Shrodinger's Theological Cat

I am writing this in hospital. I was having some seizures, down my left arm; when after one particularly painful incident, I went to A&E. Here, they diagnosed focal epilepsy, caused by tumours in the brain. At the moment, therefore, the staff are investigating to discover if these are primary cancers or secondary ones, derived from elsewhere in my body.

Reconsideration of "The Rood"

After I finished writing my last Blopost here, I walked downstairs to make a coffee, and immediately realised I’d missed a whole area of reflection. I’d taken a completely negative view of the contextualisation implicit in The Dream of the Rood, missing the (very obvious) positive aspect, and the necessary nuance (and risk) involved in any attempt at contextualisation.

Against (Theological) Method

Paul Feyerabend’s book, Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge, questioned the notion of a singular scientific method. This countered the concerns we students had about ‘methodology’ in our subjects (mine was history). Looking back we were interested, not so much in the nuts-and-bolts of how to do history, as the overarching philosophical worldview employed to understand it.

When I came to teach theology (a short-lived disastrous enterprise), I was surprised to discover an infatuation with ‘method’. Deriving from Third World Liberation Theology, this approach was designed to promote action, rather than abstract academic debate. Perhaps the most influential instance, in Britain, is Laurie Green’s ‘Spiral’ (in Let’s Do Theology. Resources for Contextual Theology):  a circular process involving stages of Experience, Exploration, Reflection, and Response; which then spirals off into fresh experience for later reflection, in a continuing process of action-learning.

An Exercise in Practical Theology

If this Blog was ever to be turned into a book, I think it should follow the pattern of Slavoj Žižek’s Pandemic!: Covid-19 shakes the World. A series of rambling articles, originally posted online, gathered together into a ramshackle collection of relatively early responses to the emergency. This, it seems to me, is the model for the engaged intellectual (if I’m worthy of such a title), immersed in the situation, bringing out of their treasure things old and new (Mt. 13.52). 

Transition, Contingency, and the Revelation of God

 

Just as we are successfully re-opening our church building for services, respecting social distancing and cleaning regulations, comes the possibility that we may have to close down again. The government scheme of Tier 2 and Tier 3 rules will not mean places of worship shutting again, as happened during the lockdown. But it appears that they are considering a short-term ‘circuit breaker’ for a couple of weeks; and if this follows the example of the Welsh government, it could involve prohibiting services in church buildings again.

Whole Lotta (eschatological) shakin'

I was cycling yesterday past the university bookshop, where I have spent many happy hours, since I arrived in London years ago. I stopped at the lights and glanced over to the windows, and saw they were selling everything with a ‘green sticker’ for a pound.

It occurred to me that this is another sign of the crisis facing our retail industry generally, including bookstores, during the pandemic. This is intensifying the problems they faced previously from internet shopping. But how many physical stores will keep going? 

Humanity, Humanism, and the Pandemic

The initial response from our government to Covid-19 seems to have been uncaring. Whether due to incompetence or deliberate policy should be uncovered by a public inquiry. Early talk of developing ‘herd immunity’ really amounted to letting vulnerable groups die. Decanting elderly patients from hospitals, into care homes, appears to have spread the disease. And failure to stock enough Personal Protective Equipment, despite a previous government report, was inexcusable. All these instances betray shocking disregard for human lives. 

Covid and the Problem of Evil

Covid-19 presents us again with the ‘problem of evil’: why does God permit evil? For some this question leads away from faith, into atheism. It’s a quandary which John Lennox, our best British apologist attempts to answer in his book, Where is God in a Coronoavirus world?

My own feeling is that there is no need for the existence of evil, or suffering, to undermine faith. It’s been said that hanging onto belief, faced with indescribable evil, is an emotional response, holding onto a crutch because one cannot face the meaninglessness of the universe. But the rejection of faith is also an emotional response, not a logically necessary one. 

Dispatches from Lockdown

I thought I had an idea for a book. I would call it “Corona Theology: Dispatches from Lockdown”. It would examine my own personal and theological responses to the crisis, and draw out themes for reflection. It would be an example of Contextual Theology: a contextual theology of Covid-19 and also a model of how to do any contextual theology. As such it would be a blend of the theoretical and practical. Consequently, like Jacques Ellul’s work, the finished product would embody a dialectical oscillation, and draw on writings from my column, “Edgenotes”, for The Prisma (an online multicultural newspaper), and this blog, “Jeremiad”. The former contains notes on society and culture, leaving aside my own faith commitments, as I try to analyse what’s going on. The latter expresses my own personal faith convictions much more explicitly.

Flourishing and Fragmentation. Ministry in all seasons – including Covid

Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun, in their book For the Life of the World. Theology that makes a difference, articulate a vision for a relevant Gospel-centred theology in this century. Written before Coronavirus, it nevertheless contains much that is applicable to our situation. For them, theology must be measured by its ability to promote “human flourishing”, in a holistic sense, in all areas of life.

However, realistic about our fallen world, and the as-yet unconsummated nature of God’s kingdom, Volf and Croasmun recognise that every empirical realisation of the gospel is also “fragmented”. In this half-time, this overlap, of the ages, our attempts at living out the new creation will be flawed, inadequate, and partial (1 Co.13.9-12) - although no less significant for all that.

Sacrifice!

Jesus often asked, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of heaven?” It’s a common task of theology, apologetics and preaching, to search out new metaphors, analogies, to explain Christian truth, in ways that communicate to cultures far-removed from the first century.

One notion, unpopular these days, is ‘sacrifice’: the idea of someone dying for another, an innocent person assuming someone else’s suffering. It seems unfair, a case of cosmic child abuse, which has been used to justify oppression and exploitation, political and personal.

The Electronic Corona Church

Will current changes in church life be positive or negative? Will our online measures enrich, or distract, us? Are they helpful contextualisations, to a pandemic, which may help us recover important features of ecclesiology? Or, do they betray the essence of church? Moreover, are they permanent, or only temporary adaptations? Will everything go back to ‘business-as-usua’l: what Paul Virilio called ‘’polar inertia”?

Our Covid Easter

The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald, is one of my favourite depictions of Christ’s death and resurrection. It has, I believe, especial relevance during this season of Coronavirus.

The piece hung originally in a mediaeval German hospital chapel, where patients could meditate on the central image. The Christ figure is twisted, writhing in agony. But particularly important were his green, putrefying, puss-filled, feet, which illustrated the symptoms of the skin diseases these inmates experienced. Here they could really sense that Christ had borne all things for them (Isa. 53.4-5).

A Theology of Corona-Time

I realise I’ve been ‘doing theology’ during this crisis, though not all of it has found expression in written form. Theology is reflecting on life in the light of God. And there is certainly much to think about now.

As such, I am engaged in what’s called ‘Contextual Theology’, i.e. reflection from within and about my own situation. It can, therefore, only be ‘a’ theology of Corona Time, one particular Christian response, since everyone’s context differs.

Corona Theology

With government policy encouraging social distancing and self-isolation in face of the Corona Crisis, we need to consider the possible consequences of this enforced separation. Feeling cooped-up has a severe effect on mental health. Experiences of solitary confinement in prisons, and cabin fever on ships, are well-known, and the psychological effects established.