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This study offers a theological analysis of, and response to, the modern world, and is at once a theology of culture and of creation. In the first half of the book, Gunton expounds some of the distinctive and often contradictory features of modern culture. It emerges that modern culture, far from being unique in its difficulties, reflects similar inadequacies in ancient thought. The distinctive pathos of modernity is to be found in one unique feature, namely the displacement of God that is a mark of all realms of life. The roots of the problem are sought beyond the Enlightenment, where they are often located, in the combination of platonism and Christian theology which dominated medieval Christian thought. At the heart of the matter is a deficient - because of an inadequately trinitarian - understanding of creation and creation's God. The second half of the book develops a powerful theology of creation where due weight can be given to both universal and particular, both society and the individual.
This book offers a comprehensive and lively look at the Christian faith by internationally-respected theologian, Colin Gunton. Distilling a lifetime's experience of teaching and thought, this is a book for those who wish to understand the meaning and relevance of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. The order of the book follows the central themes of the Nicene Creed, the manifesto of the Christian faith. Beginning with consideration of creation and providence, it moves on to the person and work of Christ, and then to the human appropriation of belief and eschatology. A concluding chapter brings together, in a treatment of the Trinity, a discussion of the divine attributes and the doctrine of God that has been revealed in the process of the book's argument. No other book offers such a comprehensive, systematic and accessible overview of the Christian faith. It will prove invaluable to students of introductory theology, as well as anyone interested in the fundamental claims of Christianity.
What is Christian doctrine? The fourteen specially commissioned essays in this book serve to give an answer to many aspects of that question. Written by leading theologians from America and Britain, the essays place doctrine in its setting - what it has been historically, and how it relates to other forms of culture - and outline central features of its content. They attempt to answer questions such as 'what has, and does, Christian doctrine teach about God, the creation, the human condition and human behaviour?' and 'what is the part played in Christian doctrine by the Trinity, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?' New readers will find this an accessible and stimulating introduction to the main themes of Christian doctrine, while advanced students will find a useful summary of recent developments which demonstrates the variety, coherence and intellectual vitality of contemporary Christian thought.
While much dialogue has focused on aspects of Colin Gunton’s Trinitarian theology, there has been a need for a full-scale study of Gunton's doctrine of creation that locates the significance of his understanding of creation within the wider spectrum of his theology. Problem and Promise demonstrates how Gunton's doctrine of creation cannot be read in abstraction from his Trinitarian theology and argues that creation remains a central feature in Gunton’s writing that holds lasting importance for understanding ethical and moral aspects of Gunton’s theology. William B. Whitney establishes how this Trinitarian account of creation goes beyond offering a theological description of the created realm and also provides the basis for understanding human involvement in creation through the enterprises of culture.
This study by leading scholars from around the world engages with central hermeneutical, philosophical and theological dimensions of the doctrine of creation. Particular prominence is given to discussion of creation 'out of nothing'm the relation of eternal creator to temporal creation, the Trinitarian construction of the doctrine and its ethical implications. The essays comprise: -Robert Jenson on the doctrine of creation -Paul Helm on eternal creation -Colin Gunton on Genesis and on the Reformers -Alan Torrance on spatio-temporal dimensions -Daniel Hardy on creation and eschatology -Brian Horne on divine and human creativity -Christoph Schwobel on God, creation and the Christian community These expert contributions open up new dimensions to an important topic currently receiving renewed attention.
Professor Gunton asks whether there is more to be said for the motion of Christianity as a 'revealed religion; than some of the more simplified recent treatments allow. He analyses the concept of revelation, illustrating its importance for understanding even beyond religious purposes. He contends that natural theology and natural revelation are distinct categories and examines why they are so often confused. He considers revelation in relation to scripture and tradition, and the nature of inspiration.
Joseph Sverker explores the division between social constructivism and a biologist essentialism by means of Christian theology. For this, Sverker uses a fascinating approach: He lets critical theorist Judith Butler, psycholinguist Steven Pinker, and systematic theologian Colin Gunton interact. While theology plays a central part to make the interaction possible, the context is also that of the school and the effect of institutions on the pupil as a human being and learner. In order to understand what underlies the division between nature and nurture, or biology and the social in school, Sverker develops new central concepts such as a kenotic personalism, a weak ontology of relationality, and a relational and performative reading of evolution. He argues that most fundamental for what it is to be human is the person, vulnerability, bodiliness, openness to the other, and dependence. Sverker concludes that the division between constructivism and essentialism discloses a deeper divide, namely that between fundamentally vulnerable persons on the one hand and constructed independent individuals on the other.
In The Holy Spirit as Communion, Leon Harris examines the pneumatologies of Colin Gunton and Frank Macchia. For both theologians, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is foundational to understanding their doctrine of God, Christology, and ecclesiology. Drawing on the theme of communion, The Holy Spirit as Communion expresses the concept that the Holy Spirit is the person who perfects the divine nature and personhood of the Father and Son. It is the Holy Spirit who perfects the eternal communion within the divine Trinity, which is the source of the divine action that also perfects the communion in creation as an expression of the Father’s will through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit as Communion ...
This text is part of the Edinburgh Studies in Constructive Theology series, which aims to provide a dialogue between the history of Western theological traditions and the contemporary interpretative context. Intended for those with no particular historical or theological training, it guides students through the core theological issues, searching out common ground by surveying the classic works of the theological tradition.