 |
 Joseph Sittler considered
theology to be an act, not just an idea; hence he “did” theology. His
theology was done within the matrix of the church, with his eye always
on how the Gospel to which the church witnesses makes an impact on the
world in which we live. That world includes the cultural situation, to
which the arts speak; the social context in which we seek to live
faithful lives; the natural environment; and the individual struggle to
find meaning and relevance in life. He spoke of himself as the church’s
emissary who was dispatched to live on the boundary of church and
culture. In his thinking, culture provides counterpoint to the melody of
the church’s preaching and action, and without counterpoint, the melody
has no real significance.
Sittler
was convinced that in order for theology to make its impact, radically
new ideas are needed. He brought his new thinking to bear on his
theology of nature, ecology, grace, Christ, ethics, and the Trinity. An
example is this comment about the Trinity: “It is likely that theology
may be unable intelligibly and effectually to propose a doctrine of
grace that shall be useful to practical human understanding and
obedience short of a radically fresh reconceptualization of the doctrine
of the Trinity” (In Vajta, ed., The Gospel and Human Destiny,
1971, page 127). In Christology, his fresh ideas included a retrieval of
the older traditions of the “cosmic Christ” (see Colossians 1:15-20).
Scholars have said that he and Teilhard de Chardin are the two great
twentieth century advocates of this strand of thought. He had a keen and
humble sense of his own work as a theologian, and often quoted what one
scholar wrote in her dissertation about his Christology: “With both feet
firmly planted in mid-air, he takes off in several directions” (Running
with the Hounds).
A sample of materials on Theology
available from the Archives
-
Evocations of Grace: Writings on Ecology, Theology and Ethics,
edited by Steven Bouma Prediger and Peter Bakken.
Eerdmans, 2000, Book
-
The Greening of Theology: The Ecological Models of
Rosemary Radford Ruether, Joseph Sittler, and Jurgen
Moltmann, by Steven Bouma-Prediger. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1995, Book
-
Sittler’s Course on
Theological Method, Audiotape (9/30-11/06/74)
|
|
|
|
|
|
