Socratic Club Reading Level

I came across this website that rates the reading level required to read your blog. Lest anyone think we are using too many big words, you're good to go to read our blog if you've graduated from Jr. High.



Just for reference, the Order of St. James is a more sophisticated blog. You have to have graduated from High School to read that blog:

Order of St. James Updates

Dear Socratics,
The Order of St. James had its first fledgling meeting. Some of you were interested. Check out our agenda for next school year at www.orderofstjames.blogspot.com.

Christian Pacifism

Andy's post and dwl's response reminded me of an issue I've been thinking about during my time in Wainwright and Hütter's Eschatology class. (I confess at the outset that these are only some thoughts, I'm in no way convinced.)

It seems to me like Christian pacifism stems from an overly transcendent eschatology, where the good is seen as something attainable solely in the life to come. So, martyrdom aside, the death of Christians in any conflict situation is always a negative. As the basic argument goes, all Christians should be non-violent, because Jesus endured suffering for political oppressors. Of course then (supposedly), so should we, because we must be like Jesus. However, this view comes from an eschatology that ultimately places the role of the Church in the world as one whose witness is simply, "God will save us in the end, because we believe in resurrection." That is, do what you want with us, we'll win in the end.

This seems to me a very problematic view of the role of Christians in the world. While I am sympathetic to the call for Christians to never resort to violence in situations where one set of Christians fights another set of Christians simply because they live in another nation. Simply acquiescing to evil and hoping that all will be set right in the parousia is a very poor eschatology. Jesus overthrew the people who were misusing the Temple for impure purposes using violence, why should there not be occasions for Christians to do so?

Further, unless one is a simple universalist (and I agree with Wainwright that this is in essence totalitarianism), there is a call for Christians to co-participate with God in bringing him kingdom on this earth. No, I am not a post-millenialist; I do realize this will never be accomplished here. Nevertheless, if we take seriously Jesus' claim that only those who come to the Father by him inherit the kingdom, could not any war be justified that keeps alive people who do not know him in hopes that they will come to know him? (Not even those who espouse a type of eschatology that includes an intermediate state allow for conversion after death. As Garrigou-Lagrange states, one's soul's eternal destiny is set at the moment of death; purgatory is only for those who are being saved.)

Anyhow, these are mostly ramblings, but I would like to hear some responses to this. It has been very annoying to me that the Duke party line of pacifism has not been challenged by anyone I know, whether in class or in personal conversation.

Socratic Audio Files

Hays on Biblical Studies at Duke
Levine & Witherington
Hauerwas on Hauerwas
Hall on the Yale School
Fulkerson on Schleiermacher
Freeman on Barth
Verhey on Niebuhr

Tony Jones wonders what Hauerwas would think of him being a police chaplain

Tony Jones, national coordinator of Emergent Village, a Ph.D. student at Princeton Theological Seminary and a friend of mine, has a post today called "The Hauerwasian Mafia." He describes Stanley Hauerwas and his theological connection to Alasdair MacIntyre and John Howard Yoder. Tony then describes his own role as a police chaplain and wonders if Hauerwas would frown on this close involvement with the state.

• Does Tony characterize Hauerwas, Yoder and MacIntyre fairly?
• Would Hauerwas (or would you) discourage someone from being a police chaplain?
• Are there people here at Duke Divinity School thinking about how MacIntyre, Yoder and Hauerwas might be deployed into the emerging church conversation?

I am a new Th.D. student and would love to hear your take since I am still learning about "Duke Theology."



Related resources:

• David Fitch author of , also notes Tony's post: Why Emergent Needs the Hauerwasian Mafia.
• Steve Knight at the Emergent Village blog also notes Tony's post: Tony Jones Takes on the "Hauerwasian Mafia"
• There is also a lecture by Stanley Hauerwas on medicine, death, and the Christian community at Emergent Village podcasts.
• In a later post on this blog, there are links to Socratic Audio Files. At that link there are talks by: Allen Verhey on Richard Niebuhr, Amy Laura Hall on the Yale School (George Lindbeck, etc.), Curtis Freeman on Karl Barth, Mary McClintock Fulkerson on Friedrich Schleiermacher, Stanley Hauerwas on himself, and Richard Hays on Biblical Studies at Duke. These talks explore various influences on the strain of theology found at Duke Divinity School.
• Th.D. student Andrew Thompson notes the Hauerwas on Hauerwas lecture last week.
• There are more Duke Divinity School audio recordings at iTunes U / Duke / Religion / Divinity School. (This link will only work if you have iTunes, a free downloadable program, installed on your computer). See for example Wendell Berry, Stanley Hauerwas and Ellen Davis at "Our Daily Bread 2007: 2007 Convocation and Pastor's School" (iTunes link).
• My blog Andy Rowell | Church Leadership Conversations has Jürgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas Audio Recordings from Society for Pentecostal Studies and the Wesleyan Theological Society joint meeting

A Proposal

Dear Socratics,
I've begun to float this proposal around to get feedback. It has come out of wrestling with various issues in Dr. Hall's Ethics class. I put it here both as an opportunity for feedback and as an invitation.
Peace,
Tom

April 9, 2008
Dear Friends,

Peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I've been wrestling with an idea for some time now, and I think it is time to give birth to it.

Here's my dilemma: how does an itinerant Methodist Preacher (don't tune out, non-Methodists) live faithfully following Jesus amidst the pressures of materialism in our culture? Here's my proposal that I'd be interested in meeting with others to help flesh out and covenant together around: a new order, The Order of St. James. This would be a voluntary order of individuals who are willing to covenant around two practices (possibly three): simplicity and hospitality (and possibly evangelism/making disciples).

The mark of simplicity would be voluntarily living as a family (both salaries) no higher than the minimum annual conference standard for a UMC elder (those who aren't UMC would need to discuss how to set such a mark of simplicity).

The mark of hospitality would be to offer at least weekly hospitality in the parsonage (this could be as much as having someone live with you or as small as having a weekly meal for the single parents in your community).

The mark of evangelism/disciple making is a little more fuzzy to me. After speaking with Ron Sider (of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger fame), he suggested this as a third discipline for this order. It's "mark" may not be as evident or clear-cut as the other two, but I think it is a central part of the mission of the church and thus, the mission of the church's elders. And it may help keep the other two disciplines rooted in the grace of the gospel rather than becoming ends in themselves.

This order would share deeply and openly with one another to help one another live in this manner. It would include regular national meetings (probably annually) and regular annual conference chapter meetings. It also could spread to include a lay chapter. It could also include chapters in several different denominations. I imagine several steps into this order (similar to a monastic novitiate, etc.) that would include a progression of becoming debt-free and learning to live at this level of simplicity. It will also have to include spouses in some way given that the commitment would be a family-wide commitment. I also imagine local annual-conference chapters meeting at their annual conference and sharing very openly about how they are doing (think: sharing income tax files, etc.).

Envision a church not hampered by the salary ladder where pastors regularly go “up” and “down” the ladder. Envision pastors living simple lives in such a way that their actions speak as loudly as their words in the pulpit. Envision building friendships with those who are different than we are, and in the process meeting Jesus. This is the kind of vision I have for an Order of St. James. I offer it to you, because I need your help, your community and covenant, to be able to live into it myself. I cannot do it alone. Let me know if you’re interested in further discussion.

Peace,
Tom Arthur

Christians and Jews

Should Christians share Jesus with Jews?

Audio for "No Male for Female"

Levine & Witherington

Sabbath

When I took the DSC survey I got pretty annoyed with all of the questions concerning sabbath and so I think this may be an issue where enough difference exists to allow for healthy debate. Clearly some thought sabbath language important enough to have so many questions, and I think Chapman assigned a book specifically on sabbath, so here are my thoughts baiting a reaction.

Sabbath does not equal rest. Rest does not equal sabbath. Rest does not equal not working. Not working does not equal working on something other than your occupation. (This list would have been easier with not equals signs, but I do what I can).

To say that we can choose our own sabbath is take to completely hollow out the meaning of sabbath, which I hold coming from the end of Genesis 1 and the Decalogue (I would also through in parts of Revelation, but I think that is for another time). Sabbath is a reaction to what God has done and what God has commanded to be done. It is not a method for greater efficiency or stress control. It is not a method for anything. To take the name sabbath for a personally chosen day of rest is to create an idol of yourself in that you can choose when rest is and that sabbath is about you and not God (choosing your own sabbath and devoting it to devotionals is not an answer out of this predicament).

The other main difficulty I have with this conception of sabbath is the understanding of work which undergirds it. If being a divinity student is work, reading something outside of class is work just the same. So are recreational activities, or even service activities. Sabbath is not about keeping us sane. Call it rest. Say your not going to do school work on Tuesdays or on Saturdays because you need rest. That is probably the case, but because we may need it does not make it sabbath.

Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. I really want to start talking about eschatology now, peacefulness, creation, etc., but I think I am going to leave what I have.

Audio Files for Theology Talks

For those of you interested in listening to the theology talks, please follow these links and you should be able to listen to and/or download the talks.
Hauerwas on Hauerwas
Fulkerson on Feminism - Sorry this talk is not available, there was a problem with the recording. If you made a recording of it that works, please let me know.
Hall on the Yale School
Fulkerson on Schleiermacher
Freeman on Barth Verhey on Niebuhr
Please leave a comment if you have any trouble with these links.