Decade of Disbelief

Decade of Disbelief

Decade of Disbelief

Chonka Bojack

Contents

Introduction: Trinitarian Virtue Ethics?

The More the Merrier

The Theology of John Zizioulas

The Theology of Elizabeth Johnson

The Theology of Catherine Keller

Applying Trinitarian Virtues

Bibliography

1

Introduction: Trinitarian Virtue Ethics?

We should seek not simply to promulgate a trinitarian theology, but to think and to live in trinitarian ways.

-David Cunningham, These Three are One

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A friend once told me a joke that went something like this: The members of the Trinity, having created and sustained the universe for what seemed like an eternity, decided to take a vacation. Since they had been cooped up together for quite some time, they decided to plan their own separate vacations, so that they could each get some much-needed alone time. The Father said, I think I’ll go to Hawaii. I could use a little fun in the sun. The Son said, I’ve had enough of Earth for awhile. Things didn’t go so well for me when I was there last, and I’m not quite ready to go back. So I think I’ll vacation on Mars. Finally, the Holy Spirit said, Those sound like excellent vacation spots. As for myself, I think I’ll take a little trip to the Vatican, since I’ve never been there.

Jabs at the Roman Catholic hierarchy aside, this joke also plays with some of our traditional understandings of the Trinity, turning trinitarian persons into human persons, who need vacations and get sick of one another. Indeed, for some people, the doctrine of the Trinity itself seems to be a joke (I certainly have gotten some strange looks when I tell people that I am working on trinitarian theology and virtue ethics!). For others, the Trinity might be a piece of irrelevant doctrine. When I told my mother, a lifelong Catholic, what I was working on, she asked, How in the world does the Trinity relate to ethics? I hope this project offers one way to answer that question.

This project emerges from the belief that our understanding of God affects how we understand ourselves and shapes our idea of the kinds of people we want to be. To make this point, I draw from contemporary interpretations of the Trinity to show how different perspectives on God can in turn give us different perspectives on and insights into the human person. I also propose virtues—good characteristics we want to embody—drawn from diverse understandings of the Trinity. Thus, this project brings together trinitarian theology and virtue ethics to bring more theological insight into how we understand ourselves and the kinds of people we want to become.

The timing is good for such a project. In the last fifty years, theologians have been working to recover the doctrine of the Trinity, and have created a flourishing field of trinitarian theology. During roughly the same time, Christian virtue ethicists have been working to incorporate more theology into their work, returning, for example, to scripture and the life of Jesus as the foundation for ethics. Despite renewals in both of these areas, not many thinkers have begun to draw out the implications of trinitarian theology for virtue ethics. For the most part, the theologians have done their work, and the ethicists have done theirs, with little overlap. Only a handful of thinkers have proposed a trinitarian ethics—an ethics in which the doctrine of the Trinity is the primary guide for determining what a moral person and behavior are. Even those who have proposed a trinitarian virtue ethics have used only one image of God as the source of their moral anthropologies. That is, despite the numerous theologians working on the Trinity, even those Christian ethicists who draw from the doctrine of the Trinity in their work have not taken full advantage of the wealth of trinitarian theology at their disposal. Thus, in this project, I argue for a trinitarian virtue ethics that employs multiple images of God. This approach will be beneficial in two major ways, as we will see. First, attending to diverse interpretations of the Trinity will preserve a sense of God’s mystery and prevent one image of God from becoming hegemonic. Second, multiple images of God will offer a broader foundation for the anthropology of a trinitarian virtue ethics, opening more possibilities for understanding the human person and introducing new virtues.

Overview and Chapter Outline

In the following chapters, I examine the images of a triune God found in three contemporary theologians— John Zizioulas, Elizabeth Johnson, and Catherine Keller—in order to draw out implications for the moral anthropology of Christian virtue ethics. For each of these theologians, I give an overview and evaluation of their understandings of the Trinity. I examine how each draws from and employs scripture, tradition, reason, and experience in order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each theology. I then draw out the implications their images of God have for our understanding of the human person. From this foundation, I suggest specific virtues that are implied by each of their trinitarian images. In my discussion of the three theologians, I will be interested only in the images of the Trinity in their work and not with their larger constructive projects.

As I discuss the anthropologies, I introduce the feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray as an interlocutor. Several themes running through her work parallel those of the theologians I have chosen. Putting her in dialogue with each of their images of God will allow me to sharpen the definitions of the virtues implicit in those images.

In Chapter One, I briefly trace the resurgence of Christian virtue ethics. I show how virtue ethicists have begun to incorporate scripture and theology into their frameworks, as well as how more reflection on the Trinity is needed. I also overview the work of David Cunningham, the first thinker to propose a trinitarian virtue ethics. I show how our projects are similar and how they are different.

In Chapter Two, I show the benefits of employing multiple interpretations of God and outline my basic methodological approach. I explain each of the four sources of theological knowledge—scripture, tradition, reason, and experience—and show how interpreting a theologian through his or her use of the four sources is helpful.

Chapters Three, Four, and Five are the central chapters of the dissertation. In each of these chapters, I examine the work of one theologian, examining his or her interpretation of the Trinity and the implications it has for how we understand ourselves and the kinds of virtues we want to practice.

In Chapter Three, I examine the theology of John Zizioulas, who offers an understanding of God as a communion of freely given love between unique and irreplaceable persons. Personhood is a key term for Zizioulas and, for him, suggests not individuality but communion. To say that a member of the Trinity is a person is to say that this member exists only in relation to the others; "to be and to be in relation become identical. Zizioulas also applies his understanding of divine persons to human persons. Personal uniqueness is established not against but in communion with others, and each person in this relational existence is unrepeatable and irreplaceable. Zizioulas’ insistence on the absolute uniqueness of the person (both divine and human) leads him to recommend an ethical apophaticism, which rejects any attempt to classify or categorize persons. I bring Irigaray’s thoughts on difference and wonder into conversation with Zizioulas’ theology and show that wonder" emerges as the virtue implicit in his image of God.

In Chapter Four, I examine the theology of Elizabeth Johnson, who names in female terms—She Who Is—the God who enlivens, suffers with, sustains, and enfolds the universe. She begins with Spirit-Sophia, who is God’s personal engagement with and empowering presence in the world. Next is Jesus-Sophia, whose humiliating death on a cross overturns patriarchal understandings of masculinity. Finally, Mother-Sophia is the creative, life-giving force of all that exists. Johnson argues that the image of God as Mother opens up fresh ways of understanding God’s compassionate, creative power. Johnson’s symbol of God serves as a reminder that all of us—male and female—are equal in our dignity as creatures made in the image of God. I bring Irigaray’s thoughts on cultivating female subjectivity into conversation with Johnson’s theology and show that self-esteem emerges as the virtue implicit in her image of God.

In Chapter Five, I examine the theology of Catherine Keller, who reconsiders the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, suggesting instead a creation out of the primal chaos, or tehom. In Keller’s thought we find not an omnipotent God, but a God of interdependence. Keller names Tehom, the Depth of God and the matrix of possibility, as the first member of a Trinity of folds. This Depth is that which folds the world into God. The second member is the Difference of God, that which unfolds continually into the world. Thus, Depth as God enfolding all, and Difference as God unfolding into all. The third member of Keller’s Trinity, the Spirit of God, is the relation of relations. The Spirit suggests not only a divine interdependency but also the interdependence of creator and creation, and of all creatures. Keller’s theology is one in which chaos replaces the nihil and in which flux, carefully mediated by forms of stability, permanence and order, remains primary. I bring Irigaray’s thoughts on multiplicity and fluidity into conversation with Keller’s theology and show that open-endedness emerges as the virtue implicit in her image of God.

In Chapter Six, I take the virtues I have named—wonder, self-esteem, and open-endedness—and apply them in three different ways. I first show how they can be employed as methodological virtues that will help determine more trinitarian images to use. I then show how the trinitarian virtues modify or shed light on some of the traditional cardinal virtues. Finally, I apply all three virtues to a final case study, showing how they can help churches become more fully welcoming of people with physical disabilities.

Significance

Engaging with multiple images of God offers resources for reflection not only on who God is but also on who we are and who we want to become. In examining the images of God in the work of Zizioulas, Johnson, and Keller, I show how different understandings of God can yield different insights into the human person. This project is significant in several ways. First, it will contribute to Christian virtue ethics a needed theological reflection on the human person by considering in depth the implications trinitarian theology has for our understanding of what it means to be human. Using trinitarian theology will help give Christian virtue ethics further insight into human relationality, and using multiple trinitarian images will encourage a moral anthropology that appreciates diversity and is able to include traditionally marginalized groups—the physically or mentally disabled, sexual minorities, etc.

Second, the project also contributes to trinitarian ethics, which has not yet explored how using multiple images of God might allow for more flexible interpretations of both God and the human person. Third, by drawing from the theologies of a Catholic, a Protestant, and an Orthodox Christian, the project will contribute to the ecumenical dialogue in Christian ethics. Fourth, by examining the work of two feminist theologians and engaging feminist philosophy, it will contribute to the field of women’s studies in religion. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, by pulling out implications of trinitarian theology for virtue ethics, this project will help Christian pastors and laypeople apply their beliefs to their everyday lives. Because I have a background in catechesis and remain committed to the importance of good religious education, I hope this project will be accessible, interesting, and practical for everyday Christians.

When I first began my doctoral studies, I did not plan on employing virtue ethics as my primary ethical method. Virtue ethics seemed like the fashionable choice (everybody's doing it!), and, not wanting to follow the crowd, I resisted. Despite this initial resistance, I found virtue ethics intriguing and continued to explore it, yet for a time I still hesitated to claim it as my ethical framework. My resistance broke down one day when I realized that, in my real, day-to-day life, I was actually using virtue ethics. It struck me that many of the ways in which I make decisions—looking to role models, thinking of characteristics I'd like to embody, imagining the kind of person I wanted to become—were some of the key contributions of virtue ethics. So, while I was resisting virtue ethics academically, it turns out that I was already living it. Virtue ethics offers a practical approach to moral decision-making, takes a realistic picture of the contingencies of human life, and emphasizes the importance of the everyday, so it was, in the end, irresistible.

Just as certain experiences led me to adopt virtue ethics, so too did they spark an interest in trinitarian theology. In my college days, I assumed that the only way to refer to the Trinity was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that using the male pronoun for God exclusively was perfectly acceptable. Then one day, just as a little experiment, I used the female pronoun for God. I was amazed at the difference a simple switch—calling God She—made. Referring to God in the feminine, just once, made me think about God and myself completely differently. As I began to experiment with other names and images, as well as to read more theology, I became convinced that the words we use to name and describe God have a profound impact on how we understand ourselves, other people, God, and the world around us.

I hope that, in this dissertation, some of the practical implications of both virtue ethics and trinitarian theology will become clearer. Our understandings of God can have a major impact on how we understand ourselves. A trinitarian virtue ethics can help us make sense of different images of God and the ways in which they encourage certain virtues and compel us to become certain kinds of people.

James Gustafson notes that religious symbols and theological concepts are used to interpret the significance of other persons, of events, and of the circumstances in which action is possible and required. The trinitarian symbols I examine and the virtues they suggest—wonder, self-esteem, and open-endedness—can thus help guide our attitudes and actions. Putting wonder into practice may help us learn to respect the mystery and humanness of the other; practicing self-esteem calls us to greatness and to make room for the greatness of others; practicing the virtue of open-endedness may enable us to unfold our differences and to let go of the ways in which we have used those differences oppressively. Trinitarian theology and virtue ethics can combine to help us navigate our assumptions, attitudes, decisions, and actions.

I try throughout this dissertation to emphasize both the mystery of God and the mystery of being human. Virtue ethics offers me a practical approach to moral decision-making that resists abstract and universal rules. Trinitarian theology offers me a number of unique interpretations of God that emphasize that our language for God always falls short and is never exhausted. In combination, these two fields offer a trinitarian virtue ethics that, I hope, emphasizes that there are always multiple perspectives on both God and human beings. Trinitarian virtue ethics encourages Christians to live flexibly within this multiplicity and to remember that our lives reflect the images of God in many different ways, which is something to be celebrated.

An Emerging Trinitarian Virtue Ethics: Where We Are Now

This project draws from two main areas: contemporary trinitarian theology and virtue ethics. The contributions of contemporary trinitarian theology will become evident in later chapters. In this chapter, I overview the important contributions of virtue ethics to my project. I work within a virtue ethics framework throughout this dissertation, employing it both implicitly and explicitly, so it is important to note its central tenets. I begin with Thomas Aquinas’s account of the virtues and then move into more contemporary accounts. I show how contemporary Christian virtue theorists have begun to draw more heavily from scripture and the life of Jesus in their work. From this, I suggest four common elements of a virtue ethic moral anthropology. I then overview the work of David Cunningham, the first thinker to propose a trinitarian virtue ethics.

Virtue Ethics

To be an acorn is to have a taste for being an oak tree.

-Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Joseph Kotva defines virtue ethics as that which deals with the transition from who we are to who we could be. That is, virtue ethics aims to help us become a certain sort of person. A virtue ethic framework can be said to consist of three parts—a picture of who we are now, a picture of who we want to become, and a set of virtues that will help us get from one to the other. Because of this teleological focus, virtue ethics recognizes that as we grow physically and emotionally, we will also grow in virtue; becoming virtuous is necessarily a gradual process. Further, because acquiring virtues means practicing them, every moment of our lives is a chance to get better at being virtuous. As James Keenan puts it, virtue ethics sees the ordinary as the terrain on which the moral life moves. Virtue ethics is, in short, a practical, person-centered approach to good living.

Much contemporary virtue ethics is rooted in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas argues that humans have three levels of natural inclinations: those that we share with all living things, namely the desire for self-preservation; those that we share with other animals, such as the desire to reproduce and raise children; and, finally, those that are distinctly human, which include our desire to know God and to live in community. Directing each of the inclinations is the first principle of practical reason: good is to be done and pursued, and evil avoided. This principle directs our inclinations to what is good for us.

In essence, for Thomas, reasoned reflection on our natural inclinations leads us to discover what is good for humans, and it is through virtue that we are able to discern how we ought to