Introduction to Systematic Theology

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Introduction to Systematic Theology
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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Why Orthodoxy? Influences on Karl Barth
• Educated in Consciousness Theology
• A student of W. Herrmann
• Began a series of dogmatics lectures in 1924
• In preparation, Barth read
• Heppes Reformed Dogmatics and
• Schmids Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran
  Church

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Barths theological concerns
• A scientific theology, related to Scripture and
  the Reformers
• Justice to the biblical ideas of revelation, sin,
  and redemption
• See Preface to1935 edition of Heppe
• Shift theology from Immanence to Transcendence
• Focused his theology of the Word of God over
  against modern liberalism, Roman Catholicism

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Barths key theological points
• Revelation has no point of contact with natural
  man (NO Natural Theology)
• Man in sin must realize he is free in Jesus
  Christ
• Man is assured of his acceptance with God in
  Jesus Christ
• Faith is the knowledge of the freedom we have in
  Christ
• FORMALLY- An appeal to orthodoxy and the
  reformers
• MATERIALLY- Revelation comes from above, does not
  begin with human experience

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Why Neo?
• Barth shared a basic starting point with
  preceding theologians
• Kantian presuppositions limit our ability to
  discuss the noumenal
• We cannot have a theoretical knowledge of God
•  Shared the views of Higher Criticism re.
  Scripture rather than traditional view of
  Scripture as Word of God

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Barth on Revelation
• Barth on Revelation
• Feared anything that would lead to Natural
  Theology
• Revelation occurs, but cannot be considered a
  given
• Revelation cannot touch us directly
• But, at the moment of encounter, Revelation
  enters history

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Barth on Revelation
• The WORD OF GOD may be viewed in three ways. It
  can refer to
• Jesus Christ
• Scripture
• Preaching of the Word
• The Bible is Gods word so far as God lets it be
  His Word, so far as God speaks through it.
  Church Dogmatics, 1.1,123

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Barth on Revelation
• The question of errors is irrelevant
• Scripture is a witness to Revelation, or a
  vehicle for Revelation
• It is not revelation per se
• Cf. the 1972 Presbyterian Church Worshipbook,
  28, in which the congregation is invited to
  Listen for the Word of God.

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NEO-ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

• Reflections on Karl Barth
• Cf. the traditional Reformed view
• God does act in Revelation that touches us
  directly
• The prophetic word
• The fulfillment
• The interpretive word
• Modernism has no supernatural revelation
• Neo-Orthodoxy has a supernatural revelation, but
  only in accordance with Kantian presuppositions
  (you cannot hear what you have no capacity to
  hear)
• Although Barthianism protests against the Roman
  Catholic scheme (formally), materially, there is
  structural similarity

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Relation to Neo-Orthodoxy
• Metaphor changes, but the pattern is the same
• Dimension of transcendence is not found outside
  the individual
• Rather, it is found in the depth of being
• Nevertheless, this approach reintroduces a form
  of natural theology
• Not the same as the medieval model
• Rather, the element of natural theology is
  existential theologys reliance upon the
  existentialist analysis of being and the human
  predicament
• Theological categories are influenced by and
  interpreted in light of existentialist categories

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Rudolf Bultmann, premier existentialist
  theologian
• Builds on philosophy of Martin Heidegger
• Inauthentic Existence is when man is carried
  along by circumstances, day to day routine
• Authentic Existence man stands outside himself as
  master of his circumstances
• Demythologizing is existentialist
  interpretation, Bultmann, NT and Mythology, 99

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Rudolf Bultmann, key figure
• Builds on philosophy of Martin Heidegger
• Inauthentic Existence man is carried along by
  circumstances, day to day routine
• Authentic Existence man stands outside himself
  as master of his circumstances
• Demythologizing is existentialist
  interpretation, Bultmann, NT and Mythology, 99
• This distinction, it is claimed, is found in
  Scripture in the law/gospel antithesis
• Inauthentic Existence is subsistence under the
  law
• Authentic Existence achieved through freedom
  under gospel

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Comparison with Older Liberalism
• The older critical approach sought to discover
  the historical Jesus. Bultmann recognizes
• It is not possible to arrive at truth by picking
  and choosing NTM, 8
• Older Liberalism reduces the Kerygma to an
  idealistic ethic NTM, 12
• Bultmanns approach, demythologizing,
• Attempts to remove mythological elements from NT
  to arrive at the truth
• Results in little, besides the death of Jesus,
  left as firm historical fact

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Comparison with Older Liberalism
• Can Christian proclamation today expect men and
  women to acknowledge the mythical world picture
  as true? To do so would be pointless and
  impossible. NTM, 3
• But it is impossible to repristinate a past
  world picture by sheer resolve, especially a
  mythical world picture, now that all our thinking
  is irrevocably formed by science. A blind
  acceptance of New Testament mythology would be
  simple arbitrariness. NTM, 8

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Comparison with Older Liberalism
• The historical and the mythical here are
  peculiarly intertwined the historical Jesus
  whose father and mother are well known (John
  642) is at the same time supposed to be the
  preexistent Son of God, and alongside of the
  historical event of the cross stands the
  resurrection, which is not a historical event.
  NTM, 32.

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EXISTENTIALIST THEOLOGY

• Comparison with Older Liberalism
• Demythologizing Stripping the Kerygma from its
  mythical framework.
• We cannot find a crutch in the experience of
  Jesus crutches deprive us of freedom and
  authentic existence
• Jesus is the example, par excellence, of one who
  chose authentic existence
• His death is historical in his death he abandons
  all crutches (even his life)

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LIBERATION THEOLOGY/HOPE

• Liberation Theology is a further development of
  post-Kantian thought
• It is attached to
• Theology of Hope (Jurgen Moltmann)
• Philosophy of Ernst Bloch
• Key characteristics of Blochs philosophy
• Relied upon Karl Marx-------Hegel (Bloch, Marx
  both were left-wing Hegelians)
• Materialism underlies Blochs philosophy (as
  opposed to Hegels Idealism)
• The future is endless, unguided thus, there is
  no goal to which proceeding, no consummation
• No transcendent God in Blochs thinking

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LIBERATION THEOLOGY/HOPE

• Note these important contrasts
• Older Liberalism-theology of love (immanence)
• New Modernism-theology of faith (transcendence of
  God)
• Theology of Hope-new dimension (God is God of the
  future)
•  Future is the essential nature of God
• The dimension of transcendence is not within or
  above
• Rather, it is ahead hence, God draws us forward

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LIBERATION THEOLOGY/HOPE

• The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not
  historical, but eschatological (part of the
  future projected back into time) General
  resurrection proves resurrection of Christ
• Kingdom of God does not come always coming 
• A natural theology was needed to provide point of
  contact between theory and practice found in the
  social theory of Marx
• Seeks to liberate from the forces that oppress
• Marxism is a striving for authentic freedom

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LIBERATION THEOLOGY/HOPE

• Marxist terminology (bourgeois, dictatorship of
  the proletariat, dialectical materialism)
  replaced by biblical terminology i.e., poor,
  oppressed, justice
• Liberation Theology primarily a Roman Catholic
  movement hence it is strong in predominantly
  Roman Catholic areas (Central, South America)

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PROCESS THEOLOGY

• Based on philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
  theology of Chas. Hartshorne
• Essential idea is that of becoming, rather than
  that of being
• God is also becoming
• Process Theology discards the idea of Gods
  transcendence
• In favor of a radical immanence theme
• God is working with humanity to accomplish goals
  that are uncertain of fulfillment
• Antecedent and Consequent Poles

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PROCESS THEOLOGY

• God and creation are so closely related as to
  justify the expression Panentheism, God is in
  all reality
•   Key theologians include Norman Pittenger,
  Daniel Day Williams, Schubert Ogden, and John
  Cobb, Jr.
• Process theology is no longer a major
  movement although recently Openness Theology
  has many formal similarities

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FEMINIST THEOLOGY

• At least three key operating principles
• The gospel is distorted by the exclusion of women
  from ministry
• The hermeneutics of suspicion is foundational,
  i.e., women must seek to unmask male bias in
  interpretation
• Assuming that theology is really reflection on
  our experience of God, Feminist Theology points
  out
• Patriarchal experiences do not adequately account
  for the reality of religion from a female
  viewpoint
• Feminist viewpoint can serve as needed corrective

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FEMINIST THEOLOGY

• Feminist critique
• Seeks to overcome androcentric theological
  construction
• To promote whatever helps women realize their
  full humanity as reflections of Creator
• Among the issues up for discussion is the use of
  male-gender language in reference to God
  (Father-Mother??)

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FEMINIST THEOLOGY

• Feminist theologians range the spectrum from more
  evangelical (Aida Besancon Spencer) to more
  radical (Rosemary Reuther)
• Feminist theology
• Has, in some instances, led to a major overhaul
  of significant theological affirmations
• Some on the fringes of the movement have espoused
  goddess worship

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FEMINIST THEOLOGY

• Feminist theologians range the spectrum from more
  evangelical (Aida Besancon Spencer) to more
  radical (Rosemary Reuther)
• Feminist theology
• Has, in some instances, led to a major overhaul
  of significant theological affirmations
• Some on the fringes of the movement have espoused
  goddess worship

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Introduction to Systematic Theology