05.31.08

The Hijacking of the Evangelical Manifesto

Posted in Christian Living tagged , at 10:57 pm by brainofdtrain

This is an interesting interview with one of the signees of the manifesto, Frank Wright.  Although in many circles the manifesto was understood to be further evidence of the movement within evangelicalism to untangle or change the nature of the movement’s engagement with politics, Wright claims that it has devolved into Christians throwing stones at each other, and this occurred primarily due to the document being “hijacked” by some of the more “liberal signers.” 

Greg Boyd on Barth & Augustine’s View of Evil and Sin

Posted in Christian Theologians, Theology & Doctrine tagged , , , at 12:14 pm by brainofdtrain

In his book Satan and the Problem of Evil, Greg Boyd points to what he views as a deficiency in Augustine’s conception of sin.  In discussing Barth’s conception of das Nichtige, he argues it is inadequate b/c it lacks the actual reality of a free morally responsible agent.  He writes that

Only when ‘the nothingness’ is chosen and incarnated in an agent as real does it become real evil.  Now it is no longer a mere ‘absence.’  It becomes a concrete embodied presence.

It is this basic conviction that we must speak of the actuality of evil over the potentiality of evil that leads Boyd to make this passing comment on Augustine’s view of sin:

I would submit that this is the missing element in the traditional Augustinian definition of evil as ‘the absence of good.’  The definition describes the potentiality of evil but not the actuality of evil.  Evil becomes actualized when it is chosen by an actual agent.  This is also why I argue that evil can never be properly discussed in the abstract.  We must always have concrete instances of evil before us if our discussion is truly to be about evil and not just the potential for evil.

I think that Boyd’s thoughts here are worth some reflection.  While i’m not an expert on Barth, from what i know of him i have a hard time thinking that Boyd is giving him a fair reading here.  Folks who are deeply engaged in Barth’s work, your thoughts are requested here. 

However, when it comes to Boyd’s thesis on Augustine, his argument seems compelling to me, since it requires that theological thinking about evil happen in the concrete reality of evil, rather than in mere speculation about a deficiency.  There seems to be a resistance to the common modern dualism between faith and practice.  

Thoughts? 

 

 

Vatican: Excommunication for Female Priests

Posted in Theology & Doctrine tagged , , , at 12:40 am by brainofdtrain

This is an interesting story, although not really surprising.  It appears that the Vatican wants to squash any movement that seeks to ordain women before it gets too far off the ground.  Many of the usual reasons are given, but here is one fun quote:

Monsignor Angelo Amato of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said the Vatican wanted to provide bishops with a clear response on the issue.

A clear response, indeed.