Theology and Culture: How the Infinite Became a Finite Fact

David HOEHNER

Authors

David HOEHNER He has been serving at Donetsk Christian University as a lecturer since 2001 and currently also serves as Academic Dean., United States

Keywords:

Theology and Culture, understanding culture,

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a sketch of a possible theology of culture. The first half of the article is devoted to exploring various biblical-theological motifs that provide a framework for understanding culture. These motifs include OT creation-wisdom theology, humanity as the image of God, the old and new covenants, and the Johannine logos concept. The second half is devoted to developing a constructive theological account of culture by employing a Trinitarian account of divine self-revelation and by exploring what implications it has for the church’s reception and articulation of the gospel. It is the contention of this author that culture is neither wholly evil nor wholly good. As the divinely-ordained context of our existence, culture is the inescapable matrix in which and out of which we theologize. In this article it is argued that the interaction of theology and culture requires a bi-directional process of contextualization that involves the articulation of the gospel in existing cultural symbols while integrating these symbols into the Christian story.

Author Biography

David HOEHNER, He has been serving at Donetsk Christian University as a lecturer since 2001 and currently also serves as Academic Dean.

David Hoehner was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. In 1991 David completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Texas where he specialized in Govern ment and Economics. In 1998, he received a Mas ter of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has been serving at Donetsk Christian University as a lecturer since 2001 and currently also serves as Academic Dean.

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