The Spirit in Daniel and The Twelve

The Spirit moves through the books of Daniel and The Twelve (Minor Prophets). In this article, the relevant texts of these books are examined in brief and summarized with regard to the Spirit’s person and work by means of engagement with those passages making use of ‮רוח‬‎. These summaries that follow the canonical order of the Old Testament are then pointedly summarized by a brief constructive theology of the Spirit in four points: the Spirit testifies, the Spirit judges, the Spirit is life, the Spirit is gift.

Making mega-space for others: Towards theology of mega-friendship from the table fellowship story according to Luke 5:27–32

The purpose of the article is to interpret the story of the table fellowship in the Gospel of Luke 5:27–32 and construct the theology of mega-friendship with the Other in the context of a pluralistic society. What is happening in the present is that human communities should be living together and facing the fact of differences in the races, ethnic groups, cultural entities or religious communities. In this context, there is a kind of global fear of strangers, rejection of others and conflict or violence against those who differ. By interpreting the text, I argue that Christianity is called to participate in the mega-friendship created by God by making mega-space and befriending the Other. Mega-friendship in the table fellowship is to sustain life in love, equality, compassion, peace and transformation. The theology’s construction begins by explaining the socio-historical context of the table fellowship story, exposing the meaning of the story and constructing the theology of mega-friendship in the context of a pluralistic society.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research has interdisciplinary implications. It departs from New Testament studies to constructive theology by using a pluralism perspective. By interpreting the table fellowship story in Luke 5:27–32, there is a meaning of the text on theology of friendship and its relevance as a sign of Christian presence in the pluralistic society of the Indonesian context.

The Spirit and the Common Good

Some books stand out as noteworthy for their insights, relevance, and aesthetic appeal. A reader will always refer back to them as among their favorites. Daniela Augustine’s, The Spirit and the Common Good, is such a book for the present author. This is a book that one will want to do more than simply read, but also think out loud in conversation with. Thus, the author would like to converse with Augustine’s discussion so as to explore its theological basis and direction. Though hers is not a work in constructive theology, there is a rich theological vision that she draws upon to confront issues of public justice and compassion. Her theological explanations are usually brief, but often quite provocative. The author wishes to explore her theological vision and probe it for further insight.

Introduction

Recent years have seen the flowering of something called the “theological interpretation of Scripture.” This is, very roughly, what happens when biblical scholars and theologians alike read the Bible to see what it tells us about God. For several centuries, the discipline of biblical studies has been not only distinguished but also separated from theological discourse. There have been many notable exceptions, of course, but the all-too-common results have been these: biblical scholars often interpret the texts with other aims in mind (sometimes reading with a theological lens has been discouraged as unscholarly and thus improper), and theologians often do their work of constructive theology without serious engagement with biblical scholarship or even with the Christian Scriptures. Recent years have also seen the rise (or perhaps re-birth) of something now called “analytic theology.” Analytic theology is, very roughly, what happens when philosophers who are interested in doctrine and theologians who think that there is (or might be) value in the appropriate use of philosophical tools get together. It is now a burgeoning movement, and analytic theologians are making contributions on a wide range of issues and topics, and from a variety of perspectives and approaches. We have not, however, witnessed a great deal of interaction between those who engage in the theological interpretation of Scripture and those who practice analytic theology....

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards offers a state-of-the-art summary of scholarship on Edwards by a diverse, international, and interdisciplinary group of Edwards scholars, many of whom serve as global leaders in the burgeoning world of research and writing on 'America's theologian'. As an early modern clerical polymath, Edwards is of interest to historians, theologians, and literary scholars. He is also an interlocutor for contemporary clergy and philosophical theologians. All such readers—and many more—will find here an authoritative overview of Edwards' life, ministry, and writings, as well as a representative sampling of cutting-edge scholarship on Edwards from across several disciplines. The volume falls into four sections, which reflect the diversity of Edwards studies today. The first section turns to the historical Edwards and grounds him in his period and the relevant contexts that shaped his life and work. The second section balances the historical reconstruction of Edwards as a theological and philosophical thinker with explorations of his usefulness for constructive theology and the church today. In part three, the focus shifts to the different ways and contexts in which Edwards attempted to realize his ideas and ideals in his personal life, scholarship, and ministry, but also to the ways in which these historical realities stood in tension with, limited, or resisted his aspirations. The final section looks at Edwards' widening renown and influence as well as diverse appropriations. This Handbook serves as an authoritative guide for readers overwhelmed by the enormity of the multi-lingual world of Edwards studies. It will bring readers up to speed on the most important work being done and then serve them as a benchmark in the field of Edwards scholarship for decades to come.

What Is Analytic Theology?

Chapter 5 considers the still open question “What is Analytic Theology?” In dialogue with Timothy Pawl and William Hasker, I argue that analytic theology is a form of faith seeking understanding and a form of constructive theology. I then consider some efforts to push analytic theology into comparatively neglected areas, including topics related to social justice. I focus especially on Sameer Yadav’s call for analytic liberation theology. I conclude the chapter with a bit of additional reflection on why analytic theology is valuable. Christians should agree that it is good to try to answer rational objections to key Christian doctrines, and similarly good to try to give positive models for how to understand them in a way that coheres with other things we take ourselves to know. Those tasks are perennial, and analytic theology is one way that Christians today can pursue them fruitfully. At the same time, however, I also think that there are non-Christian reasons for valuing analytic theology, reasons that anyone might accept. Intellectual inquiry is good. Focused thinking about terrifically difficult problems is good. Watching very intelligent people think as deeply and carefully as they can about things that matter to them more than anything else—that too is good.77 Analytic theology displays all of these goods, something that anyone can recognize, even without accepting the underlying Christian framework.

The son of man: “Is it constructive theology and history of Jesus for the New Testament writing?”

Many scholars and lay people try to figure out the reasons why the Lord JesusChrist uses the title of the son of man to designate Himself. He uses the title ofthe son of man throughout the Gospels, but there are some incidents only appear outside of the Gospels. This appearance is impressing to find out the reasons why the term occurrences in the Gospel. However, the term also appears in few passages outside the Gospels. Therefore, using the method of critical analysis through the library research as the qualitative methodology in order to seek the development of the argument from beginning up today and to see how the New Testament scholars clear up the message of Jesus in using that title. Few scholars comment that term has significant for the Christological development of the New Testament due to the messianic proclamation as thesaviour of the world. Furthermore, the idea of representative between man andGod apparently introduces the idea of the high priest in the New Testamentwriting for Jesus’ Christology. This idea will bring the consumption for BiblicalTheology when scholars seek this terminology in the New Testament writing.

Hope and Community

In the final volume of his Constructive Theology, V.-M. Kärkkäinen presents his eschatology and ecclesiology. The approach is grounded in a Trinitarian theology, which explains the interaction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the reason for hope in a new creation. The plausibility of this hope Kärkkäinen explores in light of cosmological scenarios and in comparison with Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu perspectives. Interreligious comparison of sociological models also serves as the starting point for Kärkkäinen’s ecclesiological inquiry. He argues that the church not only has a mission but is mission in its very nature and in ecumenical engagement.

God as Ground, Singularity, and Relation

This chapter is the culmination of the book. What previous chapters called for—the integration of theology of religious diversity, comparative theology, and constructive theology—this chapter performs. It offers a new constructive theology of the trinity, a theology of the trinity that is worked out with the help of Hindus and Buddhists. Such a theology is simultaneously a way to think about religious neighbors, a way of learning from those neighbors, and a way to reimagine the divine life. Specifically, this chapter advocates an account of God/ultimate reality as ground, singularity, and relation. Although these features of the divine life can be discerned across traditions, this chapter argues that certain strands of particular traditions focus on one account of ultimacy at the relative expense of others. But this degree of focus is precisely what makes interreligious learning possible, necessary, and rewarding.

Circling the Elephant

Christian theologians have, for some decades, affirmed that they have no monopoly on encounter with God or ultimate reality; other religions also have access to religious truth and transformation. If so, the time has come for Christians not just to learn about but also from their religious neighbors. Circling the Elephant affirms that the best way to move toward the mystery of divinity is to move toward the mystery of the neighbor. In this book, Thatamanil employs the ancient Indian allegory of the elephant and blindfolded men to argue for the integration of three, often-separated theological projects: theologies of religious diversity, comparative theology, and constructive theology. Circling the Elephant also offers an analysis of why we have fallen short in the past. Interreligious learning has been obstructed by problematic ideas about “religion” and “religions.” Thatamanil also notes troubling resonances between reified notions of “religion” and “race.” He contests these notions and offers a new theory of the religious that makes interreligious learning both possible and desirable. Christians have much to learn from their religious neighbors, even about such central features of Christian theology as Christ and Trinity. This book proposes a new theology of religious diversity, one that opens the door to true interreligious learning.