Church, World and the Christian Life: Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology 3
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Church, World and the Christian Life This book argues that modern ecclesiology exhibits two unfortunate tendencies: it describes the church in ideal terms, rather than directly addressing the problems of its everyday, sinful activity; and it undermines the distinctiveness of the church and its way of life. The book analyzes the impact of pluralism and inclusivism upon ecclesiology, and draws upon von Balthasar’s theodramatic theory, MacIntyre’s theory of traditional inquiry, postmodern critiques of humanism, and postmodern ethnography to develop a more flexible and concrete ecclesiology that can better address the practical and pastoral needs of the church. This alternative ecclesiology strongly affirms the need for the church to debate with those who challenge its claims and their embodiment, both from within and externally. The book concludes by discussing how the church may construct its own theological forms of historical, sociological and ethnographic analysis of both the church and society. Nicholas M. Healy is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University, New York. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America, the Canadian Theological Society, and the Karl Barth Society. Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine Edited by Professor Colin Gunton, King’s College London Professor Daniel W.Hardy, University of Cambridge Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine is an important series which aims to engage critically with the traditional doctrines of Christianity, and at the same time to locate and make sense of them within a secular context. Without losing sight of the authority of scripture and the traditions of the church, the books in this series will subject pertinent dogmas and credal statements to careful scrutiny, analyzing them in light of the insights of both church and society, and will thereby practise theology in the fullest sense of the word. Titles published in the series 1. Self and Salvation: Being Transformed 1. David F. Ford 2. Realist Christian Theology in a Postmodern Age 2. Sue Patterson 3. Trinity and Truth 3. Bruce D. Marshall 4. Theology, Music and Time 3. Jeremy S. Begbie 5. The Bible, Theology, and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus 3. R. W. L. Moberly 6. Bound to Sin: Abuse, Holocaust and the Christian Doctrine of Sin 3. Alistair McFadyen 7. Church, World and the Christian Life: Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology 3. Nicholas M. Healy Forthcoming titles in the series Church, Narrativity and Transcendence Robert Jenson A Political Theology of Nature Peter Scott Remythologizing Theology: Divine Action and Authorship Kevin J.Vanhoozer Church, World and the Christian Life Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology Nicholas M. Healy St. John’s University New York published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Nicholas M. Healy 2004 First published in printed format 2000 ISBN 0-511-03078-9 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-78138-8 hardback ISBN 0-521-78650-9 paperback For Owen, Rose, Gabriel and Griselda Contents Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Blueprint ecclesiologies 25 3 A theodramatic horizon 52 4 Pluralist ecclesiology 77 5 A theodramatic response to pluralism 103 6 Inclusivist ecclesiology 129 7 Practical-prophetic ecclesiology 154 Bibliography 186 Index 196 [ix] Acknowledgments I thank all of the many people who have encouraged, challenged, stimu- lated or otherwise helped me during the preparation and writing of this book. Among those I must mention are Erica Avena; Doreen Healy; Jack Lessard; Paul Molnar; George Schner; the members of the Kryka 2000 conference at Stockholm, especially Sune Fahlgren, Arne Rasmusson, Ola Sigurdson, and Roland Spjuth; my colleagues and chair in the old Divi- sion of Philosophy and Theology on the Staten Island Campus of St. John’s University; and the residents of Moose-pit Road who, entirely unchurched, have displayed the virtues of neighborliness, hospitality and patience over the years far better than I. Particular thanks go to Stanley Hauerwas, Griselda Healy, George Lindbeck, Rusty Reno and Kathryn Tanner, all of whom read at least one draft of the whole manuscript; they were all remarkably kind and supportive, even when they disagreed with me. Whatever is good in the book comes from or through these people; whatever bad or mediocre, from me. I thank St. John’s University for granting me a number of research reductions and a semester’s leave. Some parts of the book have appeared elsewhere in different forms. I gratefully acknowledge the kind permis- sion of the respective editors to make use of material from Pro Ecclesia 4:4 (1995); from The Toronto Journal of Theology 12:1 (1996); and from the Swedish journal, Tro & Liv 2 (1999). In a laughably inadequate acknowledgment of the many ways in which my wife and family have so wonderfully put up with me over the years, I dedicate the book to them. [xi] 1 Introduction This book is about ecclesiology, about the kind of critical theologi- cal reflection that is centered upon the nature and function of the Chris- tian church. The book is rather more about ecclesiology than it is an exercise in the discipline, since much of the time it will be concerned with methodological issues. The aim is not, or not primarily at least, to make a set of ecclesiological proposals. Rather, it is to clear a space within the dis- cipline of theology for some new and more challenging forms of ecclesio- logy. However, as Karl Barth never ceased to remind us, theological method should be determined as much as possible by its subject matter if the latter is not to become irremediably distorted.1 Beliefs about the nature and function of the church on the one hand, and the question of how we should go about doing ecclesiology on the other, bear upon one another so as to determine the kinds of things we can and cannot say about the church. Thus any argument for a methodological proposal about ecclesiology will necessarily involve making some constructive proposals as to what sort of thing the church is and what sorts of things it can and should do. So, too, here. The point is that what I say about the church will be said primarily in order to make a case for how to do eccle- siology, rather than for its own sake. Some things that would be treated within a comprehensive theology of the church, such as the church’s 1. See, e.g., Barth’s Church Dogmatics, trans. G. W. Bromiley,I/1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1975), pp. 295ff. I make infrequent mention of Barth, but my proposals are meant to be largely compatible with his work outside the area of ecclesiology. Like Barth, as interpreted by John Webster, my “theme,” too, is “God and humanity as agents in relation.” Barth’s Ethics of Reconciliation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 33 (Webster’s emphasis). [1] 2 Church, World and the Christian Life ministerial structures, its forms of worship and its relation to Israel, will not be considered.2 One cannot start from scratch in these matters. By thinking and acting as Christians we are already in some sense engaged in the practice of theology, whether we actually engage in critical reflection upon our lives as Christians or not.3 And all “theologians,” from the non-reflective to the professional, have their own preunderstandings – sets of beliefs, ques- tions, concerns, aesthetic judgments – about what David Kelsey nicely calls “the Christian thing.”4 Such preunderstandings are manifested when, for example, we kneel rather than stand when praying; when we follow or decide not to follow some penitential exercises during Lent; when we approve or disapprove of last Sunday’s sermon or simply ignore it as uninteresting or irrelevant; or when we decide that we need not go to church at all. One Christian’s preunderstanding will likely be somewhat different from that of most others. Nobody’s preunderstanding should be ignored or simply dismissed. But neither should anyone’s conception of Christianity be regarded as unrevisible, as if their expertise or authority or personal experience could render it beyond criticism. Rather, in what follows I will take it as axiomatic that one’s theological view is always pre- liminary, always open to challenge, assessment and partial or radical alteration by means of dialogue or confrontation with other Christians and non-Christians, as well as with Scripture and the Christian tradition more generally. Our theological perspectives are points of departure for growth in the Christian life towards better perspectives and new points of departure. I will offer an argument as to why we should think along such lines in a later chapter. In this introductory chapter I begin the inquiry into ecclesiological 2. For views of the relation between the church and Israel compatible with the concerns of this book, see George A. Lindbeck, “The Gospel’s Uniqueness: Election and Untranslatability,” Modern Theology 13:4 (1997), 423–450; Robert W. Jenson, Systematic Theology: Volume I: The Triune God (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), esp. chs. three and five; Bruce D. Marshall, “Christ and the cultures: the Jewish people and Christian theology,” in Colin E. Gunton (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 81–100; Kendall R. Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996); Kendall R. Soulen, “YHWH the Triune God,” Modern Theology 15:1 (1999), 25–54.