02/02/06

In chapter 3, Wells talks of Hans Urs von Balthasar and his comparison of theology to drama. And he differs between three ways in which a person could view such a drama or story: epic, lyric, and dramatic. In the epic example, the person is not actually a part of the story, but feels as if they know enough information to influence it. In the lyric perspective, the observer is actually a part of the action and is influenced by it. The dramatic perspective takes the strengths of the epic and lyric.
The epic perspective is very unattached. Church sacraments become memorials, and God becomes third person – very distant. The lyric perspective has its shortcomings as well. The observer becomes so emotionally involved in the story, such as Jesus being on the cross. Everything should be more than just an event – it should be more dramatic. Wells explains this drama in a five-act play, which I find very intriguing and interesting.
First of all, the Father is the author, the Son is the actor, and the Spirit is the director. The main characters are God, Jesus, Israel, a Christian, angels, and demons. It is interesting to see that Wells has not used too many of his own ideas yet – he mostly has just been using examples from other theologians and ethicists, such as Balthasar and Tom Wright. Wright had an idea of a five-act play in which the fifth act was yet to be decided by the participants. Act I is Creation, Act II is the fall of man, Act III is Israel, Act IV is Jesus, and Act V is up to the Christians. The fifth act is the eschaton – the end. Wells makes a great statement that, “This is a frightening thing for those who have built up power and resources, but for those who have nothing to lose it is an unbounded joy” (55). I would definitely have to agree here. My brother talked about this very subject in a revival service sermon just yesterday. It is up to us as Christians to decide how the fifth act will play out, and it is amazing to think that we are in the midst of it as we speak.
Wells brings back the ideas of epic and lyrical thinking to illustrate how mistakes can be made within the play. One can see it all as a one-act play and one can think oneself to be in the wrong act. He also mentions various other specific mistakes, but I could not help but keep thinking about the fact that we are in Act V. He mentions that this has stemmed from baptism. It puts us in God’s story.