A Blog that is a Little More up to Date

Since I graduated from Fox, the present blog is more of a historical snapshot of my theological/ spiritual/ academic journey. It is locked in time, and perhaps is unlikely to be maintained or used for fresh postings. However, if you would like to catch up with me or explore my regularly maintained blog, it can be found here: Exploring Faith in Christ: Looking for Meaningful and Friendly Conversations on Faith and Culture As always, thank you for reading me. -CL

John Calvin & Predestination

I've been thinking about what Dr. Brunner said about hospital rooms and pastoral care, namely, that this is not the time to get into theological explanations about God's sovereignty, and that all they need to hear is that "God is in control." This seems to be inextricably connected to Calvin's idea that everything that happens is "caused" by God and that it's all for his "glory." I have major problems with both of these, but I thought that Matthis brought up a really good point in class concerning how it might just bring MORE glory to God to allow genuine free will and its by-product of genuine love. As you may know, I am NOT a fan of Calvin, but I thought I'd throw out an invitation for further discussion.

-Corb

Conniry #1: Christian theological types...

1) We looked at “Christian theological types based on distinctive sociological emphases. Be prepared to list these and describe the general trend that we observed.

Conniry #2: Convictional Theological Types

2) We looked at several theological types based on convictional emphases. Be ready to pick them out of a larger list.

Conniry #3: George Lindbeck

What is George Lindbeck’s typology?

Conniry #4: Hans Frei’s Xian Theologies

4) In Hans Frei’s types of Christian theology, types one and five were opposites yet were also said to be similar. Be ready to explain how these two types are similar and different.

Conniry #5: Grenz & Olson Typology

5. What is the typology articulated by Stan Grenz and Roger Olson?

Conniry #6: Impossibility of Monolithic Definitions

6) I said that it is impossible to ascribe a single definition to our age—such as “postmodern,” and proposed instead the term “emerging age.” Be prepared to explain why I made such a proposal.

Conniry #7: Skepticism toward “foundational knowledge.”

7) We observed that the modern disciplines of science, philosophy, and sociology corroborated the growing skepticism toward “foundational knowledge.” Be prepared to specify which disciplines we identified and the representative influencers.

Conniry #8: Nobody Comes as a "Blank-Slate"

8) We observed that in the absence of any rational way to establish our “basic beliefs,” scientists, philosophers, and sociologists—as well as the better part of popular culture—came to acknowledge the influence that human sociality plays in our formation of meaning and that it is now is generally agreed that none of us comes to look at the world the way we do apart from the social structures of which we are part. Be prepared to explore the truthfulness of this point.

Conniry #9: Technology, Imperialism and Faith

9. I said that radio, television, and the Internet have brought the global village into the living room of Western civilization, rousing it from its imperialistic slumber and forcing it to reckon with the fact that humankind looks at the world in vastly differ-ent ways. I also observed that this realization was a bit slow in coming for those of us in the U.S. Be prepared to discuss the “net effect” of this realization in terms of the social and spiritual dispositions of contemporary culture.

Conniry #10: 2 Church Responses to the Emerging Movement

10. I said that the Western church responded in two very different ways to its emerging context. Be prepared to list these two responses and offer a brief summary of each.

Conniry #11: The déja vu Conniry Quote

11. I said, “In an ironic déja vu of the last century, the 21st century church has defaulted to two alternating emphases that are reflected in liberalism and conservatism, and modern theology’s non-pragmatic reflection and non-reflective pragmatics, respectively.” Be prepared to explain (to the best of your ability) what I meant by that statement.

Conniry #12: Transforming Moments in Theology

12. We observed that we are currently living through one of the transforming moments in the history of religion worldwide. Be prepared to explain.

Conniry #13: "Dana L. Robert ‘s assertion"

13. We observed Dana L. Robert ‘s assertion that “the most interesting lessons from the missionary outreach during the Western colonial era is what happened to Christian-ity when the missionaries weren’t looking, and after the colonizers withdrew.” Be prepared to explain what she meant by that statement and whether or not you agree with her assessment of the modern missionary enterprise.

Conniry #14: Modern Missionary Movements

14. Be prepared to reflect on the question as to whether the modern missionary movement, which was principally of Western origins, was limited in its effectiveness by virtue of its association with Western European colonizers (whether or not this association was entirely justified).

Conniry #15: The “Pastoral trickle-down effect.”

15. We said that theological reflection throughout the 20th century was carried on primarily among fellow guild members and their students in universities and seminaries. Consequently, these theological works tended to influence the church indirectly, by means of what we might call the “pastoral trickle-down effect.” Be prepared to explain what we meant by that. Be sure to note how this has continued to affect the 21st-century church.

Conniry #16: Emergence of a New "potent theological force."

16. We observed that during the 20th century in both England and the United States there emerged another potent theological force alongside academic theology. Be ready to explain what this was and why it emerged.

Conniry #17: Changing "Practical Theology"

17. We observed that “practical theology” became widely popular in the 1980s and 90s. We also discussed the (unsettling) change that has occurred among the readers of such popular material between the mid 20th century and late 20th century. Be pre-pared to identify what, specifically, has changed. Be ready as well as to reflect on the challenges that this poses for would-be theologians in the 21st century.

Conniry #18: T/F on Israel's & Church's take on truth

18. We observed that when Christianity in the modern West drew from its cultural cate-gories it was actually being quite consistent with the way Israel and the church have historically embraced the ever-developing revelation of God’s truth in the world. Be prepared to answer a true-or-false question on this subject.

Conniry #19: McClendon’s Heart Metaphor

19. We observed that dealing both imaginatively and faithfully with the tension between changing contexts and unchanging truth is the perennial challenge of ministry. We noted that theologian James Wm. McClendon, Jr. likened this to the beating of a healthy heart. Be prepared to explain McClendon’s use of this metaphor.

Conniry #20: Jesus' call for unity

20. We noted that Jesus called for a unity among his followers that is both visible and ab-normal. Be prepared to explain this.

Conniry #21: T/F Raymond Brown’s assessment

21. Be prepared to answer a true-or-false question about Raymond Brown’s assessment of diversity within the early church.

Conniry #22 T/F Jerusalem Council

22. Be prepared to answer a true-or-false question about the Jerusalem Council.

Conniry #23: Roman Catholic ecumenical councils

23. Be prepared to identify which two of the twenty one Roman Catholic ecumenical councils were most significant with regard to the discussion of ecumenism and Pro-testantism and why.