Churches have been repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness for beliefs and practices they ... more Churches have been repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness for beliefs and practices they once justified. These often high-profile statements raise questions such as: Can a church repent for things that happened centuries ago? Is it possible for a church to sin or to be forgiven? What difference will repenting make? Is this just more church hypocrisy? In this book Jeremy Bergen tells the story of ecclesial repentance in recent decades and explores the theological issues its raises. He argues that because it is grounded in the doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit, ecclesial repentance requires the church to articulate in new ways its own nature and mission.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: Counter-Witness and Scandal: Repentance for Historical Wrongs.
Chapter 1: Division Among the People of God
Chapter 2: Western Colonialism and its Legacy
Chapter 3: Sexual Abuse, Violence, Injustice
Chapter 4: Day of Pardon
PART II: Doctrine and Practice: Frameworks and Implications
Chapter 5: The Communion of Saints
Chapter 6: Sin and the Holiness of the Church
Chapter 7: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix: Instances of Ecclesial Repentance
Index
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen an... more Table of Contents:
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen and Anthony G. Siegrist . . . . . 13
1. The Work of Inheritance: Reflections on Receiving John Howard Yoder . . . . . 19
by Chris K. Huebner
2. Nonviolent Jesus, Violent God? A Critique of John Howard Yoder’s Approach to Theological Construction . . . . . 29
by Philip E. Stoltzfus
3. The Practice of Reading the Other: John Howard Yoder’s Critical and Caricatured Portrayal of Scholasticism . . . . . 47
by Andrew Brubacher Kaethler
4. John Howard Yoder and the Politics of Creation . . . . . 65
by Branson Parler
5. Freedom of the Cross: John Howard Yoder and Womanist Theologies in Conversation . . . . . 83
by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker
6. Governmentality, Witness, and the State: Christian Social Criticism with and Beyond Yoder and Foucault . . . . . 99
by Richard Bourne
7. Not Engineering, But Doxology? Reexamining Yoder’s Perspective on the Church . . . . . 117
by Paul C. Heidebrecht
8. Universal History and a Not-Particularly Christian Particularity: Jeremiah and John Howard Yoder’s Social Gospel . . . . . 131
by Paul Martens
9. Unbinding Yoder from Just Policing . . . . . 147
by Andy Alexis-Baker
10. Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder . . . . . 167
by John C. Nugent
Contributors . . . . . 185
Table of Contents
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbear... more Table of Contents
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbearance - binding loosely or loose bindings? Biblical-theological reflections / Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
Theological conversations about same-sex marriage: an opportunity for the church to be scriptural in its discernment / Lydia Neufeld Harder
Holiness, Catholicity, and the unity of all Christians / Karl Koop
The power of conscience and witness: natural law in Pilgram Marpeck's thought on church and state / Brian Cooper
Our friendship: it began with Thomas Müntzer, theologian of revolution / Rudolf J. Siebert
Ethics and archetypes: Freud, Jung and Reimer on religion and the psyche / Christina Reimer
Notes on Bonhoeffer's theological anthropology: the case of racism / Peter Frick
Incarnation versus in-humanization in Origen and the early creeds / Jonathan R. Seiling
Saint?-Ecumenist!-Pacifist? Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Fernando Enns
The creed, doctrine, and the liturgical occasion: continuing a conversation with A. James Reimer / Peter C. Erb
The church's worship and the moral life: an Anglican contribution to Trinitarian ethics / Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
The publicity of the Holy Spirit / Jeremy M. Bergen
Political/social ethics and war in the theology of Martin Luther / Denis R. Janz
The nation: beyond secular politics / Harry J. Huebner
Toward an Anabaptist political theology / Paul G. Doerksen.
Stephen's dying prayer, "'Lord, do not hold this sin against them,'" (Acts 7:60) is considered in... more Stephen's dying prayer, "'Lord, do not hold this sin against them,'" (Acts 7:60) is considered in light of the challenge it presents for the immediate and unconditional forgiveness that may be expected of victims of violence, and the legacy of supersessionist interpretation. In dialogue with several sermons by Augustine on Stephen, I frame a reading that links imitation of Stephen with spiritual struggle and formation, and connects forgiveness with accountability and the call to repentance. The anti-Jewish dimensions are recast in terms of not holding the sin against all who cast stones, contrary to an interpretation that effectively denies forgiveness to "non-believing" Jews. These dynamics of forgiveness are epitomized by the "Testament" and martyrdom of Fr. Christian de Chergé.
A response to Pope Francis's apology for residential schools, 1 April 2022. Contributed article t... more A response to Pope Francis's apology for residential schools, 1 April 2022. Contributed article to The Conversation.
In: Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Meth... more In: Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Method, ed. Laura Schmidt Roberts, Paul Martens, and Myron Penner, T&T Clark Studies in Anabaptist Theology and Ethics (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2020), 103-126.
Response to John D. Rempel, "An Impossible Task: Trinitarian Theology for a Radical Church." The... more Response to John D. Rempel, "An Impossible Task: Trinitarian Theology for a Radical Church." The Conrad Grebel Review 37, no.2 (Spring 2019).
In Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 48 (2019): 77-96. The posted version is the "accepted... more In Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 48 (2019): 77-96. The posted version is the "accepted" version rather than the final, published version.
Abstract: An analysis of presidential addresses to the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) since 1990 provides a snapshot of methodological and constructive issues in the discipline. Critique of modern or postmodern frameworks for theology, attention to context, and the reflection on the commitments of the theologian emerge as key methodological themes. Self-reflectively Canadian themes are surprisingly rare. Constructively, many addresses advocate for theology's ethical mandate.
In A University of the Church for the World: Essays in Honour of Gerald Gerbrandt, ed. Paul Dyck ... more In A University of the Church for the World: Essays in Honour of Gerald Gerbrandt, ed. Paul Dyck and Harry J. Huebner (Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2016), 247-259.
This article proposes a framework for churches that are discerning whether, and how, to publicly ... more This article proposes a framework for churches that are discerning whether, and how, to publicly repent or apologize for a particular historical wrong. Biblical resources from both testaments, recent developments in theology, reflection on instances of ecclesial repentance, and multidisciplinary work on apologies suggest how penitent churches may hear what the Spirit is saying to them. An act of repentance by a church entails confession of sin, public acknowledgment, commitment to a future, and public witness. Churches are challenged to engage in repentance to the extent that they resist seeking to control the process and attend to the particulars of repair and renewal.
The movement from the unity the churches already have in Jesus Christ to the lived communion in w... more The movement from the unity the churches already have in Jesus Christ to the lived communion in which such unity would be fully realized is often understood in terms of the work of the Holy Spirit. An examination of this theme in the reports of international bilateral dialogues from 1982 to 2012 results in an outline of an implicit ecumenical pneumatology. In particular, the dialogues discern the work of the Spirit in the practice of dialogue, wrestle with how the Spirit may have been active in or despite historical moments of division, identify the Spirit with the present work of healing memories, link the Spirit of unity with the church in mission, and reflect on the experience of koinonia/communion and reception of the gifts of the Spirit.
The Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation celebrated in 2010 at Stuttgart represents an opportunity f... more The Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation celebrated in 2010 at Stuttgart represents an opportunity for Mennonites to rethink their place within the Body of Christ. This essay warns against interpreting Lutheran repentance as the triumph of the Anabaptist position or vindication of Mennonite denominational identity, dangers that attend to a focus on the Lutheran violence against Anabaptists rather than a shared confession of the disunity of Christians. Analysis of other instances of ecclesial repentance shows how the events at Stuttgart evoke the communion of the saints, call denominational identity into question, and point to God as the true agent of reconciliation. In light of the forgiveness of historical persecutors and as a further step toward the visible unity of the church, this essay concludes by inviting Mennonites to consider whether and how Anabaptist martyrs are witnesses for the entire church.
This review essay examines two recent edited books on collective apologies - Taking Wrongs Seriou... more This review essay examines two recent edited books on collective apologies - Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies and Reconciliation, edited by Elazar Barkan and Alexander Karn (Stanford University Press, 2006), and The Age of Apology: Facing Up to the Past, edited by Mark Gibney, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Jean-Marc Coicaud, and Niklaus Steiner (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). The 2008 apology of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to former students of Indian Residential Schools provides the lens through which the author shows how the books provide critical interdisciplinary perspectives on apologies and their reconciling possibilities, as well the kind of further work required.
Confessional martyrs such as the sixteenth-century Anabaptists who were killed by, among others, ... more Confessional martyrs such as the sixteenth-century Anabaptists who were killed by, among others, Roman Catholics, present a significant barrier to ecumenism. Whereas such martyrs are foundational for the religious identity of contemporary Mennonites and are proposed as exemplars of Christian faithfulness, the very fact that they are claimed as martyrs problematically implies that their (Christian) persecutors were enemies of Christ. The author argues that such martyrs can instruct the church only if this history is reframed in a way that subverts the logic of church division, as do recent Catholic efforts to construct a martyrology that transcends denominational boundaries. The essay develops and critiques a fivefold ty-pology of ways that contemporary Mennonites might regard their martyred forebears and commends a penitential approach in which Mennonites “adopt” their persecutors as one with them in the Body of Christ and confess their own capacity for violence and unfaithfulness. Anabaptist martyrs can be witnesses for the reform of the church if this painful history is remembered in a way that binds the whole church to the promise of forgiveness in Christ.
Churches have been repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness for beliefs and practices they ... more Churches have been repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness for beliefs and practices they once justified. These often high-profile statements raise questions such as: Can a church repent for things that happened centuries ago? Is it possible for a church to sin or to be forgiven? What difference will repenting make? Is this just more church hypocrisy? In this book Jeremy Bergen tells the story of ecclesial repentance in recent decades and explores the theological issues its raises. He argues that because it is grounded in the doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit, ecclesial repentance requires the church to articulate in new ways its own nature and mission.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: Counter-Witness and Scandal: Repentance for Historical Wrongs.
Chapter 1: Division Among the People of God
Chapter 2: Western Colonialism and its Legacy
Chapter 3: Sexual Abuse, Violence, Injustice
Chapter 4: Day of Pardon
PART II: Doctrine and Practice: Frameworks and Implications
Chapter 5: The Communion of Saints
Chapter 6: Sin and the Holiness of the Church
Chapter 7: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix: Instances of Ecclesial Repentance
Index
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen an... more Table of Contents:
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen and Anthony G. Siegrist . . . . . 13
1. The Work of Inheritance: Reflections on Receiving John Howard Yoder . . . . . 19
by Chris K. Huebner
2. Nonviolent Jesus, Violent God? A Critique of John Howard Yoder’s Approach to Theological Construction . . . . . 29
by Philip E. Stoltzfus
3. The Practice of Reading the Other: John Howard Yoder’s Critical and Caricatured Portrayal of Scholasticism . . . . . 47
by Andrew Brubacher Kaethler
4. John Howard Yoder and the Politics of Creation . . . . . 65
by Branson Parler
5. Freedom of the Cross: John Howard Yoder and Womanist Theologies in Conversation . . . . . 83
by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker
6. Governmentality, Witness, and the State: Christian Social Criticism with and Beyond Yoder and Foucault . . . . . 99
by Richard Bourne
7. Not Engineering, But Doxology? Reexamining Yoder’s Perspective on the Church . . . . . 117
by Paul C. Heidebrecht
8. Universal History and a Not-Particularly Christian Particularity: Jeremiah and John Howard Yoder’s Social Gospel . . . . . 131
by Paul Martens
9. Unbinding Yoder from Just Policing . . . . . 147
by Andy Alexis-Baker
10. Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder . . . . . 167
by John C. Nugent
Contributors . . . . . 185
Table of Contents
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbear... more Table of Contents
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbearance - binding loosely or loose bindings? Biblical-theological reflections / Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
Theological conversations about same-sex marriage: an opportunity for the church to be scriptural in its discernment / Lydia Neufeld Harder
Holiness, Catholicity, and the unity of all Christians / Karl Koop
The power of conscience and witness: natural law in Pilgram Marpeck's thought on church and state / Brian Cooper
Our friendship: it began with Thomas Müntzer, theologian of revolution / Rudolf J. Siebert
Ethics and archetypes: Freud, Jung and Reimer on religion and the psyche / Christina Reimer
Notes on Bonhoeffer's theological anthropology: the case of racism / Peter Frick
Incarnation versus in-humanization in Origen and the early creeds / Jonathan R. Seiling
Saint?-Ecumenist!-Pacifist? Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Fernando Enns
The creed, doctrine, and the liturgical occasion: continuing a conversation with A. James Reimer / Peter C. Erb
The church's worship and the moral life: an Anglican contribution to Trinitarian ethics / Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
The publicity of the Holy Spirit / Jeremy M. Bergen
Political/social ethics and war in the theology of Martin Luther / Denis R. Janz
The nation: beyond secular politics / Harry J. Huebner
Toward an Anabaptist political theology / Paul G. Doerksen.
Stephen's dying prayer, "'Lord, do not hold this sin against them,'" (Acts 7:60) is considered in... more Stephen's dying prayer, "'Lord, do not hold this sin against them,'" (Acts 7:60) is considered in light of the challenge it presents for the immediate and unconditional forgiveness that may be expected of victims of violence, and the legacy of supersessionist interpretation. In dialogue with several sermons by Augustine on Stephen, I frame a reading that links imitation of Stephen with spiritual struggle and formation, and connects forgiveness with accountability and the call to repentance. The anti-Jewish dimensions are recast in terms of not holding the sin against all who cast stones, contrary to an interpretation that effectively denies forgiveness to "non-believing" Jews. These dynamics of forgiveness are epitomized by the "Testament" and martyrdom of Fr. Christian de Chergé.
A response to Pope Francis's apology for residential schools, 1 April 2022. Contributed article t... more A response to Pope Francis's apology for residential schools, 1 April 2022. Contributed article to The Conversation.
In: Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Meth... more In: Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Method, ed. Laura Schmidt Roberts, Paul Martens, and Myron Penner, T&T Clark Studies in Anabaptist Theology and Ethics (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2020), 103-126.
Response to John D. Rempel, "An Impossible Task: Trinitarian Theology for a Radical Church." The... more Response to John D. Rempel, "An Impossible Task: Trinitarian Theology for a Radical Church." The Conrad Grebel Review 37, no.2 (Spring 2019).
In Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 48 (2019): 77-96. The posted version is the "accepted... more In Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 48 (2019): 77-96. The posted version is the "accepted" version rather than the final, published version.
Abstract: An analysis of presidential addresses to the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) since 1990 provides a snapshot of methodological and constructive issues in the discipline. Critique of modern or postmodern frameworks for theology, attention to context, and the reflection on the commitments of the theologian emerge as key methodological themes. Self-reflectively Canadian themes are surprisingly rare. Constructively, many addresses advocate for theology's ethical mandate.
In A University of the Church for the World: Essays in Honour of Gerald Gerbrandt, ed. Paul Dyck ... more In A University of the Church for the World: Essays in Honour of Gerald Gerbrandt, ed. Paul Dyck and Harry J. Huebner (Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2016), 247-259.
This article proposes a framework for churches that are discerning whether, and how, to publicly ... more This article proposes a framework for churches that are discerning whether, and how, to publicly repent or apologize for a particular historical wrong. Biblical resources from both testaments, recent developments in theology, reflection on instances of ecclesial repentance, and multidisciplinary work on apologies suggest how penitent churches may hear what the Spirit is saying to them. An act of repentance by a church entails confession of sin, public acknowledgment, commitment to a future, and public witness. Churches are challenged to engage in repentance to the extent that they resist seeking to control the process and attend to the particulars of repair and renewal.
The movement from the unity the churches already have in Jesus Christ to the lived communion in w... more The movement from the unity the churches already have in Jesus Christ to the lived communion in which such unity would be fully realized is often understood in terms of the work of the Holy Spirit. An examination of this theme in the reports of international bilateral dialogues from 1982 to 2012 results in an outline of an implicit ecumenical pneumatology. In particular, the dialogues discern the work of the Spirit in the practice of dialogue, wrestle with how the Spirit may have been active in or despite historical moments of division, identify the Spirit with the present work of healing memories, link the Spirit of unity with the church in mission, and reflect on the experience of koinonia/communion and reception of the gifts of the Spirit.
The Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation celebrated in 2010 at Stuttgart represents an opportunity f... more The Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation celebrated in 2010 at Stuttgart represents an opportunity for Mennonites to rethink their place within the Body of Christ. This essay warns against interpreting Lutheran repentance as the triumph of the Anabaptist position or vindication of Mennonite denominational identity, dangers that attend to a focus on the Lutheran violence against Anabaptists rather than a shared confession of the disunity of Christians. Analysis of other instances of ecclesial repentance shows how the events at Stuttgart evoke the communion of the saints, call denominational identity into question, and point to God as the true agent of reconciliation. In light of the forgiveness of historical persecutors and as a further step toward the visible unity of the church, this essay concludes by inviting Mennonites to consider whether and how Anabaptist martyrs are witnesses for the entire church.
This review essay examines two recent edited books on collective apologies - Taking Wrongs Seriou... more This review essay examines two recent edited books on collective apologies - Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies and Reconciliation, edited by Elazar Barkan and Alexander Karn (Stanford University Press, 2006), and The Age of Apology: Facing Up to the Past, edited by Mark Gibney, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Jean-Marc Coicaud, and Niklaus Steiner (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). The 2008 apology of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to former students of Indian Residential Schools provides the lens through which the author shows how the books provide critical interdisciplinary perspectives on apologies and their reconciling possibilities, as well the kind of further work required.
Confessional martyrs such as the sixteenth-century Anabaptists who were killed by, among others, ... more Confessional martyrs such as the sixteenth-century Anabaptists who were killed by, among others, Roman Catholics, present a significant barrier to ecumenism. Whereas such martyrs are foundational for the religious identity of contemporary Mennonites and are proposed as exemplars of Christian faithfulness, the very fact that they are claimed as martyrs problematically implies that their (Christian) persecutors were enemies of Christ. The author argues that such martyrs can instruct the church only if this history is reframed in a way that subverts the logic of church division, as do recent Catholic efforts to construct a martyrology that transcends denominational boundaries. The essay develops and critiques a fivefold ty-pology of ways that contemporary Mennonites might regard their martyred forebears and commends a penitential approach in which Mennonites “adopt” their persecutors as one with them in the Body of Christ and confess their own capacity for violence and unfaithfulness. Anabaptist martyrs can be witnesses for the reform of the church if this painful history is remembered in a way that binds the whole church to the promise of forgiveness in Christ.
In the 1880s, dozens of Anglican and Roman Catholic members of the royal court of Buganda (now Ug... more In the 1880s, dozens of Anglican and Roman Catholic members of the royal court of Buganda (now Uganda) were executed by their king. Now honoured as the Uganda Martyrs, their memory has been invoked as one that advances Christian unity. The king regarded them not as Anglicans or Catholics but simply as Christians. Since Christian martyrdom may be understood as conforming to Jesus in a way that transcends denominational divisions between Christians, the honouring of particular martyrs has been proposed by Pope John Paul II and others as a potential practice of Christian unity. Mennonites have even offered the legacy of Anabaptist martyr Dirk Willems as a sign of reconciliation with Catholics. Yet, the fact that many individuals who are regarded as Christian martyrs, such as the Anabaptist martyrs, were killed by other Christians, points to disunity. Moreover, some of the complex ways that martyr memories function may promote further enmity, division, or violence.
Presented November 3, 2016 at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, as the Benjamin Eby Lecture.
It is only in recent decades that churches have offered public statements of repentance or apolog... more It is only in recent decades that churches have offered public statements of repentance or apology for past actions and beliefs they once endorsed. Churches have repented for acts of division within Christianity, for complacency or complicity in the Holocaust, for anti-Semitic theology, for the support of slavery, for Indian Residential Schools, for the crusades, to name a few. The novelty of such "ecclesial repentance" presents a challenge--how to make sense of a new practice--and an opportunity to watch the development of theology. Dr. Bergen will discuss several instances of church repentance and the issues these actions raise. He proposes that three doctrines-the communion of saints, the holiness of the church, and forgiveness-held us to understand what this practice means. At the same time, ecclesial repentance requires some rethinking and reshaping of those very categories of theology. Ultimately, ecclesial repentance challenges Christians to rethink the nature and mission of the church today.
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Books by Jeremy Bergen
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: Counter-Witness and Scandal: Repentance for Historical Wrongs.
Chapter 1: Division Among the People of God
Chapter 2: Western Colonialism and its Legacy
Chapter 3: Sexual Abuse, Violence, Injustice
Chapter 4: Day of Pardon
PART II: Doctrine and Practice: Frameworks and Implications
Chapter 5: The Communion of Saints
Chapter 6: Sin and the Holiness of the Church
Chapter 7: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix: Instances of Ecclesial Repentance
Index
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen and Anthony G. Siegrist . . . . . 13
1. The Work of Inheritance: Reflections on Receiving John Howard Yoder . . . . . 19
by Chris K. Huebner
2. Nonviolent Jesus, Violent God? A Critique of John Howard Yoder’s Approach to Theological Construction . . . . . 29
by Philip E. Stoltzfus
3. The Practice of Reading the Other: John Howard Yoder’s Critical and Caricatured Portrayal of Scholasticism . . . . . 47
by Andrew Brubacher Kaethler
4. John Howard Yoder and the Politics of Creation . . . . . 65
by Branson Parler
5. Freedom of the Cross: John Howard Yoder and Womanist Theologies in Conversation . . . . . 83
by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker
6. Governmentality, Witness, and the State: Christian Social Criticism with and Beyond Yoder and Foucault . . . . . 99
by Richard Bourne
7. Not Engineering, But Doxology? Reexamining Yoder’s Perspective on the Church . . . . . 117
by Paul C. Heidebrecht
8. Universal History and a Not-Particularly Christian Particularity: Jeremiah and John Howard Yoder’s Social Gospel . . . . . 131
by Paul Martens
9. Unbinding Yoder from Just Policing . . . . . 147
by Andy Alexis-Baker
10. Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder . . . . . 167
by John C. Nugent
Contributors . . . . . 185
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbearance - binding loosely or loose bindings? Biblical-theological reflections / Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
Theological conversations about same-sex marriage: an opportunity for the church to be scriptural in its discernment / Lydia Neufeld Harder
Holiness, Catholicity, and the unity of all Christians / Karl Koop
The power of conscience and witness: natural law in Pilgram Marpeck's thought on church and state / Brian Cooper
Our friendship: it began with Thomas Müntzer, theologian of revolution / Rudolf J. Siebert
Ethics and archetypes: Freud, Jung and Reimer on religion and the psyche / Christina Reimer
Notes on Bonhoeffer's theological anthropology: the case of racism / Peter Frick
Incarnation versus in-humanization in Origen and the early creeds / Jonathan R. Seiling
Saint?-Ecumenist!-Pacifist? Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Fernando Enns
The creed, doctrine, and the liturgical occasion: continuing a conversation with A. James Reimer / Peter C. Erb
The church's worship and the moral life: an Anglican contribution to Trinitarian ethics / Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
The publicity of the Holy Spirit / Jeremy M. Bergen
Political/social ethics and war in the theology of Martin Luther / Denis R. Janz
The nation: beyond secular politics / Harry J. Huebner
Toward an Anabaptist political theology / Paul G. Doerksen.
Papers by Jeremy Bergen
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-theological-reason-why-the-catholic-church-is-reticent-to/; republished https://cathnews.co.nz/2021/06/14/apologise-for-residential-schools/
Abstract: An analysis of presidential addresses to the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) since 1990 provides a snapshot of methodological and constructive issues in the discipline. Critique of modern or postmodern frameworks for theology, attention to context, and the reflection on the commitments of the theologian emerge as key methodological themes. Self-reflectively Canadian themes are surprisingly rare. Constructively, many addresses advocate for theology's ethical mandate.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: Counter-Witness and Scandal: Repentance for Historical Wrongs.
Chapter 1: Division Among the People of God
Chapter 2: Western Colonialism and its Legacy
Chapter 3: Sexual Abuse, Violence, Injustice
Chapter 4: Day of Pardon
PART II: Doctrine and Practice: Frameworks and Implications
Chapter 5: The Communion of Saints
Chapter 6: Sin and the Holiness of the Church
Chapter 7: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix: Instances of Ecclesial Repentance
Index
Foreword by Glen Harold Stassen . . . . . 7
Preface by Jeremy M. Bergen and Anthony G. Siegrist . . . . . 13
1. The Work of Inheritance: Reflections on Receiving John Howard Yoder . . . . . 19
by Chris K. Huebner
2. Nonviolent Jesus, Violent God? A Critique of John Howard Yoder’s Approach to Theological Construction . . . . . 29
by Philip E. Stoltzfus
3. The Practice of Reading the Other: John Howard Yoder’s Critical and Caricatured Portrayal of Scholasticism . . . . . 47
by Andrew Brubacher Kaethler
4. John Howard Yoder and the Politics of Creation . . . . . 65
by Branson Parler
5. Freedom of the Cross: John Howard Yoder and Womanist Theologies in Conversation . . . . . 83
by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker
6. Governmentality, Witness, and the State: Christian Social Criticism with and Beyond Yoder and Foucault . . . . . 99
by Richard Bourne
7. Not Engineering, But Doxology? Reexamining Yoder’s Perspective on the Church . . . . . 117
by Paul C. Heidebrecht
8. Universal History and a Not-Particularly Christian Particularity: Jeremiah and John Howard Yoder’s Social Gospel . . . . . 131
by Paul Martens
9. Unbinding Yoder from Just Policing . . . . . 147
by Andy Alexis-Baker
10. Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder . . . . . 167
by John C. Nugent
Contributors . . . . . 185
A. James Reimer: a spiritual and intellectual biography / John Rempel
Forbearance - binding loosely or loose bindings? Biblical-theological reflections / Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld
Theological conversations about same-sex marriage: an opportunity for the church to be scriptural in its discernment / Lydia Neufeld Harder
Holiness, Catholicity, and the unity of all Christians / Karl Koop
The power of conscience and witness: natural law in Pilgram Marpeck's thought on church and state / Brian Cooper
Our friendship: it began with Thomas Müntzer, theologian of revolution / Rudolf J. Siebert
Ethics and archetypes: Freud, Jung and Reimer on religion and the psyche / Christina Reimer
Notes on Bonhoeffer's theological anthropology: the case of racism / Peter Frick
Incarnation versus in-humanization in Origen and the early creeds / Jonathan R. Seiling
Saint?-Ecumenist!-Pacifist? Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer / Fernando Enns
The creed, doctrine, and the liturgical occasion: continuing a conversation with A. James Reimer / Peter C. Erb
The church's worship and the moral life: an Anglican contribution to Trinitarian ethics / Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
The publicity of the Holy Spirit / Jeremy M. Bergen
Political/social ethics and war in the theology of Martin Luther / Denis R. Janz
The nation: beyond secular politics / Harry J. Huebner
Toward an Anabaptist political theology / Paul G. Doerksen.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-theological-reason-why-the-catholic-church-is-reticent-to/; republished https://cathnews.co.nz/2021/06/14/apologise-for-residential-schools/
Abstract: An analysis of presidential addresses to the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) since 1990 provides a snapshot of methodological and constructive issues in the discipline. Critique of modern or postmodern frameworks for theology, attention to context, and the reflection on the commitments of the theologian emerge as key methodological themes. Self-reflectively Canadian themes are surprisingly rare. Constructively, many addresses advocate for theology's ethical mandate.
Presented November 3, 2016 at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, as the Benjamin Eby Lecture.