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can theology be ethical? should ethics be theological? what does ethical theology look like and how does theological ethics sound?

ag man, academia can sometimes get itself really tied up in knots. I remember being asked by some clever dick in a UNISA exam what the difference between Pastoral Counselling and Pastoral Care is… Academics reading this probably agree with that UNISA professor that I’m an ignorant ass. but I reckon (after 12 years in Pastoral Work) if the answer isn’t as simple as “Pastoral Counselling is a part of Pastoral Care” then you’ve got yourself so tied up in defining terms that you’ve forgotten why you asked the question in the first place. I’d LOVE to hear from a person actually DOING Pastoral Care in a local community of faith to shed some light on the importance of making some clever-dick distinction between these two activities!!! (ok, enough on the sermon, and on to the real purpose of this post…)

I’ve been reading The Hauerwas Reader (a fairly comprehensive collection of his essays) and enjoying his overview of the history of Ethics. It’s quite focussed on developments on the American scene, especially over the past century, but one of his insights has encouraged me. He acknowledges that it is only relatively recently, in the history of Christian Theology, that Ethics (roughly understood as reflection on how Christians live out their lives) was seen as a separate activity to Theology (roughly understood as reflection on what Christians believe and sometimes known Dogmatics or Systematic Theology - which introduces a hugely problematic adjective that suddenly appears in one of the most rationalistic periods in history…surprise?)

So we have separated how Christians live out their lives from what Christians believe… and then we wonder why people say (and represent) one thing on Sundays and another at work on Monday… Our artificial - academic/philosophical - differentiation has done much harm to the simplicity of The Way that Jesus calls us to walk in. Jesus does not ask us to leave our minds behind. In fact he suggests that we are required to Love God… with all our minds… I’m not proposing anti-intellectualism here. I’m just busy clarifying some of the core values that determine how and why the activity of Theology should be practised.

I believe that Theology is a simple activity. It is “Talk about God”. Theo (from Theos meaning God) and logy (from logos meaning words or the study of). Theology is a reflection on what people of faith believe - but only if the word believe is clearly understood as a verb. To believe in a faith sense is not just to give mental ascent to some philosophical idea. Philosophy may have merit, but Theology has to do with believing that involves a whole person. To say I believe in Jesus - does not mean that I accept that he exists. As John Wesley points out in one of his sermons - even the demons believe in Jesus in that sense! To say I believe in Jesus is to say something more - it means I will give my allegiance, my attention, my body and soul for this Jesus…

In this sense, the Community of Faith is the context of Theology. Academia may have a contribution to make, but in the end all important theology must be done by ordinary people who live their lives in the contexts of ordinary life. Profs in Ivory towers (some of whom no longer participate in a local worshipping community) have given up their vital connection to the important Theological conversation that continues in the local community of faith every sunday, and during the week…

I remember attending a lecture by some grand visiting professor in Old Testament studies. He spoke way over my head, but I did muster the courage to ask a sincere question… I asked whether he had shared his views on the Old Testament with ordinary readers of the bible - regular sunday church goers - and how they had responded. My fellow students all gasped, thinking this a very rude question to ask, but the visiting lecturer was happy to reflect that he worshipped in a local church back home and that this was a vital part of his work. I really don’t mean to offend, but I don’t apologise for asking about this important “credential” - the work of Theology is done in the context of Faithful Worshipping Community.

It is also the special privilege of Ordinary People!!! I had a little debate with a colleague recently about Theology that is done in such a sophisticated (philosophical) way that it gives the impression that Theology can only be done in that way - at the same time excluding people who are not familiar with the meaning of these concepts. I will never forget the Tributes paid to Rev Viv Harris at his funeral. A women remembered that although he was one of the most intelligent people she had ever known, he always used language that an ordinary person would be able to understand, especially in his preaching. For me there is no question that ordinary people, faithful worshipping together week by week, provide the primary context for the work of Christian Theology! You can use whatever words you like, but when you’re talking about love, joy, peace… no sophisticated words are really necessary. (In fact, maybe our ventures into sophistication are an elaborate avoidance of the simple challenges of the teaching of Jesus!)

This then leads me to my final important point - that there can be no meaningful distinction between Theology and Ethics. All Theology must be Ethics and Ethics, if it is to be Christian, must be Theology. Reflections on what we believe is always a reflection on how we will think (which is an activity that can be ethical or not, how we will speak and how we will live our lives. In the same way, our lives will reflect what we believe. There is no need to debate fancy philosophical definitions (although some may feel the desire to do it - whatever blows your hair back!) for how we live will clearly reflect our real convictions. As Jesus liked to remind learners who were listening: we will be known by the fruit that our lives produce (Matt 7:16-20)