Postmodern Christianity: Doing Theology in the Contemporary World

185 Pages·2003·18.778 MB·English

by  John W. Riggs

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TRINITY PRESS INTERNATDNAL
A Continuum imprint
Q HARRISBURG . LONDON . NEW YORK
Copyright © 2003 John W. Riggs
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photo-
copying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, Trinity
Press International.
Trinity Press International, PO. Box 1321, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Trinity Press International is a member of the Continuum International Publishing
Group.
Cover art: Improvisation #7, Vasily Kandinsky, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow/SuperStock.
Cover design: Wesley Hoke
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Riggs, John W. (John Wheelan), 1950-
Postmodern Christianity : doing theology in the contemporary world /
John W. Riggs.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56338-364-0
1. Postmodern theology. 2. Liberation theology. I. Title.
BT83.597 .R54 2003
230'.046—dc21
2002156523
Printed in the United States of America
030405060708 10987654321
In memory of my parents,
Bobby Riggs
and
Priscilla Riggs
Preface
Introduction
1 Theology’s Long Road
Historical Background to the Jesus Movement
10
Christian Theology to the Protestant Reformation
14
Theology in the Protestant Reformation
19
From the Protestant Reformation to the Twentieth Century
23
Two Important Twentieth-Century Developments 29
Piety, Scripture, and Conceptual Systems
34
2 Philosophy: The Traveling Companion
41
From the Pre-Socratics through Augustine of Hippo
42
The West from Augustine through the Protestant Reformation
49
Mysticism, Experience, and the Protestant Reformation
54
Humanism and the Protestant Reformation
56
From the Protestant Reformation through the Enlightenment
58
Philosophy in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
61
3 The Postmodern Turn
73
Postmodern Philosophical Resources
73
Postmodern Theologies: Purifying, Political, and Preserving
80
Assessing Postmodern Theologies
94
Contents
4 Toward an Inclusive Liberal Theology
111
The Character of Claims about Reality Itself
112
Analyzing the Encounter with Jesus
115
Life in Postmodernity: Ethics and True Religions
118
5 Summary
137
Postmodern Theology and Its Heritage
137
Toward an Inclusive Liberal Theology
143
Situating This Inclusive Liberal Theology
145
Bibliography
149
Index
161
This study began as a lecture presented to the students and faculty of the five
St. Louis area seminaries that convened at Concordia Theological Seminary on
February 12, 2000. That day was a “Day of Theological Conversation” in which
students and faculty took up the topic “Entering the Conversation: Speaking the
Gospel into Postmodern Ears.” The five schools that gathered were Concordia
Seminary, a seminary of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which called
and hosted the event; Kenrick-Glennon, the seminary of the archdiocese of St.
Louis; the Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican graduate school open to
religious, priests, and lay men and women; Covenant Seminary, the national
seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America; and Eden Theological Semi-
nary, a seminary affiliated with the United Church of Christ. A representative
from each school lectured on the topic for the day, and small group discussions
and a panel discussion also took place.
The title of the conversation reflected the views of many who participated
that day, and it reflected three of the five lectures given: There is a postmodern
world that is in terrible shape and we, the church, have a solution if only the
world would listen to us. My lecture and one other suggested that instead of a
monologue, a dialogue between the postmodern world and Christianity was a
more adequate model since there might be things that both sides might learn.1
The book that evolved from that lecture has been designed for seminary stu-
dents, lay education groups, and pastors. It presupposes an interest in church
history and theology, but only some rudiments of philosophy, theology, and
history. It is an introduction to how church history, Christian theology, and
philosophy have led to the current conversation between a postmodern world
and Christianity, including Christian appropriation of postmodern insights. The
basic argument is that postmodernism has some things to teach the church, such
as the plurality of views and the historically conditioned character of Christian
doctrine; and, Christian theology has something to teach postmodernism and
those Christians who have adopted postmodern conceptual resources, such as
the idea that some assertions about the structure of reality itself must be made in
ix
Preface
order to have meaningful claims about vital topics such as ethics and God. The
fourth chapter picks up one of the significant but overall less influential direc-
tions of twentieth-century philosophy—a direction associated with people such
as Peirce James, Bergson, and Whitehead—and agues for a way to include both
pluralism and transcendental assertions about reality so that ethics and inter-
faith dialogue might profit.
Two other general comments are in order. First, three terms will be used that
may need general definitions. “Metaphysics” simply means the philosophical
investigation of the structure of reality itself. “Transcendental” refers to that
which rises out of a class or group, so that transcendental concepts mean those
concepts that have moved from features of particular human experiences to
what must be true for any experienced world. Finally, “universal” refers to a
property that can apply across contexts but is concretely exemplified this way or
that. Second, by covering church history, history of theology, history of philoso-
phy, constructive theology, and theological ethics, this study covers many issues
and figures about each of whom there is careful scholarly debate. The details of
such discourses cannot be given here nor should they be given in an introduc-
tory work. Numerous secondary authors have been cited who often provide the
discussions and scholarly notes necessary to follow the details of individual
debates. Often the notes indicate scholars whose positions differ. In the section
on the history of philosophy I have typically tried to cite the classic surveys on
philosophy by B. A. G. Fuller and Frederick Copleston, as well as some classic
and recent studies (such as Cornford’s classic Before and After Socrates). Finally,
all Scripture citations are from the New Revised Standard Verion (NRSV).
Many people have been a great help in turning that lecture into this book.
Henry Carrigan at Trinity Press has been encouraging and patient because
another project had to be finished prior to finishing this book for Trinity.
Numerous scholars have helped along the way, most especially Phil Devenish,
Steve Patterson, Deborah Krause, Ioretta Marshall, and Cindy Bumb, all of
whom read key sections and gave me helpful, constructive suggestions. Once
again the staff at the Luhr Library, under the direction of Laura Rein, has been
helpful and gracious. Missouri also has an interlibrary loan system called
“Mobius,” which gives computer access to all the libraries in the state and allows
one to order books via the Internet. The books are delivered to your home
library within a few days. Thanks to those who created and sustain the Mobius
system. Finally, my family has been a source of joy to me, always reminding me
of what truly is important about life. My deepest thanks go to Cindy, Andrew,
and Abigail. They have been patient with my long hours and distracted thought
patterns as I mulled things over. They were gracious by giving up more than one
family vacation so that I could finish this project during the school year and the
summer.
Preface
NOTES I'll PBEMBE
1. See John W. Riggs, “Protestants Speaking the Gospel into Postmodern Ears,” Concordia Journal
27 (2001): 124-33. The journal contains all five lectures from that day.
xi