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| ISBN-13: | 9781782798781 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Collective Ink |
| Publication date: | 03/27/2015 |
| Pages: | 383 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.90(d) |
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A Different Way
A Human Approach to the Divine
By Roger Payne
John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2014 Roger PayneAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78279-878-1
CHAPTER 1
The Need for a New Paradigm
Christianity is not about the divine becoming human so much as it is about the human becoming divine. That is a paradigm shift of the first order. John Shelby Spong.
The concept of a paradigm in scientific discourse
The word paradigm first appeared in the English language in the fifteenth century and it meant 'pattern', 'example' or 'precedent' and it still bears this meaning today. However, in recent years it has more usually come to mean 'a way of looking at things', 'an interpretive framework' or 'a world view'. This newer meaning arises following the work of the historian of science, Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996). The Oxford English Dictionary Online summarises the modern usage of the word paradigm as 'a conceptual or methodological model underlying the theories and practices of a science or discipline at a particular time; (hence) a generally accepted world view.' The word is now part of general intellectual discourse and has been applied in many areas of knowledge. It has been widely used in science and is increasingly used in religion (www.oed.com).
The most important test of a scientific theory is that it is supported by experimental observations. In the 1950s it was claimed that these observations could be completely rational, objective and independent. They were not affected by any particular theoretical perspective. There were simply facts to be discovered. This empiricism was attacked in the 1960s by those who claimed that observations are always to some extent subjective and dependent on other factors. They always depend on the assumptions made by the observer, and on the way the observation is carried out. This attack on empiricism was taken further by Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn held that the thought and action of a scientific community are dominated by its paradigms, and that all attempts to assess theories through observation depend on the prevailing paradigm. The word paradigm describes the shared perspectives, assumptions and methods of the scientific community at a particular time and place (Kuhn, 2012).
Paradigm shifts can be well illustrated by reference to the world of Physics. Newtonian Mechanics was a perfectly satisfactory paradigm for most work in the physics of objects in motion until well into the twentieth century. It successfully accounted for the behaviour of motor cars and of rifle bullets. It was a way of looking at the world which produced results.
Moreover, it worked. However, following Einstein's work on Relativity in the early years of the twentieth century, it became clear that Newtonian Mechanics was unable to account for the way objects behave if they are very small and/or they are travelling at high speed, and that only a completely new approach could accommodate all the observations. There was therefore a paradigm shift from Newtonian Mechanics to Relativistic Mechanics within the scientific community. Experimental data was seen in new ways. New questions were posed and new answers sought. Newton's Laws were not discarded because they still worked in most routine situations but they were now seen within a wider context.
Sometimes old paradigms are perpetuated at the expense of the new. Ptolemaic Astronomy is a view of the universe based on a fixed earth around which the sphere of the fixed stars rotates every day carrying with it the spheres of the sun, moon, and planets. Ptolemy used geometric models to predict the positions of the sun, moon, and planets, using combinations of circular motion known as epicycles. As the number of observations increased, so did the complexity of epicyclic movement. And as discrepancies in observations increased, astronomers added more epicycles. It was only with the acceptance of the helio-centric or sun-centred theory of Copernicus in the sixteenth century that the geocentric or earth-centred theory of Ptolemy collapsed. This really was a revolution in scientific thought and well illustrates the notion of a paradigm shift.
There is not the space to give examples from other branches of science and the details of these paradigm shifts are not important for our purposes. What is important is that in the scientific world it has been found useful to identify these massive changes in perceptions as revolutions in scientific thinking. It is, of course, possible to argue with Karl Popper that Thomas Kuhn was wrong and that science does not progress in this way, but that would be to miss the point. The point is that changes of perception on this scale do happen and they do force us to look at a familiar world in a new way. And by looking at the world in this new way we find that every aspect of our previous approach to the data is challenged.
Historical paradigms in Christianity
One of most powerful writers of our time is the Swiss theologian Hans Kung (1928-). In his book Christianity: Its Essence and History, he argues that, 'it is possible, important and urgent to transfer the paradigm theory from the sphere of the natural sciences to that of religion and theology' (Kung, 1995:60).
He identifies five historical paradigms in Christianity – the Jewish apocalyptic paradigm of earliest Christianity; the Ecumenical Hellenistic paradigm of Christian antiquity; the Roman Catholic paradigm of the Middle Ages; the Protestant Evangelical paradigm of the Reformation; and the paradigm of modernity, oriented on reason and progress. But what were the characteristics of these paradigms?
The Jewish apocalyptic paradigm of earliest Christianity was based on the Jerusalem Church headed by James the brother of Jesus. Its characteristics included 'the eschatological horizon which the Jews who followed Jesus had in common with may Jews'. It also included the Jewish attitude to life, (including) the 'Mosaic ritual law, above all circumcision, Sabbath and festivals, (and) regulations about cleanness and food' (Kung 1995:77). The community is thought to have dispersed after the execution of James and before the outbreak of the Jewish-Roman war in 66 CE. Certainly, the complete destruction of Jerusalem in 135 CE and the expulsion of all Jews brought an end to the Jewish Christian community of Jerusalem and its dominant position in early Christianity. The overriding characteristic of this paradigm therefore is that during this period Christianity was seen through the lens of Judaism.
The Ecumenical Hellenistic paradigm of Christian antiquity arose in a shift from Jewish Christianity to Gentile Christianity as a result of the work of Paul and other Hellenistic Jewish Christians who settled in Antioch. Hellenistic civilisation arose from the spread of Greek language and culture into the Roman world following the conquests of Alexander the Great. Many people were absorbed into this culture despite the fact that they were not ethnically Greek and many communities arose that we have come to call Hellenistic. Antioch was one such community and had become a major city of the Roman Empire with a cosmopolitan population, the majority of whom spoke Greek. It was an important centre of international trade and it controlled the land routes to other important centres of the empire. It was here that the Hellenistic Jewish Christians first preached to the Gentiles and where the mixed community of Jews and Gentiles were first called Christians.
The person of Paul was fundamental to the paradigm shift. Although he was born and brought up as a Jew and had been strictly trained in the Pharisaic tradition, he was also imbued with the vibrant spirit of the Hellenistic age. Paul's message was that Gentiles could have unconditional access to God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ without having to submit to the demands of the Jewish law. As Paul spread this message passionately throughout the empire so Christianity broke away from the constraints of a small Jewish sect into the universal Christian religion that it soon became. In due course, 'there was an authentic inculturation of the Christian message in the world of Hellenistic culture' (Kung 1995:114). In other words, not only did this new religion make an impact on this culture but the influence of this culture made an impact on the evolution of its teachings.
The Roman Catholic paradigm of the Middle Ages arises as the centre of gravity of the Christian Church moves to Rome with the Pope at its head. Over the centuries tensions had arisen between the Greek speaking Eastern Church based in Constantinople and the Latin speaking Western Church based in Rome and a split becomes inevitable. Leadership of the Western Church is assumed by the Pope who claims apostolic succession from the Apostle Peter. He gains increasing power and control over peoples and events despite clashes with the civil power. The institution of the Roman Catholic Church becomes the focal point for that turbulent period which we call the Middle Ages.
There is also a theological shift taking place between the theoretical and philosophical concerns of the Eastern Church and the more practical and pastoral interests of the Western Church. This shift comes to its climax in the work of Augustine (354-430) who laid the foundations for a new theological paradigm. He was closely involved with the great controversies of his time and established new theological frameworks which were forged in the great upheavals of the decline of the Roman Empire. It is not necessary to describe Augustine's contribution in detail, merely to point out that one man can be the trigger for great change.
One man was also responsible for triggering the paradigm shift to the Protestant Evangelical Paradigm of The Reformation and that man was Martin Luther (1483-1546). By the beginning of the sixteenth century the Roman Catholic Church was in crisis. The institution had become a monster with exaggerated power and blatant corruption at its heart and was ripe for fundamental change. The papacy was under threat from within and without as different factions fought for control; its civil power disintegrated with the rise of the nation states. The lower echelons of the church were in disarray and the people were left to flounder in a mire of magic and superstition.
Luther's message was grounded in the demand that the church and its theology return to the gospel of Jesus Christ as originally attested in Holy Scripture and in particular in the writings of Paul. He believed that the Roman Catholic Church had so distorted and abused the gospel that only wholesale reform would do. Kung puts it this way: 'Against all the traditions, laws and authorities ... Luther sets the primacy of scripture (sola scriptura). Against all the saints and mediators ... Luther sets the primacy of Jesus Christ (sola Christus). Against all 'works', Luther sets the primacy of 'grace' (sola gratia)' (Kung 1995:537). Despite what appears to be a profound theological shift, Luther's aim was not so much the reformulation of doctrine as the renewal of the church.
For Hans Kung, the Paradigm of Modernity arose not from within but from outside Christianity. 'Up to the seventeenth century, Western culture, whether Catholic or Protestant, had been essentially shaped and pervaded by Christianity. But now an intellectual life was developing independently of the church and increasingly against it' (Kung 1995:675). This new intellectual life was based on the authority of human reason and we call it the Enlightenment. Although this new movement sometimes opposed the church, its proponents were not necessarily atheists. What had changed was the perspective from which questions of ultimate truth were addressed. No longer were these questions instinctively answered by reference to the authority of the Church or the Bible but by reference to human reason.
Not surprisingly, this new movement was resisted by many religious individuals and institutions that saw it as a threat to the authority of scripture and tradition. But it rapidly acquired a momentum which propelled it inexorably forward like a breath of fresh air generating new understandings of freedom, toleration and progress in its wake. No longer were political, social, economic and cultural processes dictated by religious, theological and ecclesiastical demands but quite the reverse. People started to take control of their own destiny. They believed that they had 'come of age'.
The impact of all this on both scripture and tradition was considerable. One of the defining movements of the new paradigm was the emergence of historical biblical criticism and the quest for the historical Jesus. Both movements sought to subject biblical texts to the kind of scrutiny that would reveal its true nature. In particular, which parts were historical and which needed to be understood in a different way. Although there were, and still are, those who insist on a literal reading of the scriptures, the consensus is that this wonderful book contains truths of many different kinds. For a whole host of reasons it became untenable to treat the Bible as inerrant and to read it literally.
Although many contributed to the new paradigm shift, it is Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) who can be described as the paradigmatic theologian of modernity. For here was a truly modern man who was comfortable with modern art, music and literature and who embraced modern science and philosophy. He was also a religious man. But for him, God was not a super-natural being but the 'ground of all being'. For him, religion was 'the feeling of ultimate dependence' on that God. But, according to Kung, 'this feeling is not to be understood in a restricted psychological sense as Romantic enthusiastic emotion, but in a comprehensive, existential way as a sense of being encountered at the centre, as immediate religious self-awareness' (Kung 1995:699).
The Paradigm of Modernity came to an end in the early years of the twentieth century when so much was shattered by the FirstWorld War. But even before these cataclysmic events which modernity was unable to prevent it had become clear that the foundations of this paradigm were inadequate. Reason is only one of a multitude of human faculties. As Kung puts it, 'man does not live by reason alone. And the human spirit can do more than calculate and measure, analyse and rationalize'. And progress cannot continue unchecked. 'Subdue the earth in the biblical account of creation means the consciously responsible use and cherishing of nature and not unscrupulous exploitation and progressive destruction'(Kung 1995:767-768).
In his book, Theology for the Third Millennium, Kung describes the collapse of the paradigm of modernity and the emergence of a new paradigm which, for want of a better word, he describes as 'postmodern'. Although this new paradigm is difficult to define, it is radically different. It embraces the world as it is in a way that previous paradigms have never done, but at the same time holds on to eternal truths that have stood the test of time. It is a paradigm of both continuity and change. For Kung, the 'shape' of the theology of this new paradigm would be:
'Catholic', constantly labouring on behalf of the 'whole', the 'universal' Church – and at the same time 'Protestant', strictly intent on Scripture, on the Gospel; 'traditional', always responsible in the face of history – and at the same time 'contemporary', passionately addressing the issues of the present; 'Christocentric', decisively and distinctively Christian – and still 'ecumenical', oriented towards the 'ecumene', the whole 'inhabited globe', all Christian churches, all religions, all regions; theoretical-scholarly, occupied with teaching and truth – and at the same time practical-pastoral, labouring on behalf of life, renewal, and reform.' (Kung, 1988:206).
A new paradigm for Christianity
One form that such a theology might take is outlined by the American theologian Marcus Borg in his book, The Heart of Christianity. In this book, Borg identifies what he sees as a new paradigm of Christianity which is emerging to challenge the old. This paradigm change is 'not about a few items of Christian theology or behaviour, but between two comprehensive ways of seeing Christianity as a whole (Borg, 2003:7).
The earlier paradigm sees Christianity as grounded in divine authority. For Protestants, that authority is primarily in the Bible, with large numbers of people subscribing to literal and inerrant understandings of biblical texts. For Roman Catholics, authority is in both the Bible, and in the Church which is expressed in the teaching office of the church, and in the notion of apostolic succession, or in papal authority. For both groups, 'the earlier paradigm sees the Bible as a divine product ... it is the unique revelation of God' (Borg, 2003:7).
This paradigm is also reflected in the language and the liturgy of the church. It is reflected in the words we use to describe the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We speak of God in anthro-pomorphic terms and yet as 'wholly other', and cannot cope with the tension between transcendence and immanence. We describe Jesus as fully human and fully divine, but cannot cope with the conflict between our understandings of humanity and divinity. We conceive of the Holy Spirit as some external agent that can be called upon to perform at our behest, not as something which permeates everything in human relationships which builds rather than destroys. Our attempts at articulating the essence of Trinitarian faith are weak.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Different Way by Roger Payne. Copyright © 2014 Roger Payne. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement viii
Preface 1
Introduction 2
The Need for a New Paradigm 24
God as Love 35
Jesus as Human 50
The Primacy of Humanity 69
The Crisis of Religious Integrity 87
The Recovery of Virtue 106
Wisdom 119
Justice 136
Courage 157
Temperance 171
Faith 184
Hope 197
Love 213
Goodness 230
Truth 243
Beauty 257
Mystery 268
Creativity 283
Imagination 295
Freedom 307
Generosity 321
Compassion 334
Transformation 346
Conclusion 357
References & Bibliography 366