Christ and Culture

Conspectus, 2011

Conversations in Religion and Theology, 2003

Themelios, 2010

Although there are several gateways into Balthasar’s theology, this essay seeks to explicate what I think to be one of the primary entry points, namely, what is meant by the dazzling darkness of God’s triune love. Balthasar’s theology is not systematic in the traditional sense where one can turn to a particular section and read his definitive take on a particular doctrine or issue (e.g., the Trinity, atonement, etc.). Rather, his theology is more symphonic in that he weaves together a variety of themes in order to demonstrate the interconnectedness of theology that results not simply in the mere contemplation of theology’s object, namely, the triune God, but the actions required by those who properly perceive him in faith. The motifs covered in this essay resonate throughout his trilogy and even into many of his works beyond it, striking a prominent chord within the concerto of Balthasar’s theology. The article provides a brief narrative context of Balthasar's life that alludes to the impetus for much of his work, allowing us to frame the subsequent discussion on the dazzling darkness of God’s triune love. The next section explicates Balthasar’s notion of the dazzling darkness of God’s triune love through what I call “divine eternal kenosis” that serves as the basis for all other kenotic movements, including Christ’s decent into hell. Finally, we conclude by suggesting relevant points where evangelicals should critically yet charitably engage Balthasar’s theology while offering resources in a postscript, both primary and secondary works, for further exploration.

2007

The objective of this study is to come to an authentic understanding of the Word of Faith movement at a variety of levels: its origins, its theology, and its influence, all for the purpose of laying a foundation for constructive and informed engagement with the Word of Faith movement. This study is not easy to classify in terms of the standard sub-divisions of theology. Since the objective of the study is to come to an accurate understanding of a contemporary religious movement so as to facilitate constructive dialogue, it involves a combination of historical, systematic, and practical theological components. The methodology throughout is based on literary methods. The study aims to answer four key questions. Firstly, is the Word of Faith movement a metaphysical cult or an authentically Christian movement with aberrant theology? The study concludes that the Word of Faith movement is authentically Christian; however, the movement has theological teachings and beliefs that are not supported by a contextual Bible reading. Secondly, what is the organising framework for the theology of the Word of Faith movement, and how plausible is the movement’s theology? On this point the study demonstrates how the key theological beliefs of the movement relates to its ‘little gods’ teaching and how these key beliefs are dependent upon an understanding and acceptance of the ‘little gods’ teaching. Thirdly, why does the Word of Faith movement attract and keep adherents despite its theological deficiencies? Here the study relies, among others, on Bainbridge and Stark who showed that cults form to address people’s immediate and social needs. It also makes use of Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance to show that individuals respond to a tension between their beliefs and their experiences by adapting their beliefs in terms of their perceived and/or real reward. Avery and Gobbel show how powerful the relationship between the spiritual leader and the listener can be, this results in a form of surrogate validation whereby the individual allows him or herself to be influenced. Finally, how should the Evangelical Church engage with the Word of Faith movement? In answering this question it is clear that education is central. I further argue, that from an ethics perspective, a Christ centered approach to theology is of equal importance as is using scripture as the foundation used for the validation of beliefs and teachings. I conclude that Smith’s model for doing theology addresses all these elements and, if used, arrives at a missional focused theology where theological belief and scriptural reading speaks to the contemporary church.

Six primary theological disciplines are integrated with a visual model of a cube to highlight the simultaneous interaction of all six theological disciplines, even when the theologian is engaged in one particular theological discipline.