In the Name of Our Lord

D. Watson Jonathan

Description

Who is a member of the church?Christians divide on how one enters the church body. Matters are quickly complicated once other factors are considered, such as faith, instruction, baptism, first communion, and formal membership. Who should be baptized? What role does instruction play? And what is the best order of these things? Jonathan D. Watson's In the Name of Our Lord provides an explanatory typology and incisive analysis for thinking through these interrelated questions. Watson's four--model framework accounts for the major historical varieties of relationship between baptism and catechesis as initiation into the church. With this framework in place, Watson then considers each model in relation to one another.With a guide to navigating the terrain, readers can comprehend, compare, and contrast these different theological formulations. Readers will have a sophisticated but clear system for thinking through foundational matters that are important to every pastor and congregant.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• Theology
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 21 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683594925
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

IN THE NAME of OUR LORD
Four Models of the Relationship between Baptism, Catechesis, and Communion
JONATHAN D. WATSON

STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
In the Name of Our Lord: Four Models of the Relationship between Baptism, Catechesis, and Communion
Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology
Copyright 2021 Jonathan D. Watson
Lexham Academic, an imprint of Lexham Press
1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
LexhamPress.com
All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation or are from the New American Standard Bible® ( NASB ). Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Print ISBN 9781683594918
Digital ISBN 9781683594925
Library of Congress Control Number 2021933811
Lexham Editorial: Todd Hains, Claire Brubaker, Danielle Thevenaz
Cover Design: Bryan Hintz, Brittany Schrock
This book is dedicated to Karen ,
my excellent wife, my love ,
whose love, care, and faithfulness are nothing short of praiseworthy ,
and to Emma, Abby, Nathan, and Jude ,
precious gifts from the Lord ,
and to my parents, Ron and Janis Watson ,
whose love for the Lord and for his Word
led me to Christ and catechized me to walk in the truth (3 John 4)
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Mapping Diverse Patterns of Initiation
2. Constructing the Explanatory Framework
Baptism Model
Catechesis Model
3. Retrospective Model
4. Prospective Model
5. Discerning a Theological Catalyst
6. Pastoral and Ecclesial Implications
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Bibliography
Subject Index
Scripture Index
FOREWORD

HOPE FOR THE LOGIC OF LITURGY
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:16–17 ESV).
When thoughtful Christians from one tradition encounter other thoughtful Christians from other traditions, they experience spiritual unity alongside cognitive dissonance. The Holy Spirit—who gives new birth—is clearly evident, but important aspects of Christian theology and life are seen in apparently irreconcilable ways. This conundrum is notable among those who understand the administration of baptism in radically different ways vis-à-vis catechesis and Communion. It is also noticeable when individual traditions begin to surrender their own liturgical coherence.
Important questions begin to appear during the inevitable process of discovery once a maturing Christian begins to think on these matters: How did we arrive at this enigma of ecclesiological dissolution? What are the structures of thought which may enable genuine believers to worship again with integrity? How can we find a way through this tangle to reclaim Christian worship within and without? How might we simultaneously confirm the presence of the Spirit of God and Christ, whom we see in others, yet admit we do not share the same way of witnessing to his divine presence?
Having carefully read the perceptive theological and ecclesiological models offered by theologians like Ernst Troeltsch, Richard Niebuhr, and Avery Dulles, Jonathan Watson has crafted a new typology intended to enable us to begin, at the least, to see how various models of “liturgical logic” function in relation to Scripture and to one another. While I embrace what he describes as an interdependent prospective model of catechesis and baptism, Watson’s typology assists any careful theologian to understand how those adopting various logics of Christian liturgy might arrive at their position with faithfulness.
Ecumenical understanding is not the only benefit of this study. Just as important are the many ways the author helps pastors within different traditions to step back and evaluate how their own logic of liturgy may have been distorted through the careless, indiscriminate, and unthinking integration of their particular model. Watson encourages the various traditions to consider how they might recall and reinforce their theological convictions. The ancient principle of lex orandi, lex credendi is employed to suggest the means by which leaders could recall the center of their way of worship.
Especially helpful is his call for pastoral theologians to listen carefully to the voices of God, the initiate, and the congregation. For instance, Watson believes the Baptist tradition, and similar low-church ones, have not rendered sufficient attention to the connections between the three elements of baptism, catechesis, and Communion. Baptists tend to treat these elements independently, forsaking their beneficial interdependence. We can individualize worship to the point that its covenantal aspects, which ground our relations to God and one another, have disappeared almost entirely. Watson thus intentionally speaks not only to academics but also to pastors.
Here is a real opportunity for both confessional and ecumenical theologians to advance their understanding of Christian initiation. He is not dropping on Christian theology a polemic, as was all the rage immediately following the Reformation. Nor is he offering a comprehensive solution to divisions in liturgy, as was the fashion in the twentieth century. Rather, what Watson offers is a means to craft a superior understanding of the underlying structures of theology that shape not only our various liturgies, but also our diverse doctrines and divergent practices. His work provides a way of clarification.
We must recognize that, in part, the suffering we bear now is experienced in our relationships with one another. Such suffering occurs both within our churches and between our traditions. Within our various churches, we sense anguish in how the ordinances of Jesus Christ no longer coinhere to improve the life of the church. Sadly, each model is capable of losing its heart. A reformation of life and practice should come as the logic of a liturgy is remembered.
Between the traditions, our anguish manifests itself in the cognitive and liturgical discord that we sense when encountering fellow heirs with Jesus Christ on this side of his second coming. While we desire unity in worship with all children of God, we find our witness impaired by our inability to affirm the way others worship. Our debilitation may not perhaps be overcome simply by recognizing our problems, but at least Watson has offered a better way to conceive them than anything available hitherto.
I look forward to the day when all believers shall manifest both coherent local worship and the very unity which Christ himself prayed the Father would institute among us (John 17:22–23). I believe the Lord will be pleased with Professor Watson’s efforts to bring us closer to that day, not only in what he wrote, but in the spirit in which he wrote it. Pastors and theologians of differing theological traditions will find his typology helpful for increasing awareness of God, of self, and of others through reclaiming the logic of worship. May our love for God and for one another, both within and between Christ’s churches, manifest itself as we display God’s glory through the integrity of initiation.
Malcolm B. Yarnell III,
research professor of theology,
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary;
teaching pastor, Lakeside Baptist Church of Granbury, Texas;
Easter 2021
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is humbling to consider all the means of nurture and support the Lord has provided along the way in bringing this work to completion. The book you hold in your hands is a revision of the dissertation I completed at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Jason K. Lee, my supervisor, taught me as much outside of the classroom as a churchman and family man as he did in the classroom as a scholar. With regard to the latter, the rigor he exemplified in his own work and to which he challenged each of his students is something to which I aspire in my own teaching.
Other significant mentors along the way are deserving of mention. My childhood pastor, Randy Owens, modeled for me what a pastor-theologian looks like. Preben Vang, my first formal theology professor, impressed upon me the need to do theology for the church (“We do theology because we preach on Sunday!”), a value that I hope has been embodied in this work. Dr. Stan Norman deepened my passion for theology as much as any professor I’ve ever had. The Lord used him to help me see the passion he was giving me for deeper study of the Scriptures and for teaching. Many other professors (more than I can recount here) from my undergraduate days at Ouachita Baptist University through my graduate studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and culminating in my doctoral work at SWBTS have made unique and lasting contributions to my scholarship and discipleship unto Christ through both their persistent encouragement and faithful wounds. I am especially grateful for the work of Dr. Jeffrey Bingham, whose 2012 Day-Higginbotham Lecture “The Relationship between Baptism and Doctrine in the Second Century” and personal conversations provided much of the impetus for the topic of the original dissertation.
The band of friends that faithfully encouraged me along the way is too numerous to recount here. Several co-travelers were especially significant in the writing of this work, namely, Madison Grace, Matt Millsap, and Ched Spellman. Some of the first breakthroughs were catalyzed by a unique blend of coffee, scholarly conversation, and blitz chess with Ched. Additionally, Ched provided proofreading and writing advice for each chapter. E. B. White famously wrote, “It is not often that someone comes