Theology Proper (Doctrine of God)

The above title refers to a technical name given to a particular task within Christian theology and specifically within the discipline of what is known as Systematic or Dogmatic theology. All who claim to have faith do theology regardless of how conscious one may or may not be about tacit actions and beliefs. Systematic theology is perhaps the queen of all theological disciplines (though in the last half century it has fallen out of favor) in that it attempts to develop and articulate a coherent ‘system’ by which the whole of Christian faith can make sense. The purpose is often to get at theological and orthodox coherence with the Scriptural narrative alongside contemporary realities.

In particular the topics of theology proper and anthropology are the aspects of theological inquiry and discourse in which theologians engage in the task of describing the ontology (being, essence, nature) of God as well as ideas related to the created realm, which includes the nature of humanity and humanity’s relation to the Divine. This topic is most often at the beginning of a ‘systematic theology’ and is often preceded by a prolegomenon regarding theological method. Here theologians often put forth their a priori assumptions, faith traditions, and articulate the trajectory which shapes their theological system.

The Task of Theology

Simply put, the word theology comes from the convergence of two Greek words: theos and logos, meaning god and word. Essentially theology is words about God, but in regards to Christian theology and the meaning of ‘words,’ it is also presumed that theology is both thinking and discipleship, written and lived. I am convinced that there is a proper way from which to think, write, and live theologically which is encapsulated in St. Anslem’s dictum “faith seeking understanding.” By referring to this statement, I highlight the idea that as with both science and philosophy, theology is premised on seeking to better understand how we are open to the world and how the world is open to us, how we are open to God and how God is open to us and in light of such, how we are then to live into the future as the future comes towards us. Therefore theology as I have come to see it and intend to think about it for years to come, is less about defining God and our relationship with God, and more about seeing the history of God’s action in the world (salvation history) as constitutive for how to go about anticipating God’s action in the future and therefore to consider what a faithful Christian response will be in the present.

Essential to theology is its ecclesial nature. There is no blank slate from which to begin thinking theologically. One is either formed theologically by culture or by the church or by both. My understanding is to insist that all theology must first be theology of the church before it can be theology that is public. That is too say that Christian theology must be born out of the narrative of the church community, those people who are marked by the cross and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, people who weekly gather to; worship, pray, live together, and partake in the Eucharistic gift of Christ’s body and blood. All theology must be rooted in a narrative and for Christian theology this narrative is found in the midst of the church.

Thus theology cannot be systematic in the strict sense of the word rather it is theology on the way as others have proposed. By on the way, they, and certainly I mean that theology is always a dialectic conversation of thought and deed, community and individual. It is very important to understand that the categories within a system of theology do not fully and never could fully name the God of which they speak. They are but well formed (we hope) and thought out descriptions that take place in the wake of God’s activity in the world. Because of this, right theology seeks to point to God, not define God. Along these lines, German theologian Wofhart Pannenberg speaks about the dual task of theology in which theological statements are preliminary hypotheses which cannot be fully verified until the coming eschaton.

True theology aims to be words about God that are faithful to the narrative arc of the Scriptures and can never be reduced to pragmatics that are socially or politically convenient in the present milieu one finds oneself in. In light of this, faithful Christian theology which points towards the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ, is theology that goes beyond the faithfulness of the church. It is set forth to describe and paint a picture of God’s salvific narrative for which we anticipate God’s final coming. It has less to say about the pragmatics of how to be happy or successful in America or Europe or any other society.

As such, the church will be the community that finds itself not the master of theology but in dialogue with questions such as the Trinity and cross and resurrection of Christ. Thus the church, that faithfully does theology, asks, What does it mean for God to be triune and how does the triune nature of God call us to order ourselves as God’s people on earth? Further questions, such as, What does it mean in a world of suffering, loss, injustice, and death, to be faithful to a God who was crucified and suffered? How then shall we live? Theology is less answers about God and more the ongoing seeking of questions about God and our response. And of course in the seeking and questioning we shall by the grace and work of the Holy Spirit find answers some of which may be non-answers. This is the task of theology.

The Ontology of God

Throughout the history of the church there have been numerous attempts to grasp the being of God. Most notable the early debates that lead to the coherent faith statements found in the orthodox creeds. These are early examples of the church doing theology. They don’t define God, lest they be an idol, but they do point us towards the God of history revealed in Christ. Many historical attempts to speak of God as one and yet triune have found their impetus in desiring to define God and then construct theology from that starting point. Essentially they have started at the beginning (God) and moved towards people, Jesus, Holy Spirit, church, and eschatology (end times). However in recent contemporary theology and as part of the shift away from what was previously strict systematic theology, theologians and one in particular have insisted that all theology must be done in light of the coming of God. German theologian Jurgen Moltmann developed in the 1960s a Theology of Hope which made hope in the future actions and promises of God, beginning in the kingdom inaugurated in Christ and thrust forth through his bodily resurrection the paramount point of remembrance for all theology. Because of this, to be brief, Moltmann has proposed that all theology be done in light of The Coming of God.

My starting point for all theology and thus the very being of God is the affirmation that God is living and active in transcendence and immanence. God is active within God’s own self relationship and from this pours out immanently within creation. Classically speaking it is understood that God is impassible, which is to say God cannot be changed, and recently many contemporary theologians, again Moltmann in particular have put forth that if God is not able to be ‘passed’ or ‘moved’ or most specifically if God cannot suffer then God cannot love and a God that cannot love is not a God at all and certainly not the God which we see within the narrative arc of the Scriptures. Thus God as three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit is perfect love, from which the loving act of creation flows. Love is pure freedom. Therefore creation as an act of love is pure freedom, thus God’s movement towards salvation within creation is ultimately an act of free and unfettered love aimed at restoration and final reconciliation.

Two important articulations of the Trinitarian nature of God, one ancient and the other contemporary come into serious discussion with each other. The creedal articulations of God’s triune nature are hierarchical in nature and the contemporary are said to be ‘social or pericorhetical and each when considered has serious implications in one’s conception of the divine and naturally one’s response in faith and action to either particular conception. To oversimplify, the classical Trinitarian view is as follows by describing the Son and Spirit proceeding from the Father, in addition there is a view added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed which articulates that the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, thus giving a seeming priority over the masculine images of the three persons and a lesser place to the feminine Spirit. There are strong arguments, which I tend to agree with, that over time this hierarchical and masculine dominant view of the being of God has resulted in a church often dominated by men, often seeking to dominate and stifle the work of the Spirit. Ironically, the Scriptures insist that God is Spirit (John 4:24), thus seeming to ultimately imply gender neutrality in the ontology of God.

We do well to recognize this distinction while at the same time acknowledging that both male and female human beings are created in the image of God and thus in a limited sense reflect God’s being. This brings me to the vogue contemporary view of the trinity, often referred to as the social trinity, in which the Father, Son, and Spirit are seen as mutually indwelling the other distinct person with the ongoing sheer energetic outpouring of perfect overflowing love. The emphasis is on a view of God’s being as equal, serving, and communal. A church that is doing theology on the way and seriously places before itself the trajectory of God as community, may find itself indeed reflecting this same sort of community or communion. Thus the doctrine of the trinity not only is the place in which the church reflects on the nature of God, but also the prism through which it begins to align itself with this God.

Last week I picked up Republican (Libertarian leaning) Texas Congressman Ron Paul's new book entitled, End The Fed. Ever since early on in the last presidential primaries, I have found Ron Paul very interesting and certainly the most thoughtful and nuanced Republican politician I have heard (or any politician for that matter). I have plans to do a longer review of this important and timely book, but here is a quote I think important for all of us in the U.S. (and world for that matter) to ponder.

"Since World War II, the U.S. government has expanded its reach with a shocking voraciousness both at home and abroad. It's been one war after another, the building of killer weapons of mass destruction, the construction of a huge welfare state that covers all classes of society. There was the Cold War, the Korean War, the Bay of Pigs, an invasion of the Domincan Republic, Vietnam, and endless involvement in the Milddle East in additon to wars on Nicaragua, Salvador, Bosnia, and Haiti, as well as all the wars around the world conducted in the name of the War on Terror. And after every major crisis, whether 9/11, the dot-com disaster of 1999, or the economic meltdown of 2008, the resposne is more monetary expansion (i.e. printing new money).

It was once thought that the government had to choose between providing guns or butter. Now, with the Fed, it is realized that no such choice is ultimately necessary. Politicians get together and agree to logroll so that each special interest is able to get what it wants. Guns, butter, and everything under the sun, including endless bailouts of failing businesses as well as foreign aid for the world, are all provided courtesy of the money machine. Even when the Fed is not providing direct infusions of newly created money, it stands ready to back endless creations of debt year after year, none of which would be worth anything on the free-market bond market if the Fed were not there to guarantee it all.

The Fed is what has made this crisis-response model possible, for without the money machine standing by to provide all the funding that the powerful people need, none of this would be possible. The American people would have to be taxed, and I doubt that they would stand for too many tax increases along these lines. Disguise this tax increase in teh form of monetary expansion and you can provide government funding and spread the costs throughout society.

The Fed is not alone among the failed central banks of the world. The intewar period also created catastrophic hyper-inflations in Germany, Austria, Russia, Poland, and Hungary. The promises of the glorious world created by central banking were in tatters. But by then, governments were hooked on the loose-credit drug and would not restore sound money.

The longer we delay a conversion to sound money and way from central banking, the worse our crisis will grow and the more government will expand at the expense of our liberties."--p.69-70

Earlier last month, I was in Chicago for six days at a theological conference and U2 happened to be doing their opening show for the North American tour right there in Chicago at Soldier Field. Even though I have long had tickets to see them later this month at the Rose Bowl in my hometown of Pasadena (yes, U2 is playing my hometown!) I qucikly jumped on stubhub and got a ticket at slighlty over face value.

I am so glad I got to be there. The 360 tour is an incredible show and sing-a-long around great musical riffs, penetrating lyrics, and a moving night. This video I found of the show I was at in Chicago shows Bono in his toned down prelude of "Amazing Grace" as the band moved into "Where the Streets Have No Name." This was simply chilling to be singing this with 120,000 people.

Wow! This has been quite the blogging hiatus over the last several months. During this time I have found myself slightly aimless and wandering. Of course I have been working at APU and just celebrated my one-year anniversary there in the admissions office. And I must say that while this particular position places me in the "under-employed" category, it certainly does not put me in the "un-employed" category. Thus in the midst of a time in which I just read that 52.2% of all 18-24 year olds in the U.S. are unemployed, I am grateful. I am grateful to be working in such a collegial, respectful, and genuine place with a team of co-workers who are lot's of fun and now friends. I like to think the task of recruiting and enrolling fine young Christian minds at what I consider to be the most well-rounded university in the U.S. to be defined as "Christian liberal-arts," is a divine vocation in these times of virulent ignorance by many who claim the label Christian or evangelical or both.

In this time of silence, which I am now breaking, I have done some great fun things, most notable a two-week vacation with my 91 year old grandfather and my mother back to Minnesota to visit wonderful family and friends and of course to fish my little heart content! Most recently I was part of a theological conversation that took place just outside of Chicago. Jurgen Moltmann, was our dialogue partner, and this being my second time to meet and "dialogue" with him proved to be the better of the two. This conference reinvigorated in me the latent passion I carry for theology and will be some of the impetus behind the resurrection of my blog and the hope of more regular postings.

I have been reading quite a bit, but less theology and more politics and economics, as through the 2008 elections here in the U.S. and all of this year, my mind and my being to some extent has been consumed by politics and economics on many different levels. Ironically, over the last few weeks, particularly after the Moltmann conversation, I have returned full-circle in my hermeneutical spiral to conclude that all things are theological at their core (and perhaps periphery too!).

Throughout the month of October I am planning to post my preliminary thoughts on the whole of Chrsitian theology. That is to say, each post will be divided by using what are typically traiditional systematic theological categories. Obviously on a blog, my actual writings will not presume to be a system of logical cohesion, rather questions and learnings about different categories in theological thinking (and perhaps ways in which they aren't categorical!).

After this series, moving into the month of November, I plan to have a few book reviews and recommendations, as well as some posts on political and cultural reflection.