{"id":15587,"date":"2017-11-30T17:16:20","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T01:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=15587"},"modified":"2017-11-30T17:18:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T01:18:57","slug":"eye-of-a-needle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/eye-of-a-needle\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye of a needle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho Needs Theology?\u201d question Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson in their book by the same title. It\u2019s a rhetorical question. They want you to answer, \u201cWe all do!\u201d And it\u2019s true, we do. The book, an IVP Academic publication, seems written for the mass market with Peanuts<\/em> cartoon illustrations beginning almost every chapter. It was slightly off-putting \u2013 for a book that aspired to encourage contextual contemporary theology today, the Peanuts <\/em>illustrations locked the book into a 20th<\/sup> century mentality that caused me considerable effort to move beyond.<\/p>\n

It was around chapter seven that things began to get interesting. When one considers the task of contextualizing theology within a specific culture, time, and place, the imagination begins to soar. When the authors claim that \u201cThere is no such thing as a culturally disembodied theology\u201d,[1]<\/a> they root the task of theologizing into a specific cultural milieu that calls for and seeks response to a variety of questions unique to that space.<\/p>\n

Jesus came into our world at a specific moment in time, space and culture, and through a life of self-sacrifice, surrender, and love, demonstrated the way to God. We have the biblical record to account for His life among us within a specific historical context that faced significant limitations we don\u2019t tend to understand now. Today, He again draws near. But He does so in a markedly distinct time that biblical writers could never have anticipated. How would Jesus respond to ethics around biogenetic engineering, the possibility of space exploration, trading in the stock market, or the ubiquity and relentlessness of social media?<\/p>\n

As contextual theologian Chris Budden states, \u201cThe issue in any contextual theology, then, becomes an issue of where Jesus is to be found and identified and related to, and where the church needs to be if it is to meet and follow this Christ.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In Latin America, in the seventies and eighties, theologians began grappling with how to follow Christ within the oppressive systems that left few options for the poor. In response, up sprouted liberation theology. In like manner, just as Latin American liberation theology was formed in the barrios<\/em> of miserable poverty, we need the development of sound contextual theological reflection in an opposite context. Within the West today, there is a vast accumulation of wealth by families.\u00a0 This leads to considerable inequity, and is a challenge to those, in particular, who follow Jesus. \"\"<\/a>When Jesus exclaims, \u201cIt is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God\u201d[3]<\/a>, many wealthy Christians should be troubled and do some intensive soul-searching. Is it possible to enter the kingdom of God while possessing substantial material goods?<\/p>\n

Philanthropy \u2013 surrendering wealth and channeling it towards the mission of the Church \u2013 is one way for wealthy Christians to respond to Christ at work among us, and developing a robust theology of philanthropy is necessary. However, Christian philanthropy must exhibit unique qualities that distinguish it from philanthropy as is practiced by those who do not follow Christ.<\/p>\n

Developing a theology of philanthropy begins with responding to the question, \u201cHow much is enough?\u201d Rather than blindly following along on the treadmill to accumulation, hoarding, and excess, the Christian draws a line and says, \u201cIt stops here.\u201d\u00a0 Different contexts require different decisions, and no judging is allowed. The lines will be drawn in distinct places for each person.<\/p>\n

The first (and only) time I\u2019ve ever flown on a luxurious private jet was, surprisingly, in Zambia. One of Zambia\u2019s richest citizens is a devout Christian, but he utilized his considerable wealth and all the fine accoutrements to benefit the needy of his country. He wanted my group, who were in country on a site visit in a remote region, to participate at a gala dinner in the capital to benefit incarcerated individuals, and within a few hours, it happened. This gentleman lived out Jesus\u2019 command to visit those in prison, and he utilized his resources towards that end.<\/p>\n

After we draw the line, we also must consider how the wealth is derived. Wealthy Christians recognize that ingenuity and opportunity only get one so far. Here\u2019s a big secret: the generation of wealth is often a fluke. The way the markets moved, the ability of money to make more money, the ability to invest in opportunities not shared in the public square because of one\u2019s network are all dependent on many factors beyond a person\u2019s control. One\u2019s financial gains are usually dependent more on a serendipitous event than from one\u2019s smarts in investing well. Wealthy Christians need to acknowledge this truth with humility.<\/p>\n

When theologizing on wealth and philanthropy, one must acknowledge that we are not owners of wealth, but merely stewards. Stewards will be accountable for how wealth is handled, and the Christian distinctive is that we recognize we don\u2019t own the funds, nor do they own us. Instead, we prayerfully and strategically deploy resources for the benefit of God\u2019s kingdom. We let go. We trust others. We trust God. And we will one day give an account for the decisions we’ve made.<\/p>\n

Grenz and Olson declare that \u201cOur interpretive framework develops from the manifold influences that come our way and encounters with life we have had, are having, and will yet have.\u201d[4]<\/a> This perspective urges us to develop theologies for whatever situation we find ourselves, including for those who find themselves with significant wealth and the resulting ministry of philanthropy.<\/p>\n

________________________________<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u00a0Stanley J. Grenz, and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology?<\/em>\u00a0 (Downers Grove IL: IVP Academic, 1996), 108.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Chris Budden, \u201cThe Necessity of a Second Peoples\u2019 Theology in Australia\u201d in Bevans, Stephen B., and Katalina Tahaafe-Williams. Contextual Theology for the Twenty-First Century<\/em>. (Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co, 2012), 57.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Mark 10:25, NRSV.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Grenz and Olson, 124.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho Needs Theology?\u201d question Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson in their book by the same title. It\u2019s a rhetorical question. They want you to answer, \u201cWe all do!\u201d And it\u2019s true, we do. The book, an IVP Academic publication, seems written for the mass market with Peanuts cartoon illustrations beginning almost every chapter. It was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[198,532,1095],"class_list":["post-15587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grenz","tag-olson","tag-philanthropy","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15587"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15596,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15587\/revisions\/15596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}