Practical Theology – Part II
6 Jul 2007
In the last post I arrived at the current place of practical theology, where there has been a questioning about the nature of practical theology, and challenged to the separations of abstract theologies from concrete reality.
Reflective Practitioners
Practical theology has started to address how theology should be more concerned with phronesis (practical wisdom), than theoria (abstract theological reasoning). There has been a growing refusal to accept this separation between theory (of systematics/biblical studies/ historical theology etc), and the practices (pastoral church contexts) of concrete church.
It’s equally concerned with the ivory tower, abstract theology of the university and denominations, as much as the on the ground idealizations, and speculations about the nature and possibilities of church, from the emerging post-church habitats.
‘Reflective practitioners’ might encapsulate the process and aspirations of this way of doing theology (Antonio Gramsci coined the phrase ‘organic intellectual’ in 1949, to describe the need for a similar process of people who would direct the ideas and aspirations of groups of people into concrete practice. The word intellectual seems so pejorative now, as part of the reaction against theorizing, despite his hopes, but that’s another post/topic).
The distinction between theory and practice dissolves, as theology becomes about relating the resources of faith to life. Within ‘practical theology’ this emerging theological method, has been called and self identified as ‘theological reflection’.
Some Weaknesses of Practical Theology
There have been some weakness of theological reflection to date such as:
1. Dis-connectedness: Much theological reflection in its dialogue with social sciences, lacks the confidence to bring it’s contextual understandings into contact and relationship with the bible.
We find it easier to survey people, and explore their social context, and understand who and what they are doing in church life, but lack the confidence and ability to connect and understand that process from a biblical view point.
2. Deepening Separation: And the more christians become expert at contextual analysis of the church and emerging church context, the disconnectedness goes deeper and further, with a lack of connection to systematics, church history, and doctrine, as well as the bible.
So despite the aspiration of practical theology, it has become captive to sociological descriptions of church, and translated into sociological responses. The result is forms of church that are cultural aware, but not located in biblical, historical or doctrinal understandings.
For example we grab hold of the latest cultural metaphors, of web 2.0 and attach them to ideas and practices about church, but fail to critique those metaphors from a theological perspective. We are more confident of forming qualitative sociologies of the church, but less so of theological sociologies of church.
I am hoping to locate my PhD research within the field of practical theology, and it’s aspiration whilst attending to some of the deficiencies of it’s methods to date.
In that sense my conviction is that all theology should be practical, that systematics, historical theology, church history, biblical studies etc should all be contextual, and practical, and that practical theology, rather than being a terminus of final application of those others theorizing theologies, is fact the umbrella under which all theology should be measure and practiced, enabling those theologies to be lived in faithful christians community.
How practical theology attempts to open out into that in practice and method, is varied and fascinating, or at least I think it is. I’ll post later next week about the avenues, and methods, and in particular the ones I am thinking of using for my research. I’ll also post link to other web sites on this and books I am drawing on.
Tagged: Abstract, Concrete, Ecclesiology, Practical-Theology, Social-Theory, sociology, Theology
19 comments
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Comment by Simon
12.46 pm on 6 Jul 2007
A great beginning, Jason. I wish you every success in your research.
Comment by Jason
5.09 pm on 6 Jul 2007
Simon: thank you :-)
Comment by Phil
1.59 pm on 8 Jul 2007
I’m interested, and grateful, to see Jason referring to Gramsci’s notion of organic intellectual. I’ve been acquainted with this but have waited for a good practical theologian like Jason to show me and others how it might be realized in an emergent sort of context–one where we want to heal the nagging breach between theory and practice.
I have a few references on Gramsci– mostly in academic journals from several years back– that retrieve Gramsci’s notion in a variety of applicational contexts, everything from labor unions to churches. If anybody wants a short bibliography, let me know– pcharrolds@aol.com
Comment by Jason
3.24 pm on 9 Jul 2007
You put me onto Gramsci phil, thanks for that. I’d love a short bibilography, as well as a guest post on him by you :-)
Comment by steven hamilton
11.44 am on 9 Jul 2007
jason, i think you are spot on…keep going. your comment on the ivory tower made me think of you as a gandalf: on the ground, practicing and relating among people and nature, overagainst the (ivory)tower of orthanc inhabited by saruman in isengard…and we all know what happened there!
Comment by Jason
3.25 pm on 9 Jul 2007
:-) I’m far too young to be gandalf :-)
Comment by Scott
6.43 pm on 9 Jul 2007
I like the idea of this, and to be honest have never thought of the connection between the work I do in the social care sector with those I supervise in terms of developmental practice, and this crossing over into the connectedness of orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
But then my brain is not as big as yours ;-)
The term/idea/role of Reflective practitioner has been a buzz word of social/health care sector for as long as I have been working in it.
I wonder are the two the same? If so then I think the term works well, maybe we could take the mantle of this further with the obvious inclusion of the spiritual, I need to revisit some of the stuff I do at work now you have made this connection, and see how it crosses over, which it seems to do quite well in my head now, as I type.
Unfortunately at times one can get bogged down with study and lose sight of practice, the challenge for us is putting it all into context, transferring the skills of theory into practise, but then you have to consider the leaning styles of those whom you address, the social care sector is not a great lover of didactic teaching, yet the church drags the dusty bones of it out each and every Sunday?
In practice though it has make a difference because it joined the vast void of the theoretical world with the busy world of the practitioner, two forces opposed to each other, undermining of the one, cynical of the other. I have seen this connection have a massive impact on the quality of work delivered within the social care sector as well, I wonder if the same results can be found in the church, and what the improvement in “quality†would look like?
A part of me wishes the church would inspire these things more, rather than adopt them, but then another part of me says why? Does it matter, truth is truth, if it works then lets has some of it.
Comment by Jason
10.08 am on 12 Jul 2007
Scott: from the little research I have done, this discussion over reflective practice, is going in many areas of life, and work, and is much needed.
Jase
Comment by Paul
12.18 pm on 10 Jul 2007
I may well have missed the point but are you suggesting Jason that we need to have a situational/experiential theological critique, which allows the historical/theoretical theology to come into reaction with the socialogical to inform and be formed by the practical/concrete realities?
Comment by Jason
10.12 am on 12 Jul 2007
Summarising the post crudely it would be that in the west we move from theory to practice. So we have pragmatic people who get on and do stuff, allergic to thinking and reflection very often, and we have people idealising and coming up with great thoughts about church who do nothing in practice so often.
Theological reflection is a hermeneutical circle of inductive reflection upon action and back into reflection. You see it in liberation theology, where people provide a lived response to a concrete context, a theology that is practiced.
Comment by Paul
7.40 am on 13 Jul 2007
thanks bro, i love it when you’re crude ;)
Comment by Jason
7.46 am on 13 Jul 2007
Only for people who are ’slow’ like you Paul ;-)
Comment by Paul
10.40 am on 13 Jul 2007
as i always say, life is like a bucket of chocolates :)
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Comment by Phil
2.07 pm on 10 Jul 2007
Paul–
I like your “come into reaction” idea. If we understand ‘tradition’ the way Paul and other NT writers did, then it is always in the process of development. It is not passed on without change—this is because it must respond to the present in light of the past. But where does the change occur? That’s the tricky bit…
Quoting D. H. Williams, who in turn cites Catholic theologian, George Tavard: “Development [in the history of the faith, in its reception of the gospel) … is not the introduction of changes but a response to discovering how the deposit of faith should function as a resource for the needs of the present.â€
This sounds to me like what Scot’s “reflective practitioner” might do in a church context–discover how the faith we have received (in Scripture, in the apostolic tradition, rules of faith, etc.) is to meet the needs of the present… so as to change the present… not the “deposit of faith” itself.
For the most part, I think the historic church has learned that this “discovering” is best realized when praxis and theology are combined in paradigmatic sacramental practices–esp. baptism and Eucharist. Here we find a fullness of the gospel woven into a holistic practice (body-mind-soul) with spill-over consequences for the whole of life–individually and corporately. Paul shows us in I Cor. that this was the central means of re-wiring the Corinthians out of their partisanship, self-centered individualism, fragmentation, etc.
The way to combine theory and practice, I think, is to study how Jesus, then Paul, combine them in their ministries–especially in table fellowship–that seems to be the most frequent context for disclosure of the Kingdom of God. (ANd I think the Eucharist in I Cor. 11 is more central to understnading the whole of that epistle than most people realize.) Here is where the ‘tradition’ (the Story of God, most recently manifested in Israel) was most radically repositioned in a new relational context, with profound transformative consequences– theologically, ethically, socially, economically,etc. Suddenly the deposit of faith became a resource in a whole new way… same triune God, same story, same plan… but now the missio Dei was experienced in a whole-life way because it was fleshed-out in a banquet that foretold as much as it recalled. It located believers in God’s timetable, not their own linear will-to-power agendas.
As Jason puts it in his post, that’s how theology becomes practical…
Comment by Jason
10.16 am on 12 Jul 2007
That’s very helpful Phil. Reminded me of Andrew Walker in ‘Remembering our Future’ and his chapter on ‘Paradosis’, in terms of the content of the christian faith and the process of handing on that faith as lived practice. So in 1 corinthians 15:3, paul uses paradosis as content and process, ‘I handed on the handed on things’.
It seems for Paul the content, understanding, and living out of the christian faith were inseparable.
Comment by Paul
7.45 am on 13 Jul 2007
thanks Phil, it makes me think of a bucket chain but instead of people trying to pass on the full bucket without spilling a drop to preserve it the job seems to be about pouring the water into a bigger bucket, or tackling a blaze then and there and then refilling the bucket again – or something…
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Comment by billy
8.30 am on 18 Jul 2007
Fabulous Jason. Thanks for posting on this. This is really “scratching where I itch” so to speak. I look forward to learning with you on your journey and appreciate your taking the time to blog about it here.
Comment by Jason
9.25 am on 18 Jul 2007
Thanks Billie. Jase.
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