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A Reformed Assessment of George Lindbeck's Ecclesial Ethics Verbum et Ecclesia ISSN: (Online) 2074-7705, (Print) 1609-9982 Page 1 of 5 Original Research A Reformed assessment of George Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics Author: Lindbeck’s theology can be defined as an ecclesiology. For the ultimate concern in his life and 1 Junseop Kim thoughts is an ecclesiastical one. His ecclesial ethics is based on his ecclesiology. It has two Affiliation: aspects: the intra-systematic view of truth and the cultural-linguistic view of religion. From a 1Department of Dogmatics Reformed viewpoint, it attempts to overcome theological liberals’ universalistic and and Christian Ethics, reductionist tendency by emphasising the particularity of religions. It also focuses on the intra- University of Pretoria, textual and performative aspects of Christian ethics. Its notion of incommensurability, South Africa however, has difficulty in explaining the continuity between the world of the Bible and the Corresponding author: extrabiblical world, and between religions. In contrast, Reformed theology can solve the Junseop Kim, problem by using the idea of revelatory continuity. [email protected] Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implication: As a Reformed intradisciplinary Dates: assessment on George Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics, this article maintains that his notion of Received: 12 Oct. 2017 Accepted: 20 Jan. 2018 incommensurability finds it difficult to explain the continuity between the world of the Bible Published: 16 May 2018 and the extrabiblical world, and between religions, and that a Reformed idea of revelatory continuity can be its solution. How to cite this article: Kim, J., 2018, ‘A Reformed assessment of George Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics’, Verbum et Ecclesia 39(1), Introduction a1813. https://doi.org/ The contemporary Lutheran theologian George A. Lindbeck (born 1923) has generally been 10.4102/ve.v39i1.1813 known both as a founder of the Yale school and an advocate of postliberal theology or narrative Copyright: theology. © 2018. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work Lindbeck’s theology can be defined as an ecclesiology. For the ultimate concern in his life and is licensed under the Creative Commons thoughts is an ecclesiastical one. It is substantiated by two kinds of evidence: internal and external Attribution License. evidences. Internal evidence indicates that throughout Lindbeck’s life, an ecclesiastical concern has been developing and actively working: his ecclesiastical concern is reflected in all his activities and works.1 Internal evidence implies that an ecclesiastical concern has worked as the groundwork of his theology. Eckerstorfer (2004:399) points out that most of the contemporary theologians only focused on Lindbeck’s landmark work The Nature of Doctrine (1984) and its heated issues on the interpretation of doctrine. They failed to see its subtitle Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age. Eckerstorfer (2004:400) argues that their failure was mainly because of their habit of reading The Nature of Doctrine without taking into consideration its extent and context. Eckerstorfer’s contention is that a detailed study of Lindbeck’s biographical life and theological works would lead us to the recognition that he, in his whole life, had an ardent wish for the realisation of the unified church appropriate for a postmodern age, and, in this respect, his vision has an ecclesiastical character (Eckerstorfer 2004:400). External evidence indicates that an ecclesiastical concern is at the core of the theological movements in which he has been involved: postliberalism and the Yale school. Firstly, postliberalism has a characteristic feature: it puts an emphasis on the community of faith grounded on, and shaped by, biblical narratives (Placher 1997:344–345).2 It means that postliberalism bears in itself an obvious ecclesiastical concern. Then, the Yale school takes interest in how the biblical stories form the identity of the Christian community and its members and shape their understanding of the God 1.For information of Lindbeck’s life as an ecumenical, ecclesiastical ecumenical journey, see Lindbeck (2004). Also, for a detailed Read online: description of Lindbeck’s works, see Eckerstorfer (2001:77–236). Scan this QR 2.Placher (1997:344–345) summarises the characteristics of postliberalism as follows. Firstly, it has a ‘non-foundationalist’ character; code with your secondly, it does not focus on systematic apologetics, but seeks for ‘ad hoc connections’ with its surrounding disciplines, such as culture smart phone or or philosophy; thirdly, it does not attend to the commonalities between religions but to their particularities, or differences. It opposes mobile device the theological liberals’ argument that all religions are, ultimately, saying the same thing; fourthly, it stresses the importance of the to read online. roles of the biblical stories as the basis of the Christians’ identification of God and the community of faith, of their understanding of themselves and the world. http://www.ve.org.za Open Access Page 2 of 5 Original Research they worship (Placher 1997:344).3 It implies that the Yale first-order truth claim; rather, it is a second-order reflection of school places an ecclesiastical concern at its core. In brief, first-order communal practices.8 both postliberalism and the Yale school treat ecclesiastical concern seriously. Doctrine as a second-order reflection implies the performative character of doctrine. For doctrinal assertions can be made In summary, the ultimate concern in Lindbeck’s life and only in religious utterances, that is, in aligning himself and thoughts is an ecclesiastical concern: the hermeneutical core the world performatively with what one considers as the of his theology is an ecclesiastical concern. In this respect, most ultimate through religious practices (Lindbeck 1984:69). his theology can be defined as an ecclesiology. Performative doctrine is connected with the intra-systematic A Reformed assessment on and coherent view of truth. The intra-systematic truth 4 opposes the ontological truth, and the coherence theory of Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics truth is in contrast with the correspondence theory of truth. Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics based on his ecclesiology has two For Lindbeck, religious assertions are true as long as they aspects: the intra-systematic view of truth and the cultural- maintain coherence with the entirety of a related context 9 linguistic view of religion. (Lindbeck 1984:64). Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics with the intra-systematic view of The intra-systematic view of truth truth is a performative ethics. It holds that the meaning of Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics opposes theological liberals’ religious truth can be found through engagement in universalistic and foundationalist tendency. Instead, it religious practices, not in objective realities or religious focuses on the unique characteristics of religions. It, also, symbols. Thus, being religious means being familiar with a rejects the scholastic tendency of traditional Protestant community-based set of skills that are developed by theologies. They sought the metaphysical conceptualisation participation and education (Wells, Quash & Eklund of biblical narratives. In other words, they interpreted biblical 2017:203). Also, being a Christian means being accustomed narratives through extrabiblical metaphysical frameworks. to symbol system of Christianity and at the same time As a result, biblical narratives are reduced to truth claims and interpreting himself and his experience of the world by 10 are also transformed into propositional statements. This using Christian religious terms. implies that the Bible is under the authority of extrabiblical Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics is also connected with ad hoc rationality.5 apologetics which is a postliberal scepticism about extrabiblical foundational apologetics. Ad hoc apologetics Lindbeck’s ecclesial ethics is based on the rule theory of claims that a religion, like a language, should be understood doctrine, according to which religions are like languages only by using its own vocabularies, not by accommodating with their own grammars.6 For Lindbeck, religions operate as them into alien concepts (Lindbeck 1984:129). Ad hoc cultural frameworks which produce words and make human apologetics opposes the extrasystematic apologetics which experiences possible. The meaning of language is, thus, has the same controlling tendency as post-Cartesian natural determined by the use of words in such frameworks. theology and the theological liberalism did. Lindbeck takes Doctrines function as rules as to how the words can be used, ancient catechesis as an example of ad hoc apologetics. It did regulating truth claims by removing some and taking others not re-describe Christian faith with extrabiblical concepts (Lindbeck 1984:19).7 For Lindbeck, doctrine itself is not a but sought to teach communal language and practices of 3.Placher (1997:344) summarises the characteristics of the Yale school as follows. religion to new converts (Lindbeck 1984:132). Lindbeck Firstly, it attends to the uniqueness of particular religious traditions; secondly, it focuses on the form and the systems of the Scriptural texts as they are; thirdly, it is (1984:132) regards ad hoc apologetics as the essential way concerned with how the Scriptural texts relate to the Christian community. through which most religions have been transferring the 4.According to Wells (2010:155), ecclesial ethics means Christian ethics that primarily faith and converting others throughout history.
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