Category: Articles

In discussing the recent encyclical, Carita In Veritae, by Pope Benedict XVI, Timothy George, an Evangelical and senior editor of Christianity Today, and Peter Casarella, a Roman Catholic and director of the DePaul Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, address the historical as well as the contemporary relevance of the publication in light of the Pope’s background, previous Papal encyclicals and current philosophical and theological thought both in and outside of the Church. Both George and Casarella weigh in on how this encyclical speaks to their traditions and contemporary Christianity as a whole, including topics of relativism, sanctity of life, Trinitarianism, world economy, and ecology.

A companion piece to the interview with Professors Casarella and George, Mark A. Noll, co-author of Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism, offers thoughts on how ecumenism between Evangelicals and Catholics and Reformation themes differ depending on geographical location and cultural history as well as how ecumenical discussions should be pursued and perceived. Having taught at both an Evangelical and Catholic institution, Noll discusses how key beliefs of both Evangelical and Roman Catholic thought can benefit the other including how the concepts of priesthood and tradition are understood.

In this article Dr. Franke suggests that the normative speaking of the Spirit comes through culture, and that what we have in the texts of Scripture constitutes a particular instantiation of the speaking of the Spirit that is deemed authoritative for the life of the church by virtue of the particular act of the Spirit in inspiring these texts. However, the act of inspiration does not lead to the divinization of the human words of the prophets and apostles, meaning that they are still subject to situatedness of their creaturely character. The essay goes on to explore the significance of these claims for theology and the witness of the church.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THIS ARTICLE
The footnotes in Theology 2.0: Blogging as Theological Discourse by Benjamin Myers suffered some major technical errors. Please click HERE to download the corrected version.
With sincere apologies, – the CE Editorial Team

The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben recently observed: “There are no authors today who could console themselves by thinking that their work will be read in a century (by what kind of human beings?)…” The emergence of new web technologies, coupled with the formation of new online communities, raises sharply this question of “what kind of human beings” might exist a century from now. This paper analyzes the contemporary Web 2.0 environment, and explores the way in which these web technologies shape and form our interior human and spiritual landscapes. Focusing especially on the role of blogging in contemporary theology, the paper argues that theological discourse is itself rapidly changing and adapting under the impact of new technologies and new forms of human interaction (just as in earlier periods theological discourse changed under the impact of new printing technologies). The paper will suggest some possible answers to the questions: what kind of self is formed by blogging? And what kind of theology?

Rick McKinley is Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of This Beautiful Mess, Jesus in the Margins, and co-author of Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World? Rick is the co-creator of Advent Conspiracy, a movement meant to be a catalyst to revitalize churches’ celebration of Christmas. In four years, Advent Conspiracy has spread from a small movement in five churches, to a collaboration between hundreds of churches in at least seventeen countries on four continents. In December, Richard Fox and Braxton Alsop had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Rick to learn more about Advent Conspiracy. This interview is based on their conversation.