山道期刊
總第二十六期（2010年12月）
| 主題： | 浸信會四百週年──傳統的反思 包括專題文章六篇、討論文章三篇及書評四篇 |
| 頁數： | 203 |
| 售價： | HK$100 |
| 專題文章 | ||
| 莊 信 | 浸信會信徒的自由與責任：受訓 | Abstract |
| 莊 信 | 浸信會信徒的自由與責任：服侍 | Abstract |
| 莊 信 | 浸信會信徒的自由與責任：為主作見證 | Abstract |
| 莊 信 | 浸信會會眾的自由與責任：領導的問題 | Abstract |
| 莊 信 | 浸信會群體的自由與責任：合作伙伴 | Abstract |
| 莊 信 | 浸信會群體的自由與責任：與他者的關係 | Abstract |
| 討論文章 | ||
| 曾慶豹 | 「啊，你的凝視脫卸了我的衣衫」──周聯華對雅歌的註疏與翻譯 | Abstract |
| 黃保羅 | 再論「漢語學術神學」──回應賴品超等教授的批評 | Abstract |
| 鄧紹光 | 本源的 / 徹底的信仰、本源的 / 徹底的民主——尤達的神學反思 | Abstract |
The Freedom and Responsibility of the Baptist Individual to Engage in Training
Robert E. JOHNSON
The six articles in this series address two major themes: (1) the priesthood of all believers (articles one, two, and three) and (2) Baptist polity and community life (articles four, five, and six). Article one explores the first theme by examining a few elements integral to a theology of the priesthood of all believers and applying that to the need of each believer for training. Two fundamental principles are established: (1) while the priesthood of all believers means that the Baptist as an individual is free to live out his or her relationship with God and not become a slave to the convictions of another believer, (2) he or she has responsibilities in how that freedom is employed. This responsibility includes learning from others (article one), serving others (article two), and living as a witness (article three). Article one asserts that in the Baptist tradition training for responsible discipleship historically has included four major dimensions: (1) training in moral decision-making as followers of Jesus Christ, (2) training in the reading, contextual interpretation, and contextual application of the Bible for Christian living, (3) training in discerning, interpreting, and applying the lessons of collective Christian (and also the specifically Baptist) experiences, and (4) training in appropriate use of the broad body of human study, research, and insight related to the complex issues of the world in which we live.
The Freedom and Responsibility of the Baptist Individual to Engage in Serving
Robert E. JOHNSON
Historically, Baptists have been a people of dreams. Dreamers long to correct the things that are wrong. They stand in contrast to power holders, who want to keep things the way they are because they benefit from the status quo. Baptist heritage includes the sacrificial service of individuals and communities whose lives have embodied the things dreamed. Christian service takes place as part of a complex interplay between power and dreams. Each Baptist body has the tendency to feel certain that the theological interpretative intentionality it employs is the right one and also feels certain that its own convictions would be embraced by any other true believer if he or she were genuinely enlightened by God’s truth. This article treats the difficult side of service — service that complicates the life of the servant, that is not easily or quickly resolved, that costs the server, that often hurts, that does not always end the way the servant imagined or hoped. Serving God requires dreams (or vision) greater than ourselves. Service can mean running up against power holders intent on maintaining a status quo that perpetuates evil. Serving requires that we be clear about whom we serve above all else (discipleship) and why we are doing what we do (vision or dreams).
The Freedom and Responsibility of the Baptist Individual to Engage in Witnessing
Robert E. JOHNSON
This article focuses on the freedom and responsibility of the individual believer to engage in Christian witness. Beliefs about God, humanity, the Bible, and salvation constitute the starting point for Baptists’ theology of witness. Historically Baptists have tended to understand witness in very individualistic and otherworldly terms. History teaches us that tension often is generated between a person’s identity and faith when witness fails to take a person’s culture into consideration. Geoffrey Harris and David Bosch offer studies that give insight into the various forms that Christian witness took in the early church and during the centuries since. Good witness calls for preparation, commitment, and faith. Witness is multi-dimensional, and should be discipling, inclusive, holistic, incarnational, and urgent. Witness often includes uncomfortable changes, and may even require personal transformation. Witness is not for the fainthearted. Yet, as Jesus’ disciples, we all are called to be witnesses of the mystery of God’s creative and redemptive work.
The Freedom and Responsibility of Baptist Congregation Relative to the Question of Leadership
Robert E. JOHNSON
Articles four, five, and six focus on the Baptist believer within the faith community. This article explores the issue of the Baptist congregation and the question of leadership. The troika of pastor, deacon, and congregation often has generated tensions, questions of authority, and occasional crises in the life of many Baptist churches. This article utilizes Celia Allison Hahn’s model of four stages of authority in pastor-deacon-congregation relationships to evaluate this topic. The article addresses the troika of decision making in Baptist churches in five stages: (1) the exercise of authority by the congregation and/or deacons over the pastor, (2) the exercise of authority by the pastor apart from the deacons and/or the congregation, (3) the exercise of authority by the pastor over the deacons and/or the congregation, (4) the exercise of authority by the congregation and/or deacons apart from the pastor, and (5) the exercise of authority by the pastor, deacons, and the congregation in an integrated fashion. The article concludes that achieving an integrated exercise of authority helps bring focus to the ambiguities in Baptist polity regarding leadership. Appropriate understanding of the authority dynamic offers hope for healthier relationships among the leadership troika in Baptist churches, and with that the promise of healthier and happier Baptist faith communities.
The Freedom and Responsibility of the Baptist Community for Relationship with Like-Minded Faith Communities
Robert E. JOHNSON
This article begins by exploring Baptist origins, observing that two important issues became trans-cultural principles in Baptists’ heritage — (1) the strong emphasis of each Baptist church in supporting the autonomy of every local congregation to decide for itself matters of doctrine, practice, and polity, and (2) the need for every congregation to connect with other like-minded congregations for mutual encouragement and cooperative ministries. The article studies (1) what can happen when the doctrine of local church autonomy is embraced to the exclusion of cooperative or convention involvement and also (2) what can happen when convention or associational connectionalism violates the autonomous decision-making authority of the local church. The article concludes that it is Baptists’ recognition of the local congregation’s responsibility to live corporately under the lordship of Jesus Christ that prevents abdication of its obligations to any other person or authority. At the same time, it is the lordship of Jesus Christ that also requires the local congregation to live into its responsibility of sharing in “one body and one Spirit … and one hope … and one calling, and one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism, and one God and Father … who is above all and through all and in all.”
The Freedom and Responsibility of the Baptist Community for Relationship with the “Other”
Robert E. JOHNSON
Baptists’ interpretation of the relationship between the community of faith and the civil government is part of a much larger theological complex that grows out of their concepts regarding the nature of biblical faith, and also encompasses the doctrines of salvation, freedom of conscience, and the New Testament church. Baptists have long held the conviction that any church created by an act of government could never be a seedbed for true Christian faith because it fosters a forced (and therefore false) religion. The biblical church should consist of persons who voluntarily embrace faith in Jesus Christ, something that cannot be legislated. However, historical experiences also have taught Baptists that their commitment to the ideal of the separation of church and state does not mean that Baptists can avoid all political involvements. A frequent Baptist response to difference has been that of ill-considered reaction. But, the magnitude of change and discontinuity between Baptist traditions and twenty-first-century contexts cannot simultaneously sustain past patterns and a robust future. “Saving souls” for heaven often has been allowed by Baptists to substitute for the costly and equally witness-laden actions required to address the systemic suffering of “others” in the present. Baptist heritage teaches us the value of carefully considered theological and ethical priorities that would guide our witness and the importance of seeking ways to participate appropriately in political processes that uphold the message of God’s concern for all people.
Lien-hwa Chow’s Interpretation and Translation on the Song of Songs
CHIN Ken Pa
Chinese Churches have had a long history of interest in the Song of Songs and many Chinese scholars have written commentaries on the book. Lien-hwa Chow takes a literal rather than allegorical approach to the book because he thinks that the result is closer to the meaning of the biblical text; this approach also enables him to compare the Song of Songs with the Chinese Shi Jing (Book of Songs). Apart from the commentary Lien-hwa Chow has translated the book into plain Chinese, taking care to stay as close to the original text as possible. This essay explores his contributions and original insights.
Rediscussion on Sino-Christian Academic Theology –– A Response to Criticism from Prof. Lai Pan-chiu and Others
Paulos HUANG
The present article is a response to criticisms of my book, Sino-Christian Academic Theology from Professor Lai Pan-chiu and others. By defining theology as scientia, Christianity may be studied by internal (Christians) and external (non-Christians) persons, and through a personal (irrational reaction) or scholarly (rational analysis) approach. Theology can be divided into theology I (Internal Irrational Christianity Practice), II (External Irrational Practice), III (Internal Rational Church Theology) and IV (External Rational Theology); and each of them has its strengths and weaknesses. Since they have paid little attention to such a distinction, professors Lai Pan-chiu and Kwok Hung-biu have criticized my book from their own viewpoints only; in fact, I have been trying to construct a concept of Sino-Christian Academic Theology on the ground of these four levels of theology. From the perspective of knowledge structure, Sino-Christian Academic Theology is worthy of developing into a sub-discipline of Sino-Christian Theology.
Radical Faith, Radical Democracy: John Howard Yoder’s Perspective
Andres S. TANG
In this paper, John H. Yoder’s theological understanding of democracy is introduced. The first part is the introduction. The second part is about the limitations of various forms of democracy currently practised. According to some scholars in political science, these forms are but some forms of electorcracy rather than an authentic democracy. In the third part, Yoder’s attitude towards democracy is discussed. For him, Christianity does not have the responsibility of justifying what form of government, including democracy, is the best though the government concerned needs to clarify what is better and what is worse. His interpretation of Roman 13:1-7 is introduced. In the fourth part, Yoder’s dialogical democracy advocated in the New Testament for the church is explored along with Romand Coles’ understanding of radical democracy. While Coles accepts Yoder’s dialogical democracy in which the right of speaking and the duty of listening are practised in the community, he differs himself from Yoder by refusing to confess Christ as the Lord who is the truth that we all do not possess. Because of this theological reason, the church as a community of Christ’s disciples is required to listen to each other and even outsiders, including rival traditions. This is a kind of local yet dialogical democracy which requires patience and non-violence. The fifth part is the conclusion.
