Michael Bauman, Pilgrim Theology: Taking the Path of Theological Discovery. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Someone suggests that this book, like Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, is a must-read. Well, I bought and read Thielicke’s book, but I forgot about it, having read it decades ago. My impression is that Bauman’s book is more understandable and quite amusing.
In the first part, he argues against “Fortress Theology.” In other words, he criticizes indoctrination and argues for education, that is, a journey of discovery which evaluates ideas with intense scrutiny and critique. “In short, we ought to be biblical, skeptical, objective, and tolerant.” (p. 28)
In the second part, he argues for contextualization. He criticizes people who make Christ in their image. He says Thomas à Kempis reduced Christ into “a medieval monk.” (p. 83)
In the third and final parts, he criticizes Freudian, Marxist, Reader’s response, and Feminist theology. The most helpful part, in my opinion, is his critique of the unhealthy zeal for eschatology.
- Such books only nourish our taste for the sensational, not hunger for God and godliness.
- People often see the Bible as a railroad timetable of things to come. “Reading Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 as if they were tomorrow’s newspaper headlines and the New York Times as if it were a biblical commentary by F. F. Bruce or B. F. Westcott.” (p. 220)
- Modern state of Israel “eschatology has nothing to do with it.” (p. 220)
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“Only later did I learn the hard and humbling lesson that virtually every generation in Christian history thought of itself as the last, and that in every instance it was wrong. How could I escape that fate?” (p. 220
- “He would tell them that the end would come when there were earthquakes, wars, and rumors of wars—a not too helpful reply given that in the two thousand years since he spoke only forty-four years have been free of military combat of some sort, and that during those war-laden years we have witnessed thousands upon thousands of earthquakes. The language of theophany, I was slow to learn, is picturesque, not perspicuous. At other times Jesus became far less oblique: he told his questioners that “the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed” (Luke 17:20). But they seemed not to get his point. At least once, he flatly told his listeners that he simply did not know (Matt. 24:36). Only the Father knows the time, Jesus told them, and concerning it the Father has said precisely nothing.” (p. 220)
- “As a timetable devotee I was reading Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 as if they were tomorrow’s newspaper headlines and the New York Times as if it were a biblical commentary by F. F. Bruce or B. F. Westcott. Only later did I learn the hard and humbling lesson that virtually every generation in Christian history thought of itself as the last, and that in every instance it was wrong. How could I escape that fate?
Only later did I discover the changing face of Antichrist and the many different names from history that well-informed theologians had assigned him—Pope Julius, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, and John Kennedy among them. Either those theologians were flatly mistaken or else the Evil One is very much like George Burns in the movie Oh God!: he can do any face, any voice.” (p.224)
The Bible clearly says, “the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed.” (Luke 17.20) Even Jesus himself does not know the time. (Matthew 24.36) Yet so many YouTubers make money by so-called prophesying on the End times, and so many followers take the bait. They must be smarter and know better than Jesus. They think.