Against the One Rule: Theodrama as Counter-Method

Against the One Rule

Kevin J. Vanhoozer offers a thought-provoking and timely contribution to the question of theological method in “One Rule to Rule Them All? Theological Method in an Era of World Christianity.”[1] His proposal of the theodrama stands as a counter to the “one rule” of Western rationalism and its claim to universal authority.[2] By envisioning the Bible as the script and doctrine as stage directions, he invites theologians to perform the same gospel truth in diverse local settings, allowing different accents and emphases while remaining faithful to the canonical plot.[3]

Yet the very term theodrama presents a potential challenge in Asian contexts. In much of South Asia the word drama commonly connotes fiction, pretence, or mere entertainment; audiences often need a disclaimer when a play is based on a true story.[4] Although Vanhoozer deliberately draws on the ancient understanding of theatre as the embodiment of a real story in action,[5] the modern semantic range of drama could unintentionally suggest that the gospel is unreal or imaginary. Careful explanation or alternative expressions may therefore be necessary to avoid even the appearance that God’s redemptive action is only a play.

Further, while Vanhoozer identifies sin as the central complication of the drama, many cultures conceive the deepest human problem in terms other than the Western category of sin—such as shame, impurity, or cosmic disorder. In such settings theological improvisation becomes crucial, as Vanhoozer suggests. This raises an important question, however: if theology is an improvisation of the canonical script, who conducts the “auditions”? In other words, who discerns whether a given performance is both biblically faithful and contextually fitting? Is it the local church or the wider communion of saints or the academy—remains a pressing issue.

Bibliography

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. “One Rule to Rule Them All? Theological Method in an Era of World Christianity.” In Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity, edited by Craig Ott and Harold A. Netland, 85–126. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006.

[1] Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “One Rule to Rule Them All? Theological Method in an Era of World Christianity,” in Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity, ed. Craig Ott and Harold A. Netland (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 85–126.

[2] Vanhoozer, “One Rule to Rule Them All?,” 91.

[3] Vanhoozer, “One Rule to Rule Them All?,” 109.

[4] In my context, the term drama is often employed loosely to refer to fictitious or exaggerated narratives. Typically, such dramas feature a hero who single-handedly defeats numerous opponents with implausible ease, rendering them unrealistic and at times verging on the comic.

[5] Vanhoozer, “One Rule to Rule Them All?,” 111.