Another View of “the Story”

The value of seeing the theological big picture is well illustrated at the practical level in James Choung’s evangelistic presentation, True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In. In my theology classes I have often assigned students to write their own view of Christian story in 200 words or less (which generally elicits a few frustrated responses). In a second stage, I have them revise the story in a smaller collaborative group (still keeping it at the 200 word limit); this helps to illustrate some aspects of the communal nature of theology. Finally, in a third stage I ask them to rework their narrative in some kind of creative and practical way (e.g., with a PowerPoint presentation, art work, or by converting thei narrative into some type of specific application). While one might quibble about details, James Choung’s napkin sketch would have earned an A+.  The book is published by InterVarsity Press, and was recently reviewed in Christianity Today.

“Theology” in Cultural Perspective

Today many careful scholars are contributing toward a theology that flows in a healthy direction.  A stimulating work is Colin Greene’s Christology in Cultural Perspective.  The opening statement is rich: “At the centre of Christianity stands not a timeless truth, nor a principle, not even a cause, but an event and a person - Jesus of Nazareth experienced and confessed as the Christ.”

This volume is a helpful model for serious theological work.  Is Green an advocate for a Christ centered Trinitarian theology?  Note the following:

“Hitherto, postmodernity has been almost entirely an exercise in radical deconstruction, decentring and wholesale dethroning of usurpers and pretenders to the throne of absolute power and truth.  The resulting epistemological blitzkieg has devasted the intellectual landscape of modernity beyond repair including the ideological interment camp to which religion has been banished.  If this analysis is correct, then the opportunity is there to try to construct again a sustainable, credible and intellectually convincing christological vision of reality…

[After summarizing some helpful recommendations on Christology, he then concludes]

We have arrived at a point where Christology dares to go no further, except, as we have indicated, when it is subsumed within a Trinitarian expostion of the doctrine of God and that is not our particular task” (pp. 351, 368).

Ah, but at the end of the day [and at the beginning] for the believer, this MUST be the task.