Theology beacon dictionary of theology

The critics of theological realism contend there are better and more valid ways to explain: (1) the racial nature of mankind; (2) the racial fact of hu­man depravity; (3) the racial meaning of death; (4) the racial work of Christ's redemption; and (5) the realization of the new race of those born from above by grace through faith.

See REALISM. REPRESENTATIVE THEORY, REALISM AND NOMINALISM, ORIGINAL SIN, TOTAL DEPRAVITY, BUD­DHISM, TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION, NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS, IN ADAM, MAN, NATURE, PLATONISM.

For Further Reading: Miley, Systematic Theology, 2:474-92; Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, 2:64-94; Tennant, Philosophical Theology, 1:219-56; Wiley, CT, 2:109-14.

Ross E. Price

REALITY THERAPY. Reality therapy is a coun­seling theory which emphasizes responsible be­havior. The leading exponent of the theory is William Glasser. In his book Reality Therapy he assumes that it is impossible to maintain self-esteem if one is living irresponsibly. He declares, "Morals, standards, values, or right or wrong be­havior are all intimately related to the fulfilment of our needs for self-worth" (11). Thus he aims at teaching counselees to maintain a satisfactory standard of behavior, to correct themselves when they do wrong, and to credit themselves when they do right. Self-respect comes through self-discipline and loving closeness to others.

Glasser maintains that persons have only two essential personality needs—to love and to be loved, and to feel that one is worthwhile to one­self and to others. This may be reduced to a sin­gle indispensable need—to experience authentic love in a dependable relationship.

Responsibility is defined by Glasser as the ability to fulfill one's needs, and to do so in a way that does not deprive others of the ability to ful­fill their needs (xv).

While there is much about reality therapy which may be useful to the Christian minister, the redemptive dimension is missing. Fallen man is not able to merit salvation apart from the grace of God (Rom. 3:10-18, 23; Eph. 2:8). The danger of this counseling technique is that, in its empha­sis on the humanistic, to love one's neighbor as oneself, the vertical dimension may be neglected, to love God with all one's heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27).

See INTEGRITY THERAPY, COUNSELING, TRANS­ACTIONAL ANALYSIS.

For Further Reading: Clinebell, Basic Types of Pastoral

Counseling; Glasser, Reality Therapy; Hamilton, The Ministry of Pastoral Counseling.

Norman N. Bonner

REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY. This designates the approach to interpreting Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God which was proposed by the British scholar C. H. Dodd in his book Parables of the Kingdom. This interpretation of the kingdom of God in the ministry of Jesus sees the reign of God as fully present, i.e., realized in the person and work of Jesus. Dodd formulated his ap­proach in reaction to the earlier position of the German scholar Albert Schweitzer, which was known as consistent or thoroughgoing escha­tology. Schweitzer had argued that Jesus was a Jewish apocalyptic prophet, who announced that the kingdom of God was about to break into his­tory in a climactic way. But history did not come to an end with the cataclysm which Jesus ex­pected. Jesus had been mistaken.

Dodd sought to deemphasize any futuristic ex­pectation in the teaching of Jesus. He was con­vinced that the eschatological dimension of Jesus' preaching consisted in the affirmation that all for which the prophets had hoped had now been fulfilled in history by Jesus' appearing. Dodd was strongly criticized for minimizing the futuristic aspect of the kingdom of God, and that criticism led him to modify his position. It is now the general consensus of NT scholarship that for the ministry of Jesus, the kingdom of God is in a real sense both present and future. The escha­tology of Jesus is to be thought of as an escha­tology in process of realization.

See ESCHATOLOGY.

For Further Reading: Bruce, "Eschatology," Baker's DT, 187-93; Evans, "Kingdom of God," IDB, 3:17-26; Hunter, The Work and Words of Jesus, 90-100, 122-30; Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, 57-69; Perrin, The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus, 58-78.

Hal A. Cauthron

REASON. Reason is the power of the person to experience order in the universe and to bring or­der into his own thoughts and actions. When something is meaningful or makes sense, it is be­cause it is appropriately ordered by reason. Thus the various forms of reason (e.g., logic) do not exhaust or reduce reason to themselves.

Often the term reason is used to refer to the human power to have knowledge by mediation, in which we infer that one thing is true because something else is true. By a series of necessary relationships we arrive at a conclusion. Immedi­ate knowledge would be contrasted with media-

Reasoning is often contrasted with free associ­ation. The necessary relationship is opposed to the mere drifting from idea to idea.

Rationalism is the utilization of certain modes of reasoning as the only insight into truth. Em­piricism (gaining knowledge through the senses) is usually contrasted with rationalism; in this re­lationship empiricism is rejected as confused or distorted knowing (cf. Plato). Attempts to em­ploy all dimensions of the human capacity for knowing would regard either rationalism or em­piricism as one-sided approaches to reality and truth (cf. Hegel).

The critique of reason by romanticism, mys­ticism, authoritarianism, existentialism, and bib­lical literalism reveals both the many-sided character of reason as well as the numerous problems which it poses to man's quest for truth.

Some people contrast faith and reason as if there is no basis upon which they can exist si­multaneously in the same mind. Others think of faith as primary with reason included or of rea­son as primary with faith included. The problem of the relation between philosophy and theology is comparable to this, for philosophy employs reason and theology is based upon faith. If one observes the broader meaning of reason along with an equally intelligible meaning of faith, then to say that faith and reason require each other is very intelligible. It means that nonsense and absurdity cannot be believed; only that can be believed which makes some kind of sense or has some meaning.

Christianity calls for all a person's ransomed powers to be employed in the service of eternity; and certainly this includes man's reason.

See rationalism, faith, humanism, revelation, rationality.

For Further Reading: Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers, 339-40; Harris, "The Power of Reason," The Review of Metaphysics, June, 1969.

R. Duane Thompson

REBAPTISM. Rebaptism is the practice of bap­tizing adults who have already been baptized as infants. It was the practice of the Anabaptists in Europe during the period of the Reformation and has since been a mark of such groups as the Mennonites and Baptists. Rebaptism is in effect a protest against infant baptism or christening, and a denial of its validity. The underlying belief is that the sacrament of baptism was in NT times administered only in the case of adults becoming believers, and was intended to serve as an ex­pression of a personal and voluntary commit­ment to Christ. A corollary is that baptism is unique to the NT and not the counterpart of cir­cumcision, a rite administered to Jewish infants at eight days of age.

Basic to the believer baptism posture is the be­lief that repentance and faith (the new birth) are prerequisites of and are symbolized by baptism. Baptism is the sign that one has heard God's con­victing and saving Word, that one's life has been buried with Christ, that one has arisen with Christ to new life (Rom. 6:1-11), has experienced the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:37-39), and has become a part of the new community.

See baptism, infant baptism (pro and con), sac­raments, sacramentarianism.

For Further Reading: Cullmann, Baptism in the New

Terminologically, we can speak of the deeper "Christian life as the fullness of the Spirit without depreciating the reception of Christ in conver­sion, even as we can speak of the unique coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as a deeper revelation of God without depreciating the per­son of Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry. The Spirit of Pentecost is the continuation of the earthly Jesus. Even as there were stages in salva­tion in which God was progressively known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so there may be stages in one's personal history of salvation in which one may know God successively as Father,

See dispensation of the holy spirit, baptism with the holy spirit.

The enmity is represented by Scripture to be in the mind and heart of man. Cain, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and Ahab and Jezebel are notable examples of those who apparently maintained their enmity to the end. Yet to all of these, God extended gracious overtures of friendship.

When the references in Paul's letters are con­sulted, it will be seen that without exception rec­onciliation is linked to the atoning death of Christ. There is propitiation in the Atonement— the appeasing of the wrath of offended Deity whose just laws have been violated; but Christ's death was not necessary to initiate God's love, for the propitiation was God's own action. God's in­finite love is never seen in Scripture to have ever wavered at man's sin, no matter how selfishly, cruelly, and inhumanely expressed. Rather, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, whose sacrificial death redeems us from the guilt and wretchedness of sin's bondage.

Theology defines various aspects of the salva­tion experience and sometimes the order of events. We may differ in the way these are real­ized, but there is certainly justification and the forgiveness of sins. The rebel who once hated God because of His moral demands surrenders and exercises simple faith in the fact of Christ and His meritorious death. Reconciliation flows naturally and immediately. The new believer may not realize it, but by faith he has been adopted into the family of God. Glimpses of di­vine reality and glory follow, and love grows as God is revealed in the heart by the Holy Spirit. Friendship of the closest order now prevails, for the soul is "in Christ."

See justification, repentance, atonement, in

christ

For Further Reading: Wiley, CT, 2:229-32; Banks, ed., Reconciliation and Hope, 104-24; GMS, 403-5.

Myron D. Goldsmith

REDEEMER, REDEMPTION. Salvation is the end result of redemption; redemption itself is the means. The NT word (usually lutron and its fam­ily) refers to "ransom," payment for deliverance from some evil, "the price of release."

Love is the grand motivation for redemption, and it focuses in Jesus Christ the Redeemer, though God as Redeemer worked toward His salvation goal throughout the OT. "God so loved the world, that he gave" (John 3:16) is the corner­stone of the house called redemption. This can­not surprise us, for God's very nature is love (1 John 4:7-8; 2 Cor. 13:11). His love is universal, not confined to the Jews (John 3:16). That verse also lets us know His love is sacrificial; so does 1 John 4:9-10; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2; and Rev. 1:5. The amazing truth is that He loves us though un­worthy, and even when we are His enemies (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:10). The NT teaching is that His love is merciful (Eph. 2:4-5). More, the love that made redemption's plan complete saves and sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13).

An important personage in OT society was the Go'el, "redeemer," the nearest of kin charged with the responsibility of buying back an inheritance which had been alienated from the family line to which it properly belonged. Boaz, by redeeming Elimelech's property, and with it obtaining Ruth, prevented the line of Elimelech from terminating with the death of the two sons Chilion and Mahlon. In this respect also Jesus fulfills the type. Hs is our Go'el, our Redeemer, in restoring us to our proper owner and lineage.

The payment of the lutron was common in OT times and applied to anything that released a man from an obligation or debt of his own. But of special significance was the ceremony of the firstborn, traced to sparing sons on Passover night in Egypt. Customarily, the firstborn were given to the Lord and could be bought back for five shekels (Num. 18:16; cf. Barclay, New Testa­ment Words, 190). It is worth noting in passing that lutron may also refer to buying a slave's free­dom (sinners are slaves capable of being freed).

Mark 10:45 and Matt. 20:28 tell us Jesus is our lutron, our ransom to free us. Man, caught in the grip of sin and quite incapable of releasing him­self, is rescued. (Thus one definition of salvation is "rescue.") Sometimes the figure implies or indi-



REFORMATION—REINCARNATION

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