangsaan

This article discusses the idea of a hospitable church that struggles under the sacred canopy of the state, especially in the Indonesian context. By using Stanley Hauerwas’ social ethics and ecclesiology that views the church as an exemplary community, this article proposes an ecclesial model that maintains the tension of being true to its nature on the one hand and being political on the other hand. Such a model is demonstrated through its four dimensions: beholding, becoming, belonging, and befriending. The paper ends with a conclusion, in which the author reflects on the four dimensions by using the perspective of the four classical marks of the church (notae ecclesiae). AbstrakArtikel ini membahas gagasan mengenai gereja dengan identitas-ramah yang berjuang di bawah kanopi suci negara, khususnya dalam konteks Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan etika sosial dan eklesiologi Stanley Hauerwas, yang memandang gereja sebagai komunitas eksemplaris, artikel ini mengusul-kan model gerejawi yang mempertahankan ketegangan antara menjadi setia pada hakikatnya di satu sisi dan menjadi politis di sisi lain. Model semacam itu ditunjukkan melalui empat dimensinya: beholding, becoming, belonging, dan befriending. Makalah diakhiri dengan kesimpulan yang di dalamnya penulis merefleksikan empat dimensi di atas dengan menggunakan perspektif empat tanda klasik gereja (notae ecclesiae).

THE POLITICAL NATURE OF THE CHURCH ACCORDING TO STANLEY MARTIN HAUERWAS, WILLIAM T. CAVANAUGH AND WALTER BRUEGGEMANN

In the context of the fragmented and multiple theological discourse of postmodernism, one of the important themes that unites modern theologians and political theologians in particular is the theme of the Сhurch. However, it is not about the Сhurch in general, but about those special features and dimensions that have been forgotten or lost in the modern era. Primarily, it is related to the political dimension of the Christian community, which has become the subject of research by representatives of various theological schools.This article is devoted to the theological analysis of the ecclesiology of three prominent contemporary theologians: Stanley Hauerwas, William Cavanaugh and Walter Brueggemann. Each of them, despite belonging to different schools, different areas of interest and church affiliation, addresses the topic of the political nature of the Church in search of a constructive response to current challenges. According to Hauerwas, there should be a restoration of the vision of the Christian community as an alternative to the world in which it is located. For Hauerwas, the Church is not only a community, one of many, but a polis, which challenges both modern empires and dominant ideologies. This is exactly what William Cavanaugh is talking about, when he emphasizes that the Church's tragic loss of its own political dimension has led to the "migrations of the Holy" and the sacralization of ideologies and power structures. At the same time, Walter Brueggemann writes Church’s prophetic authority and practical capability to resist the "royal consciousness", which manifests itself in the demonstration of strength and power, as an important feature of the Church.

From Agent to Witness: Reading Stanley Hauerwas in the Korean Context

I seek to introduce Stanley Hauerwas’s understanding of the church as a communal agent, in order to strengthen Angella Son’s concept of the Christian as an agent of joy. After briefly demonstrating the shortcomings inherent in Son’s concept of an agent of joy, which is based on Karl Barth’s theological anthropology, I show that Son’s notion of agency lacks the sense that it is the community that bears the stories of God in Christ. Individual Christians are called through and to the church, where the distinctive character and story of God, as revealed in Christ, are embodied through the life of both church and Christians.

Christ Is Our Message

Abstrak Seperti yang dikatakan oleh Pendeta David Platt, Pendeta Utama di Gereja Alkitab McLean di Washington, D.C., dengan tepat menyatakannya, “Injil adalah sumber kehidupan Kekristenan.” Di sinilah letak motif Kristen;” menyatakan Dewan Misionaris 1928, “sederhana. Kita tidak bisa hidup tanpa Kristus dan kita tidak tahan memikirkan manusia yang hidup tanpa Dia.” Bagi Dr. Platt tantangannya adalah “bagaimana menghidupi Injil itu dalam kehidupan kita, keluarga, dan gereja di zaman kebingungan seksual, aborsi legal, materialisme yang merajalela, rasisme yang kejam, meningkatnya krisis pengungsi, berkurangnya kebebasan beragama, dan sejumlah masalah sosial penting lainnya.” Dalam karyanya “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission” Uskup Kagan, Uskup Bismarck, North Dakota, melihat perlunya Gereja sekali lagi mengenakan jubah misionaris karena kita tidak lagi hidup dalam budaya kristen. Stanley Hauerwas, seorang teolog, ahli etika Amerika, dalam karyanya, "The Christian Difference, or Surviving Postmodernism," menyebut karya kita "perjuangan hidup dan mati dengan dunia." …menambahkan: “Saya pikir adalah kesalahan serius untuk tidak menganggap serius postmodernisme.” Hauerwas melihat orang-orang percaya sebagai “komunitas di pengasingan.” (Postmodernisme adalah intelektualisme yang melelahkan dunia yang tidak lagi memandang kehidupan dalam kerangka prinsip-prinsip absolut atau universal. Mereka melangkah lebih jauh dengan mengatakan bahwa semua pemikiran sama-sama relevan (bahwa tidak ada batasan, tidak ada aturan, tidak ada hierarki, tidak ada realitas objektif). dan semua fakta hanyalah 'konstruksi sosial.') Seperti yang ditulis Dr. Platt, “Sebagai pengikut Kristus, kita membodohi diri sendiri jika kita tidak menghadapi kenyataan bahwa kepercayaan dan ketaatan kepada Alkitab di zaman anti-Kristen pasti akan membawa risiko dalam keluarga, masa depan, hubungan seseorang. , reputasi, karier, dan kenyamanan di dunia ini.” Dunia menaruh kepercayaan mereka pada kemajuan evolusioner bukan pada Tuhan. Menurut Kejadian 1 Tuhan adalah Pencipta kita yang pertama. Kreasionisme tidak memiliki kesamaan dengan teori evolusi. Teori evolusi menunjukkan bahwa kita sedang menuju dunia utopis di mana "survival of the fittest" adalah proses alami meninggalkan yang terbaik dari yang terbaik, bukan pemeliharaan ilahi yang merencanakan untuk mengakhiri dosa dan korupsi. Pemikiran postmodern dan teori evolusi menentang apa yang dimaksud dengan eskatologi Kristen. Allah sebagai Pencipta kita menciptakan kita, untuk kemuliaan-Nya. Jika ini tidak benar, Roma 3:23 akan menjadi omong kosong, karena kita tidak dapat mengabaikan hubungan yang menurut postmodernisme materialistis tidak ada. Dosa dan penghakiman Tuhan sekarang diejek oleh doktrin bahwa pengetahuan, kebenaran, dan moralitas hanya ada dalam kaitannya dengan budaya. Susunan Kristen telah digantikan dengan realitas materialistis. Kami, dalam kebenaran sederhana, misionaris untuk perubahan budaya. Apologet Kristen J. F. Baldwin mengakui pentingnya kehidupan yang heroik dan dipenuhi Roh, sebagai argumen paling kuat yang memberi isyarat kepada orang-orang yang tidak percaya kepada iman. “Manusia modern lebih bersedia mendengarkan saksi daripada guru,” Paus Paulus Keenam mengamati. Kita sekarang, sebagai Peter, harus menyelesaikan masalah ini di dalam hati kita. Upaya untuk membungkam kita harus gagal. Ketika sampai pada pesan Injil tentang Salib, “Kita harus lebih taat kepada Allah daripada kepada manusia” (Kisah Para Rasul 5:29) Abstract As Pastor David Platt, Lead Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C., so aptly states it, “The Gospel is the lifeblood of Christianity.” Herein lies the Christian motive;” states the 1928 Missionary Council, “it is simple. We cannot live without Christ and we cannot bear to think of men living without Him.” To Dr. Platt the challenge is “how to live out that gospel in our lives, families, and churches in an age of sexual confusion, legal abortion, rampant materialism, violent racism, escalating refugee crises, diminishing religious liberties, and a number of other significant social issues.” In his work “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission” Bishop Kagan, the Bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota, sees the necessity for the Church to once again don the mantle of the missionary since we are no longer living in a christian culture. Stanley Hauerwas, an American theologian, ethicist, in his work, “The Christian Difference, or Surviving Postmodernism,” called ours ”a life and death struggle with the world.” …adding: “I think it is a serious mistake not to take postmodernism seriously.” Hauerwas saw believers as “a community-in-exile.” (Postmodernism is a world-weary intellectualism that no longer views life in terms of absolutes or universal principles. They go so far as to say that all thought is equally relevant (that there are no boundaries, no rules, no hierarchies, no objective reality and all facts are just ‘social constructs.’) As Dr. Platt writes, “As followers of Christ, we are fooling ourselves if we don’t face the reality that belief in and obedience to the Bible in an anti-Christian age will inevitably lead to risk in one’s family, future, relationships, reputation, career, and comfort in this world.” The world puts their faith in an evolutionary progress not in God. According to Genesis 1 God is first our Creator. Creationism has nothing in common with evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory suggests we are heading toward a utopian world where “survival of the fittest” is a natural process leaving the best of the best instead of a divine providence that plans an end to sin and corruption. Postmodern thought and evolutionary theory counters what Christian eschatology is all about. God as our Creator made us, for His glory. If this were untrue, Romans 3:23 would be nonsense, since we cannot fall short of a relationship that a materialistic postmodernism says doesn’t exist. Sin and God’s judgment is now mocked by the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality only exist in relation to culture. Christendom has been replaced with a materialistic reality. We are, in simple truth, missionaries to cultural change. Christian apologist J. F. Baldwin recognizes the importance of heroic, Spirit-filled living, as the most powerful argument beckoning nonbelievers to the faith. “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers,” Pope Paul the Sixth observed. We now, as Peter, must settle the matter in our hearts. The effort to silence us must fail. When it comes to the Gospel message of the Cross, “ We must obey God rather than people” (Acts 5:29)

Do Christian and secular moralities exclude one another?

The objective of the article was to critique two cognitive strategies used by both proponents of Christian and secular moralities to justify an exclusionary relationship between them, thus contributing to the conflict between them. They are the cognitive strategies of foundationalism and incompatibilism. The objective was also to resume a critical discussion of these two strategies in Wentzel van Huyssteen’s publications. The method followed was, first, to provide a historical reconstruction of the relationship between Christian faith and the secular and, second, a critical analysis of Richard Dawkins’ foundationalist view of secular morality and Stanley Hauerwas’ incompatibilist view of Christian morality. Findings were that influential views of a positive relationship between Christian faith and secular morality are found in history, and that the foundationalist view of Dawkins and the incompatibilist view of Hauerwas are both untenable and contextually inappropriate. This led to the conclusion that there is no justification for the view that Christian morality and secular moralities necessarily exclude one another. The remaining challenge to find an alternative approach that would allow for a more positive relationship between these two moralities and provide guidance on adaptations they need to make was also identified.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The Christian ethical research undertaken in the article drew on research findings in the fields of Christian Ethics, Church History, philosophy, evolutionary ethics and psychology. Research results present Christian and philosophical ethics with the challenge to find an acceptable alternative for the problematic foundationalist and incompatibilist approaches.

BOOK REVIEW: ETHICAL THEORIES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDONESIA (TEORI-TEORI ETIKA DAN SUMBANGANNYA BAGI INDONESIA)

The book entitled Ethical Theories and Their Contributions to Indonesia, written by Johny Christian Ruhulessin, aimed to rethink ethical ideas from leading ethical figures, such as Stanley Hauerwas, Max L. Stackhouse, Charles McCoy, Ronald Thiemma, and Robert N. Bellah. The ethical ideas of these figures have become very popular in the social and political fields, especially in sciences and theology. However, there is an impression that ethical education refers to studying the Bible as the only standard of life. Of course, it is not wrong, but ethics cannot be understood only by standards and the law.