2. Animism Premodernism Modernism Postmodernism Critical
Social Theory
Ancient World
Non-Western Cultures
1st Century 17th Century World War II 21st Century
Middle Ages Age of Enlightenment
Age of Reason
Nineteenth Century
Mid 20th Century
to Present
Future?
9. “I Got Friends on the Other Side”, The Princess and the Frog (2009)
10. Animist Worldview
•Animals and Moving things have spirits
•Sacred spaces are real things
•Curses are real things
•Rituals with magical effects
•Communication with ancestors
12. Native American Beliefs
Carol Locust, University of Arizona
1. Wellness is harmony in spirit, mind, and body
2. Unwellness is spiritual disharmony
3. Unwellness can be caused by violating a taboo
4. Unwellness can be caused by witchcraft
5. We are responsible for our own wellness
(Locust, 1988, p. 317)
13. When will we engage animist
worldviews in N. America?
15. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of ALL KNOWLEDGE
2. Revelation cannot be CRITICIZED
3. Revelation is MEDIATED
4. ALL AUTHORITY has a divine source
5. HUMAN LAW has a divine source
6. No di
ff
erence between SECULAR & SACRED
7. SUPER NATURAL taken for granted
16. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge -
a) special revelation — Scripture
b) Natural revelation — science & philosophy
19. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge
2. Revelation is NOT subject to critique
3. Revelation is mediated — through priest, rabbi, imam;
through an oral tradition and chain of authority
22. Pre-Modern Worldviews
• Judaism: Chain of authority from Moses to rabbis
• Catholicism: Chain of authority Peter to Pope to priests
• Islam: Chain of authority Muhammad to imams
25. Revelation Mediated by the Church
Biblical
Text
Biblical
Interpreter
Biblical
Writer
God Priest
MEANING
MEANING
26. Revelation Mediated by the Sages
Biblical
Text
Biblical
Interpreter
Biblical
Writer
God Rabbis
MEANING
27. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge
2. Revelation is NOT subject to critique
3. Revelation is mediated
4. Human authority has divine source — ex. Divine right of
kings. Papal authority approving monarchy, Caliphs
28. Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne Emperor (25 Dec 800 AD)
29. The True Law of Free Monarchies (King James I, 1598)
30. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge
2. Revelation is NOT subject to critique
3. Revelation is mediated
4. Human authority has divine source
5. Human law has divine source — Ex. Comes from Scripture or
Divine decree, but can be relative to its community.
31. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge
2. Revelation is NOT subject to critique
3. Revelation is mediated
4. Human authority has divine source
5. Human law has divine source
6. No di
ff
erence between Secular & Sacred
32. Implication: Law is Relative
• Jewish Law: Rabbis governed communities, civil & religious laws
• Christian Law: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Kings. Divine
right to establish their own religious and civil laws.
• Islamic Law: upholds the right of Christians & Jews to establish
religious courts.
33. Pre-Modern Worldviews
1. Revelation is the source of knowledge
2. Revelation is NOT subject to critique
3. Revelation is mediated
4. Human authority has divine source
5. Human law has divine source
6. No di
ff
erence between Secular & Sacred
7. Supernatural taken for granted — explains the inexplicable
35. Respond to Pre-Modernism
1. Where do premodern worldviews persist in N America?
2. What can we a
ffi
rm about premodern worldviews?
3. What might we disagree with about premodern worldviews?
4. How will a culture’s premodern worldview shape our ministry?
37. Premodern Worldviews
• Jehovah’s Witness: Watchtower interprets Scripture
• Latter-Day Saints: Chain of authority from Joseph Smith
• Seventh-Day Adventist: Chain of Authority Ellen G. White
39. What prompted the Englightenment?
• Emergence of “Reason”
• Renaissance, and interest in Greek & Roman writings
• Scienti
fi
c
fi
ndings reconciling with Faith
40. Modern Worldview
1. Reason becomes source of knowledge
2. Human authority originates in society (not God)
3. Human & Natural Laws are absolute and universal
4. Di
ff
erentiation between the secular and sacred
5. Inexplicable phenomena have rational explanations
6. Scripture is accessible and subject to inquiry
41. 1. Reason is the source of knowledge
• Empirical Knowledge
• Deductive Knowledge
42. 1. Reason is the source of knowledge
• Empirical: Knowledge comes from senses
• Rational: Knowledge comes from deduction
43. 1. Reason is the source of knowledge
• Empiricism: Inductive Knowledge
• Rationalism: Deductive Knowledge
44. 1. Reason is the source of knowledge
• Empirical Knowledge: Experimental Scientists
• Rational Knowledge: Theoretical Scientists
49. Implications
1. Reason: all inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: society determine laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
3. Absolute truth: Laws are same in all frames of reference
4. Separation between the sacred & sacred
5. Emergence of higher criticism of the Bible
53. Implications
1. Reason: All inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: Society determines laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
54. 2. Society determines laws
Democracy:
“We the people” (Preamble to US Constitution)
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln)
Communism:
Property held in common by the People (State) (Manifest)
Laws determined by State
Elimination of all social classes, and equalization of members of the State
55. Implications
1. Reason: All inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: Society determine laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
3. Absolute truth: Laws are same in every frames of reference
56. 3. Laws: Universal and Absolute
• Isaac Newton (Laws of Motion)
• Adam Smith (Wealth of the Nations)
• Charles Darwin (Law of Natural Selection)
• John Locke (Law if Nature)
The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it,
which obliges everyone (Treatises II.2.6)
• Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)
We hold these truths to be self-evident
57. 3. Laws: Laws are universal and absolute
• All phenomena are governed by universal laws
• Universal laws can be described & understood
• Universal laws are true in every frame of reference
• Universal laws are always true
58. Implications
1. Reason: Inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: Society determine laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
3. Law: Laws are same in all frames of reference
4. Separation: Between the sacred & secular
59. 4. Separation of Knowledge
Religion & Philosophy versus Sciences
Fine Arts & Music versus Technology
Sacred History versus Knowable History
Heils Geschichte versus Historisch
60. Immanuel Kant
1724 - 1824
Critique of Pure Reason
Limits of metaphysical inquiry
61. Kant stated bluntly that the observable facts of the
physical world are completely described by "science
proper"; [but] “philosophy" can never tell us anything
about them.
Frank, P. (May 1952). The Origin of the Separation between Science and Philosophy. American Academy of
Arts and Sciences 80 (2). 115-139.
62. In the nineteenth century, there came into being a divorce
between scientists and philosophers. The scientists looked with a
certain suspicion upon philosophic speculations which appeared
to them too frequently to lack precise formulation and to attack
vain, insoluble problems.
Louis DeBroglie, Quantum Physicist
Cited in: Frank, P. (May 1952). The Origin of the Separation between Science and Philosophy. American
Academy of Arts and Sciences 80 (2). 115-139.
63. 4. Separation between Sacred & Secular
• Search for the “Historical Jesus”
• Emergence of Higher Biblical criticism
• Questions historicity and authorship of Bible
68. Authorship of Pentateuch
• Conservative Scholarship: Mosaic authorship 1400 BC
• Critical Scholarship: Multiple sources 1400-400 BC
J - Jehovah
P - Prophets
E - Elohim
D - Deuteronomic
70. Authorship of Isaiah
• Conservative Scholarship: One author who lived 750 BC
• Critical Scholarship: Two authors (2nd lived during Cyrus)
I am the LORD…who says of Cyrus, “He is my
shepherd…saying of Jerusalem she shall be rebuilt.”
(Isaiah 44:24-28, ESV)
76. Implications
1. Reason: Inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: Society determine laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
3. Law: Laws are same in all frames of reference
4. Separation: Between the sacred & sacred
5. Emergence of Liberal Christianity
77. Liberal Christianity (aka mainstream)
• Embraces religion’s moral principles
• Embraces religion’s traditions and rituals
• Embraces religion’s importance in society
• Rejects supernatural & miraculous
• Rejects historicity of the Bible
78. Liberal Christianity (aka mainstream)
• Embraces religion’s moral principles
• Embraces religion’s traditions and rituals
• Embraces religion’s importance in society
• Rejects supernatural & miraculous
• Rejects historicity of the Bible
79. Liberal Christianity (aka mainstream)
• Embraces religion’s moral principles
• Embraces religion’s traditions and rituals
• Embraces religion’s importance in society
• Rejects supernatural & miraculous
• Rejects historicity of the Bible
• Claims Christian theology is human invention
82. The fate of our times is characterized by
rationalization and intellectualization and, above
all, by the 'disenchantment of the world’!
Max Weber, “Science as Vocation” , 1919
83. Implications
1. Reason: Inexplicable phenomena have natural explanations
2. Authority: Society determine laws (ex. Democracy, Marxism)
3. Law: Laws are same in all frames of reference
4. Separation: Between the sacred & sacred
5. Emergence of Liberal Christianity
6. Humanity has become the master of his world
95. Postmodernism
1. Humanity is not the master of his universe
2. Truth is relative
3. Individuals determine “meaning”
4. Government is a social construct
5. Reason cannot explain everything
104. Postmodernism
1. Humanity is not the master of his universe
2. Truth is relative
3. Meaning is found in the person
4. Government is a social construct — is Democracy right for everyone?
Questioning that western culture is superior
106. Model of Bible Interpretation
Text Reader
Translation
Writer’s
Cultural
Milieu
Reader’s
Cultural
Milieu
Audience
Exegete
is
Addressing
Postmodern Bible Interpretation: Reader Gives Meaning
Meaning
108. Review
• What is culture
• How do we exegete a cultural text to understand culture
• How do we read a sociological study to understand culture
• What are the worldviews that frame the context of culture
• What are the generational di
ff
erences that frame culture(s)
109. Critical Theory
De
fi
ned
A “critical” theory is a method of inquiry that seeks human
emancipation from slavery, liberation from oppression, and
works to create a world which satis
fi
es the needs and self-
determination of individuals. This approach has been applied
to many disciplines such as social science, literary theory,
legal theory, theories of education, and most recently race
relations.
“Critical Theory”. 2005. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/
110. “The history of all…society is the
history of class struggles”
Karl Marx (1818–1883)
(Marx, Karl.1848/1913. Manifesto. p. 5)
111. • Theory of Psychoanalysis
• All text emerges from subconscious
• All text contains implicit bias
• We can deconstruct the text to
explode the bias
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
Whitebook, Joel. 2006. “The Marriage of Marx and Freud” Cambridge Companions.
112. Max Horkheimer
• Brought together: Freud, Marx,
literary theory, and philosophy
of education.
• Traditional & Critical Theory
(Horkheimer,1937)
1895—1973
113. Traditional Theory vs. Critical Theory
Traditional Inquiry:
“is content to describe existing social institutions more or less
as they are”
Critical Inquiry:
Seeks to expose the social institutions’ false claims to
legitimacy, reveal their methods of oppression, and promote
truth and justice for those who are oppressed.
Max Horkheimer (1895—1973)
(Horkheimer, 1937/1972, p. 188)
114. Expose the social institutions’ false claims to
legitimacy, reveal their methods of oppression
116. • Response to WWI
• Marriage of Marx, Hegel, and Freud
• German Marxism 1920s
• Shut down in 1933
• Continued at Columbia University
Frankfurt School (1918 - 1933)
117. Critical Social Theory
Premises
1. Every society has an Oppressor v. Oppressed
2. Oppressors oppress using power
3. Oppressed conditioned to accept their status
4. First goal: Expose the structures of oppression
5. Second goal: Gain knowledge about the oppressed
6. Third goal: Dismantle the structures of oppression
Shenvi, Neil. 2019. “Critical Theory”. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
127. Critical Bible Hermeneutics
Critical Interpretation
The Bible needs to be liberated from its captivity to one-sided white,
middle-class, male interpretation. It needs liberation from privatized
and spiritualized interpretations that avoid God’s concern for justice,
human wholeness, and ecological responsibility; It needs liberation
from abstract, doctrinal interpretations that remove the biblical
narrative from its concrete social and political context in order to
change it into timeless truths
Russell, Letty. 1974. “Introduction”. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Westminster Press, p. 12.
128. Model of Bible Interpretation
Text Reader
Writer Language Translation
Copyist
Errors
Writer’s
Cultural
Milieu
Reader’s
Cultural
Milieu
Evangelical Hermeneutics: Meaning is in the Text
Meaning
God
129. Text Reader
Writer Language Translation
Copyist
Errors
Critical Literary Theory: Expose Oppresser
Find the oppressed
Meaning
Women, homosexuals, slaves, minorities, immigrants, impoverished
Oppressor X
Oppressed
130. Critical Bible Hermeneutics
Critical Interpretation
The Bible needs to be liberated from its captivity to one-sided white,
middle-class, male interpretation. It needs liberation from privatized
and spiritualized interpretations that avoid God’s concern for justice,
human wholeness, and ecological responsibility; It needs liberation
from abstract, doctrinal interpretations that remove the biblical
narrative from its concrete social and political context in order to
change it into timeless truths
Russell, Letty. 1974. “Introduction”. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Westminster Press, p. 12.
133. The story of Jezebel epitomizes how male preoccupation with
female ambition, and female sexual autonomy evolved into a
narrative…Old Testament “editors” revisited the story repeatedly
over centuries, and what emerged was the story of a wicked
queen, the wife of Ahab who was the mortal enemy of El
ij
ah, the
prophet of God.
Wednesday Martin, “Who Exactly was the Original Jezebel?” Lit Hub. https://lithub.com/who-exactly-was-the-original-jezebel/
137. What can we affirm with Critical theory?
What do we disagree with?
138. Critical Worldview vs. Christian Worldview
• Critical Narrative
• Identities: Oppressed/Oppressor
• Objective: expose oppression
• Goal: Human self-determination
• End: There will always be
oppressors and oppressed
• Biblical Narrative
• Imago Dei, Sinful, Redeemed
• Objective: Reconciliation with God
• Goal: Glorify God & Enjoy Him forever
• End: Reign of God