History and Theology

The Irony of Impurity – 1 Corinthians 5:1-11

From a common sense point of view, most Christians would probably say that impurity comes from contact with the outside world. Flee the “immoral world” is the idea. Stay out of cities is the slogan, at least a generation ago. In a word, there seems to be a protectionist undercurrent in much of Christianity. However, there is something very “un-Pauline” about this whole approach. In fact, Paul reverses the whole logic. Fear of impurity does not come from the world, but from the church. This is Paul’s theology in 1 Corinthians 5:1-11. Continue reading…

Self-Reflection

One of the most honest things a person can do when interpreting texts is to set forth what theories or presuppositions he or she employs. The reason for this is simple; theories and presuppositions will invariably influence all interpretations. However, there are difficulties. People are either unaware of what they carry when interpreting texts, or they are unwilling to admit their biases. Continue reading…

A Slice of the Social Theory of Peter Berger

Peter Berger writes, “Men are congenitally compelled to create a meaningful order upon reality.” This statement is part of his broader thesis that people create culture. Below is a brief outline of his social theory.

1. Externalization is the innate or congenital impulse within humanity to create order in the world. Externalization can be considered as a world-building desire.
2. Objectivation is the world that people create. The world is seen to have a life of its own apart from those who created it. The irony, of course, is that the world only appears to be “objective; ” in truth, people have created it. Continue reading…

Review of Colossians Remixed by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat

Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire, by Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat, explores postmodernism and how the book of Colossians addresses it. With this goal, Walsh and Keesmaat have divided their book into three sections: the postmodern context, the importance of stories and imaginations, and finally an exhortation of Christian praxis.

The first section explores some of the central tenets of postmodernism: the relativity and historical situatedness of knowledge,[1] the hermeneutical suspicion towards totalizing narratives,[2] and the feeling of existential betrayal.[3] Based on these points, Walsh and Keesmaat argue that what is most surprising about postmodernism is that it abets empire building. They resolve this paradox by looking at the close connection between postmodernism and globalization. They argue that since postmodernism excludes nothing that it works in conjunction with globalization, which, in turn, leads to a consumer culture. They reason “At heart, postmodernity and globalization share the same anthropology. For humans are understood primarily as units of consumption for whom choice is the defining characteristic.”[4] The corollary of this point is one of the main themes of the book, namely, that postmodernism and globalism lead to a consumer culture that commodifies all of life.

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A Reflection on Common Sense

In college I used to joke that some people had a knack for the obvious. This comment was meant as a subtle jibe that a person’s comment was not very insightful. It was all good fun among friends. Now as an adult, I realize that what is obvious to one person is not equally obvious to another. As Clifford Geertz, the anthropologist, states, “I began to realize that patentness, too, is in the eye of the beholder.”[1] The reason for this is because each community has a different set of cultural assumptions or things that it takes for granted. In short, views of common sense differ. From this perspective, common sense may be defined as a relatively coherent set of assumptions that a group shares in common in a given society. The benefit of this definition is that it is situated historically and geographically. Just as societies change, so views of common sense may also. This malleability is important to underscore for, at least, two reasons.

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Review of Politics of Immorality – Catherine Edwards

Catherine Edwards’ The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome concerns the theme of immorality in ancient texts. In particular, she examines how these texts on immorality functioned within Roman society. In this respect, one can say that her book is about what the Romans said, rather than what the Romans did. Her basic point is that these texts functioned to accomplish two social and political goals. First, discourse on immorality demarcated the elite from the rest of the population; the elite were seen to be moral, whereas the masses were immoral. This gave the elite moral justification to rule. Second, these discourses were employed among to elite for purposes of control. Her book is very much about the use of power through discourse (what one would expect in a post-foucaudian world). Based on this theoretical framework, she examines five Roman preoccupations with immorality in her subsequent chapters: adultery, mollitia (effeminacy), the theater, luxury, and prodigality.

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