Table Of ContentOUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,8/8/2022,SPi
OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY
Series Editors
MichaelC.Rea OliverD.Crisp
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OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY
AnalyticTheologyutilizesthetoolsandmethodsofcontemporaryanalyticphilosophy
forthepurposesofconstructiveChristiantheology,payingattentiontotheChristian
tradition and development of doctrine. This innovative series of studies showcases
highquality,cutting-edgeresearchinthisarea,inmonographsandsymposia.
:
Atonement
EleonoreStump
Humility,Pride,andChristianVirtueTheory
KentDunnington
InDefenseofExtendedConciliarChristology
APhilosophicalEssay
TimothyPawl
LoveDivine
ASystematicAccountofGod’sLoveforHumanity
JordanWessling
ThePrinciplesofJudaism
SamuelLebens
VoicesfromtheEdge
CentringMarginalizedPerspectivesinAnalyticTheology
EditedbyMichellePanchukandMichaelC.Rea
EssaysinAnalyticTheology
Volume1&2
MichaelC.Rea
TheContradictoryChrist
JcBeall
AnalyticTheologyandtheAcademicStudyofReligion
WilliamWood
DivineHolinessandDivineAction
MarkC.Murphy
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Explorations in Analytic
Ecclesiology
That They May be One
JOSHUA COCKAYNE
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ForEleanor
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Preface
1. Analytic Theology and Ecclesiology
While analytic theology is still a young and emerging discipline, the lack of
workonecclesiologywithinthisfieldisstriking.¹Despitepath-breakingwork
onmanyofthecoredoctrinesoftheChristianfaith,workonecclesiologyhas
notreceivedthesameshareofattention.Analytictheology,asIapproachit,is
committedtoexplicatingthecoreclaimsoftheChristiantradition,usingthe
tools of contemporary analytic philosophy.² Since belief in the ‘one holy,
catholic, and apostolic Church’ is a core doctrine of this tradition,³ it seems
obvious that analytic theologians should pay attention to this important area
oftheology.Therehavebeennumerouscallstoaddressthelackofecclesiology
in analytic theology. In Tom McCall’s An Invitation to Analytic Theology,
whichisseenbymanyasthego-tointroductiontoanalytictheology,hewrites,
consider the underdeveloped areas of inquiry in ecclesiology. What is the
church?Isitbestunderstoodasafour-dimensionalentity?Whatistherelation
of the “one” to the “many” in ecclesiology? What happens in the liturgy?
WhatdowelearnfromtheliturgyaboutGod,Christ,sinandsalvation?How
should we understand the sacraments? What is the mission of the church?
Whathappensinactsofministry?Thesequestions,andmanymore,largely
awaitfurtherexplorationandanalysis.⁴
McCall is right that these questions have largely gone unasked by analytic
theologians. This book aims to begin this task of exploration into the nature
andlifeoftheChurchbyaddressingtheissueoftheChurch’sunityinChrist
throughtheHolySpirit.
OneareathathasseensomegrowthsinceMcCallwrotethesewordsisthe
discussionofChristianliturgybyanalyticthinkers.Inhisaddresstothe40th
¹ A few exceptions include the contributions to the special issue of TheoLogica on Analytic
Ecclesiology(seeCockayneandEfird,2020),achapterofAbraham(2018),andachapterinCrisp
(2022).
² Seechapter1ofCrisp,2019. ³ TakenfromtheNiceneCreed.
⁴ McCall,2015:151–2.
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viii
Anniversary of the Society of Christian Philosophy, the leading figure in the
analyticdiscussionofliturgy,NicholasWolterstorff,reflectedontheneedfor
more work in this area. In Wolterstorff’s words: ‘I would love to see a
flowering of discussion about liturgy in the next decade or two, perhaps that
flowering is beginning.... I have come myself to think that liturgy is in fact
oneofthemostchallengingandfascinatingfieldsforphilosophicalinquiry.’⁵
The‘flowering’towhichherefersisexemplifiedbythethreerecentbooksand
a number of articles penned by Wolterstorff and Terence Cuneo. Here,
they explore the philosophical significance of Christian liturgy.⁶ But as
Wolterstorff’s comments make clear, there is still to more to be done. As
Ihavearguedelsewhere,⁷thediscussionofliturgyinanalytictheologywould
be enriched bygaining clarity on thenature of theChurch.In Wolterstorff’s
words, ‘The church enacts the liturgy not to satisfy the needs and desires of
individual congregants but to worship God.... It’s not the individual mem-
bers who do these things simultaneously; it’s the assembled body that does
thesethings.’⁸Thisseemsrighttome.Andyet,thediscussionofliturgyinthe
analytictraditionhasreallyonlyscratchedthesurfaceontherelationbetween
theChurchanditsworship.Thus,thepresentvolumeaimstoaddressthelack
of ecclesiology in analytic theology, whilst also seeking to expand the discus-
sionofliturgy.
2. The Scope of the Discussion
Before we can proceed, some clarifications about the scope of the present
volume are required. First, it is not within the scope of this book to offer a
comprehensive ecclesiology which presents a far-ranging account of the
nature andlifeof theChurch.Rather,asthesubtitleofthebookalludesto—
thattheymaybeone—thefocusofthediscussionisontheissueoftheunity,
or oneness, of the Church. That is, the volume seeks to offer an account of
what it means for the Church to be one, and to consider the implications of
this accounts for the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. As such,
therearemanyissuesonwhichIwillremainsilent.Myhopeisthatthisisnot
the end of the discussion of ecclesiology in the analytic tradition and that
floweringofliturgicaltheologyintheanalytictradition,ofwhichWolterstorff
describes,willalsoextendtothestudyoftheChurch.
⁵ Wolterstorff,2018. ⁶ IsummarizethisliteratureinCockayne(2018a,2018b).
⁷ SeeCockayne,2021b. ⁸ Wolterstorff,2015b:11.
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ix
Secondly, a brief word on methodology. Throughout the book, I seek to
drawfromworkincontemporaryanalyticphilosophyinordertoexplorethe
natureoftheChurch’sunity.Thatistosay,thebookbelongsinthetradition
ofanalytictheology.Incertainrespects,itfollowstheapproachadvocatedby
the late David Efird, of offering ‘philosophical explanations’ to issues in
theology.⁹ As Robert Nozick describes it, a philosophical explanation offers
onepossibleexplanationofhowXmightbeso,giventhatZisthecase.¹⁰Inthe
contextofecclesiology,theassumptionsorlimitationsofthediscussion(Z)are
provided by our theological reflections from Scripture and tradition. So, for
example,Chapter2offersadiscussionofthetheologicalclaimthattheChurch
is one through the work of the Holy Spirit and then turns to recent work in
analyticphilosophytoprovideoneexplanationofhowthismightbeso,within
theparametersspecifiedinourtheologicalexploration.
However,whereIdifferfromEfirdisthatIthinkofsuchworkaspartofthe
theologicaltask,whereasEfirdmaintaineditwasonlyreallyakindofapplied
philosophy.IntheworkofOliverCrisp,wecanseethekindofphilosophical
explanation advocated by Efird pressed into the service of theological model
building.AsCrispdescribesit,
Bya“model”...Imeanatheoreticalconstructionthatonlyapproximatesto
verisimilitude,offeringasimplifiedaccountofaparticulardatasetor(inthis
case) cluster of theological doctrines.... This also comports with an intel-
lectualhumilityonthepartofthetheologian:itmaybethatweareunableto
capturethetruth[ofthematter]...becauseweareincapableofunderstand-
ingitasfinitecreaturesordonothavetheepistemicaccesstocomprehend
thedoctrine,whichispartofthemysteryofthedivinenature.Similarly,in
contemporary physics Newtonian classical mechanics can still be used to
generate accurate results when applied to large-scale macroscopic objects
that are not traveling at very high velocities, though it is understood that
classicalmechanicsis,strictlyspeaking,anapproximationtothetruthofthe
matterratherthanthetruthsimpliciter.¹¹
Thus,inthespiritofEfirdandCrisp,thisprojectoffersamodelofecclesiology
which serves to make clear what it means to think of the Church as one in
ChristthroughthepoweroftheHolySpirit,butonewhichneverpretendsto
gettothefulltruthofthematter.
⁹ SeeCockayneandWorsley(2021)foradiscussiononEfird’sapproachtoanalytictheology.
¹⁰ Nozick,1981. ¹¹ Crisp,2019:54–5.
