David Grumett
University of Exeter
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Ecclesiology | 2004
David Grumett
In the cosmology and theology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Church has not often been considered to possess any significant function. In fact, Teilhard devotes considerable attention to several key ecclesiological questions. Fundamental to the Christian mission of the conversion of the world to Christ is an incarnational theology of the conversion of the Church to the world. This requires the Church to accept the modern world as currently and contingently constituted. The Church spiritually transforms the materiality of the world in its sacraments and through the practical works of its members. It provides the physical means of the convergence of the world towards its final unity, and for this reason calls its members to obedience, despite its imperfections. Catholicism has the potential to bring all Christians to unity in a self-transforming ecumenism that could also encompass other faiths.
Expository Times | 2011
David Grumett
Awareness of the large contribution made by livestock production to global warming is growing rapidly. In response, John Barclay has developed an important Pauline call for greatly reducing meat consumption. The case from scripture can be strengthened by attending to the rich history of weekly, seasonal and occasional meat abstention in secular Christian society, which was grounded in a collective literal reading of both Testaments and a desire to enter into the life of Christ. In monasteries, moreover, red meat was prohibited. In the present-day context, these traditions of lived biblical interpretation need to be recovered and rearticulated.
Theology | 2007
David Grumett
A creative renewal of metaphysical conceptions of eucharistic consecration in the face of dominant models based on ecclesial community has the potential to make a valuable contribution to mission and spirituality by relating the Eucharist to the active lives of lay people within the Church and outside it. This is a possibility for many churches and not just those with a Catholic liturgical tradition. The Jesuit theologian and palaeontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin develops a suggestive eucharistic theology as part of a cosmological vision in which the whole of creation is ultimately dependent on the transforming power of the Eucharist. The antecedents of this theology are to be found in the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz and Maurice Blondel, and it has clear affinities with Gregory of Nyssas eucharistic imagery. Fundamental to it are the notions of sacred space, incarnation and transfiguration.
Scottish Journal of Theology | 2006
David Grumett
The brief account of the hospitality offered by Martha and Mary to Jesus has been interpreted allegorically in at least three different ways. The majority tradition has identified the figure of Mary with contemplation, and considered this to be the ‘one thing necessary’ to Christian life. Meister Eckhart suggests, however, that Martha, representing action, has chosen the better part, and Aelred of Rievaulx that action and contemplation are both commended. Feminist and other recent interpretations continue, sometimes unconsciously, to draw on this allegorical tradition. The theological importance and significance of the passage has been due largely to its use as the gospel reading for the feast of the Assumption of Mary the mother of Jesus. Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her’. In reflecting on this short text, I have two distinct sets of questions in mind. First, how might the account of the hospitality given by Martha and Mary to Jesus assist reflection on the nature of action and contemplation, their relative priority in Christian life, and their mutual relation? Theological considerations such as these need, however, to be set within the larger ∗ An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Theology, University of Exeter, UK, 29–31 March 2004, the topic of which was ‘Bible and Theology’. I am grateful for the discussion which followed, and to David Horrell and Rachel Muers for comments on drafts.
Expository Times | 2018
David Grumett
the category of religion so that such religions reveal themselves as generating new forms of public assembly, and Teemu Taira, similarly challenging the term and arguing that such religions expose the interests and practical outcomes of certain phenomena being classified as ‘religions’. This collection of essays provides insight into the scholarly debate on what constitutes ‘religion’, looking to the newest forms of what might be classed as religious. This book would be most beneficial for those interested in the possible boundaries of religious belief and practice. However, I would also recommend this book to laypersons interested in learning about the religious landscape beyond the so-called ‘world religions’ and what such a landscape might mean for being human.
Expository Times | 2018
David Grumett
cosmology, the origins of life, evolution, anthropology and neuroscience. There is a short account of the history of science and religion, focussing on key figures such as Galileo, Newton, Darwin and Einstein. Interspersed with these themes are reflections on Biblical narratives, focussing on the opening chapters of Genesis and the Gospels: here the straightforward, uncomplicated approach will resonate most with those of a conservative disposition. The book’s ‘u.s.p.’ (unsurprisingly, given its provenance) is the significant attention paid to chemical processes in the opening chapters: too often these have been overlooked by authors coming from backgrounds in physics or the biological sciences. For the most part Fleming is a sure guide through the topics covered. Attention is frequently drawn to observations for which science cannot currently account, although the author rightly warns against ‘God-of-the-gaps’ arguments. Occasionally there is a lack of explanation of terms within his own field (I am not sure how clear the term ‘highly reducing environment’ (p. 48) will be to a non-chemist), and a confusion in the use of terms outside it (effects from chaos and quantum theories are insufficiently distinguished on p. 62: Dawkins’ ‘memes’ are not concerned with ‘the influence of culture on evolution’, p. 205). There are also some contentious generalisations: for example, this reviewer does not believe it to be the case that ‘most theologians and scientists involved at the interface of the two domains pursue an integration approach’ to science and religion (p. 200). Fleming states that his hope in writing his book is ‘that engagement with the ideas will facilitate individuals in developing a holistic religious and scientific mental framework for understanding of the world’ (p. xvii). To that end, each chapter concludes with a set of questions ‘for personal refection or...group dialogue’ (p. xvii). There is certainly much here with which to engage, and plenty to encourage that holistic approach.
Theology | 2017
David Grumett
as his Liberating Sex (SPCK, 1993) and Making Sense of Sex (SPCK, 2012). The biblical texts appear to assume two genders, male and female, with distinctive and complementary roles, and to condemn confusion in gender relationships, not least by homosexual practices. However, Thatcher demonstrates that philosophy and proto-science in antiquity assumed one gender – the male – of which the female was simply an imperfect exemplar, and that the idea of two distinct genders is much more recent, driven mainly by developments in biological knowledge. He suggests that this latter polarity may have contributed to marginalizing those who do not fit neatly into male/masculine or female/feminine. And, while accepting that the older ‘one sex’ tradition could also marginalize women, he argues that the biblical vision of one nature – humanity – wholly assumed and redeemed in Christ, puts problems of gender and sexuality into a new light. He draws on the doctrine of the Trinity to reject all forms of essentialism, gender or other, in favour of a relational approach, where each of us is defined, not by our genitals or by social expectation, but by the distinctions-in-unity of our relationships. Thatcher’s rich scholarship, from Scripture to medical science, is beyond question, and it gives some valuable ammunition against those who still interpret Christian faith in a patriarchal way. The trinitarian argument is a little too dependent on simply quoting the paradoxes of the Athanasian creed, and the applicability of his thesis to LGBT (let alone cases such as Jack Monroe) is also underdeveloped. But this is a short book! I was, however, left in doubt about practical implications. Surely it is clear that neither science nor philosophy/theology can offer a panacea to the dysfunctionalities of gender relationships. What if this book, instead of being about gender, had been about ‘race’ or ‘class’? The so-called science of racial identities is far more spurious than any theory of gender; yet is ‘colour-blindness’ the way forward to a new humanity, or do we sometimes have to insist that Black Lives Matter? The sociology of class is a slippery thing, yet the ‘classless society’ has not delivered the goods, and we now hear calls on the Left for a revival of class-based politics. If we, realistically, must sometimes talk similarly about gender, does Thatcher provide us with the tools for this? I think not fully. But he may, like a good preacher, provide us with clues which can alter our ways of thinking.
Religious Studies Review | 2017
David Grumett
Publisher Rights Statement: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Grumett, D. (2017). Orion Edgar, Things Seen and Unseen: The Logic of Incarnation in Merleau-Ponty’s Metaphysics of Flesh. Reviews in Religion and Theology, 24, 273-5., which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rirt.12903/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Expository Times | 2017
David Grumett
This book provides at long last both a factual investigation and a popular biography of the portal figure of world ecumenism, Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931). In 2014, a century after Söderblom was consecrated as Archbishop of Uppsala, Bishop Emeritus Jonas Jonson has written a scholarly based but easily accessible biography of him. Many special studies that illuminate various aspects of his work are available, but Jonson has provided an overall image of Söderblom with all the complexities that doubtlessly characterized his personality. Jonson has brought sound knowledge and experience to his work, having himself been involved in international work and the ecumenical movement. The son of a priest, Nathan Söderblom’s background was the Pietistic Church Revivalism in Sweden. He was deeply influenced by his father, but as a student liberated himself and adopted a considerably more liberal position, not least under the influence of Ritschl. From an early date Söderblom become an internationally reflective theologian, involved in international work. In his young days he was a Church of Sweden priest in France and presented his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne. Eventually, he became a pioneering Professor of the History of Religions at Uppsala and Leipzig. The office of Archbishop became the platform—or maybe rather the stage – from which he directed the realisation of his ecumenical dream to unite Christendom in life and work. He initiated the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work at Stockholm/Uppsala in 1925, which became both the ardent high point of his career and the starting-point for what would later become the World Council of Churches. For Söderblom, this ecumenical work was also a peace project, which had emerged with him from the despair of the human devastation of the First World War. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930. Through this well-balanced and enjoyable presentation, Jonson lets his readers become acquainted with one of the ground-breaking church leaders of the 20th century. Broad brush-strokes paint him within the contemporary learned world and his cultural and theological environment. We encounter a personality with well-testified charm and formidable capacity for work and creating contacts. His vision encompassed broad views for churches and societies, which he turned into specific action. His charismatic intensity made even short every-day individual encounters unforgettable moments, which he knew how to use advantageously. This description of Söderblom’s life work in all its complexity makes Jonson’s elegant presentation both factually very interesting and enjoyably entertaining.
Expository Times | 2017
David Grumett
In English language scholarship, Jean-Luc Marion has become best known for articulating the difficulty of true giving, showing the near impossibility of stepping outside of systems of exchange, reciprocity and expectation. Going well beyond this, Christina Gschwandtner lucidly draws upon his whole corpus to present a fuller, more theological picture. Speech and reasoning about God tend towards the liturgical praise of God in the mode of direct address, whether for infinity, perfection or power. God is approached as an icon, drawing us to a visual and conceptual vanishing point before the image, rather than perfectly conforming to our perception like an idol. God is revealed in saturated phenomena, which typically are not exceptional mystical artefacts but everyday items that, as we regard them, resist Kantian categorization by quantity, quality, relation or modality. God is received in perceptual actions that demand attention, discipline, training, devotion and energy. God is worshipped eucharistically, with past and future brought into the present and a new phenomenality inaugurated. Finally, as Marion explored in his 2014 Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow, while God is manifested in revelation, understanding is inevitably through the human rational categories that this unfolds. Nevertheless, in most biblical texts God is intuited and witnessed to as a phenomenon rather than reduced to a concept or sign. God is contemplated through wisdom and charity, in the iconological gaze of Christ in front of which the Spirit places us. Marion’s thought might appear abstruse and of limited practical application. However, it has long been sustained by silent prayer before the blessed sacrament and, as Gschwandtner persuasively argues, resists the simple distinctions usually drawn between systematic, practical and liturgical theology. Moreover, Marion deploys many biblical pericopae to illustrate and amplify points, which could inform preaching. The gift may be missed, as by the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. In the parable of the two sons, as the father in his forgiveness re-gives, the gift is recognized for the first time. On the resurrection morning, Mary Magdalene may not touch Christ, who remains at an iconic distance. Christ’s disciples on the Emmaus Road intuit him as human but fail to recognize him because of lack of concepts, which only Christ is able to provide, as they walk. There can be little doubt that this is the work of a praying theologian.
