When we gather around glory, we ought to know what it is

I propose the glory of Christ as the central, unifying concept for a distinctively Christian integration.

Since glory is the central focus of the content of integrative thinking, an investigation of integrative thinking must begin with a clarification of what we mean by glory. In his book, The Glory of God and the Transfiguration of Christ (1949), Arthur Michael Ramsey notes that, while we use the term “glory” quite often, we lack an adequate understanding of its meaning. After laying the foundation supplied by the Old Testament use of kavod to speak of the radiance-splendor and power-character of Yahweh, Ramsey goes on to describe the New Testament concept of glory (doxa) as kavod, centered on and fully expressed by the person and work of Christ, participated in by Christians, entered through suffering, understood through faith, and proclaimed as Christians glorify God in worship, declaring God’s love and judgment before the world.

This side of heaven the paradoxical nature of glory as power-in-sacrifice and the sin-caused-inability of our perception hinder our understanding. When we gather and live as community in Christ, sharing our perceptions of and ponderings on this glory, submitting ourselves to Scripture and Spirit, we can come to a fuller and more accurate understanding and proclamation.

While I must move on from glory to Christian worldview in my trek through integration, two additional steps must be taken. First, I must select and meditate on key passages having kavod (Old Testament) and doxa (New Testament). Second, a dip into the thinking of John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards seems warranted. Steinmetz describes Calvin’s notion of God as a craftsman whose craftsmanship marks creation and Lane writes about Edwards’ notion of creation—and especially humanity—as expressing God’s excellence and beauty and of desire for God as our proper response to this expression.

Series Intro: Teasing out the categories of interdisciplinary integration

References

• Articles
  • Lane, B. C. (2004) Jonathan Edwards on beauty, desire, and the sensory world, Theological Studies 65(1), pp. 44-72.
  • Steinmetz, D. C. (2005). The debate on intelligent design: Creator God. The Christian Century 122(26), pp. 27-31.
• Books
  • Ramsey, A. M. The Glory of God and the Transfiguration of Christ. Wipf & Stock Publishers (June 2009).  (Glory section only)