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Systematic Theology (systematic + theology)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Concept, Image and Story in Systematic Theology

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
PAUL S. FIDDES
This article enquires about the place of ,aesthetic theology' within the conceptual enterprise of systematic theology. If narrative theology is to be of any help in answering the question, it will have to include an appeal to extra-biblical images and stories in its method, and will also need to relate metaphor to some kind of analogy and metaphysics (carefully defined). Working from a theological basis in doctrines of revelation and canon, poems and novels outside the Bible may thus be seen to contribute to systematic theology in at least three ways: in deciding between concepts, in enabling connections to be made between concepts, and in developing the Christian story for the present age. Finally, the concept of God as ,relational being' is explored as an example of aesthetic forms of theological discourse, connecting everyday religious speech to systematic theology with an ,analogy of relations'. [source]

What is Systematic Theology?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
NICHOLAS M. HEALY
Three types of systematic theology are distinguished, each with its own form, function, interests and location: ,official', produced by the institutional church; ,ordinary' theological reflection, engaged in by virtually all believers; professional-academic systematic theology. Viewed in the context of the theology of the church, official theology would benefit from a more realistic understanding of ordinary theologies. Academic systematic theology mediates between the other two, critically and constructively, and engages university disciplines likewise. It belongs within the sphere of the church but at some distance from the institution, and thus is usefully (though necessarily uneasily) located within the university. [source]

What is Systematic Theology?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
A.N. WILLIAMS
This article examines the nature of systematic theology, arguing that systematicity is an intrinsic quality of all Christian theology, one stemming from the relationality of its subject matter, the Trinity and other things as they are related to the Trinity. The relationality of the divinely-created order reflects the ratio that is, on the Christian account, God ipse. Systematic theology is simply theology that reflects this ratio and the relations obtaining among creatures, and between creatures and their divine source, as well as the relationality of that source, the Persons of the Trinity. [source]

EROS AND/AS DESIRE,A THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION: PAUL TILLICH READ IN THE LIGHT OF JEAN-LUC MARION'S THE EROTIC PHENOMENON

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
JAN-OLAV HENRIKSEN
The article interprets Tillich's varied elaborations on different aspects of eros, mainly in his Systematic Theology, by reading them in the light of Jean-Luc Marion's phenomenological description of eros in its various aspects in The Erotic Phenomenon. The erotic in Tillich not only has to do with sex and desire, but also with his commitment to a realistic approach to what it means to be human, to human culture, and to confronting false and estranging interpretations of basic human phenomena. What seems to be missing in Tillich, however, is a more comprehensive treatment of eros/desire that would make possible an understanding of the phenomenological (and consequently existential) fullness of this phenomenon. I suggest that this can be achieved by reading Tillich by way of Marion's phenomenological analysis. This also has the virtue of overcoming the all-too abstract character of Tillich's reasoning without at the same time dismissing Tillich's treatment of eros. I will also draw out some implications for how one might deal with eros and desire in the emerging discussion in present systematic theology. [source]

ROBERT JENSON ON THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
OLIVER D. CRISP
In his recent two-volume Systematic Theology, Robert Jenson offers an account of Christ's pre-existence that is, in several important respects, an original contribution to the literature. In this article, I offer a critical interaction with Jenson's doctrine. In particular, I show that what Jenson has to say about (a) divine eternity and (b) the relationship between philosophy and theology, have important bearings on his construal of Christ's pre-existence and, in the final analysis, skew what he has to say on the matter. I conclude that Jenson's account of this doctrine, though suggestive and insightful in several respects, is unsuccessful, indeed, incoherent, as it stands. [source]

The ,Origin' of Evil according to Anselm of Canterbury

THE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002
Daniel Deme
Theological debate about the origin of evil derives from the quest after God's goodness and justice. This problem can be constructively discussed only within the framework of a universe that has been created good, and within a corresponding anthropology. Anselm's enquiry proceeds much along these tracks, and is based on the premises of the Platonic-Augustinian view of evil as the privation of good, yet it concludes with a reference to the domain of the irrational and contradiction in which such a discussion must necessarily harbour. The strength and uniqueness of his approach lies in his well defined hermeneutical and epistemological framework: his definition of theology as fides quaerens intellectum on the one hand, and his concept of ordo et pulchritudo universitatis on the other. The aim of this article is to discuss Anselm's answer to the origin of evil in a wider context of his definitions of freedom and theology, trying to consider the issue, as Anselm does, from the point of view of the doctrine of Creation by the Word. His argument will be considered from the standpoint of Systematic Theology, which will enable us to contrast it with the thought of modern thinkers. Therefore the goal of this writing is not primarily to show how unique Anselm's solution is in the history of dogma, but rather to highlight the uniqueness of the manner of his elaboration of this problem within his own theological framework. [source]

What is Systematic Theology?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
A.N. WILLIAMS
This article examines the nature of systematic theology, arguing that systematicity is an intrinsic quality of all Christian theology, one stemming from the relationality of its subject matter, the Trinity and other things as they are related to the Trinity. The relationality of the divinely-created order reflects the ratio that is, on the Christian account, God ipse. Systematic theology is simply theology that reflects this ratio and the relations obtaining among creatures, and between creatures and their divine source, as well as the relationality of that source, the Persons of the Trinity. [source]

Grace, Doubt, and Evil: The Constructive Task Of Reformation Theology

DIALOG, Issue 4 2002
Ted Peters
The Lutheran vocation is to be a friend of grace; and since the 16th century Lutheran systematic theology has built upon a foundation of grace. Two apparent barriers to grace need addressing. First, doubt in the form of agnosticism and atheism provides a metaphysical argument against God's existence. Second, evil and suffering provide a moral argument against God's existence. From a Lutheran point of view the question of God's graciousness takes precedence over God's existence. [source]

Concept, Image and Story in Systematic Theology

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
PAUL S. FIDDES
This article enquires about the place of ,aesthetic theology' within the conceptual enterprise of systematic theology. If narrative theology is to be of any help in answering the question, it will have to include an appeal to extra-biblical images and stories in its method, and will also need to relate metaphor to some kind of analogy and metaphysics (carefully defined). Working from a theological basis in doctrines of revelation and canon, poems and novels outside the Bible may thus be seen to contribute to systematic theology in at least three ways: in deciding between concepts, in enabling connections to be made between concepts, and in developing the Christian story for the present age. Finally, the concept of God as ,relational being' is explored as an example of aesthetic forms of theological discourse, connecting everyday religious speech to systematic theology with an ,analogy of relations'. [source]

What is Systematic Theology?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
NICHOLAS M. HEALY
Three types of systematic theology are distinguished, each with its own form, function, interests and location: ,official', produced by the institutional church; ,ordinary' theological reflection, engaged in by virtually all believers; professional-academic systematic theology. Viewed in the context of the theology of the church, official theology would benefit from a more realistic understanding of ordinary theologies. Academic systematic theology mediates between the other two, critically and constructively, and engages university disciplines likewise. It belongs within the sphere of the church but at some distance from the institution, and thus is usefully (though necessarily uneasily) located within the university. [source]

What is Systematic Theology?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
A.N. WILLIAMS
This article examines the nature of systematic theology, arguing that systematicity is an intrinsic quality of all Christian theology, one stemming from the relationality of its subject matter, the Trinity and other things as they are related to the Trinity. The relationality of the divinely-created order reflects the ratio that is, on the Christian account, God ipse. Systematic theology is simply theology that reflects this ratio and the relations obtaining among creatures, and between creatures and their divine source, as well as the relationality of that source, the Persons of the Trinity. [source]

EROS AND/AS DESIRE,A THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION: PAUL TILLICH READ IN THE LIGHT OF JEAN-LUC MARION'S THE EROTIC PHENOMENON

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
JAN-OLAV HENRIKSEN
The article interprets Tillich's varied elaborations on different aspects of eros, mainly in his Systematic Theology, by reading them in the light of Jean-Luc Marion's phenomenological description of eros in its various aspects in The Erotic Phenomenon. The erotic in Tillich not only has to do with sex and desire, but also with his commitment to a realistic approach to what it means to be human, to human culture, and to confronting false and estranging interpretations of basic human phenomena. What seems to be missing in Tillich, however, is a more comprehensive treatment of eros/desire that would make possible an understanding of the phenomenological (and consequently existential) fullness of this phenomenon. I suggest that this can be achieved by reading Tillich by way of Marion's phenomenological analysis. This also has the virtue of overcoming the all-too abstract character of Tillich's reasoning without at the same time dismissing Tillich's treatment of eros. I will also draw out some implications for how one might deal with eros and desire in the emerging discussion in present systematic theology. [source]

ON BEING HEARD BUT NOT SEEN: MILBANK AND LASH ON AQUINAS, ANALOGY AND AGNOSTICISM

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
PAUL De HART
The article investigates an important recent dispute within systematic theology over the interpretation of Thomas Aquinas. John Milbank has defended the view that the doctrine of analogy in Aquinas is peculiarly implicated with his entire ontology, that it cannot be understood in merely semantic terms, and that it involves a less "agnostic" position on knowledge of God than is often assumed. The article critically engages this position in two ways. It offers an archaeology of the prior polemical context out of which the claim arose, for the meaning and purpose of Milbank's claim are illuminated once it is seen as the vigorous repudiation of a "grammatical" or "linguistic" interpretation of Thomas on analogy which had been proffered earlier by Nicholas Lash. It will also provide a close investigation of the citations and interpretations of Aquinas texts that Milbank uses to ground his position, in order to adjudicate the dispute with Lash. The result will be to call strongly into question the plausibility of Milbank's readings of Aquinas. The article also indicates at several points the way in which those readings are shaped by an overriding anti-Kantian thrust in Milbank's entire approach to the discussion. In conclusion, it adumbrates the larger and older question which subtends the entire dispute: to what degree is some kind of vision or intuitive grasp of being as such, or of God's being, granted human beings in this life? [source]

Hope Deferred: Theological Reflections on Reproductive Loss (Infertility, Stillbirth, Miscarriage)

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
L. Serene Jones
This essay examines the human experience of reproductive loss and grief surrounding infertility, miscarriage and stillbirth, in particular why such painful silences persist where one might least expect it; namely, in feminist communities and in churches. By bringing into conversation feminist theory and systematic theology on this topic, the author effectively crosses (and cross-fertilizes) the boundaries of two important sets of discourse with the hope of better understanding why painful silences persist concerning reproductive loss and what theological , in particular Trinitarian , resources are available to help the church think about the issue (both those who suffer this loss and the broader community who seeks to understand it). [source]