Theological News On-Line

Issue 42    November 2005	'Promoting Biblical Truth by Networking Theologians'

Published by Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance

Editor: David Parker wef-tc@pacific.net.au
email distribution: Dr.Paul C. Murdoch Murdoch@ead.de

Welcome to WEA Theological News On-Line - this is the on-line version of our printed quarterly, WEA Theological News (ISSN 0260-3705). WEA TN On-Line is issued approximately six-weekly. The content of the printed and on-line versions overlap but are not identical. We also publish Evangelical Review of Theology. For more information, visit our website www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/commissions/tcpubs.htm  

We welcome news reports on theological matters for both versions - they can cover theological institutions, conferences, publications, faculty, trends and developments, etc. of interest to evangelical theologians around the world.

For more information on the work of the Theological Commission, contact the Executive Chair, Dr Rolf Hille r.hille@bengelhaus.de 

In this issue:

•  Special issue of Evangelical Review of Theology on Theological Education
•  WEA leadership meets in new mode
•  Leading theologian and churchman gives prestigious lectures on Jesus
•  Asia-Pacific Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
•  Dr R Hille's Keynote Address on the missionary challenge of evangelical theology
•  Book Review: Primer on Christian Doctrine
•  Lausanne Pattya Papers available in printed volumes

Special issue of Evangelical Review of Theology on Theological Education

The papers from a joint Theological Commission -ICETE Task Force on the Theology of Theological Education have been published in the July 2005 issue of Evangelical Review of Theology. They include Miroslav Volf's "Dancing for God", Brian Edgar's "The Theology of Theological Education" and Larry J McKinney's "Pedagogical Implications." Other papers by M Daniel Carroll and Sylvia Wilkey explore biblical perspectives while Marlene Enns focuses on modes of learning and reasoning and Dieumeme Noelliste discusses socio-economic contexts. Copies of this special issue were distributed through ICETE related bodies. Extra copies are available from the TC Australian office at $10 US per copy airmailed. Contact the Editor for more information wef-tc@pacific.net.au 

WEA leadership meets for first time in new mode

A meeting of the new Interntional Leadership Team (ILT) of the World Evangelical Alliance will take place at Bad Blankenburg, Germany in early December. This is the first meeting of this group which was formed as part of the restructuring of the WEA following the WEA Summit which took place at Orlando, Florida in May 2005. The Summit set in place new arrangements for the leadershp and administration of the WEA involving in particular the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) on the administration side and Mr Geoff Tunnicliffe's appointment as International Director. Financial services are being provided by EFC. Since May, the WEA has set up a Press Office in Washington DC with the help of new affiliate member, The Christian Post, and a state-of-the-art Centre for Information Technologies in San Francisco, with the help of partners Olivet University and The Christian Post International.

One of the new initiatives from the Orlando Summit was the International Leadership Team consisting of Regional Secretaries, Commission Directors, heads of Affiliate organisation and representatives of the National Alliances. Its meeting will be preceded by a meeting of the WEA International Council. About 35 people from all parts of the world are expected at the combined event which will run from Nov 29 to Dec 5. The full agenda will consider submissions from Commissions, reports of the activities of the various bodies represented and initiatives from the leadership. In particular, the Theological Commission has several matters on the agenda, arising from its recent successfull annual Planning and Strategy Meeting in Korea. The TC will be represented by Executive Chair, Dr Rolf Hille of Tuebingen, Germany.

Leading theologian and churchman gives prestigious lectures on Jesus Dr Peter Jensen gives Boyer Lectures in Australia

Dr Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and former Principal of Moore Theological College, is giving the prestigious Boyer Lectures on the Australian Broadcasting Commision national radio network. The Boyer Lectures have been given by prominent Australians for over 40 years, and they provide a platform for the speakers to discuss a wide range of subjects affecting the community. Dr Jensen has chosen the topic "The Future of Jesus". In his introduction to the Lectures, Dr Jensen said, "The Thesis is that Jesus is more important to the Australian values of 'a fair go' and 'mateship' than the stories of the Eureka Stockade and Gallipoli; in forgetting Him, as Australians we risk losing our core values now and in the future." He added: "I want to provoke a national debate with the Jesus of the Gospels," and he hopes to encourage people to read the Bible so that they can understand the importance of Jesus in the modern world.

The opening lecture, given on 13th November, was titled "Jesus the Prophet at the end of the World" and focused on bringing Jesus into discussion of values and how people need to examine their assumptions about the importance of Jesus. The second lecture, "Jesus, Religious Genius or Failed Prophet" examined the claims of Jesus and evaluations of him over history. Other topics are: "Jesus, was he Miraculous?"; "Jesus or Caesar, The Choice of Martyrs"; "Jesus and the Millennium – Will He Never Come Back?" and "Jesus, Freedom and the Choices We Make?"

The Lectures are given over six weeks, broadcast first on Sundays at 5pm local time, and repeated later in the week. Details, transcripts and information about purchasing audio and printed versions of the series are available on the ABC website at http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/promotion.asp?promoid=174 The transcript of a feature program on Dr Jensen and the lectures may be found on http://www.abc.net.au/rn/relig/spirit/stories/s1495293.htm 

Dr Jensen has been Archbishop of Sydney, the largest Anglican Diocese in the country, since 2001 and is Chair of the Anglican General Synod Doctrine Commission. He has written a number of books including The Quest For Power, At the Heart the Universe and The Revelation of God. In June 2005, he presented the inaugural TC Hammond Lectures in Ireland.

Asia-Pacific Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

The Asia Pacific Society for Interdisciplinary Studies has launched its journal, Asia-Pacific Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, edited by Dr Tereso C. Casino, Associate Professor of Theology and Missiology at Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology, Seoul, Korea and formerly Dean of Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary, Philippines. The initial volume includes ten articles, dealing with a variety of topics including biblical studies (Reader-Response approach to Jonah; Revelation 2-3 and Paul); hermeneutics (Ricour's theory of text and interpretation; postmodernism and biblical interpretation); church history (the church in Korea; church growth movement) and religion (Freud's understanding of religion; ancestor worship).

For more information, contact the editor on drterry63@ttgst.ac.kr 

Dr Rolf Hille's Keynote Address at 3rd International Conference on Evangelical Theology

'The Future of Evangelical Theology and its Missionary Challenges in the Church of the 21st Century'

Dr Rolf Hille, Executive Chair of the WEA Theological Commission, delivered the keynote address to the Third International Conference on Evangelical Theology held at Sungkyul University, Anyang, Korea, Sept 30-Oct 12, 2005. He spoke on the future of evangelical theology and its missionary challenges.

He said, "Theology both influences the development of the Evangelical movement and is also dependent on the development of Evangelicalism at the same time. Evangelicalism is primarily an evangelistic and missionary movement within the worldwide Christian Church. I believe Evangelical theology has a future only in as far as it serves its missionary task. Evangelical theology has a presence because mission is in God's time. Within the framework of Biblical salvation, mission is on God's agenda for this period of time. The Christian Church is created by the Holy Spirit through the word of the risen Lord. He, in His authority, has put mission at the top of His agenda. The future of Evangelical theology is not guaranteed by any academic standard or by any human thinkers, but only by the promises of the Lord Himself.'

Basing his remarks on the Great Commission, Dr Hille said this text shows "that all theological truth is personal truth" which makes Jesus Christ tremendously different from all founders of religions or great philosophers of the past, whose mandate ended with their deaths. There is a significant contrast between such a closed situation and the living process involved between persons who act and react. Therefore, Evangelical theology must be aware that it has to deal not only with a great historical past, but with the living God who is present in the Spirit of the Risen Christ." Dr Hille pointed out that "This reality of interaction between Christ and the theologian, in all theological thinking and writing, demands as one consequence that the theologian respects the glorious presence of his Lord. Theological reflection can be done only in the attitude of a humble servant who hears his Lord's voice and bows before Him." He added, "Paradoxically, this attitude of servanthood is the foundation of all theological self-awareness and every authoritative statement."

According to Dr Hille, the Great Commission emphasizes the evangelistic purposes of evangelical theology. This means that "the foundation of all theology lies exclusively in the mandate to teach what the Risen Lord has given to His apostles." This adherence to biblical teaching affects the practical profile of evangelical theology, as exemplified in the Reformational principles of "sola scriptura" and "tota scriptura." Dr Hille emphasized that "Biblical truth is very practical and all theological research must be validated by the spiritual relevance it has for the practice of godly living. The theoretical approach to theology leads to dangerous pitfalls. Every intellectual decision isolated from the grassroots problems of the Church, is, at best, inefficient and, at worst, extremely dangerous for God's people. A good theologian is one who struggles in a responsible position as teacher with all the temptations of his age and who searches for relevant, contemporary answers found in the Bible in close contact with his fellow disciples. The future of Evangelical theology lies in this indispensable combination of solid Biblical thinking regarding and understanding the meaning of salvation history and the capacity to apply this Biblical knowledge to different situations in the Church in a practical manner."

The full text of Dr Hille's address will be published in the April 2006 edition of Evangelical Review of Theology.

Book Review

A Primer for Christian Doctrine by Jonathan R. Wilson 
(Michigan/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2005) ISBN 0-8028-4656-4 Pb pp 127 Index 
Reviewed by David Parker, Editor, Evangelical Review of Theology 

This is an unusual but intriguing book, for as the author is at pains to point out in his opening sentence, it is 'neither a highly condensed systematic theology nor a very short summary of Christian doctrine'. Instead it is 'a primer - a first book of Christian doctrine intended to help you understand what Christians mean when we talk about "doctrine" and "theology."'

It consists of one chapter for each major area of theology (including methodology) giving the major aspects of the topic as discussed in typical systematic theology text books, and their signficance. For example, the chapter on God (double the average length of the others) covers such topics as the existence and attributes of God, the use of images and story in the Bible to convey truth about God, the Trinity, the use of gendered language and the impact of social location on the theologian's work. The second chapter is on the person of Christ, and covers the familiar terrritory of the development of the doctrine in the early church and the relevance of the concepts used at that time for the modern situation. Thus this 'guidebook for Christian doctrine' aims to make understandable why the various topics and approaches found in standard theological study are important and why they find their place in the study materials.

There are ten chapters on doctrinal topics and they can be read in any order. There is some overlap, for as the author helpfully points out, the various topics interact with each other.

The author, Professor of Theology at Acadia Divinity College, Novia Scotia, leaves it to the readers to decide whether it is best to read the book before, after, or in conjunction with the text book they are using. However, his clear aim is to provide an initial theology book and to 'tell you what your teachers hope you already know when you begin your formal study.' But in the interests of wide applicability, he avoids going into details of particular points or traditions of theology, so the discussion labours the varieties and options that have been followed in the history of theology. However, this is likely to be confusing to a beginner, and so it is a question whether students could actually get the point of much of this somewhat abstract discussion before they are familiar with the details.

The author seems to be aware of this possibility because he concedes that 'the best way to learn what Christian doctrine is, is to study it.' However, he is probably correct in his obversation that in earlier times an orientation like this at the beginning of a course of theological study would not have been so necessary because the subject matter and methods would have been more familiar to the average church goer.

It is really therefore better thought of as a co-text book, but whether a separate book is needed is another matter. This sort of material should normally be explained by the teacher as the various topics are introduced in class. So it almost reads as notes for a correspondence or distance education module where there is no teacher physically present to help get the most out of the text book. In fact, the initial chapter on methodology is the most helpful of all, and could have been usefully expanded to constitute the core of the book with the material in the other chapters providing illustrative material.

As a guide to standard treatment found in text books, it tends to restrict the horizon of readers to the traditional approaches to the theology and does not create any incentive or opening to consider innovative initiatives.

There are no footnotes, but a short time-line and the brief index will held in locating key names and movements that are mentioned in the text.

Lausanne 2004 Pattaya Forum Papers Available in Print

The Lausanne organisation has announced that the Lausanne Occasional Papers from the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization have been collected into a three volume compendium called A New Vision, A New Heart, A Renewed Call. The compendium is now available for pre-ordering from the William Carey Library (shaun.harding@wclbooks.com). The project has been carried out in partnership and with the assistance of the William Carey Library.

In commending the papers, John R. W. Stott, honorary Chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, said, "For more than twenty-five years my thinking about world evangelization has been enriched through my involvement with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. It was my privilege to edit Making Christ Known, the compendium of major documents produced by the Lausanne movement from 1974 to 1989. Now, it is a great joy to commend this new publication which contains all of the Lausanne Occasional Papers produced following the Lausanne 2004 Forum in Pattaya, Thailand. I pray that this fresh thinking of a new generation of mission theologians and practitioners will enrich your understanding of the mission challenges that are before us. Furthermore, I pray God will use them to inspire 'the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.'"

Ajith Fernando, National Director Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, said, "This is a time when the church needs to be informed of what is happening in the world and equipped to proclaim Christ relevantly and effectively to the present generation. This compendium does an admirable job in serving the church by performing these two functions."

Until the end of November, 2005 the Compendium price will be $35 for the three volume set when ordered in quantities of ten or more sets. The regular price is $89.99 for the three volume set.

LCWE ENewsletter October 2005

WEA Theological News On-line

This is an electronic edition of WEA Theological News (ISSN 0260-3705) published by World Evangelical Fellowship Theological Commission; Chair: Dr Rolf Hille http://www.worldevangelical.org/theology.html 

To receive your electronic copy free of charge, send an empty email to listmgr@ead.de with the following character string in the "Subject" line of the email header: subscribe wef-tc-tn

WEA Theological News

The printed version of WEA TN is published quarterly. To subscribe send your name and address to the editor, Editor, WEA TN, 17 Disraeli St, Indooroopilly Qld, Australia, 4068 Enquiries dparker@pacific.net.au  Fax (+61 7) 3878 3108. For private subscribers, a voluntary donation equivalent to approx US$10 for 2 years is invited to assist with production costs. Donations can be sent to the editor in US $$, Euros, Sterling or Australian $$ (payable to Theological Commission) Institutions using a subscription service - details on application.

WEA Theological Commission On-Line Forum

This is an opportunity for theologians around the world to discuss matters of common interest electronically. The WEA TC On-line Forum is now open for your contributions and views. We want you to share matters of concern and interest - either respond to on-going conversations or initiate topics from your own perspective.

•  To join, send an email to Murdoch@ead.de requesting your email address to be added.
•  To unsubscribe, please follow this instruction carefully. Send an empty email message from the address at which you recieve the Forum mail to listmgr@ead.de with the following character string in the "Subject" line of the email header: unsubscribe wef-tc-forum
•  To contribute, send your contribution/material in an email to wef-tc-forum@ead.de and it will be automatically and instantly forwarded to all addresses on the list.