|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
Permalink: http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/651
Fulcrum Subjects: Anglicanism, Evangelical / Theology, Biblical Studies / Theology, Systematic Other articles by Gordon Kuhrt are available from this site Discuss this Article on the Fulcrum Forum See the 11 comments on this article The Results of Praying for Evangelical Scholarshipby Gordon Kuhrt Co-published with the Church of England Newspaper, with permission 19th August 2011
When I started studying for a university theology degree in 1960, the publications of really high-class biblical and theological scholarship by Evangelical scholars were still very few - scarcely taking up twelve inches of a bookshelf. Some looked back to PT Forsyth, James Orr and James Denney of an earlier generation. Karl Barth and Emil Brunner were regarded with considerable suspicion. The Brethren biblical scholar, Professor FF Bruce was just establishing a reputation. The London Bible College staff (and some of us students) were battling with a significant anti-intellectual spirit. I well remember the anxiety with which the three of us were regarded who were embarking on an Honours (rather than Pass) degree. The fear was that we were "soft" on the urgency of evangelism. The pursuit by several of the staff of university doctorates was often regarded with ambivalence. In the late 1960s, however, I was invited as a young curate by Dr James (Jim) Packer to join one of the research groups of Latimer House, Oxford (an Evangelical research centre for the Church of England). Evangelical Theological College staff with a doctorate were a rare phenomenon at the time, as was the existence of Evangelical staff in university theology or biblical studies departments. In the following years, I played various roles in commissioning (for publishers), editing, contributing to, and writing books. I remember with particular pleasure the IVP Reference and Theology Committee, and the inauguration of the Grove Biblical series. We are sometimes better at intercessory prayer than thanksgiving (eucharistic) prayer. But the last fifty years has seen a remarkable flowering of Evangelical scholarship - notably in biblical studies and theology, but also in church history, ethics, liturgy and mission. In this article, I concentrate on the UK, but others might add examples from the US, Europe and Australia, and, more recently, Africa, Asia and South America. Developments in the UK have been quite extraordinary. Choosing examples is a dangerous business (akin to choosing world-class cricketers or soccer players), but I'm taking the risk. Some major scholar-writers combine both the highest quality and a considerable quantity of output. God has blessed UK Evangelicalism with at least six in recent decades: - John Stott & Tom Wright New Testament, theology and mission Alister McGrath doctrine and apologetics Anthony Thiselton hermeneutics and New Testament John Goldingay Old Testament and hermeneutics Colin Buchanan liturgy and ecclesiology The achievements of these scholars in both quality and quantity is breathtaking - and they were not reclusive academics. They were/are bishops, theological college principals and professors with busy departments. Both John Stott and Colin Buchanan have been remarkable entrepreneurs and editors who have commissioned and encouraged countless others. Then, there is a tremendous "supporting cast". It is outrageous of me to use this term about some world-class scholars who have written books which have brought about paradigm-shifts in their areas of work. Some scholars in the following list have made highly significant contributions in more than one area, but, greatly daring, I select:- Old Testament Donald Wiseman, Alec Motyer, Derek Kidner, Joyce Baldwin, Gordon Wenham New Testament Howard Marshall, James Dunn, Richard Bauckham, Dick France, Richard Burridge, Donald Guthrie, Ralph Martin, David Wenham, Paula Gooder, Stephen Smalley Doctrine & Spirituality James Packer, Tom Smail, David Ford, Jane Williams Church History James Atkinson, David Wright, David Bebbington, Ian Randall Ethics Oliver O'Donovan, Nigel Biggar, David Atkinson Apologetics, Mission & Evangelism Elaine Storkey, Lesslie Newbigin, Chris Wright, Michael Green, Colin Chapman, John Drane When you consider the IVP Reference books, the Lion Handbooks, the various series of Bible commentaries, and the various series of Grove Booklets ("not the last word ... but often the first"), we have riches indeed. Did anyone (even the visionary John Wenham) imagine this fifty years ago? We salute the roles of various publishing houses and their editors - IVP, Tyndale, Hodder, Paternoster, Lion, Grove and SPCK. Those of us who can remember back to the '50s and '60s may stand amazed. We encourage younger people to take note of this period of church history - and to join in thanking God for the prayers, the disciplined studies, the tenacity and the sheer fruitfulness of several decades of Evangelical scholars. It may be difficult today to realise how exciting and mind-stretching some of these developments were at the time. God answered our prayers in an extraordinary way, beyond anything of which we dreamed. At the moment there are a number of Evangelicals presenting a rather negative perspective on the current state of Evangelical Anglicanism. I do not read the present situation as God giving up on this country, or on the Church of England, where most of these scholars have been nurtured and have exercised their spiritual gifts and ministries. I want to praise his holy Name!
_________________________________________________________________________ The Venerable Dr Gordon W Kuhrt was Archdeacon of Lewisham before 10 years as Director of Ministry for the Church of England _________________________________________________________________________
Discuss this Article on the Fulcrum Forum Forum Posts About This Article:Posted by: Roger Hurding Tuesday 23 August 2011 - 10:34am Thanks Mark and Dave. Dave, I love your foray into 'piratical' theology! You make a good point in showing the wide remit of today's practical theology and I agree with your implication that it embraces too diverse a curriculum. The 'piracy' of practical theology can be seen in the way it grabs at all and sundry. As you hint, I personally feel more at home in the realm of pastoral theology, pastoral care and counselling. In 2008, when the journal Contact was re-launched as Practical Theology, Elaine Graham wrote an article which argued that practical theology needed to 'go public'. She commented on the way this discipline, in the UK, spans 'a variety of institutional contexts', is 'practised by a wide range of people (lay and ordained)' and addresses 'questions of social as well as ecclesiastical concern'. In contrast, in the United States, she said there is a greater subdivision into sub-disciplines, 'where there are separate networks and professional associations for healthcare chaplains, Christian educators, teachers of pastoral care or liturgy, for example.' I agree that Gordon picks up on a number of these entities but omits the core subject of pastoral theology with its companions, pastoral care and pastoral counselling. This is not so much Gordon's fault as an indicator of the neglect by many evangelical scholars of pastoral theology as an academic discipline. Again, I hope I am proved wrong and, as Mark points out, maybe this is a richer seam explored by Christians outside the Church of England. Posted by: Dave Monday 22 August 2011 - 12:30pm What is piratical theology. According to Wikipedia : Practical theology consists of several related sub-fields: applied theology (such as missions, evangelism, pastoral psychology or the psychology of religion), church growth, administration, homiletics, spiritual formation, pastoral theology, spiritual direction, spiritual theology, political theology, theology of justice and peace and similar areas.[2] It also includes advocacy theology, such as the various theologies of liberation (of the oppressed in general, of the disenfranchised, of women, of immigrants, of children, and black theology). Practical theology may also include branches such as the theology of relational care, which describes Christians caring for others as Christ cared for the poor. Many of the subjects there are included in Gordon Kuhrt's article such as mission, spirituality, liturgy and ethics. Practical theology is a good name for a department but I dread to think what sort of Cook's tour a course on "Introduction to Practical Theology" would be. Now if we are talking about pastoral theology and counseling, I have found books by Derek Tidball and Roger Hurding helpful from British authors. Dave Posted by: Mark Bennet Sunday 21 August 2011 - 09:26pm Thanks Roger - I thought the same about practical/pastoral theology. Maybe it gets downplayed, but beyond the bounds of the Church of England I've met some first rate people in this field from places like Spurgeons College, Moorlands College, London School of Theology. I wonder whether there is a tendency to think programme (eg Willow Creek) rather than personal in some strands of evangelical thought (and whether programme churches may be an implicit paradigm of evangelical success)?? Posted by: Kevin Ellis Sunday 21 August 2011 - 05:05pm Thank you, Gordon. I wonder whether the reason that there are fewer evangelical theologians and biblical scholars coming through in the UK is not just 'anti-intellectualism', but an increasing loss of biblical literacy. I had a conversation a couple of days ago with an evangelical church leader who happened to mention that they were unfamiliar with the stories of the Old Testament. I am sure others will have similar examples. Without a love of our scriptures being taught and caught in our local churches, the number of biblical theologians will diminish. I am sure fulcrum will want to play its part in addressing this challenge. Posted by: Roger Hurding Sunday 21 August 2011 - 10:01am I'm intrigued that there is no section in Gordon Kurht's article for pastoral theology, or to use the presently preferred term, practical theology. I have long argued that this is the 'cinderella' subject at theological colleges, not least in those of an evangelical persuasion. Why is this? Practical theology, in recent decades, has had a great deal of input from the human sciences, especially psychology and sociology, as well as from liberation, feminist and black theologies, and it is prehaps these bedfellows that make evangelicals nervous. Maybe, too, the anti-intellectualism that, sadly, Solent still sees at Wycliffe Hall, contributes to this suspicion of the polyglot nature of practical theology. A third possibility is that practical theology, including pastoral care and counselling, is less sharply divisive in its theology in that the untidy face of human need is reluctant to be straightjacketed into neat theological definitions. Many practical theologians cross the boundaries between conservatism and liberalism. Leading names in this area include Paul Ballard, Stephen Pattison, Elaine Graham, David Lyall, James Woodward, John Hull, Gordon Lynch, Zoe Bennett, John Swinton and Heather Walton in the UK and James Lapsley, Thomas Oden, Don Browning, Edward Farley, Donald Capps and David Tracy in the United States. Ruard Ganzevoort in Holland is another important voice. At the more evangelical end of the spectrum in the UK, David Atkinson, Alistair Ross, David Runcorn and Paul Goodliff are noteworthy contributors to practical theology and its ramifications. I am sure I have missed out a number of strategic names both sides of the Atlantic. Posted by: wggrace Friday 19 August 2011 - 09:14pm Current major players in UK must include Francis Watson, Markus Bockmuehl. US major players ought to include RB Hays, sundry scholars called Craig, Douglas Campbell (although he is a Kiwi) long before we get down to Piper and Ferguson. Posted by: Solent Friday 19 August 2011 - 09:30am Thank you, Gordon, for this interesting article. It is undoubtedly true that serious and valuable evangelical scholarship is on the rise. Unfortunately, in my recent experience as a graduate from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, the problems identified in the second paragraph ("battling with a significant anti-intellectual spirit"; "the fear... that we were "soft" on the urgency of evangelism") are alive and well - and it was coming not only from fellow students but from many (not all) of the staff too. How sad to see that many of the leading scholars Gordon identifies were closely linked to Wycliffe Hall in the past, and how none is anymore - how the place has changed! I hope it is not the same in other training colleges, or the past will return to haunt us. Posted by: Roger Hurding Thursday 18 August 2011 - 04:48pm Thank you Gordon for your article on the rise of evangelical scholarship over recent decades. Broadly, I agree with your list of particularly significant authors but would like to add the name of Colin Gunton as a salient contributor to systematic theology, especially with regard to Creation and the Trinity. Along with Lesslie Newbigin I'm not sure Gunton would have considered himself an evangelical, yet both scholars have been and are widely read by evangelicals along with a broader range of Christian readership. Posted by: Dave Thursday 18 August 2011 - 12:58pm Gordon Khurt presents us with an impressive list but this list represents the past more than the present. It gives due credit to theologians of many strands of evangelicalism and includes some who are not always identified as evangelical. this impressive history of British Evangelicalism is not a fair basis from which to assess the current state of English Anglicanism. Gordon describes these people as scholar-writers but their reputation is wider as conference speakers, academic authors, popular authors, church leaders, academic teachers and administrators. We are living in an age of increased specialization which makes the move from the academy to the church less common. The influence of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews as post graduate centers of excellence in theology is great but I think their alumni are more likely to be found in an America than British pulpits. The center of gravity of anglophone theology has moved to America and the strength of its theology is seen in such leaders as J I Packer, Sinclair Ferguson, D A Carson, John Piper and Bruce Ware. The Church of england is in danger of becoming an old wineskin, unfit for the gospel. Dave Posted by: Charles Read Thursday 18 August 2011 - 10:02am Gordon helpfully gives us the longer picture here. Can I add another dimension? He mentions SPCK in the list of publishers. Today evangelicals are published not just by evangelicdal publishing houses but by many others - SPCK is a notable one. Evangelical scholars are found in good numbers in university departments and on the staff of 'mixed' courses - like my own. In addition, both Mirfield and Cuddesdon colleges have or had evangelicals on the staff. Evangelicals might be expected to work in Bible or mission but we have also made considerable contributions to areas which were not our strengtyhs - like liturgy and ecclesiology. We have not just contributed to 'practical' liturgy as in the Grove worship series but also made significant contributions to 'heavyweight' liturgical scholarship at international level. 
Posted by: Jody
Thursday 18 August 2011 - 09:02am
Dear Friends we have just published Gordon Kuhrt's positive outlook on the situation of Evangelical thinking: 'The Results of Praying for Evangelical Scholarship'. please use this thread for discussion. blessings, Jody |
LATEST
|
In the 1940s and '50s, some thoughtful Evangelical leaders encouraged prayer for a renewal of Evangelical scholarship, especially in the areas of biblical studies and biblical theology. Liberal theology seemed to reign unchallenged. Most Evangelicals gave themselves in Christian service to their parishes, to Evangelical agencies (eg Scripture Union, Evangelical Alliance, Church Pastoral-Aid Society) or to overseas missions. As well as prayer, some of these visionary leaders took action in the establishing of the Tyndale House Library and Research Centre in Cambridge, and the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research. The early fruits of emerging scholarship were often published by the Inter-Varsity Press or Tyndale Press.