Miroslav Volf just posted on Facebook another of his sharp epigrams: "Ministers increasingly see academic theology as irrelevant for their vocation. Unfortunately, theologians return the favour."
Reading around some of the 20th Century's most influential New Testament scholars it's quite evident that many of them didn't fall into the trap of specialist arrogance. By which I mean they didn't try to privilege their particular approach, or claim primary importance of the subset of their self-chosen discipline, or assume the priority of history, theology, philosophy, hermeneutics or dogmatic presuppositions, whichever was their comfort zone. Some of the most inspiring scholarship of the last hundred years has been carried out by scholars at home in the church and as Christians at home in the academy. Like a keyboard, the black and ivory keys play best together.
Rudolph Bultmann was arguably the most influential New Testament theologian and exegete of the 20th Century. He was and remained a deeply committed Christian, whose preaching at Marburg from the 30's into the 50's is unerringly centred on the reality of Christ preached and present as promised in the proclamation of the Word in the context of Christian worship.
Theology therefore is always exegesis inasmuch as it has access to revelation only through the witness of Scripture and seeks to grasp by exegesis what Scripture, understood as witness, says. In form, therefore, theology is always exegesis of Scripture. Its content speaks of revelation. but since revelation is the eternal event, judging or forgiving man, the object of theology is nothing other than the conceptual presentation of man's existence as determined by God - that is, as man must see it in the light of Scripture. (page 89, History of New Testament Research, vol 3)
There it is. Scripture, theology, theologian, preacher, - a scholar with reverence for the text and a preacher with a passion for intellectual integrity in the service of the Church seeking to live a faithful Christian existence bearing witness to Christ.
Volf is right to point out the failure and unfaithfulness of those charged with preaching, pastoral care and missional leadership, but who ignore, despise or reject academic theology - there is a discipleship of the intellect which also requires obedience. He is equally right to deplore the pursuit of academic theology divorced from the realities of Christian existence and the mandated witness of the Church to the world. The Christian tradition, the Scriptures, and the rich heritage of Christian theology each have their own context and content, to be understood and respected for what they are.
The disconnect between theological learning and pastoral practices is never a service to the church or the academy. Black and ivory keys play best together. To change the metaphor, the pejorative term 'ivory tower' refers not only to academics 'who don't live in the real world', but to those Christian leaders in mission and ministry for whom stewardship of the mind seems like too much hard work.
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