Multilateral Theology. A Twenty-First-Century Theological Methodology

221 Pages·2021·4.158 MB·English

by  Timothy T.N. Lim

Multilateral Theology
This book introduces a new “multilateral” methodology for the contemporary
study of theology. It bases this methodology on the idea that there are too many
materials contributing as sources for theologizing to sustain the “one method fits
all” approach found in many systematic theologies within Christianity. What is
neededinsteadissomethingthatreflectsthevariousandvariednatures,purposes,
andtasksoftheologians’theologizingfortheirrespectivecontexts.
EngagingmaterialsfromarangeofChristiantraditions,includingEvangelicalism,
theCatholicMagisterium,andalimitedrangeofpan-Orthodoxresources,thebook
analyzes and assesses major factors thathaveshaped different streams oftheology.
Addressingdoctrinaldevelopment,scriptureandrevelation,historicaltradition
and creeds, philosophy and truth, sciences and interdisciplinarity, experience,
religiouspluralism,andculture,itdemonstrateshowthesevariousstreamscan
form a multilateral whole. The book concludes by examining the centers and
peripherals of methodologies in theologization for a spectrum of theological
traditions/streams,bothacrossandbeyondChristianity.
Byofferinganapproachthatkeepsinstepwiththeincreasinglyinterconnected
andpluralisticworldinwhichwelive,thisbookprovidesavitalresourceforany
scholar of Christian theology, constructive theology, contextual theologies, and
systematic theology, as well as religious studies.
TimothyT.N.Lim isaVisiting LecturerattheLondonSchool ofTheology.He
isanordainedministerofthe Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),andin membership
with the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand. His monograph,
Ecclesial Recognition with Hegelian Philosophy, Social Psychology, and Con-
tinental Political Theory (2017) charts new ground for intra-Christian relations.
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Multilateral Theology
A Twenty-First-Century Theological Methodology
Timothy T.N. Lim
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Multilateral Theology
A Twenty-First-Century Theological
Methodology
Timothy T.N. Lim
Firstpublished2021
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To Owen Lim,
my middle son,
aim high,
stay calm,
scale the heights,
remain grateful,
and be humble
in the pursuit of your God-given aspirations!

Contents
Preface viii
Acknowledgements xii
1 Introducing theological prolegomena 1
2 Theological prolegomena and doctrinal development: a historical
overview 16
3 Scripture and revelation 28
4 History, tradition, and creeds 54
5 Reasoned truth: philosophy and theological methodology 67
6 Reasoned truth: theology, sciences, and interdisciplinarity 91
7 Experience: philosophical, religious, theological, and geopolitical
considerations 113
8 Truth and religious pluralism 128
9 Culture and theological prolegomena: culture’s multi-variegated
contexts for theologization 149
10 Conclusion: centers and peripherals of theological-hermeneutics 177
Index 199
Preface
Iwasabusinessgraduate,majoringinManagement,OrganizationalBehavior,and
StrategicPlanningin1999andendeavoredtodevelopacareerinconsulting.When
GodcalledmeintothevocationalChristianministry,myprofessionaltraininghad
to start all over again, other than character development and my prior
vocational experiences in administration and project management. I discovered
that discipleship classes in the Sunday School and church care-group (from an
independent mega-church of nearly 3,000 members in the 1990s, which grew to
approximately 10,000 members by the 2010s) had not prepared me to study
theology or to theologize (the activity of doing theology) in the seminary and
for the church.
Yearslater,asprovidenceledmetoexploreserviceasanecclesialtheologian,it
dawnedonmethattheprinciplesandmechanicsoftheologizinghadbeenbrushed
over quickly within the first two to three weeks of a three-module systematic
theologycoursecurriculumintheseminary.Butthetaskoftheologizing,whichis
paramount to the curriculum of equipping learners for teaching and ministerial
service,requiresmuchmorethanjustexploringmethodologyinafewshortweeks.
Integral to good theologizing is the proficient evaluation and use of sources,
includingresourcesfromvariousintra-Christiantraditions,otherfieldsoflearning,
and other religious traditions. Yet, seminary education tends to emphasize
spiritual formation, the acquisition of ministerial skills, and stashing up
theological/doctrinal content (against other Christian traditions, other religions,
and non-theological fields of knowledge). In a typical seminary education,
learners are also instructed on the emphases and non-negotiables that each
tradition would regard as paramount to the distinctives of their traditions.
Ifseminaryeducationisintendedtolayfoundationsforalifetimeoftheologizing
and ministering, then acquiring a competency in theologizingcannot belimited to
only instruction that learners would receive during the first few weeks of a
Christian/systematic theology module. To be sure, all modules in a seminary
curriculum do contribute to the shaping of a theological mind. However,
theological methodology which is so fundamental to theologizing would have
tobereconceived.Manybooks onthemarketdonotcontaindesignatedchap-
ters covering thematically the array of issues of theological prolegomena, and
almost all existing work examines the Wesleyan quadrilateral as the dominant
Preface ix
approach.Arecentandabsolutelybrilliantwork,AModelforEvangelicalTheol-
ogy (Baker Academic, 2020), by my colleague at the London School of Theology,
Graham McFarlane, takes an “Evangelical quintilateral” approach to theologizing
thatintegratesscripture,tradition,reason,experience,andcommunity(pp.xii,67,
239–245), enlivening the theological task with inspiring relational stories of how
theologyconnectswithlife.PriortoMcFarlane’scoinageofquintilaterality,thefive
componentsofscripture,tradition,community,experience,andphilosophyinthat
order has been regarded as indispensable sources for theologizing in Grant R.
Osborne’s The Hermeneutical Spiral, revised and expanded (IVP Academic, 2006,
pp.374–386).NotwithstandingtheimportanceofMcFarlane’sreminderaboutthe
needtodrawfromaquintilateralsetofresources,theologicalmethodologyhasto
alsoengagewithothernon-Christiantraditionsandotherfieldsoflearningthatare
oftenunderplayedinaseminarycurriculum.Inthisvolume,Iproposeamultilateral
receptionoftheologicalsourcesandmethodologies.Iwillsaymoreaboutthecon-
cept of multilaterality in Chapter 1. Minimally, the theological methodological
implications of engaging with non-biblical-theological contents would have to be
fleshedout,sothatlearnersmaybecomeacquaintedwith,orbetterstill,beinvited
toworkout,theramificationsoftheologizationasaboundary-crossingexercise.
Icametorealizedthattheologizationisaboundary-crossingexerciseafterhaving
servedinseveralcapacities:asaregionalmissionleaderforatrans-denominational
conglomerate missional agency to a region known for persecuting Christians,
during a few pastoral appointments at several conservative (separatistic) churches
in Singapore, and in a lay-leadership role in a broadly evangelical congregation
within a mainline Protestant Presbyterian denomination in the United States.
During that time, I also sat on the board of two ecumenical bodies in the United
StatesandtaughtatseminariesinboththeUnitedStatesandtheUnitedKingdom.
Thesewerefollowedbyateachingroleinthelargestpremiereinterdenominational
evangelical seminary in Europe (with which I am still affiliated), and an adminis-
trative, teaching-cum-networking leadership portfolio in a Bible college’s ethnic
centerofresearchandtraininginAuckland,NewZealand.Rightaboutthetimemy
esteemed editors and anonymous reviewers at Routledge reassigned this project
from the textbook originally envisioned into a research monograph, my appoint-
ment in Auckland was disestablished due to the changing macro-level and micro-
level landscape in theological education. Providence redirected me back to pastor-
ing, this time in a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual Chinese church in Auckland, while I
alsocontinuetoteacheversogratefullyatmyfavorite,LondonSchoolofTheology.
Thesejourneystaughtmethemulti-dimensionalityoftheology.AsthankfulasIam
forhavingbeentaughttheWesleyanQuadrilateralforsourceconsiderationandas
amethodfortheologizing,Iacquiredaconvictionthattotheologizewell,wemust
continue to expand our horizons, reengage sources, and reconceive methods for
theologizinginaworldthatisfarmorecomplexthanpriorgenerations.
However, many titles on theological methodology in the market tend to be
written for professional theologians and advanced students in theology, and
usuallythese volumes would argue forparticulardenominational orientations.I
have benefitted much from these resources in the course of my reflection as a