To my surprise, I just received a message from J. Todd Billings at my Facebook account (we are friends on FB π ). He is Associate Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. And his area of passion has to do with Union With Christ theology (or the Apostle Paul’s “in Christ” theology). Billings is a historical theologian, and a Calvin scholar. He has another book (which I am still supposed to do a review for here at the blog, since Oxford University Press kindly set me a review copy quite some time ago), which is his published ThD dissertation from Harvard Divinity entitled:Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ. This book is outstanding, I will hopefully be able to put up a review of it within a weeks time here at the blog. But what Todd was alerting me to, and what I primarily want to feature through this post; is his newest book entitled: Union With Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church. Lord willing I will be receiving a review copy of this book too; at which point I will promptly read, and provide a report to you all about its contents. Until that time, Todd pointed me to four promo videos that he did for his publisher (Baker Publishing); which provide a great sketch of what the book is about, and how Todd fleshes out this most awesome theme, Union With Christ. The first time I ever heard this phrase, ‘union with Christ’, was in seminary from my prof and mentor, Dr. Ron Frost (another historical theology guy, his guy was/is Sibbes). I had already been immersed in this concept for years (simply because I had been reading and memorizing so much scripture); but it was the introduction to this phraseology that revolutionized the way that I thought about intimacy with Jesus, and it drew me into the evocative reality of Paul’s mystical marriage language (cf. Eph. 5) like never before. Anyway, below are the four videos from Dr. J. Todd Billings on his new book “Union With Christ” (you can’t go wrong with a title like that!). Once I get the book I will be quoting from it as I read it, and finally writing a short review of it for the blog. Stay tuned. And thank you Todd Billings for alerting me and us to your most wonderful new title.
ht: J. Todd Billings
I must be missing something here but I was almost expecting some kind of “new thing” or “new understanding” that never appeared in the videos.
I never thought that “Union in Christ” was ever lost to theology. Maybe I was unusually blessed but I have had this taught to me from the begining in various ways.
Am I missing some theological code words?
I always get uneasy when I hear the words “reframe” in theology. Or the word “balance” Maybe these are the code words I am supposed to pick up on?
Of course, I don’t have the benefit of having the book in hand.
I am guessing that “Union in Christ” has some connotations tied in with Barth’s ideas and this speaks of that framework of understanding in a specific way ? Or not?
My great disadvantage is my unfamiliarity with Barth’s work and Torrence’s as well. So I have to ask these questions.
I am still working through your previous work here so I imagine much of what I am asking for will be answered in time. Bear with me.
Hey Gary,
No, nothing “new;” something very old actually. I don’t understand what you mean by “lost to theology?” As I said, Billings is a “Calvin scholar,” not a Barth or Torrance scholar (although I’m sure he knows something of them too π ). As Billings says in the videos; his is a theology of retrieval, which is an important caveat. In other words, Billings work reaches back into the Reformation history, in particular, as he says, focusing on Calvin’s (amongst others) theology of union with Christ (unio cum christo). So there is something very specific about this; which again Billings hints at in his videos when he speaks of Calvin’s duplex gratia, or double grace (sanctification and justification together in Christ, so its a personal concept vs. the classic Calvinist concepts that work substance metaphysics). As far as union in Christ being tied into Barth’s theology; not in particular, again, esp. through Billings, it is Calvin and other 2nd tier Reformers.
I think one thing that you should know about me, Gary, is that I’m not just a Barth and Torrance guy; but I am also a Calvin guy. Here is my archive on John Calvin: http://growrag.wordpress.com/category/john-calvin/ . π
Rather than promoting something new, Billings’ theology of retrieval sets itself to correct certain missteps common in current Christian thinking (I think he’s targeting the popular Christian mind here more than trends in academic theology, but I could be wrong). He wants to say that union with Christ is a better soteriological framework than others on the market. So his argument as he proceeds is largely contrastive with other ways of putting things he finds unsatisfactory. The second chapter, for instance, shows how the reformed doctrine of total depravity is both implicitly and explicitly entailed in the NT teaching about adoptive union with Christ and in that way coheres perfectly with the message of God’s love and grace, rather than conveying a misanthropic humbug. The final chapter, which I haven’t gotten to yet but have heard him lecture on a bit, is a great corrective of currently trendy talk about “incarnational ministry”, showing how union with Christ is a better (because time tested, i.e. NOT NEW, as incarnational language is) way to talk about participating in Christ’s ministry. So its not new but setting current trends against an understanding more supported by the Christian, particularly the Reformed, theological tradition.
Adam,
Thanks for further clarifying what Billings is doing. As I watched the videos it becomes clear (even from the title) that his intended audience is primarily non-specialists; which makes this book very appealing for recommending to both non-specialists and specialists alike π .
Gary,
Hopefully Adam’s further elucidation helps to clarify further what Billings’ book is about.
Thanks for posting this Bobby. I just downloaded to my Kindle, nice low cost. Looking forward to reading it.
Hey Jon,
Maybe I should get one of those Kindle thingys. I just like holding paper books so much though. I guess I could do both, eh? π
I like good hard paper books too. Notice that nice shelf of books behind the author? :O)
Yep, I still like em too, Duane π .