Sárospataki Füzetek 1. (1997)

1997 / 1. szám - Alan P. F. Sell: Conservation and Exploration in Christian Theology. (Hagyományőrzés és új utak keresése a keresztyén theológiában. - Fordította: Rácsok Gabriella)

ALAN P. F. SELL

you Lave the implicit Jen ial of the ongoing illuminative Spirit.

of ike Holy

On tLe oik er siJe some. insleaJ of Leing tkeological explorers who mine tLe heritage anJ communicate it to a closely investigateJ contemporary situation, seem to loosen their 'grip on the heritage anJ. in a lauJahle Jesire to reach moJern people, capitulate to the thought forms of the age anJ emasculate the Gospel in the process. Forsyth rightly warneJ that there must surely he in every positive religion some point where it may so change as to lose its iJenlity anJ become another re ligio n. (l)

IJ ea lly lh eological conservationists will not become antiquarian conservatives, an J lh eological explorers will not Jegenerate into theological libertines. Rather, the h eritage will he exploreJ too see what is to conserveJ. and the manner anJ the content of the resulting contemporary communication will he sensitive to the prevailing climate of thought and con dilio ns o f life.

II

Who are the conservers and explorers? As I suggested earlier, they are Chrislia ns - all of them. Insofar as believers re fleet upon, and seek to articulate their faith, they are iheologising.

Of course to say that iheologising is the task of the whole Church is not to say that professional theologians have no particular part to play. They w ill he the lh eological advanced parly, committed to the Churc L Ui perm ilted hy the ecclesial authorities to engage in the exploratory tasks. We need to encourage those students w ho h ave the necessary intellectual gifts to use them to full so that we shall have good theological leadership in the next millennium.

But every pastor is a conserver and explorer of the faith: and we need men and women who will do this not only in their preaching, hut in the

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