By: Stu Cocanougher on May 18, 2017
Seminary students and others who want to study the history and current forms of Christianity are often drawn to creeds and conventions such as the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, The Anglican Catechism, the Augsburg Confession, The Baptist Faith and Message, etc. Much time is spent on debating Calvinism versus Arminianism, the nature of the…
By: Lynda Gittens on May 18, 2017
SHAPING THE CHURCH, THE PROMISE OF IMPLICIT THEOLOGY Dr. Percy approaches the Churches’ views and practices of Implicit Theology. He identified ‘Implicit Theology’ as “examining the basic theological habits of the daily life of churches, congregations, and denominations and guessing at the hidden meanings in structures and practices that on the surface appear to be…
By: Marc Andresen on May 18, 2017
“We bring our culture into our worship.” Wednesday I sat at our international student lunch talking with Gaetan, a civil engineering student from Democratic Republic of the Congo, and that was his statement to me. We were not discussing Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology, by Martyn Percy, we were just talking about…
By: Claire Appiah on May 18, 2017
Martyn Percy –Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology In this monograph, The Very Reverend Professor Martyn Percy acknowledges that, “There is no doubt that ecclesial communities look to formal theological propositions, creeds, articles of faith, and the like to order their inner life, establish their identity and maintain their distinctiveness in the world.…
By: Katy Drage Lines on May 18, 2017
In his book, Shaping the Church, Martyn Percy introduces us to the concept of “implicit theology,” the idea that hidden, often unreflected practices, habits, and culture are not simply “benign and innocent,” but offer a great deal of value to understanding the ecclesiology of a particular expression of the church (both local congregations and broader…
By: Jim Sabella on May 18, 2017
Summary “Christianity is about much more than beliefs, propositions and formally sanctioned practices. Indeed, this is a deep misunderstanding about the nature of Christian life. The belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit is not an arid set of directives, but rather a faith that is embedded in a community of praxis…
By: Aaron Cole on May 18, 2017
Summary Shaping The Church, The Promise of Implicit Theology by Martyn Percy is an academic and yet simple view of the status of the church in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Percy gives an overview both statistically and ideologically of how the church is working in England, especially with conversion, confirmation, and…
By: Geoff Lee on May 18, 2017
In examining the “basic-but-nascent theological habits (e.g. language, culture, worship, practice etc.) that more properly account for the daily life of churches, congregations and denominations”[1], Dr Martyn Percy examines what he calls “implicit theology”, which is where theology and sociology, or Christian and contemporary cultures, meet. Implicit theology “notices and gives due attention to the…
By: Rose Anding on May 17, 2017
Introduction Implicit and explicit thoughts are two major types of relative terms for religious formalization. Religion does not require explicitness of the person’s belief. Rather, it needs the implicitness that leads to a moral expansions towards nature. Martyn Percy’s book, Shaping the Church, explains the ideas of religious theology in an implicit manner…
By: Garfield Harvey on May 17, 2017
First Encounter In September 2015, our doctoral program heard Dr. Percy gave an incredible speech that continues to reflect his character and consistency in his writing. Percy, in his presentation, challenged us as ministry leaders with this question: What’s your occupation? While the question was rhetorical in nature, his argument was clear. He stated two…
By: Mary Walker on May 16, 2017
“But the central foci with which we are concerned is how might we locate an implicit theology within a church, denomination or congregation, particularly if it is hidden?”[1] Shaping the Church is a collection of essays on ecclesiology, ministry, and sacraments particularly within the Anglican Communion in England with a view towards answering this question.…
By: Geoff Lee on May 14, 2017
This work resonated with me at several levels. Here are some of my key thoughts and take-aways: I have an inherent dislike of social media – always have. I am only on Facebook for this course. I do not tweet, use Snapchat, Instagram or anything else. This is not a value judgment. I…
By: Kevin Norwood on May 13, 2017
Thomas C Oden in his educational book How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind is an advocate for the recognition of Africa as a contributor to the history and future of Christianity. The phrase seedbed of early Christian thought is throughout and Oden makes a strong argument for the foundation of key principles straight from Africa. …
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on May 12, 2017
Deep Thoughts about Deep Work As I write, I am struggling to enter into deep work. Distractions yank my concentration away from my writing, as email alerts spontaneously appear on the screen, movie background noises interrupt my thoughts, and my dog peers longingly through the glass door at me. Although I have cocooned myself…
By: Garfield Harvey on May 12, 2017
We are Jews, Gentiles, and Africans. “This is what the book is about: to state the African seedbed hypothesis in a measured way and begin to sort out the facts that support it” (p. 31). Oden’s intent is to challenge each reader to appreciate Africa’s role in shaping Christianity. He believes Africa’s role was significant…
By: Chip Stapleton on May 12, 2017
One of first things on my ‘must do’ list when we moved to Boston was visiting Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau’s iconic retreat. I initially encountered Thoreau’s Walden because the paperback version of ‘On the Duty of Civil Disobedience’ that I wanted to read as a slightly rebellious and intellectually curious middle schooler, came as part of…
By: Kristin Hamilton on May 11, 2017
There are worse places to write about deep work than sitting by the pool at a house just outside of Palm Springs, CA. Honestly, though, I struggled to concentrate this week despite finding so many things within Cal Newport’s book that could eventually be life changing for me. When I opened the book and saw…
By: Pablo Morales on May 11, 2017
Thomas C. Oden graduated into heaven last year, after a journey of spiritual inquiry and academic career that led him to write several books. Among them was the Ancient Christian Doctrine Series. Through that research Oden realized how much of our Christian theological heritage comes from ancient African theologians. This discovery surprised him, because he…
By: Phil Goldsberry on May 11, 2017
Introduction While living in New York, an Egyptian Coptic Church built (1990) a new temple in Woodbury, New York. I was amazed at their architecture and location to build their gathering place. Of great interest is the name of the church: St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Center/ St. Abraam Church. This double name ties them back…
By: Lynda Gittens on May 11, 2017
DEEP WORK: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Newport Words by Iyanla Vanzant When reading this book, Newport mentioned the phrase ‘do the work.’ (111) The words “you must do the work” kept speaking to me. It’s a phrase often used by Iyanla Vanzant. Iyanla is a Life coach for many…
