Moltmann Conference at Florida Southern 2017

On November 28-29, 2017, I had the privilege of going to Florida Southern College for the Willis Lecture. Its theme was The Future of Christian Theology. The 90^th Birthday of Jürgen Moltmann was the occasion. I had the privilege of talking briefly with some of these persons, including Moltmann.

Jürgen Moltmann was a privilege to meet. He graciously signed books for me and took a picture with me. When I approached him and shook his hand, he asked me who I was. I told him I was a just a United Methodist pastor who read many of his books. At his age, he has had some significant losses recently, including an important “dialogue partner” in Wolfhart Pannenberg. He had also recently gone through the death of his wife. I asked him what his experience of aging had been. I have been thinking of such things, since I was just turning 66. He said that aging is a journey to loneliness. He clearly is a gracious and humble man. As I continue to age, I can only hope I will age as well. One had to listen carefully to his lecture, for he could be difficult to hear. He opened with a discussion of the themes of Christian theology since WWII. When he approached offering his suggestion for the future, he paused. He looked at us with a smile. He said something like this. “Of course, I realize that you may not follow the guidance of your teacher. After all, I did not follow the direction of my teacher.” It was a nice bit of levity.

His lecture focuses on the need for an ecological turn and a turn to the Spirit.

            After WWII, theology arises out of Church and Christ center, with the confessing church, Church Dogmatics, kerygmatic theology. Theology became preaching to the choir. It protected theology from political theology. Contextual theology made the context the text of theology. Since 1990, theology sought academic respectability. The home of God is the world. The church is to be among many truth-seeking communities. He referred to his friend John Polkinghorn.

            If our world is to survive, an ecological turn needs to occur.

            He admits that he focused so much on the future coming of God that he forgot the present coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit connects eschatology to the present. The future of theology is the coming of God.

            Florida Southern has a reputation for the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.

           

Steffen Loesel, a former student of Moltmann, analyzed the different approaches of mainline and evangelical communities toward secular culture. He referred to the tension between relevance and identity Moltmann discussed in Crucified God. He seemed put off by emerging worship, contemporary, and coffee shop churches. He seemed to favor a style that was liturgical, sacramental, and somewhat mystical. It struck me that we will not ever dissolve the tension between relevance and identity. The approach he favored would not generally appeal to me. I would be more in favor of many styles of being church, but all of them communicating with each other in a way that keeps everyone aware of the tension between relevance and identity.

            Miroslav Volf seemed focused on the tribalism of the Christian community. He wants to see theology contribute to human flourishing. Theology is a way of life seeking self-understanding. He wants affinity between life and thought. Theology is for pilgrims on the way. We experience this affinity in a proleptic and ec-static way. He is arguing against

putting theology in an isolated sector of life and intellect. I liked his approach and I want to do more reflection with him through his writing.

The conference was well worth attending. I met some wonderful people. I am a political conservative. Here is the thought that I had. The theme of the conference was the future of Christian theology. Why can we not think of the future of theology as an embrace of the freedom implicit in democracy and free enterprise? Freedom and all it entails, including regard for the worth and dignity of others and embodied in social institutions, is an important aspect of human flourishing. If theology does not figure out how to escape Marx, communism, and socialism, it will die, and it will deserve to die.  

If you have any interest in architecture in general or Frank Lloyd Wright in particular, Florida Southern College is a good place to visit. The angles are interesting in terms of the layout of the school and the buildings.