New Wine, New Wineskins

Towards a Christian Communal Ethics: The African Contribution

Abortion, the Marginalized, and the Vulnerable: A Social Justice Perspective for Reducing Abortion

Hermeneutical Horizons: A Challenge to Moderns from Athanasius and Gadamer

“A Beautiful Anarchy:” Religion, Fascism, and Violence in the Theopolitical Imagination of Guillermo del Toro

Caritas in Veritate: An Ecumenical Conversation with Timothy George and Peter Casarella

Is the Reformation Over? Not Exactly: An Interview with Mark Noll

Grace Communion International: The Trinitarian Transformation of a Small Denomination

Editor’s Introduction

What do individual and communal ethics, pro-life and pro-choice, pre-modern and post-modern, secular and sacred, Evangelical and Catholic, and Armstrongism and Trinitarianism have in common? They are all topics addressed in this issue of Cultural Encounters.

This is an issue of contrasts and of building bridges in search of resolution. African theologian and ethicist Samuel Kunhiyop shares with us the importance of reframing ethics to affirm the communal reality of the good life and ethical development. Pro-life ethicist Steven Tracy looks for common ground with prochoice advocates on how to reduce abortions, while challenging the pro-life camp to become expansively and consistently pro-life. Jon Robertson bridges the worlds of the pre-modern and post-modern as he weds Athanasius’ understanding of interpretation with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s model of the two horizons, calling on
contemporary readers of texts to see themselves as participants rather than as detached critics and observers. David Congdon and his respondents Ray Lubeck and Matt Jenson investigate the potential significance of Guillermo del Toro’s secular films for the sacred dimension of life, comparing the formerly Catholic del Toro’s work to Catholic theologian William Cavanaugh’s writings on theopolitics. Peter Casarella, Timothy George, and Mark Noll share their insights on what Catholics and Evangelicals can learn from one another, and how they can work together in our contemporary and (in many circles) increasingly secular culture. Lastly, Joseph Tkach of Grace Communion International (formerly the Worldwide Church of God) shares the powerful story of how this formerly non-Trinitarian and moralistic movement has evolved toward a robust Trinitarian faith and a relational, grace-filled view of the Christian life.

It is so easy in our contemporary context to label, write off, and box in this or that person or group in our frantic attempts to advance our own individual and subcultural causes, and in order to increase our market share. For all our talk of relationships and love, we do not think communally enough. Our actions often
betray the misguided belief that we are fitted for an isolated life; but whether we know it or not, we only exist in relation to others. Thus, it is best that we enter into dialogue with those who do not necessarily agree with our individual and subcultural causes, not compromising biblical convictions in doing so, but looking
to be expanded and transformed through our encounters with those from other cultures and continents (such as Africa); with those who take different stances on the human unborn in search of values that are truly life affirming; and with liberals, moderates, and those more conservative than ourselves; and with those
across the religious spectrum.

Not long ago, I was asked to serve on a panel addressing the environment, economics, and spirituality at a conference on the environment held at a secular university. I was there as the token Evangelical. We were asked to define the ‘good life’ from the standpoint of our professions and respective traditions. During my
time of reflection, I drew from Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan, who cared for his enemy when the man’s own people wouldn’t care for him. Based on the principle that Jesus sets forth in the story, I answered that the good life involves living in community with people from very different and even opposing viewpoints
to our own. Just as the Jewish religious leader to whom Jesus spoke was shocked that Jesus used a lowly Samaritan to epitomize for him what loving one’s neighbor was all about, so too we may be shocked when God uses people from very different backgrounds—including conservatives and liberals, secularists and pre-moderns, among others, to challenge us to think again and live anew. After I had finished speaking, I was struck in particular by one student’s response. He had never heard Jesus’ words recorded in Luke 10 about being stretched to love one’s neighbors who have alternative belief systems and lifestyles, and thought that story was the most profound news he had ever heard on the subject. Unfortunately, like the religious leader with whom Jesus spoke, I do not always respond so openly and positively to Jesus’ hard teachings.

You would think that Joseph Tkach and the people of Worldwide Church of God would never have been opened to being stretched and transformed, but they were and are now, as Grace Communion International. I have rarely come across a group so intentional about living into the Trinitarian mystery of God. It should
work both ways—we should be open to learning from those outside the fold. Steven Tracy, a conservative Christian ethicist, has learned a great deal from those on the other side of the aisle and has been challenged to be more consistent in his affirmation of life. He tells us at the outset of his essay on abortion, originally
delivered at a secular university, that an academic from the other side remarked of being ostracized while growing up in a conservative church for raising concerns over justice issues. The academic added that he/she would have never left the church if the community had modeled Tracy’s irenic and expansive presentation
on an ethic that is all-encompassing in its affirmation of life.

Samuel Kunhiyop’s African perspective and insights demonstrate that far from being the ‘Dark Continent’, African tradition has much to teach us about living well and loving our neighbor in the overly individualistic and supposedly enlightened West. David Congdon seeks after truth through “secular parables of the kingdom,” found in popular culture—and together with Matt Jenson and Ray Lubeck, he offers important reflections on how to assess the truth claims made in film. Congdon, Jenson, and Lubeck don’t always agree, but they all affirm that all truth is God’s truth, from whatever quarter of society. Pope Benedict XVI’s recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (“Love in Truth”) occasioned the two discussions involving Catholic and Evangelical theologians. I have much hope for the kind of ecumenical dialogue evidenced by Peter Casarella, Timothy George, and Mark Noll, dialogue that moves through rigorous concern for doctrinal truth in a spirit of love.

As you read this issue of Cultural Encounters, I would encourage you to reflect carefully in view of Jon Robertson’s piece: do not stand back as a neutral observer, disengaged and critical, but be open with your convictions and the presuppositions you bring to the table, drawing from your tradition while remaining open to transformation in view of the triune mystery of God disclosed in Scripture, which is at the center of our journal’s aim.

—Paul Louis Metzger, Editor

Editor’s Introduction

Where do we locate authority? In Scripture, the Spirit, a brand name product, how much stuff we own, a sports celebrity, Jesus? And what happens when we locate authority in Scripture? Do we marginalize those who can’t reason their way through Scripture the way we do? Do we end up minimizing the visual Arts, as many Word-focused iconoclasts did in the Reformation period? If we locate authority in the Spirit, does that mean anything goes? If we make room for blogging like we did the printing press, theology will be accessible to more and more people. Once again, does that mean anything goes? Even so, who blogs? Those who can pay to have a voice, who have the luxury of time to write? Does blogging, or your theology for that matter, provide a platform and a microphone for the voiceless to speak? If the medium is the message, how does the medium shape us? These are the types of issues that I hope you will grapple with, as you read this issue of Cultural Encounters.

John Franke’s essay explores the relationship of the Word and the Spirit, and the ways in which we approach Scripture. Franke investigates the locus of authority in the church’s life, and explores the import of his assertion that the Spirit speaks through culture today for the church and theology. Franke argues that “the Spirit always speaks through culture and that what we have in the texts of Scripture constitutes a particular instantiation of the speaking of the Spirit that is deemed normative in the life of the church by virtue of the particular act of the Spirit in inspiring these texts,” yet without the process resulting in the “divinization” of the words of Scripture. Albert Baylis and Brad Harper offer responses to Franke’s essay, affirming such features as his call for theological discourse that is culturally and ethnically sensitive and the emphasis on the importance of theological humility. They also raise questions over authority, calling attention to the need for appropriate safeguards against “anything-goes relativism” (Baylis) and suggesting that the Triune God is a culture and that the inspired Bible “is never only a construct of human culture, but is directly related to the unchanging universal ‘culture’ that is the Trinitarian God,” whom we engage dialectically in culture (Harper). In his rejoinder, Franke addresses the subject of how to reconstitute interpretation and authority to create space for other voices, and not totalizing the majority culture’s claims; otherwise, a certain cultural reading of Scripture will (continue to) marginalize other approaches.

Ben Myers’ essay affirms the role of blogging in theology, celebrating the way(s) in which it fosters community and opens the door for those outside the scholarly guild to participate. Certainly, blogging opens the door to theological discourse for those Franke is most concerned about: those embracing minority perspectives against the backdrop of a theological-cultural hegemony. While affirming blogging’s ability to create a friendlier environment for theological discourse, Robb Redman speaks of the need for an ecclesial context for blogging in his response, arguing that theology is first and foremost the domain of the church. This ecclesial dimension must also be accompanied by the personal renewal or transformation of theologians themselves.

Dan Siedell and Martin French speak of the significance of the Arts for human life, the artist’s quest, knowledge, and our relationship with God. French calls for the liberation of the church from its bondage to the mediocre, predictable, and half-hearted. The church does not have to reclaim the Arts, for creativity is deeply Christian. In keeping with Siedell’s claims, we need to participate in God’s creative venture in the fullness of the Spirit in view of the Logos who reveals himself in the logos of art. For Siedell, “Nicene Christianity is not confined to the religion room. It is the foundation of the cosmos. It is the building that houses the rooms of ‘art,’ ‘religion,’ and countless other cultural practices. And it also provides the hallway that connects them.” The theological engagement of culture that occurs in the hallways and byways is never fixed and static, but is ever in process, dynamic, and occurs through dialogue and conversation.

A thread that unites the various essays and responses to this point is the necessary role of dialogue and conversation in the contemporary theological enterprise. If we are truly to be open and inviting and guarding against quenching the Spirit, we will engage in theological discourse relationally and dynamically, where all ecclesial communities have the opportunity to be heard, as theologians are renewed by the Spirit, centered in Christ and grounded in Scripture in the ongoing pursuit of the Trinitarian God’s vision for the true, the good, and the beautiful.

The unholy Trinity of consumerism—commodification, alienation and branding, which Skye Jethani discusses, is often neglected by church leaders, and to the detriment of authentic Christian community. In our day, people often find their identity in the consumption of stuff, attaching themselves to a market brand, replacing one thing with a coveted other, rejecting the sacred in favor of the profane, and reducing human value to its perceived benefit to the market and the law of consumer preference. Jethani in his article on consumerism and Rick McKinley in his interview with Braxton Alsop and Richard Fox on the Advent Conspiracy explore how the consumption of stuff may indeed consume our souls and destroy relational presence and meaning in life. Providentially, Jethani and McKinley are being joined by an increasing number of other Christian voices who realize that our gospel witness should not focus on the sensational or be reduced to sound bites. Together they realize that we must speak and live more holistically. Otherwise, we will find that we no longer speak with authority—at Christmas and throughout the year.

A faulty sense of authority leads a sports celebrity to force his faith on others in a public arena; those gathered are a captive audience and not necessarily a receptive one. USA Today writer and public discourse expert Tom Krattenmaker explores how Christian athletes can speak more authoritatively by speaking less forcefully and more holistically. Though Krattenmaker and I inhabit different worldviews in terms of doctrine, I find him to be one of my most thoughtful dialogue partners, opening my imagination to ways in which the eternal Logos who became flesh as Jesus Christ manifests himself today.

The best public discourse will most often take place as we meet in hallways, on blogs, listening to minority or marginalized voices rather than drowning them out with our sound bites and covering them over with our bumper stickers and Jesus decals. We conservative Christians will gain respect and speak with authority when we practice what we preach, not forcing others across the cultural spectrum to listen to us, but gaining the right to be heard as we listen to our enemies and lay our lives down for them—becoming miniature words enfleshed.

—Paul Louis Metzger, Editor

“We Hear the Wonders of God in Our Own Languages”: Exploring the Significance of the Spirit’s Speaking Through Culture

In this article Dr. Franke suggests that the normative speaking of the Spirit comes through culture, and that what we have in the texts of Scripture constitutes a particular instantiation of the speaking of the Spirit that is deemed authoritative for the life of the church by virtue of the particular act of the Spirit in inspiring these texts. However, the act of inspiration does not lead to the divinization of the human words of the prophets and apostles, meaning that they are still subject to situatedness of their creaturely character. The essay goes on to explore the significance of these claims for theology and the witness of the church.

Theology 2.0: Blogging as Theological Discourse

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THIS ARTICLE
The footnotes in Theology 2.0: Blogging as Theological Discourse by Benjamin Myers suffered some major technical errors. Please click HERE to download the corrected version.
With sincere apologies, – the CE Editorial Team

The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben recently observed: “There are no authors today who could console themselves by thinking that their work will be read in a century (by what kind of human beings?)…” The emergence of new web technologies, coupled with the formation of new online communities, raises sharply this question of “what kind of human beings” might exist a century from now. This paper analyzes the contemporary Web 2.0 environment, and explores the way in which these web technologies shape and form our interior human and spiritual landscapes. Focusing especially on the role of blogging in contemporary theology, the paper argues that theological discourse is itself rapidly changing and adapting under the impact of new technologies and new forms of human interaction (just as in earlier periods theological discourse changed under the impact of new printing technologies). The paper will suggest some possible answers to the questions: what kind of self is formed by blogging? And what kind of theology?

Between Art and Religion: Reflections on the Strange Place of “God in the Gallery”

Dissatisfied with existing Christian approaches to modern and contemporary art, critic and curator Daniel A. Siedell charts a new course with God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art (Baker Academic , 2009), which takes for granted the importance of engaging modern and contemporary art on its own terms, from the inside, as it were. Rather than simply imposed from the outside, Siedell’s theological perspective emerges in conversation with modern and contemporary art. Between Art and Religion responds to art historian James Elkins’s claim that art and religion cannot mix by reflecting on the theological implications of God in the Gallery. Siedell offers the image of the darkly lit hallway to describe how his work develops deep relationships between art and religion without destroying the integrity of each practice.

Lighting a Fire

Rather than think about what makes Christian art or what makes art Christian, Martin French suggests we ought to think in terms of how an artist can create Christianly. Does my creative process reflect worship, honesty, and communion? Does my expression connect with what I know, with the struggle and refining that God is working in me? Are my scars evident in the work? Chances are, if someone can look at something and say, “Oh, that’s Christian art,” then it wasn’t made very Christianly. In order to create in this manner, we must believe that art is not a secondary activity, not on the fringe of the Christian experience, and not a random afterthought. God from the beginning has chosen to reveal Himself to us through creative expression. He calls out to us creatively—And he has specifically placed within many of us, the ability to make and create along with him. That is important work, and the Church should fully engage in it. Are we willing to move beyond our selves, beyond our quest for acceptance, our fear of success, and make art in the context of truth and worship?

The Unholy Trinity of Consumerisum

The dominant worldview of most North Americans is now “Consumerism”. Three central forces of Consumerism are commodification, alienation, and branding. This essay reflects on the intersection of these forces with the Christian faith, claiming that it can have a powerful and perverse effect on our view of God, Scripture, and the mission of the church. Commodification causes us to believe that God has no inherent value apart from his ability to satisfy our desires. Alienation permits us to ignore the context of Scripture and instead allow our faith to be defined by personal experience. And branding pushes Christian identity away from character transformation in favor of superficiality.

Advent Conspiracy: An Interview with Rick McKinley

Rick McKinley is Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of This Beautiful Mess, Jesus in the Margins, and co-author of Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World? Rick is the co-creator of Advent Conspiracy, a movement meant to be a catalyst to revitalize churches’ celebration of Christmas. In four years, Advent Conspiracy has spread from a small movement in five churches, to a collaboration between hundreds of churches in at least seventeen countries on four continents. In December, Richard Fox and Braxton Alsop had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Rick to learn more about Advent Conspiracy. This interview is based on their conversation.

Onward Christian Athletes: An Interview with Tom Krattenmaker

You can learn a lot about the relationship between American religion and sports from journalist Tom Krattenmaker. You can also learn a lot about Tom Krattenmaker from his personal story with American religion and sports. Tom serves as a member of USA TODAY’s Editorial Board of Contributors and writes regularly for the paper’s “On Religion” commentary page. Tom recently authored Onward Christian Athletes: Turning Ballparks into Pulpits and Players into Preachers, a provocative book on American Evangelicalism and sports. Cultural Encounters editor, Dr. Paul Louis Metzger, recently met Tom for an interview to discuss his journey into the realm of American religion and sports as well as his own faith journey. What makes Tom especially interesting is that he is a reporter who positions himself as a member of the religious and cultural left, who engages American Evangelicalism fairly, openly, and insightfully—bringing an uncommon and insightful perspective to the midst of the media’s seeming preoccupation with the ‘culture wars’.

Click HERE to view the full article.