Theological Refection

John Southwick 280 041

1.
I think the third year modules oerall hae !uilt well u"on the !road and good
introduction to #hristian theology I receied in the $rst two years. Those that
hae linked well together are %ld Testament and &ew Testament. 'uilding u"on
the introduction to the &ew (ers"ectie in the "reious years and engaging
with in "articular the writings o) &T *right I )ound the %ld Testament em"hasis
on Torah and "articularly the theme o) coenant within +enesis inalua!le )or
giing the necessary !ackground )or the ,!ig "icture- ideas that *right
engages. The e.egesis that I did on Judah and Tamar was instrumental in this.
/sing a narratie critical a""roach it allowed me see how the story $tted into
the +enesis narratie as a whole. The introduction o) a righteous non Israelite
into the Royal lineage o) the 0aidic line o) Judah and Jaco!-s 1essianic
"ro"hesy in 42.10 which includes the "hrase ,o!edience o) the +entiles- I think
could hae links to Romans 1.134. 5ere (aul sets out his gos"el as a declaration
o) Jesus as 1essiah6 in the line o) 0aid and uses the "hrase ,o!edience o) the
+entiles-. This would ground Romans in a messianic #hristology which could
also "erha"s !e one route to more synthesis !etween (aul and the gos"els.
2.
The learning that has most stretched my thinking has !een )rom the 5istory o)
7angelicalism. To know our history is to understand who we are and why we
!eliee what we !eliee. It also allows us to understand why we hae certain
em"hasises within the tradition known as 7angelicalism. 7en to recognise
7angelicalism as a tradition6 rather than as the holder o) the truth6 and to
criti8ue it as such is a ma9or ste". I was "articularly interested in the criti8ue o)
7angelicalism !y 'e!!ington. 5e states that it was in many ways a syncretism
with the 7nlightenment which !irthed modernity. The doctrine o) assurance-s
change )rom its e."ression in (uritanism to 7angelicalism was a )ascinating
and instructie e.am"le. *hereas the (uritans had held that assurance was
rare6 late the result o) struggle6 7angelicals held that it was general6 normally
gien at conersion and a conse8uence o) the sim"le gi)t o) +od. 7angelicals
had come to this shi)t due to an 7nlightenment e"istemology. *esley and
7dwards !oth drew o"enly on :ocke. *esley drew on :ocke-s authority in the
"rocess o) gaining knowledge ; understanding is the )ruit o) e."erience. *esley
descri!ed )aith in identical terms to 7dwards <!oth infuenced !y :ocke= that
)aith <the con$rmation o) the knowledge o) assurance= could !e ascertained
through reasoning )rom e."erience. This is the e."erience o) the S"irit o) +od
witnessing to the !elieer-s s"irit6 normally at conersion. Thus was *esley-s
a""lication o) an em"iricist e"istemology to religious e."erience. I )ound this
)ascinating !ecause as 7angelicals we assume that our doctrines and
inter"retation o) the 'i!le is unhindered !y tradition and in "articularly secular
"hiloso"hy. %ne o) the 4 marks o) 7angelicalism )or 'e!!ington is 'i!licism
and to understand that at the ery !eginning one o) the marks o)
7angelicalism <conersionism= was infuenced not "rimarily !y Scri"ture !ut
secular "hiloso"hy. This one would ho"e make us refect and criti8ue the
tradition and its roots more thoroughly. I certainly would no longer descri!e
mysel) as one ; due to its core marks not resonating with my !elie)s <nor in my
o"inion Scri"ture= !ut also as it is a "e9oratie term these days also and as
such actually hinders dialogue.
>.
%ne o) the main areas I still need to work on academically is that o) time
management. I am a serial "rocrastinator when it comes to essay deadlines
and studying )or e.ams. I hae !een )ortunate that during term time I ensure
that I do all o) the reading6 as I don?t see the "oint in !eing here i) you do not
do so and it allows you to engage in class a lot more e@ectiely6 and as a result
when it comes to e.ams I hae a good recollection o) the areas coered. I o)ten
do e.tra reading i) I?m interested in a certain to"ic which gies me an added
adantage. 5oweer )or e.ams I hae done little study !ut !een a!le to get
good grades !ecause I hae engaged with the su!9ect throughout the term. I
)eel in )uture that I want to change this as the course will only get harder as the
years "rogress. This also a""lies to essay writing. I want to start reading )or my
essays in the same way that I read )or course work. I want choose the essay
title early and then incor"orate the !ooks I need to read into the reading
schedule )or that course which will allow me to consider the 8uestion oer a
longer "eriod o) time and not result in a !lind "anic as has !een the case on a
cou"le o) occasions again this year. This is o) "articular need due to the )act
that I hae a dissertation to do ne.t year.
4.
%n the !asis o) my studies this year the 8uestions that I would like to research
)urther is the area I outlined a!oe. Is there a link in Romans 1.134 and its
1essianic #hristology that leads to the ,o!edience o) the +entiles- and the
1essianic "ro"hecy in +enesis 42.10 which also includes the same result o) the
,o!edience o) the +entiles-A 0id (aul hae this te.t in mind when he wrote
these erses which are "rogrammatic )or 1.1B31C and there)ore the main
theme o) the letterA Dor interest I would like to "ursue )urther studies in the
roots o) the #harismatic moement and the (entecostal moementE5oliness
moement which I did an essay on )or 5istory o) 7angelicalism. Fs this is my
)ormatie church !ackground I was ery interested in the infuences o) the
#harismatic moement.
4.
I think that the 1essianic #hristology o) (aul in Romans could !e one "ossi!le
link to the synthesis o) the gos"els and (auline theology. Fs such it has
rami$cations )or my )uture ministry ; I would like to church "lant in an /r!an
(riority Frea. This synthesis would lead to a more holistic gos"el message and
not 9ust one o) 9usti$cation !y )aith 3 what is normally termed as the gos"el in
Re)ormed and 7angelical circles. I would not want to "ractise <how do you
"ractise such a reductionist message= or "reach this message <9usti$cation !y
)aith= and there)ore these connections will hae a "ro)ound e@ect !y giing a
!i!lical and canonical !asis to what I !eliee the gos"el to !e6 that is the
declaration o) #hrist as the 1essiah and the coming o) his kingdom !oth in the
gos"els and in Re)ormed theology-s doctrinal )oundation6 Romans 13>.