Abstracts of papers for CTS 2007

Annual General Meeting
Canadian Theological Society / Société théologique canadienne
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
27-29 May 2007

Abstracts

Papers

Michelle Baker (Concordia University), “The ‘Gospel Ethic’ and Consumer Sovereignty”

In his book, An Interpretation of Christian Ethics, Reinhold Niebuhr describes the gospel ethic of Christ as a perfect, transcendent, “Impossible” ethic. In this same work he describes how early orthodox and liberal Christian misinterpretations of the gospel ethic were used toward unjust ends. In this paper I propose that the moral assumptions underlying the acceptance of individualism in the free market can be regarded as a contemporary instance of the misinterpretations that Niebuhr describes. These assumptions lead to the success of the idea of consumer sovereignty which, in turn, helps to support the free market economy that we know today. I argue that, in ways similar to those by which Niebuhr demonstrates the unjust use of the gospel ethic, neo-liberal economics exploits the difficulties faced by efforts at ethical consumption. The desire to consume responsibly is channeled into the ideology of consumer sovereignty, whereby the consumer is made to believe that s/he has choices which in fact are illusory and support the unjust practices s/he seeks to mitigate.

Peter Bisson (Campion College, University of Regina), “Making Religion Public: Engaged Religion Bridging the Secular-Religious Divide”

Socially and politically engaged religion integrates social consciousness into religious consciousness, which makes religion public in a way it was not before the Enlightenment religious-secular division. In Western culture, social consciousness emerged in post-Enlightenment emancipatory commitments and uses of reason, which are typically construed as secular, not religious, and therefore apt for use in public life or civil society. Engaged religion – such as faith-based NGOs like Kairos, liberation and feminist theologies, engaged Buddhism, or the systematic social commitments of various religious orders like the Jesuits – is active in civil society, so its practitioners become religious agents in the public, secular sphere, generally on the left. By incorporating traditionally secular social consciousness into religious consciousness, engaged religion transposes religious practice and belief in social terms, which in turn reconstrues religious consciousness in public and seemingly secular ways. This new configuration of religious identity and agency bridges the secular-religious divide, and can be fruitfully analyzed by means of Bernard Lonergan’s idea of differentiations of consciousness and Paul Ricoeur’s idea of second naïveté or second immediacy.

Nathan Colborne (Nipissing University), “Pitfalls of Just Policing: A Foucauldian Perspective” (Work In Progress)

Soon after the events of 9/11 an editorial in the journal First Things asserted that pacifists, because they do not accept the legitimacy of any use of violence, have no place in discussions about how the use of such violence should be carried out. A recent book edited by Duane Friesen and Gerald Schlabach attempts to develop a genuinely pacifist contribution to discussions surrounding peace, security and the legitimate use of violence to preserve them. As part of this contribution, Schlabach argues that the just war tradition should be reconceived as just policing and that the principles of community policing are a more appropriate place to begin in outlining the legitimate use of coercion in the preservation of peace and security. This paper will argue that the just policing position can be strengthened by coming to terms with a more suspicious account of the practice of policing. After outlining Schlabach’s account of just policing, I will summarize a Foucauldian understanding of the subtle violence of policing and suggest the places where the principles of just policing are vulnerable to a Foucauldian critique. The paper will conclude with suggestions for how an account of just policing can avoid the pitfalls that Foucault recognizes.

Chris Duncanson-Hales (St. Paul University), “Janus Pedagogy: Bridging the Gap Between Religious Studies and Theological Studies in the Classroom”

A soon to be published American study comparing the expectations of students to those of faculty of religious studies programs presented at the AAR this past November reveals a ‘spirituality gap’ between students whose primary expectation is spiritual/ transformative/affirming engagement with religion, and faculty expectations of a critical, academic engagement. The conclusions of the study cannot be generalized to the Canadian context without further study; however, they do pose important pedagogical questions for theology and religious studies. Is there a role for theologians in religious studies programs? How can the gap between theology and religious studies, faculty and students be bridged? Is there a place for the ‘spiritual quest’ in the classroom? From my own first year experience teaching in a Religions program whose students are being prepared to teach in the Catholic School system, this regular paper will explore these questions with the aim of opening a dialogue to help bridge the gap between religious studies and theological studies in the classroom.

Rob Fennel (Atlantic School of Theology), “The Renewal of the Social Gospel through the Doctrine of Passibility”

The doctrine of passibility provides fertile ground for renewed commitment to a Christ-centred passion for the social gospel. This paper explores some of the history of the doctrine of divine impassibility, and outlines the ways in which Moltmann, in contrast, presents passibility as constitutive of his theological understandings. The vulnerable love of God, who risks engagement with the world, suffers redemptively-especially upon the cross-and draws human beings into mutual solidarity, into commitment to emancipation, and ultimately into the very life of the triune God, whose desire is the fullness and goodness of the consummation of God’s Realm.

Andrew Gabriel (McMaster Divinity College), “Searching for a Theology of Nature in Barth’s Doctrine of Creation” (Work In Progress)

The critique raised most often regarding Karl Barth’s doctrine of creation concerns its anthropocentric nature. I will argue, however, that Barth himself moves beyond the anthropocentrism of which he is accused. Barth is indeed anthropocentric in that his creation/covenant thesis tends to present non-human creation as a means to an end, in his exposition of the Genesis creation narratives, in his christological focus, in his understanding of the covenant, and in his anthropocentric doctrine of election (which is foundational to his understanding of the covenant). Nevertheless, in response to his critics (particularly Moltmann and Aung) I will observe how Barth does not completely neglect nature and highlight insights within his doctrine of creation that might be incorporated into a theology of nature, particularly that all of creation participates in the covenant.

Keith Hyde (University of Winnipeg), “‘The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical” in the T.V. Series ‘Survivor’” (Work In Progress)

Using Kierkegaard’s notion of the ‘teleological suspension of the ethical’ as a springboard, I seek to examine some of the implicit ethical suspensions which take place, whether by design or circumstance, in one of the first successful television reality series, “Survivor, Season One”. I may also explore some of the apocalyptic undertones of the show, with its eclectic, isolated collective which is forced to adapt to continually changing external circumstances and diminishing membership.

Justin Klassen (McMaster University), “Love Born of the Cross: Divine Truth and Cultural Mediations”

In recent years, the Radical Orthodoxy movement (John Milbank, Graham Ward, Catherine Pickstock, et al.) has developed an influential theological response to the putative nihilism inherent in modern philosophical tendencies to construe the relation between finite and infinite realities as utterly disjunctive and thus incapable of mediation. In contrast to such “ontologies of violence,” Radical Orthodoxy advances an ontology that is both truly “aesthetic,” suggesting that God in creation provides for the positive mediatory capacities of finite form, and also truly “peaceful,” claiming that God’s creative allowance for the participation of the finite in his infinite being is motivated primarily by the love immanent to God’s own person. This theological ontology thus attempts to persuade of the truth of a human existence for which an objective-erotic relation to finite things is itself participation in a “being” that is peace. In my paper I shall propose an alternative, “dialectical” theological aesthetics, by way of an original comparison of the work of René Girard and Søren Kierkegaard, each of whom advances an ontology of peace, to be sure, but who both also advocate a certain renunciation of the erotic, which opposes them to the Radical Orthodoxy project.

Timothy Nijhof (University of Winnipeg), “De Werkmansvriend (The Workingman’s Friend): Klaas Kater and the Reformed Churches response to the threat of the Marxist “International” in 19th Century Netherlands”

Economic hardship in 19th Century Netherlands meant that much of the Northern rural population was destitute and many were engaged in a constant struggle for daily sustenance. These deplorable conditions created a society that was ripe for the socialist message. Not surprisingly this created a great deal of unease among the Catholic and orthodox Protestant churches which viewed the socialist movement as a threat. In 1876, Partrimonium, a Protestant Christian workers’ association, was formed to address the social questions of the day by developing Christian solutions based on the demands of God’s laws rather than “rallying under the red flag.” In very short order Partrimonium built itself into one of the largest organizations in the Netherlands. And yet this organization and its accomplishments were virtually ignored by the church hierarchy; most notably, the future Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper. It wasn’t until the organization threatened to form a separate Christian Labour Party and run candidates in direct competition with the Reformed confessional Anti-Revolutionary party that concessions were finally made. This paper will explore the biblical mandate of Partrimonium and how they interpreted this mandate within the specifics of their program. It will analyze the challenges these Christian working men faced within the exclusive deferential Reformed social hierarchy with a particular focus on the interaction between its leader, Klaas Kater, and Abraham Kuyper. Finally this paper will discuss the importance of this period in the formation of the consociational society which developed in the Netherlands in the 20th century as well as placing this within an international context.

Mathias M. Ross, “The Place of Community Praxis in Inter-Religious Dialogue in Contemporary Religious Formation”

Faith traditions and practices are frequently taken as forming the foundational and normative aspect of religion and issues in relation to meeting contextual needs as belonging to the derived and relative aspect of religion both in ‘religious studies’ and ‘theological’ circles. While liberation theology and theologies akin to it have questioned this and called for a ‘theology from below’, the analysis they employ typically fails to be adequate to the complexity of human existence, social relations, political demands and operations, and varying forms of thought connecting these. This paper discusses the tension in the tradition-based and context-based approaches. It evaluates the principles and attempts of ecumenical bodies in seeing the role of religion in contemporary social and religious conflicts and promotion of human rights and sustainable life patterns. It then goes on to show how community praxis and inter-religious dialogue must be seen as two ‘religious’ moments, divinely offered, humanly transforming and theologically significant, rather than as merely means towards fulfilling predetermined religious goals.

Jane Colleen Rowland (Independent Scholar), “‘Blessedly Used of God’: Theology, Spirituality and Gender Practices among Early Twentieth-Century Evangelicals”

This paper will explore the role of spirituality in determining gender practices within early twentieth-century North American evangelicalism. Spirituality is here understood as the interaction of religious beliefs, experiences, and practices within a specific context. In particular, the paper will explore ways in which the theological tenets of one stream of holiness evangelicals, associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, provided the experiential grounding for an expanded role for female ministry. Spirituality provides a fruitful lens through which to observe and evaluate what are otherwise apparently self-contradictory evangelical attitudes towards ministering women.

Laurie Lamoreux Scholes (Concordia University), “Building Bridges Across Difference: A Study of the Christian Ecumenical Movement of the Early 20th Century (A Blueprint for the Interfaith Movement?)”

Building upon the work of previous generations, the ecumenical movement of the early twentieth century successfully managed intra-faith relations and established the World Council of Churches, an institution that continues to unite many Christians around the world. The concerns and challenges that faced the ecumenical movement in the lead-up to the World Council of Churches parallel many of the social, political and theological concerns that challenge the emerging interfaith movement of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This paper will explore various ways in which the experiences of the former provides the latter with yet another blueprint to consider in the ongoing quest to build bridges across differences and achieve unity within religious diversity.

Don Schweitzer (St. Andrew’s College, University of Saskatchewan), “Truth and Pride in the Book of Job”

Western Christian theology, with some exceptions, has tended to understand pride as either a sin or a virtue. This paper will show how the book of Job portrays pride more complexly, as a polyvalent and dynamic phenomenon intrinsic to moral agency that cannot be adequately grasped as either a friend or foe of truth. The book of Job portrays pride as inherent in and necessary to any attempt to speak the truth, yet as also tending to distort it. Its conclusion suggests that the moral claims of pride need to be held in tension with the transmoral nature of God. The latter upholds pride in human righteousness dialectically, affirming it, yet guarding against pride’s distorting tendencies by sublating it within a larger context of grace.

Mark S. Smith (New York University), 2007 Craigie Lecture:“God in Translation: Cross-cultural Recognition of Deities in the Biblical World”

The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS), in conjunction with the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion, the Canadian Society for Patristic Studies, and the Canadian Theological Society, is sponsoring the 2007 Craigie Lecture on May 28, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. This biannual event aims to bring a scholar of international repute to the CSBS annual meeting at Congress; the event also aims to bring up-to-date biblical scholarship to the attention of a wider audience.

The speaker this year will be Mark S. Smith, Skirball Professor of Bible and Near Eastern Studies at New York University. He is the author of ten books and over forty articles and essays; his recent books include The Early History of God (2d ed.; 2000), The Origins of Biblical Monotheism (2001), and The Memoirs of God (2004). After receiving his Ph.D. from Yale University (1985), he held positions at Yale University and St. Joseph’s University before moving to New York University; he has also held several visiting fellowships. His scholarship is meticulous, his textual readings ground-breaking, and his scope comprehensive.

The presentation is entitled “God in Translation: Cross-cultural Recognition of Deities in the Biblical World.” The title of the presentation promises to show the interplay of cultural and religious forces in the ancient world, with particular attention to biblical texts. Given the increased attention to religious discourse in the West in recent years, an examination of the origins of the western religious traditions should be both informative and relevant. Professor Smith has published both with academic and trade presses, bringing his specialized knowledge of ancient biblical and cognate texts to a wider audience. In both content and accessibility this presentation is consonant with the Congress 2007 theme of “Bridging Communities.”

Kornél Zathureczky (Université de Montréal), “Christianity, Islam, and Reason: Pope Benedict XVI and Tariq Ramadan”

A recent speech of Pope Benedict XVI in Regensburg elicited a flurry of violent protests among many Muslims throughout the world. Benedict appealed to the Greek philosophical heritage of Christianity which the latter appropriated through the theology of the Logos, locating Christianity’s essentially non-violent disposition within this doctrine. While Benedict advocates the necessity of a mutual relationship between faith and reason, he also implies that this relationship between the two is an exclusive achievement of Christian theology in Europe. In the spirit of theological dialogue, mistakenly perceived as disdain for the prophet Muhammad, the Pope questions whether Islam’s perceived connection to violence may not be attributed to a deflated role of reason in Islamic theology. He insinuates that this lack may be the biggest obstacle to accepting the presence of Islam in Europe. We look at a response to the Regensburg speech, offered by Tariq Ramadan, most well-known for his work in construing an idea of specifically European Islam, as a significant achievement of theological dialogue, one that not only engages the real substance of the Pope’s speech but also challenges its theological presuppositions.

Panels / Seminars

Panel A: Issues in Theological Education in Canada” I & II

Participants: Jane Barter Moulaison, chair (University of Winnipeg), Joanne McWilliam (Trinity College), Ellen Leonard (University of St. Michael’s College), Marilyn Legge (Emmanuel College), Doug Harink (King’s University College), Wendy Fletcher, Eric Beresford, Gregory Baum (McGill University)

This panel will explore themes in theological education from the perspectives of a variety of scholars in the field, at variety of stages in their career, and representing a variety of theological orientations. The purpose of the panel is partly retrospective, and, therefore, partly prophetic. What are some of the challenges to theological education in Canada? How does geography impose a challenge to dialogue within our country? How does regional context shape theological education? What future challenges await theological educators? How might theological education proceed in an increasingly pluralistic context, and above all, what is theological about theological education?

This panel will contribute to a special supplement to the Toronto Journal of Theology, to be published in 2008.

Panel B (Joint Panel with CCSR): Bridging Communities? The Instance of Borat

Participants: Bill James, Hannah Dick, chairs (Queen’s University)

Few would propose that Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) effectively bridges communities, or that it publicizes worthwhile knowledge. Borat, analyzed methodologically from film studies and religious studies, is shown to shatter links, to be deliberately transgressive, and to destroy the boundaries of multicultural (and every other kind of) correctness. The film satirically inverts the American Dream, uncovering illusions of “truth” and the “real” while aggressively resisting any and all forms of Western hegemony. Borat the character destabilizes Western normativities, while embodying and unconcealing particular displacements of contemporary diasporic Jewish identity. Employing Hebrew language and Jewish jokes and folklore, and drawing on tropes disturbingly reminiscent of the Holocaust (pervasive excrement, shorn human hair, toilet as washbasin, mass behaviour), Borat as displaced “other” displays the instability of contemporary Jewish and other identities.

Panel C: Bridging Churches: Development of the Understanding of Church through Canadian Ecumenical Dialogues

Moderators: Gail Allan and Mary Marrocco

Presentations:

1. Self-Understanding of Church Engaged In Dialogue, Dr. Helmut Harder
2. Interaction Between Dialogue and the Local Church Community, Dr. Sandra Beardsall
3. Themes in Dialogues over the Years: “Church,” A Case Study, Dr. Susan Brown

Rationale: Ecumenical bilateral dialogue has been a strong theological and sociological presence in Canada through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The dialogues themselves have been ongoing and fruitful, both establishing closer links between churches and also deepening knowledge on the themes they have studied. How does this fruitfulness become public knowledge in order to enhance the life of participating churches? How does it influence the self-understanding of churches, and therefore ecclesiologies? How are links made between academic study and ecclesial life? This panel will examine these questions academically, experientially, and historically.

Posted: April 1, 2007 in category: