山道期刊
总第三十六期（2015年12月）
| 主题： | 神学释经 包括专题文章四篇、讨论文章三篇及书评五篇 |
| 页数： | 182 |
| 售价： | HK$100 |
| 专题文章 | ||
| 黄福光 | 五经的拣选神学及其实际意涵 | Abstract |
| 罗凌思 | 基督观主导下的诠释法 | Abstract |
| 吴国杰 | 俄利根的神学释经 | Abstract |
| 邓绍光 | 从圣经到神学地解释圣经——韦伯斯特的神学观点 | Abstract |
| 讨论文章 | ||
| 韦尔斯 | 我们与上帝同在（一）：单独跟上帝同在 | Abstract |
| 韦尔斯 | 我们与上帝同在（二）：与人彼此跟上帝同在 | Abstract |
| 韦尔斯 | 我们与上帝同在（三）：与世界一起跟上帝同在 | Abstract |
A Theology of Election and Non-Election in the Pentateuch and Its Practical Implications
WONG Fook Kong
Monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have been charged with intolerance. A common point of attack is their concepts of election. This article focuses on the theology of election in the Pentateuch and sets out to argue that the theology of election evinced in this corpus is neither intolerant nor hostile toward the non-elect. Election is characterized by blessings for self and others, a special relationship with YHWH, being a kingdom of priests, and a life set apart for YHWH. None of these characteristics necessitates hostility toward the non-elect. Furthermore, the relationships between the elect and non-elect are mainly peaceful and accommodating in the patriarchal narratives. It is the emergence of Israel as a nation and their exodus from Egypt that are marked by strives. The most troubling aspect of election is the divine command for Israel to annihilate the seven Canaanite nations upon their entry into Canaan (Deut 7:2). It has been argued that the list in Deuteronomy 7 (and elsewhere) should be understood symbolically as representing Israel's enemies in general rather than as pointing to any specific people group. Furthermore, the concept of “holy war” should be understood figuratively as the absolute destruction of evil as a way of expressing the meaning of holiness in one's relation to God. Lastly, the laws regarding outsiders living in the midst of Israel are generally accommodating and positive.
According to Kaminsky, Judaism practices what he calls “tolerant exclusivism.” This article agrees with his description and suggests that Christians should also practice a form of tolerant exclusivism. The doctrine of election is exclusive by nature; there is a clear demarcation between those who are chosen and those not chosen. There is no point in watering down this aspect of our faith. We should respect our own faith and practices, and expect that from others. At the same time, we must be tolerant towards those who have different faiths and world-views.
Christological Hermeneutics
Lindsay ROBERTSON
Christological hermeneutics seeks to be a theological answer to the misconstrual of both theology and the reading of Biblical texts that arises from making a foreign theory ― be it of history, philosophy or experience ― a framework for enquiry into Christian belief and texts. This paper mainly examines John Webster's Christological approach with his criticisms of hermeneutics. This is supplemented by analyses of three other related views ― Graeme Goldsworthy, Peter Enns, and Donald Bloesch.
Webster, particularly, argues that a theological view is necessitated by the very subject matter (and centre) of theology ― Jesus Christ and him present as the risen one. He, it is argued, is the fundamental foundation for all theological thought. The present Christ, who is shown to be Lord in his resurrection, is known through himself as self-revelatory and thus determines the hermeneutical task. In short, we need a truly theological theology. Theological hermeneutics goes wrong when it seeks out alternative foundations for understanding.
Through Webster and examination of the other writers, various implications for Scriptural interpretation are drawn out.
Theological Interpretation of Origen
Nathan K. NG
Although many scholars have praised Origen as the most influential early church father in the history of biblical exegesis, he is almost neglected by modern Christian Church. The main reason is that he is regarded as a key promoter of allegorical interpretation which was rejected in the time of Reformation. Is allegorical interpretation really groundless, chaotic and unacceptable? This article tries to answer such questions by re-examining the theological bases and explaining the inner logics of Origen's biblical exegesis.
The article includes four sections. The first discusses briefly the theological system of Origen and show how biblical study is related to his soteriology. The second explores the divine nature, saving function and limited understandability of the Scriptures. The third explains the apologetic, theological and scriptural concerns pushing him to embrace allegorical approach. In the last section, Origen's guideline and procedure of searching spiritual meanings are expounded. Although allegorical interpretation is strange for most modern Christians, it is very common in the early church. From the model of Origen, we see that such interpretation can be sincere, faithful, careful and scholarly with strong theological and biblical foundation.
From Holy Scripture to Theological Interpretation of the Holy Scripture: John Webster's Theological Perspective
Andres S. TANG
This paper aims to give an introduction to John Webster's theological understanding of the theological interpretation of the Holy Scripture. Instead of promoting a kind of doctrinal practice of interpretation, Webster offers a dogmatic sketch of reading/interpreting the Holy Scripture. His task is to re -order the reading/interpreting of the Holy Scripture within the domain of the Word. This means that the doctrine of God is prior to bibliology whereas bibliology is prior to hermeneutics. This kind of re-ordering is theological or dogmatic but not philosophical. Accordingly , the Holy Scripture is not reduced to textuality and the reader is not reduced to man/woman of natural reason. And finally the reading/interpreting activity is not just a kind of the practice of historical and literary criticism. Webster tries to recover regional hermeneutics in which the nature and the function of the Holy Scripture and the reading/interpreting of it are to be understood and ruled in the domain of the Word. However, it should be noted that Webster does not deny the reason of human being and the critical method of historical-literary criticisms but re-orders them to a proper position that is directed towards the communicative end of the triune God.
Being with God (I): Being with God Alone
Samuel WELLS
This essay sets out the framework for the other following two essays and details the eight dimensions of “being with”, the core notion of the lecture series to be further deepened subsequently. Being with God alone comprises the life of discipleship. The essay begins with contemplating the practice of personal prayer, which is fundamentally about showing up, or “Presence”, and is a recognition that God has already set the world to rights. “Attention” is the moment when showing up turns into being with, not just present in body, but also mind, spirit and heart. What “Attention” requires is to see God as giver of superabundance of grace. These two dimensions are the preliminaries for the other four. “Mystery” is different from “problem” because it cannot be solved but only be entered, just as we enter into the mystery of being with God in private prayer. A prayer of “Delight” is “letting go”, rather than “taking on”, best illustrated by theatrical improvisation. The difference between “Participation” and “Partnership” is that the former celebrates the “with” for its own sake, whereas the latter emphasizes the different roles of the two partners. “Partnership” therefore looks like “working with”, more than “being with” . If “Mystery” and “Delight” describe the encounter with the otherness of God, “Participation” names the “closeness” of God. Yet, prayer of “Partnership” should stir us to wonder if we ourselves might be part of God's way to answer our prayers, and leads back to “Participation” and opens into “Enjoyment”. Because the chief end of Christian life is to worship and enjoy God forever, but our common mistake is to “use” what should only be enjoyed for its own sake. Therefore we have to learn how to be with others from the way God is with us. Lastly, God is praise, and “Glory” is the word to describe “being with” as a constant state of praise. The time of personal prayer of the disciples teaches them an “ethic of being with” – which will be subject of the other two essays.
Being with God (II): Being with God and One Another
Samuel WELLS
The first essay concerns personal prayer of the believer and discipleship, whereas this one concerns the church and her “ministry”. It gives an account of how being with one another is being with God and describes the practice of being with God together as “worship”. Church is about showing up, or “Presence”, not just for worship, but for assembling together: gathering to pray, to break bread and drink wine together, and for particular occasions. There are five other kinds of gathering for other purposes. First, gathering to build up the body. Prayer of “Attention” dwells not just on who is present, but on who is not, and who should be; in other words, it will be in the form of confession, about the church not (yet) being what she is called to be. Second, gathering to care for the weak. “Mystery” expects things to go wrong, so we can take for granted that repair and restoration are closer to the church's identity than fixing things. Third, gathering to resource the community, ie to see things in our lives as a sacrament, a window into the “Mystery” of God, and induces a transformed attitude, “Delight” in being the children of God as well as in being alive. A congregation must rediscover the unselfconscious joy like a little child. Fourth, gathering to serve and encounter the stranger. “Participation” is a recognition that, if we are with God, and with one another, there is nothing we cannot face, endure, or enriched by. Fifth, gathering to discern the good of the body. “Partnership” is about “working with” more than “being with”. It involves the prayer of discernment, of commission, and of intercession. All Christians are called to ministry, the only question is, to which one. Lastly, as for “Enjoyment” and “Glory”, the life amid the fellowship of the congregation stands out because “here I am enjoyed; elsewhere I am used”; and “Glory” is a collective experience and is inherently entered as prayer. The church exists for prayer, and prayer is fundamentally people coming together to enjoy God enjoying them.
Being with God (III): Being with God and the Creation
Samuel WELLS
This last essay concerns “mission”, which is primarily directed to the creation that is not the church, and describes what the whole of the Christian life as prayer means, now that there are four players: God, the self, the church, and the other. “Presence” is about “being with”, not “working for” , nor “working with”, nor “being for”. The church is in the world, and thus the church prays “with” the world as “we”, not “for” the world as “them”. The entire congregation should encompass organizations, institutions, government and the oppressed; and if not, should take steps to be with the others who are underrepresented. “Attention” is especially significant for appreciation of complexity and the flawed nature of the world; and for our encounters with those we may call the seekers, the lapsed, and people of no professed faith, and the church is called to pray “with” them at least as much as “for” them. The dimension of “Mystery” arises in relation to being with God and the creation most pertinently with regard to the other faiths, especially the Jews. What Paul wrestles with in Romans 9-11 is something the church must inhabit “with” the Jews, not a “problem” she solves for them. “Delight” means that the prayer of being with God and the creation must begin and end with sheer wonder of the created world; and that involves the capacities for feelings of unremembered pleasure and the blessed mood. “Participation” is “being with” in its simplest form . Yet, so much attention in interpreting the creation accounts focuses on humans as being made in the image of God and about subduing the earth and having dominion over it. What needs recovering is the sense in which humanity is part of the creation, not first of all its owner, controller, or conqueror, but its companion. Likewise, the church's response to the socially disadvantaged is often a choice between a being-for approach of advocacy and campaigning, and a working-for approach of seeking to solve others' problems. Yet, the church must allow herself to be changed by those with whom she prays. On the other hand, we are required to develop appropriate relationships with organizations in the commercial and working world, institutions in civil society and various levels of government. “Partnership” means understanding and respecting what another body can and should do, establishing and articulating what the church can and should do, and developing a healthy and appropriately challenging relationships between the two bodies. “Partnership” is also the place where a congregation learns how the Holy Spirit acts through agencies other than the church. “Enjoyment” crystallizes what it means to be with God and the creation; consider how a pet dog enjoys its master as much as its master enjoys it as a constant friend. The goal of being with God and the creation is to enjoy the world as God enjoys it, to exult in the sheer abundance of the world and the universe beyond. Revelation 21-22 is the most vivid account of what Christians understand by “Glory”: here is the reassembling of creation arrayed around the throne of grace. This is the climax of the church's prayer with God and the creation: that every person, every element of the sentient and non-sentient creation, indeed the whole universe, find its fulfilment and its ultimate role and purpose in discovering the revelation that God is with them. Thus prayer becomes the gateway to eternal life.
