Christ the Conqueror of Hell: The Descent Into Hades From an Orthodox Perspective by Hilarion Alfeyev
My rating: 3 of 5 stars Hilarion has presented an incredibly well-researched and thorough analysis of the teachings of Christ's descent into hell from the Scriptures, early apocryphal writings, church fathers, and Orthodox liturgies. Though his analysis of the texts themselves is weak, Hilarion is concerned with establishing prayer and liturgical practices themselves as the primary purveyors of theological systems. Though he comes to some bizarre conclusions (for example, "[Adam's] liberation from the chains of hell signifies the renewal of all [people]," p. 166, or "Each person must vanquish hell and the devil within and overcome the inner power that opposes the will to God," p. 180), this book is worth reading for anyone open to learning more about why this doctrine has been so important in the history of the Christian church. View all my reviews
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Jesus Christ and Mythology by Rudolf Karl Bultmann
My rating: 2 of 5 stars Demythology has become a sort of bogeyman among evangelicals, but it certainly doesn't have to be. Bultmann offers a take on the language of the New Testament that tries to make it applicable for us today by taking away biblical language which does not fit with our modern worldview. The project of demythology is a project to remove mythological language from the Bible, especially language related to eschatology and the Kingdom of God. Bultmann makes some good points, but ends up taking them too far for Christians who wish to take the Scripture seriously. However, this book offers an important hermeneutical method which modern Bible students have to deal with. Again, here is a short synopsis of each chapter I wrote for class. Bultmann is easy to read, so people interested in the arguments (and not merely the conclusions which I present here) should refer to the book itself. Chapter 1: The Meaning of Jesus and the Problem of Mythology Bultmann begins his work by suggesting that the language of the New Testament, though it has no place in a modern scientific worldview (15), still has value and importance for the lives of modern humanity (14). The hermeneutical method Bultmann proposes for bringing forward the teaching of the Bible is “de-mythologizing,” which is to take the statements of the Bible, strip away the mythological language of a pre-scientific worldview, and learn what it has to teach us (18–19). Bultmann uses the example of the Kingdom of God, the “heart of the preaching of Jesus Christ” (11), as an example of something which must be demythologized: for the apostles this was an immanent part of the world and the natural conclusion of world history, but actual events of history have shown this is not the case (12); therefore, we must understand that the Kingdom is primarily eschatological, sudden and unexpected, and not the natural outworking of historical events (13). Chapter 2: The Interpretation of Mythological Eschatology Since Bultmann suggests that the primary lens through which we should understand Christ’s preaching is eschatological, he must define what he means by eschatology apart from mythological language (25–26). Eschatological preaching is first a call to obedience, bringing forward God’s final judgment against humanity and its sin into the present moment (27). Jesus’ preaching is couched in mythological language about God’s return and future, but demythologizing this means “to be open to God’s future which is really imminent for every one of us” (31). Chapter 3: The Christian Message and the Modern Worldview Since preaching is directed to “the hearer as a self,” we must demythologize the Scripture, taking it out of its language from the pre-modern worldview and adapting it to the present (35–36). Since we cannot resurrect the worldview of the Bible (38), we have to think through how we can preach to a scientific world (39). It begins by calling people to a God beyond the world, to abandon our security in the world, and concerned with the mysteries of, not how God is within himself, but how he acts with me in the world (43). Chapter 4: Modern Biblical Interpretation and Existentialist Philosophy Bultmann begins by affirming that every interpretation or hermeneutical method, including demythologizing, requires the interpreter to approach the text with his own set of presuppositions which guide the exegesis (46–48), for it is impossible to approach a text without them. Our relationship to the Bible prompts the questions we ask of it and the answers we learn from it (51), and Bultmann suggests that our questions are grounded in trying to make the Bible speak to our moment and to hear its truth about our own lives (52). Relying upon existentialist philosophy to provide an interpretive framework (55), Bultmann suggests the key question of the modern era (and the beginning of all theology) is, “How is man’s existence understood in the Bible?” (53). Chapter 5: The Meaning of God as Acting Speaking of God as acting is mythological unless we bring it down to our level; that is, it is God as he acts in and through and between worldly events that gives our concept of God meaning which in turn informs our self-understanding (61–62). We cannot understand God abstractly nor generally, but we can understand what he is doing here and now with us (66); faith thus is trusting that God is “acting in our acting,” even if we cannot perceive what his acting is (64). God’s distinction from creation lies in the fact that God cannot be objectively proved apart from faith—which is a subjective experience (72), a new self-understanding (75), which lies at the heart of what God is doing for us as we hear the word of God (76). God meets us in his Word, the preaching of Jesus Christ (78), and calls us to repentance, to live as the eschatological community of the saints in the present moment (80–82)—“in spite of” our experience, we live by faith that God is speaking to us today as we bring God’s future judgment against sin into the present. View all my reviews
Pia Desideria by Philipp J. Spener
My rating: 2 of 5 stars While Spener is significant for the German Pietist movement (and is therefore important to understand for his influence on Kant), this book leaves a lot to be desired. Spener has a few good points, such as the importance of clerical virtue (105-115) and the centrality of the Scriptures in ministry (87-92). However, he is often polemical and rarely defines his terms. For example: "If we limit ourselves to our Evangelical church, which according to its outward confession embraces the precious and pure gospel, brought clearly to light once again during the previous century through that blessed instrument of God, Dr. Luther, and in which alone we must therefore recognize that the true church is visible, &c" (40). Spener never defines evangelical and appears to possesses, if not a great admiration for Luther, something like a fond appreciation. "Subtleties unknown to the Scriptures usually have their origin, in the case of those who introduce them, in a desire to exhibit their sagacity and their superiority over others, to have a great reputation, and to derive benefit therefrom in the world" (56). Reading Spener uncharitably means that this passage excludes the statements of faith drawn up at Nicaea and Chalcedon, for both introduce "subtleties unknown to the Scriptures," such as the substance of Christ and his two natures. While Spener's critique is legitimate to a degree--we should be careful to speak where Scripture is silent. However, even though we should be careful does not mean we should be silent altogether. The Scripture is a book that must respond (but not adapt) to the cultural moment. Doing so will require us to read it in fresh ways--as Luther himself did, of course. View all my reviews |
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