{"id":289,"date":"2009-03-27T12:16:22","date_gmt":"2009-03-27T12:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/what-is-practical-theology-par-7.html"},"modified":"2009-03-27T12:16:22","modified_gmt":"2009-03-27T12:16:22","slug":"what-is-practical-theology-par-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/what-is-practical-theology-par-7.html","title":{"rendered":"What Is Practical Theology? Part Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

After an all-to-lengthy excursion into interdisciplinary method,
\nit’s time to get back into the four core tasks of practical theology.
\nHaving been through the descriptive and empirical moments, the third
\nmoment of PT is the normative moment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It is now, after gathering data and using the best of several
\ndisciplines to interpret that data, that the practical theologian makes
\nnormative claims for the life of the church. Often, practical theology
\nis in conversation with the other volumes of the “theological
\nencyclopedia” at this time, consorting with the likes of biblical
\nstudies, systematic theology, and church history.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But remember that the practical theologian is grounded in real-life,
\nempirical data from church, society, and\/or individual. In other words,
\nthe practical theologian does not think, “I’d like to spend my career
\nstudying the doctrine of sanctification” or “I’d like to write my
\ndissertation on the Nestorian controversy” or “The world needs another
\nbook on the aorist tense.” (OK, simmer down. This is not meant to
\ndisparage those who do perform those important tasks. Without them,
\nwe’d never have to pay $75 for a book again!) The practical theologian,
\ninstead, is confronted with a problem. It might be a theological
\nresponse to young women who cut themselves, or how to preach funeral
\nsermons in the African American tradition, or how the emerging church
\nis negotiating its relationship with culture (hey, there’s a great idea
\nfor a dissertation!).<\/p>\n

So let it not be said that the practical theologian is not in the
\nbusiness of normative theology – she is, indeed, and it is normative
\ntheology that responds to crises in the life of church and world.<\/p>\n

Here’s my diagram of the four moments and four theoretical decisions of practical theology that I have described in these eight posts.<\/p>\n

\"diagram.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After an all-to-lengthy excursion into interdisciplinary method, it’s time to get back into the four core tasks of practical theology. Having been through the descriptive and empirical moments, the third moment of PT is the normative moment. It is now, after gathering data and using the best of several disciplines to interpret that data, that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Practical Theology? Part Eight - The New Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/what-is-practical-theology-par-7.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Practical Theology? Part Eight - The New Christians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After an all-to-lengthy excursion into interdisciplinary method, it’s time to get back into the four core tasks of practical theology. Having been through the descriptive and empirical moments, the third moment of PT is the normative moment. 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