Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

-----

Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write from the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

The Grammar of Messianism, by Matthew V. Novenson



The Grammar of Messianism
An Ancient Jewish Political Idiom and Its Users

by Matthew V. Novenson
  • Offers a revisionist account of messianism in antiquity.
  • Presents an unconventional appeal to both Jewish and Christian evidence as mutually informative.
  • Presents a novel research program for a classic corpus of texts.
  • Engages a detailed discussion of some little understood and newly published ancient texts.

Description

Messianism is one of the great themes in intellectual history. But for precisely this reason, because it has done so much important ideological work for the people who have written about it, the historical roots of the discourse itself have been obscured from view. What did it mean to talk about "messiahs" in the ancient world, before the idea of messianism became a philosophical juggernaut, dictating the terms for all subsequent discussion of the topic? In this book, Matthew V. Novenson gives a revisionist account of messianism in antiquity. He shows that, for the ancient Jews and Christians who used the term, a messiah was not an article of faith but a manner of speaking. It was a scriptural figure of speech, one among numerous others, useful for thinking kinds of political order: present or future, real or ideal, monarchic or theocratic, dynastic or charismatic, and other variations beside. The early Christians famously seized upon the title "messiah" (in Greek, "Christ") for their founding hero and thus molded the sense of the term in certain ways, but, Novenson shows, this is nothing other than what all ancient messiah texts do, each in its own way. If we hope to understand the ancient texts about messiahs (from Deutero-Isaiah to the Parables of Enoch, from the Qumran Community Rule to the Gospel of John, from the Pseudo-Clementines to Sefer Zerubbabel), then we must learn to think in terms not of a world-historical idea but of a language game, of so many creative reuses of an archaic Israelite idiom. In The Grammar of Messianism, Novenson demonstrates the possibility and the benefit of thinking of messianism in this way.

Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. After the Messianic Idea
2. Oil and Power in Ancient Israel
3. Messiahs Born and Made
4. Messiahs Present and Absent
5. The Quest for the First Messiah
6. The Jewish Messiah-Christian Messiah Distinction
7. The Fate of Messiah Christology in Early Christianity
8. The Grammar of Messianism
Bibliography
Index of Subjects
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors

Author Information

Matthew V. Novenson, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Matthew V. Novenson is Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. He has also been a visiting professor at Dartmouth College and Duke University and a visiting research fellow at Durham University. He is the author of Christ among the Messiahs (Oxford University Press, 2012).


* * * * * * * *


Matthew Novenson - The Grammar of Messianism
October 3, 2017




* * * * * * * *


CHRIST AMONG THE DISCIPLINES
CONFERENCE NOTES
 https://www.christamongthedisciplines.com/
by R.E. Slater
November 18, 2020

 

Please note: I write these notes to myself. They are not intended to be exact transcriptions from the speakers themselves. What I have written are not their words but my own thoughts. - res

Please note: All panelists provided textual statements for comments to attendees. These are not allowed to be publically published as they are intended to form to the moment-in-time not replicable beyond the panel discussions themselves as very specific conversations to one another in the AAR setting


Introduction by Madhavi Nevader

"Putting the Messianism back into Judaism."
  • Grammar, a love song to exegesis, as we return to biblical studies and second temple Judaism.
  • Symbol of Oil. Anointing conveys the status of power to the chosen priest, prophet, leader, or king. From the mundane to the holy. The dedication of an office and the person filling the office to execute their duties faithfully to God, the people, and to all those affected by that office.
  • What are the rules of Messianic grammar? Are do the Messiah texts correlate with one another?
  • How does Messianism connect to Judahistic politics? In itself Messianism is politics.
  • What does all this mean and where is it going?


Judaism (originally from Hebrew יהודה‎, Yehudah, "Judah";[1][2] via Latin and Greek) is an ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people.[3][4] Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Children of Israel.[5] It encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. The Torah is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide,[6] Judaism is the tenth largest religion in the world.

Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism,[7] which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.[8] Historically, all or part of this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period;[9] the Karaites during the early and later medieval period; and among segments of the modern non-Orthodox denominations. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic.[10] Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel.[11] Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditionalist interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.[12][13] Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary.[14] Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the rabbis and scholars who interpret them.[15]

Judaism has its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.[16] It evolved from ancient Israelite religions around 500 BCE,[17] and is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions.[18][19] The Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as "Jews" in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title "Children of Israel".[20] Judaism's texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baháʼí Faith.[21][22] Hebraism, like Hellenism, played a seminal role in the formation of Western civilization through its impact as a core background element of Early Christianity.[23]

Jews are an ethnoreligious group[24] including those born Jewish, in addition to converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population.[25] About 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and another 43% reside in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other minority groups spread throughout Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.[25] 
 

Judaism and politics


The relationship between Judaism and politics is a historically complex subject, and has evolved over time concurrently with both changes within Jewish society and religious practice, and changes in the general society of places where Jewish people live. In particular, Jewish political thought can be split into four major eras: biblical (prior to Roman rule), rabbinic (from roughly the 100 BCE to 600 CE), medieval (from roughly 600 CE to 1800 CE), and modern (18th century to the present day).

Political leadership is a common topic in the Hebrew Bible, and several different political models are described across its canon, usually composed of some combination of tribal federation, monarchy, a priestly theocracy, and rule by prophets. Political organization during the Rabbinic and Medieval generally involved semi-autonomous rule by Jewish councils and courts (with council membership often composed purely of rabbis) that would govern the community and act as representatives to secular authorities outside the Jewish community. Beginning in the 19th century, and coinciding with the expansion of the political rights accorded to individual Jews in European society, Jews would affiliate with and contribute theory to a wide range of political movements and philosophies.



Reflections by Katherine Hockey
  • How does one explore the grammar of Messianism? What are the rules? Where do we start?
  • How do we take the linguistic basis into the historicity of societal norms and understandings.
  • Messiah language is a regional, geographic, cultural understanding between the Jewish people.
  • It relates to political and spiritual leadership.
  • Does power reside in the person of the office? In viewpoint of responsibilities?
  • What are our definitions and categories?
  • Deconstructive and Reconstructive efforts seem to rearrange the grammar and rules it seems.
  • How does OT Messianism relate to NT Christology?
  • How did it continue in the early church period and afterwards in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries?
  • This would be in relationship to Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice and the destruction of the Temple.

Reflections by Philip Zeigler
  • Novenson's book taught me a lot re Ancient Messianic texts.
  • A sustained argument to return to the texts and follow how the word runs in its connotations.
  • Therapeutic - 
  • Reflected - how have we changed its meaning to the original intention of the cultures of their day?
  • Construction of a Venn Diagram Cloud of Messianic Meanings applicable per Jewish, Christian,
  •         and later day understanding.
  • How does Messianism connect with the politics of yesteryear's and today's Jewish communities
  •         and churches in their uses of it in their doctrines today?
  • What are the normative practices between faith communities?
  • How do the discriminate or don't discriminate when in use?
  • Are these practices good, fair, kind, loving, wrong, unfair, incoherent, betraying, or false?
  • True or False? Did Israel v. Church see Messiah differently between their faiths. One Descriptive of Messiah versus the other as Constitutive of Messiah.
  • How are we to misspeak of the event and figure of Jesus to better speak of the Messianic event?

Reflections by Ruben Rosario Rodriguez
  • How does one account for all the Messianic texts from the Jewish and Christian understanding?
  • Resisting Christian anti-semetism prevalent in Christian supersessionism (where the church
  •         replaces Israel as God's covenanted people. Later, after the Holocaust, the church recognizes
  •         Israel as God's rightful people and the church as the grafted in branch to God's covenanted
  •         children). cf Wikipedia - supersessionism.
  • Impressed by openness to reading non-Christian, non-Jewish sources.
  • Apocalypsis - Revelation, Uncover, Disclose = ~~ Messiology where God reveals, uncovers, and
  •         discloses Himself. Barth - Jesus as both norm, hope, and personage of the Jewish God.
  • Religions are like languages describing a set of faith rules within a specific religious community.
  • Heritage, Source Tradition v. Living Messianism.
  • ...
  • Messianism has required the church to speak more clearly of God's covenants, its peoples, inheritors,
  • anti-semitism, and Zionism re God's love, discrimination, inherited biases, etc.

Speaker Matthew Novenson
  • My note: all reflections seemed to lean critically into the author's titled work.
  • Matt then answers each reflection one by one in turn as they have spoken. I found him excellent as his own self-advocate before this board of judgments meant kindly but candidly. 
  • My work covers Messianism from the 6th Century BCE to 6th Century CE
  • Everything goes back to ancient Israel. Oil anointing of stones, altars, things, and humans, as proxies of the deity being honored and obeyed. To elicit or underline sanctity.
    • Side Note to myself - Political implications: What are the social consequences of transforming a person into a God? Ex. Trumpism. They become "untouchable" to the society they serve. But are they sanctified? Are they God given, or God granted, especially when in their character, policies, and office is shown to be distinctly unholy, ungodly, unloving, unjust? Trumpism teaches us that it is right and proper to remove such "Messianic" figures from office and try to undo the evil of their influences.
  • Prophet, Priest, and King - the assumptions of all previous and separate OT sanctified offices into Jesus Himself.
  • Jesus anointed by the Spirit of God under John the Baptist with reading of an OT text.
  • The anointing of Jesus feet was not a royal anointing but a death/baptismal ritual
  • Acts - Jesus anointed by the HS and with power (verse?)
  • Christians are both anointed by the Spirit as well as baptised into the Spirit
  • The Israelite Offices were always political as is any public office of a society. 
  • After 70 CE when the Temple was gone the offices of priest continues in Judahism. Each Jewish community anoints its own shabat houses, later Jewish worship centers.
  • The book is not theological but historical and philological throughout. It may draw out some theology but it is not its main intentions. Thus, is there a descriptive normative distinction of Messianism? Yes, but its complicated. What the text meant then and means now is always complicated in guessing a society's intentions. 
  • "So yes, in the historical sense it is. It is the best we have to date of other comparative accounts. That one should think about these texts as I have written of them." - Matt Novenson
If Messianism is a language game then who wins it? Jews or Christians? Matt says it is unanswerable. It is a zero-sum one-on-one conflict. You play the game for the fun of it but it has no meaning for "winning" overall. The texts are not competitions but advocacy for the people of their day. It is never meant to be played directly against one another but to receive it from one another as vessels of sanctity and blessing upon the other.
Ruben - "Is Matt side-stepping the theological or religious over the political?"

Matt - "I suggest we learn to read biblical texts more charitably to one another."
  • Messianism is for all faiths, religions, peoples, not just one or two faiths. Consider Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, etc.

Q&A between Speaker, Hosts, and Guests

1.
Madhavi to Phil - Deviant Messianism as not become the new Messianism.

Phil - It's how we see Jesus isn't it? It's how we twist His figure this way or that. The only anointing of oil of Jesus is non-existent except by the unnamed woman. Why is it that the NT writers never mention this? Had this symbolism lost its savor? Its meaning? Or was Jesus not wishing a political designation?

Pauline use of Christ as Messiah constitutes for him as a Jew the fulment of the office. He changing the OT contours to NT contours.

2.
Madhavi to Matt - Are we strictly beholden to the sources we have or do we have some freedom to go beyond these texts into contemporary relevancy. To have permission to move away from the ideal to the benevolent? That is, the idea of Messianism is not deviant but its message has become deviant by religious bodies.

Matt - long answer.

3.
Kate to Phil and Ruben - How do we talk about Jesus as Christ? 

Phil - In the grammars of Messianism is Jesus as the Christ deflated all the way down, up or sideways?
Does Messianism go beyond the individual to the societal?

Ruben - Constructive Theologies are being written today of Messianism versus previous deconstructive theologies such as speaking to supersessionsim's unhelpfulness of a monolithic orthodoxy. There have been stigmas that have arisen over the years and have attached to such things as the death and suffering of God in Christ.







AAR/SBL 2020 Conference: Christ Among the Disciplines


Christ Among the Disciplines

As many of you will have heard by now, AAR/SBL will no longer be convening in Boston this upcoming November. This is sad news for many, as the gathering is a time to reconnect with a number of friends and former colleagues, not to mention help up-and-coming scholars network with the leading experts in their field. Nevertheless, this was a wise decision made in consultation with the advice of leading medical specialists, and it is necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

That being said, a group of graduate students (identified below) are hosting an online, interdisciplinary conference on the subject of Christology during this window of time (November 18th–25th). The idea for an event like this was discussed some time ago during an interdisciplinary reading group on Christology, but it remained only an exciting idea until AAR/SBL moved their event online, signaling that online discourse will likely be the modus operandi for academic gatherings for the foreseeable future. After that decision was announced on July 13th, 2020, it was determined that this idea could come to fruition in the form of an online conference, which has since grown far beyond our wildest imaginations. Since that date, plans for the conference have been underway.

With regard to the event itself, we are planning (16) book panels on recent publications in Christology from biblical scholars, theologians, and philosophers. Each book panel will be composed of an interdisciplinary selection of around 4 world-leading scholars, most of which will be followed by a response from the author. The event will also include break-away sessions where graduate students and early-career academics will be able to present their own research on topics related to Christology (which will take place on December 11th–13th). 

This conference will also be unique in that the papers for the various book panels will be distributed to conference attendees in advance of the live event. The link to these essays may be found in the confirmation email sent out to registrants for the conference. Upon reading the papers, conference attendees will be given the opportunity to pre-submit questions for the panelists using a secure link. Additionally, rather than per usual (listening to 4–5 papers straight through), conference participants will instead get to experience a discussion amongst panelists who will first summarize, rather than read, their respective essays. This will not only help avoid the fatigue that arises from online video conferencing, but it will also make for a much more interesting event!

Unlike the hefty fee to participate in the online version of AAR/SBL, however, we are tentatively planning on a modest entrance fee at a fraction of the cost for participants. Bearing that in mind, if you are interested in attending and participating in the “Christ Among the Disciplines” conference, make sure to register today!

Note: All net proceeds will be directed toward transitioning this conference into an annual venture!

It is, however, with great regret that we were unable to secure a more representative and equitable selection of speakers for this year’s conference. With only about three months to plan this event, the majority of all of the invitations that we sent out were politely turned down due to a lack of time to prepare a response. Additional administrative responsibilities (disproportionately affecting scholars of color) — including especially those who needed to prepare for both in-person and online teaching — were a major barrier for most of the scholars that we initially sent invitations to. This failure will not happen again.

Use of the Conference Funds

With regard to the future, our hope is to plan a similar conference of this nature on an annual basis, the next of which is tentatively slated to occur in the summer of 2022. If there is enough interest, we also hope to incorporate an annual lecture series with an invited lecturer. The idea, in other words, is to cultivate something of an online version of AAR/SBL (without membership fees!) that is far more affordable and (hopefully) quite interesting as well. The conference will not, however, be “competing” with AAR/SBL, as the events will not overlap with one another.

Decisions about the appropriation of conference funds — for the hiring of web developers, event planners, and expenses for future events — will be made in consultation with the steering committee. In order to be as above-board as possible, the conference organizers will be establishing an independent bank account for conference funds to be overseen by the steering committee. However, due to the onset of the pandemic, EventBrite (our ticket provider) is not allocating funds from the event until (5) days after the event’s completion, meaning that no funds from conference registration will be allocated until early December 2020. As a result of this, along with the fact that the organizers received no grants or external funding to plan and execute this event, all up-front costs for the website, the hosting platform, and advertising have come out of the pockets of the organizers themselves.

Should anyone desire to listen in on the video conference with the steering committee to discuss the allocation of conference funds, the event will be open to the public, and all are welcome. Any further inquiries about the allocation of funds can be sent via email here.

AAR/SBL 2020 Conference Schedule

Speakershttps://www.christamongthedisciplines.com/

Can’t make it to every session? No worries! Anyone who purchases a ticket will receive access to recordings of the event for later viewing.

The various book panels will be hosted on the following days and times:

Wednesday, November 18th:

  • Matthew Novenson, The Grammar of Messianism

    • 8:00 – 10:30 AM — (California)

    • 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM — (New York)

    • 4:00 – 6:30 PM — (London)

  • J. R. Daniel Kirk, A Man Attested by God

    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM — (California)

    • 2:00 – 4:00 PM — (New York)

    • 7:00 – 9:00 PM — (London)

Thursday, November 19th:

  • Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel

    • 7:00 – 9:30 AM — (California)

    • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM — (New York)

    • 3:00 – 5:30 PM — (London)

  • Chris Tilling, Paul’s Divine Christology

    • 12:00 – 2:30 PM — (California)

    • 3:00 – 5:30 PM — (New York)

    • 8:00 – 10:30 PM — (London)

Friday, November 20th:

  • Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion

    • 7:00 – 9:30 AM — (California)

    • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM — (New York)

    • 3:00 – 5:30 PM — (London)

  • Natalie Carnes, Image and Presence

    • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM — (California)

    • 1:00 – 3:30 PM — (New York)

    • 6:00 – 8:30 PM — (London)

Saturday, November 21st:

  • Timothy Pawl, In Defense of Conciliar Christology

    • 5:00 – 7:30 AM — (California)

    • 8:00 – 10:30 AM — (New York)

    • 1:00 – 3:30 PM — (London)

  • Rowan Williams, Christ the Heart of Creation

    • 8:00 – 10:30 AM — (California)

    • 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM — (New York)

    • 4:00 – 6:30 PM — (London)

  • Thomas Joseph White, The Incarnate Lord

    • 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM — (California)

    • 2:00 – 4:30 PM — (New York)

    • 7:00 – 9:30 PM — (London)

Sunday, November 22nd:

  • Ian McFarland, The Word Made Flesh

    • 8:00 – 10:30 AM — (California)

    • 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM — (New York)

    • 4:00 – 6:30 PM — (London)

  • Kathryn Tanner, Christ the Key

    • 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM — (California)

    • 2:00 – 4:30 PM — (New York)

    • 7:00 – 9:30 PM — (London)

    • 8:00 – 10:30 AM — (New Zealand, Monday, November 23rd)

Monday, November 23rd:

  • Richard Cross, Communicatio Idiomatum

    • 8:30 – 10:30 AM — (California)

    • 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM — (New York)

    • 4:30 – 6:30 PM — (London)

    • 4:30 – 6:30 AM — (Fiji, Tuesday, November 24th)

  • Darren Sumner, Karl Barth and the Incarnation

    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM — (California)

    • 2:00 – 4:00 PM — (New York)

    • 7:00 – 9:00 PM — (London)

Tuesday, November 24th:

  • Dong-Kun Kim, The Future of Christology

    • 8:00 – 9:45 AM — (California)

    • 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM — (New York)

    • 4:00 – 5:45 PM — (London)

  • Joerg Rieger, Jesus vs. Caesar

    • 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM — (California)

    • 1:00 – 3:30 PM — (New York)

    • 6:00 – 8:30 PM — (London)

    • 6:00 – 8:30 AM — (Fiji, Wednesday, November 25th)

Wednesday, November 25th:

  • Tripp Fuller, Divine Self-Investment

    • 5:30 – 8:00 AM — (California)

    • 8:30 – 11:00 AM — (New York)

    • 1:30 – 4:00 PM — (London)

  • William Willimon, “Concluding Remarks”

    • 8:15 – 9:00 AM — (California)

    • 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM — (New York)

    • 4:15 – 5:00 PM — (London)



* * * * * * * * *


Break-away session topics

            • Jesus Who?
            • The Grammar of Christology
            • The Jesus of History and the Task of Christology
            • The Subject of Election
            • Dialectical vs. Analytic Christology
            • Conciliar Orthodoxy?
            • The genus tapeinoticon

1. Jesus Who?

  • One of the biggest difficulties facing those who would like to enter into the realm of christological discourse centers on the question of what precisely we mean when we employ the word “Jesus.” Are we intending to refer to the psychosomatic entity who lived some two thousand years ago in and around Palestine? Or perhaps we have in view the various literary portraits of the central figure of the New Testament corpus? Or maybe we are calling to mind the metaphysical framework of the Chalcedonian Definition, not least of which includes the transcendental category of hypostasis that is not to be reduced to, or equated with, the assumed human nature? Whatever the case may be, lack of clarity about what precisely we want to denote and connote when invoking the word “Jesus” has and continues to create confusion amongst those in the inherently interdisciplinary sphere commonly referred to as Christology. Bearing that in mind, those who would like to respond to this prompt will be tasked with the responsibility of creating and explaining a detailed taxonomy about the various ways in which the word “Jesus” might reasonably be employed. Three possibilities present themselves:

    • (1) Jesus and History

      • Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with creating and explaining a detailed taxonomy that might distinguish between, amongst other things:

      • (1) the actual Jesus of history;
        (2) the perceptions of Jesus as he was encountered in history;
        (3) the memories about Jesus amongst those who encountered him (or learned of him);
        (4) the risen/ascended/exalted Jesus, the one who served as the basis of early Christian faith;
        (5) Jesus as he was “re-remembered” (for lack of a better word) in the light of one’s belief in his resurrection/ascension/exaltation;
        (6) the Jesus of history as documented (however accurately) in the extant textual evidence; and,
        (7) the historical Jesus as reconstructed by historians.

      • Particular attention should be given to which of the above might or might not be in view when we say things such as “Jesus foresaw (or did not foresee) his impending passion,” or “Jesus grew in knowledge and understanding,” or “Jesus knew (or did not know) that he was the messiah,” or “Jesus knew (or did not know) that he was God the second person of the Trinity,” or “Jesus encountered Saul on the Damascus road.”

    • (2) Jesus and Metaphysics

      • Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with creating and explaining a detailed taxonomy that might distinguish between, amongst other things, whether “Jesus” might refer to: (1) the human nature alone (whether conceived in concrete or abstract terms); (2) the hypostasis / “person” alone (whether conceived as a “divine person” or a “divine-human person”); (3) the hypostasis / “person” and the human nature (whether conceived as a “divine person and a concrete/abstract human nature” or a “divine-human person and a concrete/abstract human nature”); or (4) the hypostasis / person and the human nature and the divine nature.

      • Particular attention should be given to which of the above might or might not be in view when we say thing such as “Jesus is the subject of election” (à la Barth), or “Jesus created the world,” or “Jesus was born of Mary,” or “Jesus suffered and died and rose on the third day.”

    • (3) Jesus, History, and Metaphysics

      • Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with creating and explaining a detailed taxonomy that coherently organizes and addresses both of the above two prompts. Particular attention should be given to answering the following: what might we mean when we say that “the infant Jesus did (or did not) know that he was God the second person of the Trinity,” or that “Jesus experienced temptation,” or that “Jesus was (or was not) able to sin,” or that “Jesus did (or did not) raise himself from the dead”?

2. The Grammar of Christology

  • Much of the debates surrounding contemporary christological discourse center on a number of technical distinctions made between (e.g.) the Logos asarkos and Logos ensarkos, the Logos incarnandus and the Logos incarnatus, the humanitas Christi and the extra Calvinisticum, etc. Indeed, at issue in these debates concerns nothing less than the identity of the eternal Word of God, the agent of creation, the nature of the incarnation, one’s understanding of the sacraments, and much besides. Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with the responsibility of carefully defining (perhaps amongst others) the following terms and assessing their suitability (or lack thereof) for christological reflection:

    • (a) The eternal Logos

    • (b) The Logos asarkos

    • (c) The Logos incarnandus

    • (d) The Logos ensarkos / Logos incarnatus

    • (e) The humanitas Christi

    • (f) The extra Calvinisticum

    • (g) The resurrected Jesus

    • (h) The ubiquitous Jesus

    • (i) The glorified Jesus

    • (j) The totus Christus

  • Particular attention should be given to questions like the following: Can we narrate the “life of the Logos,” moving forward, as it were, from the eternal Logos, to the Logos incarnandus, to the Logos ensarkos, to the resurrected Jesus, to the ubiquitous Jesus, to the glorified Jesus? Or is the attempt to narrate the “life of the second person of the Trinity” in these terms inherently problematic? What use, if any, may be found in appeals to the so-called extra Calvinisticum? Of which of the above may it rightly be said to have been the subject of election, the Creator of the world, born of Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, rose again, and will come again in glory? Which of the above must not be in view?

3. The Jesus of History and the Task of Christology

  • Cast against the backdrop of the ever-widening “ugly, broad ditch” between the disciplines of history, exegesis, and theology, the question of the significance of the Jesus of history for the task of theology is as relevant today as it has ever been. Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with addressing the following:

    • (1) What is the relationship between the lived history of the man Jesus of Nazareth and divine revelation?

    • (2) What is the relationship between the historical study of the man Jesus of Nazareth and the task of Christology?

    • (3) What is the relationship between the historical-critical study of the Gospel portraits of Jesus and the task of Christology?

  • Particular attention should be given not only to the intellectual context in which the gulf between biblical studies and theology originated, but also to the concerns for clarity identified in prompts (1) and (2) above. Indeed, respondents should consider it prerequisite to attend to prompt #1 (“Jesus Who?”) in particular when approaching this subject. Cf. Sarah Coakley, Christ without Absolutes, and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, if additional dialogue partners are needed.

4. The Subject of Election

  • Much ink has been spilled over Bruce McCormack’s controversial proposal that Barth’s revised doctrine of election in Church Dogmatics II/2 constituted a shift in Barth’s understanding of the Trinity. While many are willing to concede that Barth’s account offers a compelling alternative to the decretum absolutum (“absolute decree”) of the Calvinistic doctrine of double predestination, not everyone is comfortable with how McCormack interprets Barth’s notion that Jesus is not only the object of election — the one in whom God’s salvific judgment is enacted — but also its eternal subject. Whatever the case may be, respondents to this prompt will be tasked with bringing McCormack’s proposal into critical dialogue with the Christological vision outlined in Ian McFarland’s latest book, The Word Made Flesh. In what ways might the two share more common ground than McFarland lets on? In what ways (if at all) are their respective convictions actually at odds with one another?

  • Particular attention should be given not only to McFarland’s explicit references to McCormack on pp. 30n14 and 87n42, but also to the concerns for clarity identified in prompts (1) and (2) above. Indeed, respondents should consider it prerequisite to attend to prompt #2 (“The Grammar of Christology”) in particular when approaching this subject. Cf. Michael T. Dempsey (ed.), Trinity and Election in Contemporary Theology if additional dialogue partners are needed.

5. Dialectical vs. Analytic Christology

  • In recent years, two distinct schools of thought have been acquiring greater prominence: (1) “dialectical” theology; and (2) “analytic” theology. Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with assessing the viability (or otherwise) of these two schools of thought insofar as they impinge upon the task of Christology.

  • Particular attention should be given to the presuppositions, tools, methods, and goals of the respective schools of thought, along with an assessment of their relative significance (or otherwise) for theological reflection.

6. Conciliar Orthodoxy?

  • The question as to the nature of “conciliar orthodoxy” has proved relevant as of late, and attempts to answer this question have varied to a great extent largely dependent upon whether or not one has a preference for historical theology on the one hand, or systematic theology on the other. Respondents to this prompt will be tasked with addressing some (or all) of the following:

    • (1) Is there such a thing as “conciliar orthodoxy”?

      • On this point see, inter alia, Timothy Pawl, In Defense of Conciliar Orthodoxy (2016), and Virginia Burrus, “History, Theology, Orthodoxy, Polydoxy,” in Modern Theology (2014).

    • (2) In what ways might certain aspects of “conciliar orthodoxy” (if there be such a thing) stand at odds with (or in harmony with) various christological impulses in the New Testament?

      • On this point, consider addressing, amongst others, claims from Leo’s Tome, Maximus the Confessor on dyothelitism, and the conciliar commitment to Mary’s perpetual virginity.

    • (3) If “conciliar orthodoxy” is, as Richard Bauckham argues, a conceptual translation of the early high Christology of the New Testament into the idiom of Greek metaphysics, then what hope might there be for the Christian kerygma to be translated into different conceptual categories? Is this something that the Church ought to pursue, or is a retrenchment to patristic sources the best way forward for contemporary theology?

7. The genus tapeinoticon

  • Questions remain as to the compatibility of Martin Luther’s Christology and that of the Chalcedonian Definition. Is Luther best understood as the precursor to the modern endorsement of divine passibility, or simply an extension of his late medieval context? Whatever the case may be, multiple scholars on Luther’s theology have noted his unique understanding of the communicatio idiomatum (“communication of the attributes”), moving beyond a mere communication of divine and human attributes to his person, but instead to a sharing (in some sense) of certain attributes among the two natures. This becomes prominent, of course, in the Eucharistic debates wherein the genus maiestaticum (“genus of majesty”) is employed by some Lutherans to secure the ubiquity of Jesus’ humanity on the basis of a communication of attributes from the divine to the human nature. Respondents to this prompt, however, will focus their attention instead on the logical possibility of (what is now known as) the genus tapeinoticon (“genus of humility”) as it might or might not appear in Luther’s later Christology. It is our hope to have essays representing both sides of the debate — both with regard to Luther could rightly be said to have adopted the genus tapeinoticon and with regard to the viability of the genus tapeinoticon.

  • Particular attention should be given not only to David Congdon’s essay, “Nova Lingua Dei: The Problem of Chalcedonian Metaphysics and the Promise of the Genus Tapeinoticon in Luther’s Later Theology” and Richard Cross’ book, Communicatio Idiomatum, but also to the concerns for clarity identified in prompts (1) and (2) above. Indeed, respondents should consider it prerequisite to attend to prompt #2 (“The Grammar of Christology”) in particular when approaching this subject.


Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Terence Fretheim - The God Who Enters Relationships


Terence Fretheim: God So Enters into Relationships That…


by Tripp Fuller and Tom Oord
November 16, 2020

I just saw Tom Oord’s tweet that Terence Fretheim passed away while I was reading his new book God So Enters into Relationship That… It is always shocking to hear how a live conversation partner you deeply value must shift to the page and these recordings. I can’t exaggerate Frethiem’s role in my own intellectual development.

While at Wake Forest University’s Divinity School I took a Biblical Theology seminar with Phyllis Trible (a legend) and she had us each write 25 pg papers and present on a different Biblical theologian. I choose Fretheim and sent him the paper I wrote.

He replied with a kind, encouraging, and detailed response, suggesting I consider PhD work given my ability to connect threads in his writing he hadn’t noticed. Dr, Trible gave me a B-, my worst grade in grad school. When I mentioned that Fretheim responded so positively to the paper and encouraged my work she said, “Terry takes the relational nature of love so seriously it may cloud his judgement.” What a compliment!



Biblical theologian Terence E. Fretheim weaves key insights from Scripture with theological reflections on the nature and activity of God, God's relationship to the world, and the natural order. Relational language and images fill the various forms of communication that ministry leaders must use to speak about God and God's presence and activity in the world. Fretheim shows the importance of using this kind of language to speak to the realities of life and faith. Each chapter of the book will explore a unique aspect of God's relationship with humanity and the world, including God's faithfulness, concern for our entire selves, promise to be present in both good and bad times, willingness to listen, sharing of power, and desire to allow an open future for all. Filled with authentic reflections and helpful insights, this is a must-read for all want to know and experience more about the nature of God.

Dr. Terence E. Fretheim was the Elva B. Lovell Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minn., where he taught for over forty years.


* * * * * * * *




AUDIO PODCAST INTERVIEW

with Terence Fretheim - 

https://trippfuller.com/?powerpress_pinw=32017-podcast



* * * * * * * *



ORT on Fretheim w/ Tom Oord and Tripp Fuller
Feb 22, 2019

Comment: I have listened to Tripp and Tom's
podcast and found it easy to listen too, humorous
at times, and very information on the beloved
theologian Terence Fretheim. - R.E. Slater


* * * * * * * *


Books by Terence E. Fretheim




* * * * * * * *




Terence E. Fretheim

Jump to searh

Biographical Information

Terence Fretheim was first connected with the Luther Seminary faculty as a teaching fellow in Greek in 1958-60 while he was still a seminary student. He returned as assistant professor in 1968 and became professor of Old Testament in 1978. He was dean of academic affairs (1978–88) and also served as acting chair of the Old Testament department (1977–78) and chair of the curriculum committee (1976–77).

He was an instructor in Old Testament at Augsburg College and Seminary, Minneapolis, in 1961-63, and assistant professor of religion at Augsburg College in 1967-68. Ordained in 1968, Fretheim was pastor of Dennison (Minn.) Lutheran Church in 1968-71. He has been visiting professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and both visiting professor and lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Fretheim received the Fulbright Scholarship for study in England, the Lutheran Brotherhood Seminary Graduate Scholarship, the Martin Luther Scholarship, the Fredrik A. Schiotz Fellowship Award, and the ATS Scholarship for Theological Research.

A graduate of Luther College (Iowa) (B.A., 1956), Fretheim earned the M.Div. degree from Luther Seminary in 1960 and the Th.D. degree from Princeton Seminary in 1967. He has also studied at the University of Durham, England, the University of Minnesota, the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Oxford University in England, and the University of Chicago. As a Luther College alumnus, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1995.

He is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature and is Editor of SBL Old Testament Monographs. He has served on the Buddhist and Muslim Task Forces of the American Lutheran Church, was co-chair of the Theological Consultation for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has been president of the Minnesota Consortium of Theological Schools, and Old Testament Book Editor for the Journal of Biblical Literature.

Works Published

Fretheim has published numerous books. More recent titles include: The Pentateuch (Abingdon, 1996); Proclamation 6 (Fortress, 1997); The Bible as Word of God in a Postmodern Era (Fortress, 1998; with K. Froehlich); First and Second Kings (Westminster, 1999); About the Bible: Short Answers to Big Questions (Augsburg, 1999); In God's Image: A Study of Genesis (Augsburg, 1999); A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (Abingdon, 1999), with B. Birch, W. Brueggemann, and D. Petersen; and Jeremiah: A Commentary (Smyth & Helwys, 2002). God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation (Abingdon, 2005); Hope in God in Times of Suffering (with Faith Fretheim) (Augsburg/Fortress, 2006); Abraham: Journeys of Family and Faith (University of South Carolina Press, 2007).

His 1984 book, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective is an exegetical approach to many of the themes and issues associated with process theology and open theism.



Terence Fretheim
Faculty, Lutheran Seminary

Education
Ordained (ELCA)
Th.D. (Princeton Seminary)
M.Div. (Luther Theological Seminary)

Biography
Terence Fretheim was first connected with the Luther Seminary faculty as a teaching fellow in Greek in 1958-60 while he was still a seminary student. He returned as assistant professor in 1968 and became professor of Old Testament in 1978. He was dean of academic affairs (1978-88) and also served as acting chair of the Old Testament department (1977-78) and chair of the curriculum committee (1976-77).

He was an instructor in Old Testament at Augsburg College and Seminary, Minneapolis, in 1961-63, and assistant professor of religion at Augsburg College in 1967-68. Ordained in 1968, Fretheim was pastor of Dennison (Minn.) Lutheran Church in 1968-71. He has been visiting professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and both visiting professor and lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Fretheim received the Fulbright Scholarship for study in England, the Lutheran Brotherhood Seminary Graduate Scholarship, the Martin Luther Scholarship, the Fredrik A. Schiotz Fellowship Award, and the ATS Scholarship for Theological Research.

A graduate of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa (B.A., 1956), Fretheim earned the M.Div. degree from Luther Seminary in 1960 and the Th.D. degree from Princeton Seminary in 1967. He has also studied at the University of Durham, England, the University of Minnesota, the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Oxford University in England, and the University of Chicago.  As a Luther College alumnus, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1995.

He is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature and is Editor of SBL Old Testament Monographs. He has served on the Buddhist and Muslim Task Forces of the American Lutheran Church, was co-chair of the Theological Consultation for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has been president of the Minnesota Consortium of Theological Schools, and Old Testament Book Editor for the Journal of Biblical Literature.

Fretheim has published numerous books.  More recent titles include: The Pentateuch (Abingdon, 1996); Proclamation 6 (Fortress, 1997); The Bible as Word of God in a Postmodern Era (Fortress, 1998; with K. Froehlich); First and Second Kings (Westminister, 1999); About the Bible: Short Answers to Big Questions (Augsburg, 1999); In God’s Image: A Study of Genesis (Augsburg, 1999); A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (Abingdon, 1999), with B. Birch, W. Brueggemann, and D. Petersen; and Jeremiah: A Commentary (Smyth & Helwys, 2002). God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation (Abingdon, 2005); Hope in God in Times of Suffering (with Faith Fretheim) (Augsburg/Fortress, 2006); Abraham: Journeys of Family and Faith (University of South Carolina Press, 2007).

In addition to many articles, other published notes include:
  • “Abraham,” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Abingdon, 2007)
  • entries for: Creation, Angel, Lord of Hosts, God Most High, Jealous, and Heaven (Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible, 2003)
  • the book of Exodus (Dictionary of Old Testament: Pentateuch. 2003)
  • the Book of Numbers (Oxford Bible Commentary. 2001)
  • entries for: God, and Book of Jonah (Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. 2000)





* * * * * * * * * *




Obituary: Rev. Dr. Terence Fretheim

Posted on November 20, 2020

Rev. Dr. Terence Erling Fretheim
January 27, 1936 – November 16, 2020

Terry, 84, died at home on what would have been his mother’s 113th birthday. He had been diagnosed with plasma cell leukemia. Terry is survived by his wife of 64 years, Faith; daughters Tanya Fretheim and Andrea Fretheim; grandchildren Kelly, Shannon, and Emre; his youngest brother, Stephen; sister-in-law Judy; four nieces and nephews; as well as many extended family and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents Erling and Marie, brothers Gary and Mark, sister-in-law LaVila, aunt Ada, and uncle Phil.

Terry was the oldest of four boys—his father was a Lutheran pastor, his mother, a nurse. In addition to his dad, his uncle and his grandfather were also Lutheran pastors. His first steps on the Luther Seminary campus came in 1939 when he was three years old, and his dad was attending Luther Seminary. As a high school student, Terry attended Augustana Academy in Canton, SD, and went on to Luther College in Decorah, IA, where he sang in the Nordic Choir under Weston Noble, earned his BA in 1956, and met his soon-to-be bride, Faith. They were married in August 1956, and shortly thereafter, Terry and Faith moved to the Twin Cities, where Terry took his next steps on the Luther Seminary campus—this time as a student himself. In addition to being a student, he was a teaching fellow in Greek in 1958–60 and earned his MDiv in 1960. Terry received a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at the University of Durham, England, from 1960–61. He was an instructor in Old Testament at Augsburg College and Seminary, Minneapolis, from 1961–63 and assistant professor of religion at Augsburg College from 1967–68. In between those years, Terry studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, taught Old Testament from 1965-67 as a student, and earned his ThD in 1967.

During his 1967–68 year at Augsburg, Terry received a call from Luther Seminary to teach Old Testament. He accepted and was ordained in June 1968—the same day his daughter was baptized. He served the Dennison and Vang Parishes in Dennison, MN, while simultaneously stepping onto Luther Seminary’s campus as an assistant professor, wrote his first two books, and became a dad, twice. In 1971, Terry and Faith and their two daughters, Tanya and Andrea, moved to St. Paul a stone’s throw from the Luther Seminary campus. During his 45-year career at Luther Seminary, he taught Old Testament theology, had a 10-year stint as Dean of Academic Affairs, and team-taught a class with Dr. Paul Sponheim (lovingly dubbed “the Heim Brothers”) for 20 years titled, “God, Evil, Suffering.” He took sabbaticals in 1975–76, associated with Heidelberg University, Germany, and wrote The Message of Jonah. In 1982–83, he associated with Mansfield College, Oxford University, England, during which time he wrote The Suffering of God, and in 1988–89 associated with University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, where he wrote Exodus: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Starting in 1988, Terry spent weekdays in St. Paul and weekends in Chicago when Faith took a job with the Women of the ELCA at the Churchwide office in Chicago. Terry was rostered in the Southwestern Washington synod and was a member of the candidacy selection committee for more than 20 years. During the summers of 2003 and 2004, Terry associated with Tyndale House research library, Cambridge University, England, where he wrote God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. In total, Terry wrote more than 25 books on Old Testament theology—including Creation Untamed: The Bible, God, and Natural Disasters and his most recent book published in August 2020, God So Enters Into Relationships That…—and countless articles which have helped shape pastoral students over the last 50 years and counting. Terry officially retired from Luther Seminary in 2013 after 45 years of service.

Terry was an advocate and leader in some key changes within the Lutheran church. As a biblical scholar he participated on the theological team that made the ordination of women possible in the ELCA. He was one of the first to help make distance learning a possibility for students who could not attend Luther Seminary in the traditional way (long before Zoom and remote learning was commonplace). And, Terry worked with the ELCA Task Force on Sexuality which opened the way for the full participation of people who identify as GLBTQ, including marriage and ordination.

In addition to receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, Terry was the recipient of the Lutheran Brotherhood Seminary Graduate Scholarship, the Martin Luther Scholarship, the Fredrik A. Schiotz Fellowship Award, and the ATS Scholarship for Theological Research. He became the first recipient of the Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament in 1978. As a Luther College alumnus, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1995. In 2006, Terry was honored with his Festschrift.

He had been visiting professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and both visiting professor and lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School. In addition, he had been a visiting professor at Sabah Theological Seminary in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, PA; Lutheran Theological Seminary Tai Wai in Hong Kong (twice); Trinity Seminary in Columbus, OH; Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt; and Candler Theological Seminary at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The list is long where Terry was also a guest professor or had a lectureship. He particularly enjoyed his guest lecturing and stays in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Christikon, MT, and Holden Village, WA.

Joining in 1972 and continuing until this day, Terry and Faith have enjoyed reading and discussing books monthly with a group of Seminary professors and their spouses with whom they have forged life-long friendships.

Terry’s family will remember the sweet smell of his pipe tobacco wafting through his office, classical music playing in the background, and the clacking of his typewriter keys and later computer keyboard as he wrote, and wrote, and wrote…
The family requests any memorial gifts be sent to:

Terence E. and Faith L. Fretheim Scholarship
for Environmental Studies and The Care of Creation
Development Office – Loyalty Hall
700 College Drive
Decorah, IA 52101

There will be a virtual live-streaming Celebration of Life ceremony on December 5, 2020, at 11 am CST. More info can be found at luthersem.edu/news/2020/11/19/fretheim.

Please share your memories of Rev. Dr. Fretheim in the comments section below, which we are using as a guestbook.