tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664044908023626852024-03-13T12:45:50.939-07:00Kyle Roberts Blogtheological reflections at the intersection of (my) perception with realityKyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-78122563685902885212010-04-29T09:04:00.000-07:002010-04-29T09:06:23.729-07:00New LocationYou can now find my blog at my new website address: www.kylearoberts.comKyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-46615326768036727512010-04-24T09:38:00.000-07:002010-04-24T09:53:18.726-07:00The Hope of Heaven - God comes down<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGtiBuIPL8f5EfE-m_rBH6ZP8GfeCt2Ji5IXeyvKRLr_Eoag6jgK5TnZT3etVaZ4XB03iPTPMIaoyXdl6xuY7LGo-VvGk1kemoG6Ae7bRNpDpcamnppP8tL60RHy7Sr_3uSNz3mIBTvB7/s1600/yjan1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGtiBuIPL8f5EfE-m_rBH6ZP8GfeCt2Ji5IXeyvKRLr_Eoag6jgK5TnZT3etVaZ4XB03iPTPMIaoyXdl6xuY7LGo-VvGk1kemoG6Ae7bRNpDpcamnppP8tL60RHy7Sr_3uSNz3mIBTvB7/s320/yjan1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463748108933493986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div class="snap_preview"><p>The book of Revelation, and the whole of Scripture, gives us a bit of a different picture of heaven than the "popular view." The common view is that heaven is the final destination of the redeemed and that heaven is osme ethereal sphere up in the clouds--a kind of spiritual 5-star resort or amusement park where everybody gets their own mansion. As N.T. Wright has persuasively shown, in <span style="font-style: italic;">Surprised by Hope, </span>the biblical idea of heaven is rather different from the common view. The biblical idea is not so much that you go “up” to some place called heaven when you die, but rather that God eventually makes his “home” on a recreated earth and lives with the redeemed forever. Now, the Bible does speak of heaven as another dimension, if you will, where God "resides." Wright has described it as something of a "control room," where God's presence and Kingdom is most emphatically real. Believers do go to heaven, or "paradise" when they die. But this is the intermediate state. It is life after death, not "life after life after death."</p><p> The substance of Christian hope is the eventual bodily resurrection of all believers (evidenced in Jesus Christ rising from the tomb) and the promise of the final healing and restoration of God’s <em>good </em>creation. God will eventually make his home with created reality, heaven will meet up with earth, the marriage of the lamb and the bride will be complete. Creation will still exist, but will be redeemed and there will be no more tears or pain. This biblical idea of the “new heavens and new earth” has wonderful implications for our lives. In our struggles with life: whether depression, anxiety, marriage or relationship difficulty, job loss, physical suffering, sickness, etc., biblical hope is the promise that <em>everything </em>will be healed, restored, completed, and fulfilled. Our hope lies in the promise that, as Job proclaimed in the midst of his suffering, <em>our redeemer lives and one day he will stand on the earth. </em>The frustrations, sorrows and sicknesses of this life will be wiped away (along with every tear) and we will rejoice in the eternal, visible presence of God–who will make everything right.</p> <p>Some questions for reflection:</p> <p>1. What do you think happens to people when they die? Where do they “go”? What kind of existence is it?</p> <p>2. How do you picture heaven? Do you think your picture of heaven resonates with the biblical idea of the “new heavens and new earth”? Why or why not?</p> <p>3. What difference does it make to your life that God is planning on restoring the creation that he made?</p> </div>Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-48410308890032376442010-04-19T12:49:00.000-07:002010-04-19T12:54:18.183-07:00Sneak Preview: Food and Faith Response<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAF0pT791BUUx7GYRJg-yEeX1zJ92LBTSLu4NfOTCGL7sX4HH1QzHoZ3G7P4gQorry5HIH5mKUYUB-f0kh65nnI0hLgiZT-4yYiIAmypf5OQpwGnIwfh__Wbc-A5H-yk7onjl1Yk0YmlG/s1600/wheat_lg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAF0pT791BUUx7GYRJg-yEeX1zJ92LBTSLu4NfOTCGL7sX4HH1QzHoZ3G7P4gQorry5HIH5mKUYUB-f0kh65nnI0hLgiZT-4yYiIAmypf5OQpwGnIwfh__Wbc-A5H-yk7onjl1Yk0YmlG/s320/wheat_lg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461939309010882354" border="0" /></a><br />The following is the manuscript of my response to Kirschenmann's presentation to tonight's Food and Faith conference at St. Thomas:<br /><br /><br />Kirschenmann has convincingly brought our attention to a number of serious food and agriculture challenges our society (both national and global) will be facing in the decades ahead. And he has suggested that the faith community can play an important role in helping us to shape a response to these challenges.<br /><br />I want to follow up with these questions: To what extent might evangelicals play a role in confronting these issues? Does the theology undergirding evangelical churches, on the whole, lend itself to such involvement? The answer is far from simplistic. Given the convincing nature of Kirschenmann’s paper (and he is not alone), the answer, normatively speaking, must be yes. Surely evangelical faith communities should contribute to the pressing issues raised. But will they? And what would be the motive if they do? Speaking out of the Baptist evangelical church, I can say that no faith community should be more concerned by a looming food crisis. Tell a group of Baptists (especially Southern ones) that the pot-luck supper could become a relic of the past, and they will sound the alarm and galvanize. No eschatological symbol has greater connectedness to Baptist theology than the table fellowship. When it comes to an eschatology of food, Baptists prefer the “already,” to the “not yet.” Joking aside, evangelicals should be contributing to a solution because (1) it is within their history to do so, (2) it is a crucial component of the Gospel and of Gospel-witness to do so, and (3) everybody eats.<br /><br />Evangelicals have within our history a tradition of being “first respondents” to social crises and ethical and economic problems. Bethel Seminary, for example, has a historic link to Scandinavian Pietism. Pietist movements emerged as a reaction to a dry, intellectual, and socially-irrelevant Orthodoxy Whereas some traditions of Orthodoxy focused on a Pauline doctrine of justification by faith alone, the Pietists sought to recover James’ emphasis that true, regenerate faith always results in works; these works would naturally be demonstrable by engaging important social crises and issues and attempting to effect positive change. These two trajectories can be seen in present day evangelicalism: the Reformation emphasis on justifying faith and the Pietist emphasis on faithful and active justification (with consequent engagement in social issues).<br /><br />The tensions between these two trajectories are sometimes palpable. Twentieth-century neo-evangelicalism objected strongly to the social-gospel movement (viewing it as a loss of the true Gospel). As a result, much of twentieth-century evangelicalism relinquished the social justice component of faith. We have seen, for the past decade or so, another correction within the evangelical movement as pockets of Pietistic, socially-concerned evangelicals (sometimes called “younger evangelicals”) are contributing to social issues with vigor, not as un-critical devotees of a particular political wing, but as concerned Christians dedicated to the implications of their faith for the good of the world. Many evangelicals, like myself, read Ron Sider’s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger during their college years, and continue to pay attention to Jim Wallis and to younger, socially-engaged activists like Shane Claiborne. Even “mega-church” pastor Rick Warren has become prominently involved in social justice issues. Incidentally, I’ve found it interesting that Russell Moore, who occupies a prominent place on the more conservative side of evangelicalism, has particular fondness for Wendell Berry’s work. It makes sense that more than any other social issue, sustainable agriculture and food supply cuts across ideological lines. We all need to eat. The prominent question, though, is: If the economic and consumptive disparity continues between the haves and the have-nots, will the wealthier of the world sustain a prophetic concern for those who, in developing world countries, may increasingly find it impossible to eat.<br /><br />Secondly, evangelicals should be contributors to the issue because of the implications of the Gospel. The Gospel is the story of Jesus Christ with all its redemptive significance. To participate in the proclamation of the Gospel is to recognize that Jesus cares about all dimensions of life; there is no more central dimension to life than food. Jesus used food imagery to describe himself: the “bread of life,” the “living water,” the sustenance that will never fade, abundant life. Securing quality of life and equality of opportunity for quality of life requires a holistic approach to the Gospel and to Gospel witness. The Gospel means good news. But Good news for whom? A holistic agrarian approach to life and to social involvement, including deep concern for the other (even those others we will never see), is integral to the meaning of the Gospel and to the effectiveness of its message. <br /><br />In conclusion, there is great hope for Evangelicals to be involved in this issue. Our historical trajectory and our emphasis on the Good news of Christ—with its implications for life—suggests this to be true. But evangelicals will not really get active in these questions until they can feel the import of them. The message that we are misusing our natural resources, squandering the gift of our earth’s natural processes, diminishing the quality of life of our workers and our famers, and relegating authority over our food quality, food choices, and agriculture to an elite few corporations and policy-makers, must get out.<br /><br />Eating is an agricultural act (Berry). But eating is also a spiritual act and even, we might say, an eschatological act. Let us not squander away the sacrament of the fullness of Christ’s table, but cultivate it, embrace it, and secure its good future for our friends, global neighbors and posterity.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-75989322222241070072010-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:002010-02-02T11:59:45.471-08:00The Spirit to the Churches: "Disestablish Yourselves!"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUfj-F6Kn1zH8m9w2tbndvqsfr15pf-ghyphenhyphenQ90j4RU6SYXtudXJ50Z3U5LHJGUBAsTaYD9-gnV4QqlMrNPGDVU5GVtQXGaSuBupgDgAxk7Ep1vmBxnInC5dUvUv8JX2ZHWIzZeChL1ptPD/s1600-h/Icon.Pentecost.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUfj-F6Kn1zH8m9w2tbndvqsfr15pf-ghyphenhyphenQ90j4RU6SYXtudXJ50Z3U5LHJGUBAsTaYD9-gnV4QqlMrNPGDVU5GVtQXGaSuBupgDgAxk7Ep1vmBxnInC5dUvUv8JX2ZHWIzZeChL1ptPD/s320/Icon.Pentecost.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433694643459464930" border="0" /></a><br />In "Metamorphosis: From Christendom to Diaspora,” (possibly one of the most important theological essays in the past decade) theologian Douglas John Hall argues that Western Christianity in the late-modern period is being slowly and painfully weaned from the triumphalism, elitism and unhealthy conflation of Christian discipleship with cultural and social power that marked the church of modernity. Hall asserts that the Spirit's message to the churches today is: <span style="font-style: italic;">Go ahead and finish the job—disestablish yourselves. </span><br /><br />In my recent interactions with seminary students around Hall's challenge (and some related themes put forth in Soong-Chan Rah's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Next Evangelicalism</span>), I have a sense of hope for the future of the church. Many of our present and future (can I say, "emerging"?) leaders recognize the problems, admit our weaknesses, and desire to move forward in creative and more authentic ways. Hall is right that such honest recognition and admission is the first (and necessary) step toward renewal. If we can learn to envision the church differently, learn from communities different from our (or your) own, and listen deeply to what the "spirit is saying to the churches," we just might find a fresh movement of God in our midst.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-56236919725211601792010-01-26T11:36:00.000-08:002010-01-26T11:52:35.637-08:00Theology and Culture - the Big Question<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRPfJdi5K1VbepcKAcw8QGmgQ-PDT6ImmMzc6VvuJXg6aDqgbVdRoYK6b0tu66sGqzED1KmHYBXsIQMsIizqFcD4hgJKG-vxv8_vZriM3WilP4AuNaq2Ch1zRBm0PPLycYyOgMvSGv_xH/s1600-h/christ-fiery-eye.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRPfJdi5K1VbepcKAcw8QGmgQ-PDT6ImmMzc6VvuJXg6aDqgbVdRoYK6b0tu66sGqzED1KmHYBXsIQMsIizqFcD4hgJKG-vxv8_vZriM3WilP4AuNaq2Ch1zRBm0PPLycYyOgMvSGv_xH/s320/christ-fiery-eye.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431135159059787026" border="0" /></a><br />“Every answer to the question ‘how do theology and culture relate?’ will also be an answer as to who we think Jesus is” - Stephen Long<br /><br />I have recently enjoyed a terrific online discussion in my Theology and Contemporary Culture course. We have been reading Stephen Long's insightful and concise <span style="font-style: italic;">Theology and Culture: A Guide to the Discussion</span> (Cascade, 2009). Long persuasively emphasizes the inevitable mediation of language in the human articulation of knowledge and experience of God. As finite creatures, located in a particular time and place, we are happily doomed to grasping at theology through the straws of context (ours, that is). However, this recognition should not lead to despair. Orthodox Christology provides a powerful glimpse into the relation of theology and context. God chose to become flesh in Jesus Christ; thus sanctioning the messiness and scandal of particularity as the means of the knowledge of the Holy. This makes it imperative that we listen to voices different than our own in the construction of our theologies. We can and must dialogue with the other(s). <br /><br />The reason for this is not just basic respect for others (though that's important too), but as a necessary component of the quest for truth. To neglect such open dialogue is to diminish our experience of God and to undermine the hope for reconciliation (a major component of God's project and plan for the world).<br /><br />The question is: What voices are not being heard that need to be? What voices are we(you?) squelching or silencing to the detriment of us all? What does our view of the relation between theology and culture say about our Christologies?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-82589241851534201652009-07-09T12:42:00.000-07:002010-01-01T17:29:38.353-08:00Why Art is More True than Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PdPIcWmLTSk2siWlJetlcG5VcL7M2Jkx4mLxUxOB7PEpypkgPiEVEelgS7aczWWTOneB7beHJdBJARz7kgZd6Eawl2vf8PbxBIAjMd3TlySaJ-KuSXL2NQWu_7OzZk589YPWjbDYtLr0/s1600-h/momentum.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PdPIcWmLTSk2siWlJetlcG5VcL7M2Jkx4mLxUxOB7PEpypkgPiEVEelgS7aczWWTOneB7beHJdBJARz7kgZd6Eawl2vf8PbxBIAjMd3TlySaJ-KuSXL2NQWu_7OzZk589YPWjbDYtLr0/s320/momentum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356549451842154626" /></a><br /><br />"The truth of a work of art is both its adequacy to the basic structure of human experience and its correction and deepening of our understanding of this structure, so that we rightly say not only that art is true to life, but that art is more true than life.” <br /> - Sallie McFague, <span style="font-style:italic;">Literature and the Christian Life</span><br /><br />*painting is "Momentum" by Stephanie RobertsKyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-68794221230926285992009-06-27T22:02:00.000-07:002010-01-01T17:22:12.889-08:00Reflections on Narrative Theology<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHbcKfzXetJmMJLXQdv_ZjzOBCvlZveb8O1F1wuf7cnA0EDLOhNbwjEklYotqz8dd7NDS34H3HLPj-hTorduGFPWX4x4t5NWmYYcKAFq6w8ZGP0fJBW5BIVAmK9aDvVdOxr-HZAtdTpXU/s1600-h/isaac.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHbcKfzXetJmMJLXQdv_ZjzOBCvlZveb8O1F1wuf7cnA0EDLOhNbwjEklYotqz8dd7NDS34H3HLPj-hTorduGFPWX4x4t5NWmYYcKAFq6w8ZGP0fJBW5BIVAmK9aDvVdOxr-HZAtdTpXU/s320/isaac.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352248248165492978" /></a><br />I recently taught a course called "Narrative Theology" and thought I would post a few reflections on the experience. I found it to be one of my most stimulating teaching experiences thus far. The course was challenging to prep, because there isn't an established "canon" of course material upon which one can draw. Narrative theology is not so much a "discipline," or a "field" of study as it is a convergence of theologians and writings which share similar, albeit distinct, concerns and questions. What is theology? What is the point of it? What's the relation between narrative and theology? Who, or what, determines the meaning of a text? How is a theological proposal authorized or legitimated? What's the role of one's community in interpretation and theologizing? The questions go on.<br /><br />While this schematization has its problems, it is helpful to think of narrative theology in terms of two "schools," Yale and Chicago. The Yale school includes theologians such as Hans Frei, George Lindbeck, and Stanley Hauerwas. The Chicago school boasts David Tracey, Sally McFague, and Paul Ricouer. It's crude to put it this way, but you might think of the Yale school folks as emphasizing the particularity and finality of the biblical narrative as appropriated within one's interpretive, religious community, while the windy city theologians emphasize the power of biblical narrative and metaphor to open new "possible worlds" (Ricoeur) and to intersect and dialogue with equally valid disciplines of discourse across interpretive communities. <br /><br />The most intriguing discussions during the course centered around questions regarding the task of theology. We can grant that the Bible contains lots of narratives (duh), but what does a theology that attends intentionally to narrative and employs it as a form of theological discourse provide? Does narrative theology actually contribute a new way of doing theology? And if it does, is it an improvement on pre-modern theologizing? (or is it just a fancy way of saying we ought to be biblical (Yale) and our theology ought to be creatively engaged with the world (Chicago)? <br /><br />I offer four initial suggestions (I welcome others from readers--especially those who took the course) as to what aspects of Narrative theology seem most helpful and potentially constructive for evangelical theology and its mission. These four suggestions come by way of four representative theologians.<br /><br />(1) From Hans Frei: the warning that we have "eclipsed the biblical narrative" with something else. I fear that the evangelical church has substituted the raw and affective power of the biblical narratives, with all its depth, richness, complexity and perplexity, with other things (e.g. ideologies about scripture which leave scripture itself behind, self-help material, vague generalities regarding the "meaning of life," a CEO God rather than the Trinity, etc.)<br /><br />(2) From George Lindbeck (and Wittgenstein): The insight that meaning is contextual. Words do not mean things, people do. And people speak words in a context. When the crusader, lopping off his enemy's head, say's "Jesus is Lord!" what does "Jesus is Lord" mean? It doesn't mean the same thing as when the martyr says it. This point has innumerable applications for theology, church life, evangelism, witness, etc.<br /><br />(3) From Paul Ricoeur: On good literature (and especially Scripture) as opening up "possible worlds." The narratives of Scripture suggest new worlds we can can live in--worlds that give us hope for a better future. Preachers ought to read Ricoeur and consider how, when preaching the text, they can invite their listeners to enter the world of the Bible and to substitute its grand, hopeful (not all of them seem so, of course) narratives for their own little ones (materialism, "success," fatalism, etc.)<br /><br />(4) From Sally McFague: On parable and metaphor as illuminating the mysterious intersection of the divine and the human, the sacred and the secular. Jesus' parables, she points out, are masterpieces of parabolic theology, in which the infinite is expressed through the finite, the Kingdom of God through the reality of the human. Coins, sheep and Samaritans become vehicles through which God's redemption is made tangible and accessible. Theologians ought to work hard at seeing the presence of God in the stuff of real life.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-43579853924705774242009-05-25T15:13:00.000-07:002010-01-01T17:22:48.090-08:00Does God Always Get What God Wants?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50w3UcqOQceBq3ktNQcMAcUwHGveBtjV9qX1etXl_QDjyoOLFxXCJgFGi2v6ZWrwast8GFEvxNVLas3cvKwKXkGAbh7KSzm4VO-II9XWdf12VJGYmNwXH3lWM_OQxCJVf4VpUondXggEj/s1600-h/Cross+at+Sunset.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 104px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50w3UcqOQceBq3ktNQcMAcUwHGveBtjV9qX1etXl_QDjyoOLFxXCJgFGi2v6ZWrwast8GFEvxNVLas3cvKwKXkGAbh7KSzm4VO-II9XWdf12VJGYmNwXH3lWM_OQxCJVf4VpUondXggEj/s320/Cross+at+Sunset.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339895336384267634" /></a><br />The question may sound odd. Jarring, even. Our default sensibilities react sternly against the idea. Doesn't God, the all-powerful, all-knowing one deserving of all superlatives, always get his way? For many, great comfort lies in the belief that nothing happens outside God's plan. Every fallen sparrow was scripted. Thus every war, disease, (seemingly) untimely death, job loss, divorce, is part of God's intended plan. But for some, this view of God and God's "will" is less than satisfying. Does God really "want" cancer, genocide, and rape? If He does not want it, but yet it exists, it seems God does not always get what God wants. We could imagine two scenarios: (1) God won't prevent (all) evil and suffering because he can't or (2) God can't prevent (all) evil and suffering because he won't. The first option emphasizes God's limitations in the face of the complexities in the universe he decided to create. His hands are tied. Nancy Eiseland, in her beautifully challenging book, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Disabled God</span>, argues for something like this option. She cannot relate to a God who could prevent all physical disabilities, by a wave of the magic wand, as it were, but simply chooses not to. The second option emphasizes God's unwillingness to intervene at every point, because of some greater good that he wants to ultimately actualize. In this perspective, God could prevent any evil or instantiation of suffering, by a simple exercise of divine power. Either option one chooses, it seems that God doesn't always get what God wants, in a sense, because the world is not yet what it should be. <br /> <br />In another sense, however, we can say that God decided to create this particular kind of world--a world in which sentient beings (demonic and human) are free--free to love or free to hate. Free to be thankful or free to be miserly. Free to rejoice with and for others, or free to plot and scheme against them. It's also a world in which the natural world is free--thus humans are not protected against tragedy, disease and trouble. God decided to create this kind of world, knowing what the consequences would be. And yet, we can say in another sense that in particular instances of evil and suffering and tragedy, God does not always get what God wants.<br /><br />One day, when Christ returns, the Kingdom arrives in full, and the "new heavens and the new earth" supervene human history, we trust that God will have what God wants. But even then it's not so simple, because if a dimension of existence remains eternally in mis-relation to God (Hell), will God have what God wants? Not according to 2 Peter 3:9, which tells us that God desires no one to perish, but for all to come to eternal life.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-69365365162664276412009-04-19T17:52:00.000-07:002010-01-01T17:24:02.236-08:00A Pseudo Review of Tony Jones' "The New Christians"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16FToRvRKwZIwZJeKufmmcS5LwjyZvDD5DzwQpmTBF5OMMhlJaL4oS8JJcCgBDaZoNxmB4vt__b8dAD2FNHbHbOjvu3DhFNvuCEbXTOYbr6BuuhXg_Rb6i7DjhNGWG-cXxcwM2xRT00f2/s1600-h/books.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16FToRvRKwZIwZJeKufmmcS5LwjyZvDD5DzwQpmTBF5OMMhlJaL4oS8JJcCgBDaZoNxmB4vt__b8dAD2FNHbHbOjvu3DhFNvuCEbXTOYbr6BuuhXg_Rb6i7DjhNGWG-cXxcwM2xRT00f2/s320/books.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326578275899477138" /></a><br />While this book has been around for a year or so, it's safe to say that the "new Christians" are still, well, relatively new. I hadn't had an opportunity to read Tony Jones' book until yesterday. I'm glad that I finally picked it up. This is an excellent, thoughtful introduction to the emergent Christian movement. Jones weaves the impulses, intuitions, values and concerns of postmodern Christianity around the story of the "birth" of Emergent Village. It's a good balance of auto-biography, theological/philosophical reflection, and testimonies ("dispatches") of Christians who are learning to practice and sustain their faith differently from what has been modeled to them in the era of "crusades" and mega-churches. Jones defines emergent Christianity as "an effort by a particular people in a particular time and place to respond to the gospel as it (once again) breaks through the age-old crusts. And it's the shifting tectonics of postmodernism that have caused the initial fissure" (p.37). Some of those who vigorously oppose movements like emergent Christianity may simply not recognize that emergent Christianity is not a capitulation to culture, but is a Gospel-informed response to the questions, concerns and presuppositions embedded within the culture of postmodernity. Of course, some might argue that emergent Christianity is not grounded on the "Gospel," as they understand it. But it would be difficult, on the basis of Jones' book, to make the case that what impels the New Christians is a hetero-Gospel. Rather, what the reader discovers here is a critical response to the particular way that culture and Christianity have been conflated in the evangelical church during the twilight of modernity. And, as Jones' persuasively argues, it is precisely their adherence to the Gospel and their allegiance to Jesus which drives them to do faith, church and witness differently. Emergents do not wish to be either liberals or fundamentalists (both of which are captive to modernist epistemology), but faithful Jesus-followers in their particular context.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-43446864399986045902009-03-10T08:47:00.000-07:002010-01-01T17:24:34.468-08:00Narrative Theology - Just do it!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHvgiW3Zh83HuSugdj7SqutBpaW3jMoWNcEbe0-H1TAOHoP2SaMFqDsf1ExgqwqMxVl2Tq5ChyphenhyphenTLNUqekCh5N8to17bxXujgm0q28DVM-095vKymiI1yYCd5EgRZzQJbsgNXUDcr7GiKx/s1600-h/sacrific.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHvgiW3Zh83HuSugdj7SqutBpaW3jMoWNcEbe0-H1TAOHoP2SaMFqDsf1ExgqwqMxVl2Tq5ChyphenhyphenTLNUqekCh5N8to17bxXujgm0q28DVM-095vKymiI1yYCd5EgRZzQJbsgNXUDcr7GiKx/s320/sacrific.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311586829821951490" /></a><br />The following is a write-up on a Narrative Theology course I'll be teaching this summer. I'd love for as many of you Bethel students as are interested to sign up! It should be a good time:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Narrative Theology</span><br /><br /> <br /><br />God. Story. Community. <br /><br />Is your theology stale and propositional? Is it individualist and modernist? Then you need a narrative theology facelift. Narrative theology (also sometimes called "post-liberalism") is, in part, based on a conviction that at the heart of biblical faith are stories about God and God's relationship to his people. Rather than attempt to construct a coherent set of "timeless," eternally valid propositions, theology should be deeply attuned to the variety, the complexity and the configurations of these stories. But narrative theology isn't just the recognition that the Bible contains lots of stories. Rather, it is based on the assumption that the way we think, understand ourselves, worship, and theologize most effectively is by telling and embodying stories in communities. The "narrative turn" in theology during the last half of the 20th century is, admittedly, not as new as it seems. Numerous theologians throughout history have recognized that theology should be driven by story, that the story of the Bible is passed on to us through communities of faith, and that dynamic rationalities are storied epistemologies. This course will cover historical precursors to what is now known as the discipline of Narrative Theology through writings of St. Augustine, Karl Barth, Richard Niebuhr and Hans Frei. We will then engage the writings of more recent and current "players" in the movement, such as George Lindbeck, Paul Holmer, Stanley Hauerwas and-on the "post-conservative" side of the discussion-Kevin Vanhoozer. Attention will also be given to influence of the philosophy of language on narrative theology through the works and influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Paul Ricoeur. Finally, the course will explore the relation between NT and current expressions of both feminist and evangelical theologies.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-87648451135788297432009-03-02T06:45:00.001-08:002009-03-02T06:51:49.115-08:00Pietism Conference at Bethel University<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU44yUhy_tRmsrbB-_bHOwIn7pQycUSEIdqEcRVftab0OAG6Yaw5HJLxx3jPobdUm9pkZBi6eJVix1y677WxJk_Z_1Yt0ia7GLUGwaeybtuweMG_0jGN6HzNHeKMqdVxCo70l43waSsIr/s1600-h/bu.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 96px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU44yUhy_tRmsrbB-_bHOwIn7pQycUSEIdqEcRVftab0OAG6Yaw5HJLxx3jPobdUm9pkZBi6eJVix1y677WxJk_Z_1Yt0ia7GLUGwaeybtuweMG_0jGN6HzNHeKMqdVxCo70l43waSsIr/s320/bu.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308601926955862962" /></a><br /><br /><br />March 19-21, 2009<br /><br />From intellectual inquiry to spiritual practice to social reform, Pietism has exerted an enormous influence on various forms of Trans-Atlantic Christianity, and on Western culture more generally. However, this contribution remains largely unacknowledged or misunderstood because some negative stereotypes—some undeserved, others deserved—cast Pietism as a quietistic, sectarian religion that is interested primarily in a narrow set of concerns.<br /><br />The goal of this conference is to provide scholars from all traditions an opportunity to explore the many dimensions of the pietist heritage, with a view to understanding the ongoing relevance of the "pietist impulse" for contemporary problems and questions across disciplines.<br /><br />Plenary Speakers:<br /><br />Donald Dayton: Author of Discovering an Evangelical Heritage<br />Emilie Griffin: Author of Doors into Prayer<br />Shirley Mullen: President, Houghton College<br />Roger Olson: Professor of Theology, Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University<br />Jonathan Strom: Associate Professor of Church History, Candler School of Theology, Emory University<br /><br />* The above is taken from Bethel University's website.<br /><br />I will also be doing a paper at the conference entitled: "The Living Church and the Living Word: Kierkegaard and Grundtvig on the Locus of Revelation." <br /><br />Get your tickets now, you won't want to miss it!Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-16899948816704536112009-02-16T20:44:00.001-08:002010-01-01T17:25:41.043-08:00Don't Squeeze the Cottenelle: Or, "Would You Switch Denominations Before you Switched Toilet Paper?"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-kpHTO34bzjvMfWvI-buFv5omN3zZD_z1pI_BiAXAlBsajgaci5atjWzaOjj7zyT8tpouSejaGoagSurwxk2up0sEySWvdgkKeWhZOv0c2GQ5VwU303plAz_uWvCENs6bSQSGiXlXURl/s1600-h/cottonelle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-kpHTO34bzjvMfWvI-buFv5omN3zZD_z1pI_BiAXAlBsajgaci5atjWzaOjj7zyT8tpouSejaGoagSurwxk2up0sEySWvdgkKeWhZOv0c2GQ5VwU303plAz_uWvCENs6bSQSGiXlXURl/s320/cottonelle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303623280355426178" /></a><br /><br />Tomorrow I'll be speaking, along with Dr. Michael Slusser, a Catholic theologian and priest, to a ministerial fellowship in Fairbault on the topic of "Ecumenism: How it Affects Our Churches and Ministries" (or something along those lines.) We'll be centering our discussions around a 2008 Pew Forum "Religious Landscape Study" which concluded that American religious life is "both very diverse and very fluid." The study surmises: “Looking only at changes from one major religious tradition to another (e.g., from Protestantism to Catholicism, or from Judaism to no religion), more than one-in-four U.S. adults (28%) have changed their religious affiliation from that in which they were raised." The numbers get even higher when the switch happens within a major religious tradition. Reinforcing the Pew study, the Ellison Research firm released findings which showed that Americans are more likely to switch their denominational affiliation than to switch their toilet paper brand. Many are less likely to go from Charmin to Cottonelle (or Crest to Colgate) than from Methodist to Catholic. There are a good many denominations to choose from, even in smaller town like Fairbault, and many folks may not know much--or care that much--about the differences (in particular the historical and theological differences) between them. George Lindbeck's famous insight that, at a sociological level, doctrines function like "language games," serving to distinguish denominations from each other while allowing ecumenical fellowship around other important points of commonality (such as ethical issues) may be reaching a breaking point. The distinctiveness of each denomination's language games may be blurring away recognizable boundaries, allowing for a free and easy switch of church membership and involvement. <br /><br />The question this phenomenon raises, as Dr. Slusser puts it, is whether this is a good thing or a bad thing--and why? Does this change reflect a move in a positive direction? Does it suggest that people are willing to jump denominational ships in order to experience personal spiritual transformation? (i.e. that they are perceptive consumers of what brings them spiritual health?). Does it suggest that denominations are enough alike that such switching is relatively easy? Or, does it suggest that our churches are losing the ability to state clearly--and within historical continuity--our doctrinal and liturgical distinctives? Or, if they can state them clearly, that they are unable to convince their adherents to commit to them--at least not more so than they're committed to Crest or to Cottonelle?<br /><br />What about you? Do you embrace the "fluidity" of American religious and denominational identity or do you think it is course that needs correcting?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-23282084918816231362009-02-05T11:43:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:26:00.105-08:00"Do You Have a Theology for This?" (Reflections from My Time in India)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNjEy2Fda6oGDBjxwWwGQiMuKsI7n3n8tUoC5DwhkkuxHsEjZmr-eZe0JVIRY-tSQ6_NN4XbLBcBDcS-lAaPQfdeCcT2INStjW0ZQ-8euvkxp_c0mBeZivkmrG98-2EVRIUkwZf3fXeAu/s1600-h/IMG_4048.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNjEy2Fda6oGDBjxwWwGQiMuKsI7n3n8tUoC5DwhkkuxHsEjZmr-eZe0JVIRY-tSQ6_NN4XbLBcBDcS-lAaPQfdeCcT2INStjW0ZQ-8euvkxp_c0mBeZivkmrG98-2EVRIUkwZf3fXeAu/s320/IMG_4048.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299412609660733986" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Since my return from India, several people have asked for a summary of my reflections on that visit. The two primary things that stood out to me while in India and have since my return are: (1) The abject and widespread poverty under which so much of India suffers daily, and (2) the intricate ways in which religion, ideology, society and culture intermingle. <br /><br />My first trip into the city was an abrupt and startling introduction to the abject poverty of India. India is now the largest democracy in the world, but it's said that one-third of the world's poor live there. Estimates suggest that 75% of Indians live on less that $2.00 a day. Travel through the streets of Hyderabad and you'll find many people living in tents or lean-to's on little parcels of grabbed-up land on the sides of the main roads. If they're not so lucky, they sleep under the bare cover of night--with a ragged blanket--on the hard ground. <br /><br />On our first trip into the city, my colleague Wilbur Stone (global and contextual studies prof), turned to me and asked: "Do you have a theology for this?" That became the burdensome question of the week for me--and still is my question. How do I as a theologian, or more to the point, as a Christian, think about the intersection of God, the Missio Dei, and God's future for the world with such widespread and deeply troubling circumstances of life. To me it's a troubling but temporary spectacle--to many Indians it's just a way of life. It should be noted that India's is one of the few national economies to actually see positive growth in the past year. Nonetheless, the increasing numbers of the poor outpace its financial and material progress. <br /><br />The caste system in India which, since the establishment of the Indian constitution in 1950 is no long formally in place, secured discrimination as a (more-or-less) accepted reality. Your lot in life is determined by your family of origin, ethnicity, etc. The Dalit or the "no-caste" population were considered "untouchables." They had little-to-no rights in society. For the most part, they were supposed to simply accept their place in life as given by God. Mahatma Ghandi worked hard to elevate the social status and to improve the possibliities for upward mobility of these no-caste peoples. They were children of God too and should be viewed as equal persons.<br /><br />Christianity has found its most fertile soil in India among the Dalits. My favorite experience of the week was listening to a Dalit theologian speak to our class about the importance and necessity of contextualizing Christ for and within human experience. Here was a man who came from the "no-caste" group, who had found in Jesus a friend and a liberator. Jesus was an "out-caste" who had no place to lay his head, but who came to set the captive free from oppression(Luke 4). No wonder Christ has captivated the imagination of the Dalits.<br /><br />In any case, I return from India convinced more than ever that Christianity needs to be engaged in the difficult but rewarding task of thinking about the intertwining of context, ideology, society and theology. Christians also need to continue to think hard about what God wants us to be doing in the face of economic hardship around the globe and in our cities and towns. More deeply, what does the Gospel calls us as individuals and as churches to do for the world around us? And what does it call us to learn from that world? Do we have a theology for that?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-25265982541774377892009-01-22T12:43:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:26:19.388-08:00Contextual Theologizing in India<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QsFrfyxSN5qDtIwnZcPHaj3Ia4GxZpnEfTgS5dqynaKClxvegoSuRrUC0fZh0c4Ugdgxk_kp_RRzYtqUbkCzROtGlcyQvwpxEx9IPceO34UovuzONZczQSBGcAgQRm1KJufn9dogxWKQ/s1600-h/up-Slumdog_Millionaire.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QsFrfyxSN5qDtIwnZcPHaj3Ia4GxZpnEfTgS5dqynaKClxvegoSuRrUC0fZh0c4Ugdgxk_kp_RRzYtqUbkCzROtGlcyQvwpxEx9IPceO34UovuzONZczQSBGcAgQRm1KJufn9dogxWKQ/s320/up-Slumdog_Millionaire.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294224691167892594" /></a><br />I'm heading to India (Hyderabad) tonight to co-teach a Doctor of Ministry course for Bethel called "Contextual Theologizing." This is a topic I've become very interested in over the past several years, and to have students who are working and ministering in various parts of the globe converge to discuss the intersection of context, culture, language and theology in a setting like that will be stimulating. I'm also looking forward to hearing from and dialoguing with Hindu, Muslim and Christian leaders from the area. In case anyone is interested, I'll post a "report" after my return.<br /><br />Oh yeah, and can you guess my favorite new movie?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-78511049201794938712009-01-19T13:53:00.000-08:002009-01-21T05:49:13.612-08:00Martin Luther King Jr. and the Colony of Heaven<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyoW4NET0Vek_ivm7yEKCx2mrnalSof-dHH98A2zMJYMulDJ2p8VWMm_VQg8bMrPQCxtz5epLak81v6Qojj47kTXRmAHJsu3-1Y8aArbWtucAQ8Yr4l5mlgclOXkW6GKwEQlgb-KRX9Fv/s1600-h/250px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyoW4NET0Vek_ivm7yEKCx2mrnalSof-dHH98A2zMJYMulDJ2p8VWMm_VQg8bMrPQCxtz5epLak81v6Qojj47kTXRmAHJsu3-1Y8aArbWtucAQ8Yr4l5mlgclOXkW6GKwEQlgb-KRX9Fv/s320/250px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293130219373310610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"></div><link style="font-family: times new roman;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CKroberts%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText {mso-style-noshow:yes; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.MsoFootnoteReference {mso-style-noshow:yes; vertical-align:super;} /* Page Definitions */ @page {mso-footnote-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Kroberts/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fs; mso-footnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Kroberts/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fcs; mso-endnote-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Kroberts/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") es; mso-endnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Kroberts/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") ecs;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Good theology can awaken us from the slumbers of self-indulgence, ethnocentrism, and dogmatic “sleepiness” that prevents us from seeing God’s work in the world and among the marginalized.</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Anders Nygren once wrote that “no age lives without inarticulate, self-evident presuppositions.” By “inarticulate” he meant that “men do not perceive the self-evident presuppositions by which their own age lives.” </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >The problem of inarticulate presuppositions has been with Christianity since its beginning—at times with disastrous results.</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >From the life-denying, death-cultivating crusades of the middle ages to the humanity-destroying endorsement, explicit or implicit, of the slavery trade in colonial America, to the silence and even support of the German established Church in the atrocities of Nazi Germany, to the origination and development of that oppressive Apartheid system in South Africa by the white Reformed church, inarticulate presuppositions have facilitated, enabled, or otherwise contributed to the squelching of Christian witness in the world.</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span> </div><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >
<br />Closer to home, a little over 40 years ago (1963), in a prison cell in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a letter to a group of southern, white clergyman who had criticized the non-violent resistance of King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >His letter, from that jail cell is startling in its prophetic punch:</span><div style="text-align: left; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: left; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link style="font-family: times new roman;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CKroberts%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >"I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership…I do not say that as one of the negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church.<span style=""> </span>I say it as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the chord of life shall lengthen…There was a time when the church was very powerful…they went on with the conviction that they were a “colony of heaven.” And had to obey God rather than man.<span style=""> </span>They were small in number but big in commitment.<span style=""> </span>They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated….Things are different now.<span style=""> </span>The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.<span style=""> </span>It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo.<span style=""> </span>Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are…If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century"</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3166404490802362685#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: left; font-family: times new roman;"> </div><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The institution of slavery in our country is abolished, but not so racial, ethnic, economic, and even theological injustice.</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Theological injustice remains when we, who represent the “wealth-majority,” do not listen to voices from the margins with sincerity, inviting those voices to help us identify our false ideologies and deconstruct them, </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >This isn’t to say that all of our presuppositions are evil or even wrong and it isn’t to say that other contextual perspectives are blameless and infallible; sin (and noetic fallibility) cuts through us all. But ideological commitment does not necessarily equate with faithfulness to Christ and theological truth.</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >The time for ideology has passed; the time for theological and contextual engagement has come. Inter-contextual dialogue uproots inarticulate presuppositions, and allows for either affirmation or correction.</span><span style=""><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >
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<br />The splendid timing of tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama, coinciding so closely with the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., gives us reason to be thankful, but also hopeful, that diversity and equality will finally overtake pride and bigotry in our nation. May this also be an opportunity for evangelical theology to unite the liberative Gospel of God with the rich tapestry of contextuality, working toward the fruits of freedom from the bondage of both sin and oppression. May the church work again at being a "God-intoxicated colony of heaven" with Christ as our guide and redeemer.</span>
<br /></span>Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-68011673683982391832008-12-18T09:27:00.001-08:002008-12-18T09:34:08.102-08:00A Provocative Thought from Kierkegaard at Christmastime"A childish orthodoxy...has also managed to draw decisive attention to the fact that Christ at his birth was wrapped in rags and laid in a manger--in short, on the humiliation of his coming in the humble form of a servant, and believes that this is the paradox in contrast to coming in glory. Confusion. The paradox is primarily that God, the eternal, has entered into time as an individual human being. Whether this individual human being is a servant or an emperor makes no difference. It is not more adequate for God to be a king than to be a beggar; it is not more humiliating for God to become a beggar than to become an emperor." - CUP<br /><br />It's a provocative and, in some ways, counter-intuitive thought. We're so used to emphasizing the humble entrance of the Logos into human history by highlighting the circumstances of the story: single mother, from Nazareth, born in a manger, "no-place-to-lay-his-head," etc., that we forget about the "infinite qualitiative distinction" between time and eternity which implies that, no matter how God became incarnate into history and creation, it would be an absolute paradox.<br /><br />Agree or disagree?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-63954971435625089902008-12-18T06:40:00.000-08:002008-12-18T06:55:25.336-08:00History of Christian Thought: 19th and 20th CenturiesAs my sabbatical draws, jarringly, to a close, I'm beginning to anticipate, not only the Christmas holiday coming up, but next quarter as well. I'm looking forward to co-teaching a couple of courses, one of which (Contextual Theologizing) I'll say more about another time. The other is History of Christian Thought: 19th and 20th centuries, with Chris Armstrong, Bethel Seminary's premiere (and only) Church Historian. For your viewing pleasure I've<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://docs.google.com/Edit?id=dcvp7ntb_21d74f3jd9"></a></span> <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcvp7ntb_21d74f3jd9">posted here</a> the list of primary source readings we put together (along with the help of our superb T.A.'s Dave Mowers and Michael Cline). After reading the selections on this list, I'd say there is a good chance you'll have a decent grasp of the overlay of modern and contemporary theology. (The order of the list is a bit hodge-podge, for the moment).Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-3467106452150098722008-12-10T08:43:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:49:36.031-08:00who's laughing now? Peter Shiff, "Prophet of Doom"Watch this video. Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and economic advisor to Ron Paul in 2008, predicts, with <span style="font-style: italic;">precision, </span>the credit, housing and Wall Street markets, while he is scoffed and derided by counter-pundits. He must be feeling pretty good these days for standing up for what he believed to be true. (Thanks, Doug Johnston, of Wheaton football fame, for the link)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2I0QN-FYkpw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2I0QN-FYkpw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-40134448321384306492008-12-08T12:01:00.000-08:002008-12-08T12:26:26.158-08:00How Much do Angels Know?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv3zm-00iddrlUC_Sj1MQI2_uo8NNtrw83p7wFQHq1ffBO1LraGpTG3IKUe4GbSqUAEDMvkYQFJasQXYw5mU1qvsjOKLYZKx0xw39C8l351Q62WBaQJ_uUNzzvkPftIoFqkGl3KqnLdyI/s1600-h/451px-Annunciation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv3zm-00iddrlUC_Sj1MQI2_uo8NNtrw83p7wFQHq1ffBO1LraGpTG3IKUe4GbSqUAEDMvkYQFJasQXYw5mU1qvsjOKLYZKx0xw39C8l351Q62WBaQJ_uUNzzvkPftIoFqkGl3KqnLdyI/s320/451px-Annunciation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277517912551584578" border="0" /></a><br />Someone recently asked me an interesting question about angels: How much do they know? Were they/Are they automatically privy to information about God's salvation plan, since they "reside" in heaven with God?<br /><br />The context of the question is Luke 2, when the angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds and announces the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. Obviously the angel has some information that had been divinely granted to her (or him). That story raises the question as to whether the angels are always in the "inner circle" of information, or whether they, as divine messengers, are granted just the knowledge that they need at the time to pass along God's message. I'm very much inclined toward the latter option. The apostle Peter tells us that "even angels long to look into these things" (1 Peter 1:12). "These things" are the story of the Gospel, including the salvation that the Messiah would bring to the world and the "Messianic woes" he (and his people--Israel/the "suffering servant" and the church) would have to undergo. Perhaps, then, the angels receive just enough information about God's salvation plan to do God's bidding as messengers to humanity--and just enough to be intrigued about what God is up to next.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-61246318397343540932008-11-25T05:55:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:27:22.127-08:00talking about kierkegaard on theology soupI recently enjoyed a little conversation with the guys over at "theology soup" ( <a href="http://theologysoup.wordpress.com/">theologysoup.wordpress.com</a>) about Kierkegaard and a book I am currently writing (with Myron Penner) which relates Kierkegaard's thought to postmodernism and the emerging church. They (Peter Herzog, Joseph Rueter and Dan Kent) were enjoyable conversation partners and asked perceptive questions. We had some good laughs along the way. Check it out <a href="http://theologysoup.wordpress.com/">here</a>.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-10163193635643802472008-11-19T19:12:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:27:44.429-08:00Take a Trip Down "The Road"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCO50-miao1z_qII_YioUAan27jVO1dAhP5uPH-f3z8GgGmerJ5V831pTLvp6wstr1EGxd4p1VR3KH6c4pQm7p8zyFwJ6VStqWAxWhLQog7sWo_KQ5eYIK0GmHtaqjZquORq3TEBKxin0/s1600-h/CitiesofthePlain.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCO50-miao1z_qII_YioUAan27jVO1dAhP5uPH-f3z8GgGmerJ5V831pTLvp6wstr1EGxd4p1VR3KH6c4pQm7p8zyFwJ6VStqWAxWhLQog7sWo_KQ5eYIK0GmHtaqjZquORq3TEBKxin0/s320/CitiesofthePlain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270963840839500386" border="0" /></a><br />I don't read as much fiction as I used to, but I was recently sucked in by Cormac McCarthy's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Road</span>. It's a haunting, moving and thought-provoking portrayal of a world without God which has reached its end. It's the apocalypse for atheists, a reminder that one doesn't need Hal Lindsey to imagine what a world after this world would be like, where the spring of life is hidden beneath the shadow of night, and where death and hopelessness cover the earth like the Spirit of creation inverted. When one awakens from the dark dreamy world of "The Road," and remembers that the future does not lie outside of God, hope springs up again. But a glimpse of this bleaker future makes John's apocalypse shine that much brighter.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Road</span> isn't all black and dreary. The light that shines forth from the narrative comes from the beauty of a father and son whose grip on hope is bound up with their hold on each other: each is the "other's world entire." Their relation to each other is primal and true, precisely because all else is stripped away. In a desolate place, beauty and truth and goodness can still be, not so much found, but made--forged, as from scalding iron. They fix their faith onto each other and in so doing, stay true to the promise. In spite of all else, as death crowds in around them, they stick to the pact to be "the good guys," believing that there are others out there like them.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-54578132179656007982008-11-17T06:22:00.000-08:002008-11-17T10:31:04.531-08:00"Filling Up What is Lacking in the Sufferings of Christ"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLSYS_AOnqsaayYLLqXFH4v5n6_fmgGBCVfc0uaXzeDnpkqdskjWiLJaVVxTBFV2n07o17AUTnw6H5EFWwjtRRfgW3g1Qawy3EEtH3EeqnTqB_o1xaxdqm5e4oZe2rWLuIAyM1BrUW4GS/s1600-h/picture-of-jesus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLSYS_AOnqsaayYLLqXFH4v5n6_fmgGBCVfc0uaXzeDnpkqdskjWiLJaVVxTBFV2n07o17AUTnw6H5EFWwjtRRfgW3g1Qawy3EEtH3EeqnTqB_o1xaxdqm5e4oZe2rWLuIAyM1BrUW4GS/s320/picture-of-jesus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269634751016990386" border="0" /></a><br />I'm looking forward to preaching for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's (Kansas City, MO) chapel tomorrow (Tuesday, 18th) morning, from Colossians 1:24-28. I've titled the sermon "The Missional Pastor and the Mystery of Christ." I often find that when I set out to choose what to teach or preach, I gravitate toward an idea or text that is unique, perplexing, or confusing, so that I can use the experience to try to learn something new. That's definitely the case here. What can Paul possibly mean when he says, "and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." First of all, how could there be any "lack" in the afflictions of Christ? Second of all, how could Paul presume to be "completing," or "filling up" that lack?<br /><br />In any case, if this little teaser makes you curious enough, and you live in the K.C. area, come on over to MBTS chapel (at 10:00 am).Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-39492303296422068002008-10-14T06:44:00.000-07:002008-10-14T06:49:29.678-07:00Call + Response: A Rockumentary About Sex-Trafficking<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mS-0CHXfyIk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mS-0CHXfyIk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />This looks like something that will be hard to watch but important to see. There are more slaves now than at any other point in history. How can this be?<br /><br />For those of you in the Twin Cities, the movie will be showing from Oct. 17-23 at:<br /><p><strong>AMC ARBOR LAKES</strong><br /> 12575 Elm Creek Blvd.<br /> Maple Grove, MN 55369</p> <p>check out the movie details here: http://www.callandresponse.com/home.html</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Kroberts/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /></p>Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-77173639389152145312008-10-09T12:13:00.001-07:002010-01-01T17:28:17.558-08:00The Strange Silence of the BibleI've been doing a little research lately for a course I'm teaching next summer called "Narrative Theology." George Stroup, in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Promise of Narrative Theology, </span>begins his text by describing the "identity crisis" of Christianity (in the early 1980's) in the face of a burgeoning religious, cultural and social pluralism. Oddly, most Christians (and most churches) proclaim their unfailing adherence to the Bible's authority, but have lost the ability and/or will to actually <span style="font-style: italic;">use </span>the Bible as a central component of the church's liturgy and life.<br /><br />This is a phenomenon I have noticed for many years. Even within my own evangelical tradition, which prizes and proclaims the Bible's authority, and upholds the doctrines of biblical inerrancy and infallibility (the Bible is <span style="font-style: italic;">completely true</span> in everything it teaches), many churches and many Christians seem to have lost both the facility and the <span style="font-style: italic;">will </span>to <span style="font-style: italic;">use </span>the Bible effectively and often in worship, preaching and life. Many have just given up! I recall in the conservative Baptist seminary I attended, one chapel speaker after another waving the Bible in the air, proclaiming, with as much bravado as they could muster, the Bible's inerrancy but then completing disregarding it or atrociously misusing it in their sermons. Karl Barth once referred to the "strange new world" of the Bible; it may be that the "stranger" the biblical world sounds to our technological, modern ears, the less of a central role the biblical witness may play in the formation and transformation of the Christian life and the Church. But this would be a tragedy that could lead to the loss of the heart of the Christian faith itself. And surely it does not need to be the case. We can neither retreat from the twenty-first century nor neglect the story of God from ancient days. But herein lies the challenge.<br /><br />So here are some questions: In your own life, what challenges do you face in giving the Bible a genuinely central and authoritative role? In your church experience, how is the Bible "used"? Does your church's <span style="font-style: italic;">actual use </span>of the Bible match its <span style="font-style: italic;">proclamation </span>of biblical authority?Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166404490802362685.post-21273709852237958042008-09-11T11:34:00.000-07:002008-09-11T13:17:49.051-07:00Dancing this good must be sinful<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D7myO3imGy0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D7myO3imGy0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Pay special attention to the moonwalk at 1:57. Fantastic.Kyle A. Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10422762583277582744noreply@blogger.com6