Public Theology<\/p>\n
So, what did the disciples hear<\/i> Jesus say?\u00a0 While we have a written record of many things spoken<\/i> by him,what they heard<\/i> him say was undoubtedly different than what was recorded and preserved in the biblical texts.\u00a0 Without being present with them, smelling the air, tasting the tastes, feeling the textures of the fabrics and earth, being present in the socio-cultural space where they were present, we can\u2019t truly hear what they heard.\u00a0 Consider, for example, the conversation recorded in Matthew chapter 16.\u00a0 \u201cI will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve all heard it, preached it, reveled in the glorious dominance communicated in it.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re the winners!\u00a0 Yes!\u201d\u00a0 But what did the disciples really hear?<\/i>\u00a0 In their context, <\/i>what did they understand Jesus to be communicating?<\/p>\n
When we read this through the filters of our human-centric brands of theology, we mostly hear about how good things will be for us and how that mean ol\u2019 devil can\u2019t push us around anymore.\u00a0 We are the \u201cchurch\u201d after all!\u00a0 Jesus said it, bless God!\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it odd (and somewhat discouraging) that most of what passes as theology in our current societal construct somehow always circles back to \u201cme,\u201d \u201cmine,\u201d and \u201cself?\u201d\u00a0 Further investigation of the text reveals that Jesus was as far away from church-cheerleading as he could be.\u00a0 He was actually engaging in a pretty mean piece of public theology.\u00a0 In Steven Garner\u2019s contribution to the book The Bible, Justice and Public Theology, <\/i>he helpfully defines public theology as \u201cthe offering of something distinctive, and that is the gospel, to the world for the welfare of human society.<\/i>\u201d1 \u00a0That\u2019s what Jesus was up to\u2026<\/p>\n
Time will not permit a full exegesis of the text but suffice it to say, Jesus\u2019 careful selection of a word commonly understood to be descriptive of a judicial assembly2 to describe the organism he was planning to leave behind is telling.\u00a0 Jesus was saying to his disciples that his \u201cbody\u201d left behind after his departure would be constituted of people called out of the local communities<\/i>, deliberating on behalf of the local communities<\/i> and acting in the best interests of the local communities<\/i>.\u00a0 Ekklesia.\u00a0 Kathryn Tanner makes special note of this in the book Spirit in the Cities.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cThe early Christian \u2018household of God\u2019 also described itself in the language of a political assembly, the ecclesia.\u201d3 \u00a0The reason behind this self-description was simple, that\u2019s what Jesus said.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he intended to levee behind to finish his work.\u00a0 Not a new religious order, a collection of real people, called from real communities, to deliberate and take real, transformative action.\u00a0 Public theology is action-oriented theology and immensely practical.<\/p>\n
Neville regards public theology as \u201cthe attempt to address matters of common or public concern in society in light of the special-truth claims, insights and moral convictions of Christian faith, in the pursuit of peace and justice for all.\u201d4 \u00a0Not just for Christians, for all!\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Public theology demands we align behaviors with divine imperatives.\u00a0 Public theology requires us to look differently at any who fall under our gaze.\u00a0 Public theology forces a conversation about how things are in reality as contrasted with God\u2019s design and how to put right what is presently wrong.\u00a0 That conversation should originate with \u201cortho-pathy,\u201d which informs and stimulates ortho-doxy which ultimately fuels ortho-praxy.5 \u00a0Right behavior then in turn, stimulates right thinking, resulting in right feeling.\u00a0 This will be end result of sound public theology.<\/p>\n
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1. David J. Neville, ed., The Bible, Justice, and Public Theology (The Bible in the Modern World) <\/i>(Sheffield England: Wipf & Stock, 2014), 190.<\/p>\n
2. It is unlikely that Jesus and his disciples were conversing in private using the language of the conquerors, Greek.\u00a0 Yet when the words were finally scribed on some form of print medium, the Greek word Ekklesia was selected to convey his thoughts.<\/p>\n
3. Kathryn Tanner. Spirit in the Cities<\/i> (Kindle Edition). Locations 327-328.<\/p>\n
4. \u00a0Neville.\u00a0 24<\/p>\n