Tuesday, July 23, 2019

When theology, culture, and context don't meet

The African theologian John Mbiti once told this parable about an African who spent years studying theology in the West.
He learned German, Greek, French, Latin, Hebrew, in addition to English, church history, systematics, homiletics, exegesis, and pastoralia, as one part of the requirements for his degree. The other part, the dissertation, he wrote on some obscure theologian of the Middle Ages. Finally, he got what he wanted: a Doctorate in Theology. It took him nine and a half years altogether, from the time he left his home untill he passed his orals and set off to return. He was anxious to reach home as soon as possible, so he flew, and he was glad to pay for his excess baggage, which after all, consisted only of the Bible in the various languages he had learned, plus Bultman, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Brunner, Buber, Cone, Küng, Moltman, Niebuhr, Tillich, Christianity Today, Time Magazine… 
At home, relatives, neighbours, old friends, dancers, musicians, drums, dogs, cats, all gather to welcome him back. The fatted calf are killed; meat roasted; girls giggle as they survey him surrounded by his excess baggage; young children have their imagination rewarded-they had only heard about him but now they see him; he, of course, does not know them by name. He must tell about his experiences overseas, for everyone has come to eat, to rejoice, to listen to their hero who has studied so many northern languages, whyo has read so many theological books, who is the hope of their small, but fast growing church, the very incarnation of theological learning. People bear with him patiently as he struggles to speak his own language, as occasionally he seeks the help of an interpreter from English. They are used to sitting down and making time; nobody is in a hurry; speech is not a matter of life and death. Dancing, jubilation, eating, feasting-all these go on as if there were nothing else to do, because the man for whom everybody had waited has finally returned.m 
Suddenly there is a shriek. Someone has fallen to the ground. It is his older sister, now a married women with six children and still going strong. He rushes to her. People make room for him, and watch him. “Let’s take her to the hospital,” he calls urgently. They are stunned. He becomes quiet. They all look at him bending over her. Why doesn’t someone respond to his advice? Finally a schoolboy says, “Sir, the nearest hospital is 50 miles away, and there are few busses that go there.” Someone else says, “She is possessed. Hospitals will not cure her!” The chief says to him, “You have been studying theology overseas for 10 years. Now help your sister. She is troubled by the spirit of her great aunt.” Slowly he goes to get Bultman, looks at the index, finds what he wants, reads again about spirit posession in the New Testament. Of course he gets an answer: Bultman has demythologised it. He insists that his sister is not possessed. The people shout, “Help your sister; she is possessed!” He shouts back, “But Bultman has demythologised demon possession.”

Friday, July 5, 2019

Theological concepts and academic disciplines

At the African Scholars track of the IFES World Assembly, we are discussing Christian perspectives on academic disciplines.

A helpful article is by Elizabeth Hall, Structuring the Scholarly Imagination.
A video of a lecture is here

I will give a shorter of my seminar, Moving towards a Christian perspective on your academic discipline. Slides and a questionnaire are available here.
There is also a French translation of the questionnaire.

It builds around four key theological concepts: creation, fall, redemption, renewal.

IFES seminar on biblical theology and the sciences

I am giving a seminar on this topic at the IFES World Assembly in Johannesburg.
My slides are here.

Here are some of the recommended resources

videos

Science and Genesis, featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, N.T. Wright, and others.

introductory books

Let there be science

Exploring Science and Belief by Michael Poole

Why study?

advanced books

Psychology through eyes of faith

Sociology through eyes of faith

Gods that Fail by Vinoth Ramachandra

courses and study guides

Test of Faith

Organisations

Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

Christians in science

BioLogos

Resources in French