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This study critically examines the postliberal project, with special reference to George Lindbeck, the "founding father" of postliberalism. In an age of profound cultural change, is it feasible to locate the future of the Church and of the world on a consensus-building hermeneutic that dwells in the particularity of the Christian Scripture as its exclusive home? Seeing the theological task as a hermeneutical task founded upon the premise that truth is revealed in a dialectical way, the author provides an intelligible framework for dialogue with the postliberal school of thought. This dialogue, he argues, is ultimately determined by the overarching question of what it means to be Church. Towards a critical synthesis of the ecclesiological impact of this dialogue, the author offers a tightly argued and informative discussion on five pairs of key concepts: tradition and authority, Bible and de-Christianization, hermeneutics and revelation, religion and experience, doctrine and truth.
Postliberal theology is a movement in contemporary theology that rejects both the Enlightenment appeal to a 'universal rationality' and the liberal assumption of an immediate religious experience common to all humanity. The movement initially began in the 1980's with its association to Yale Divinity School. Theologians such as Hans Frei, Paul Holmer, David Kelsey, and George Lindbeck were influential and were significantly influenced by theologians such as Karl Barth, Clifford Geertz, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Postliberalism uses a narrative approach to theology, such as developed by Hans Frei, and argues that all thought and experience is historically and socially mediated. Michener provide ...
Osvaldo Padilla explores fresh avenues of understanding the book of Acts by examining the text in light of the most recent research on the book itself, philosophical hermeneutics, genre theory and historiography. This advanced introduction to the study of Acts covers important questions about authorship, genre, history, theology, and interpretation.
Who is God? The variety of images of God tends to overwhelm us in the present age. Is 'God' a fiction of human construction, or a reality that makes claims upon how we practice 'faith in God'? How does this quest for an understanding of 'God' illumine who 'we' are? God in Postliberal Perspective presents an introduction to the doctrine and concept of God in contemporary philosophy and theology, exploring how some theologians and philosophers dare to speak of God as "real" in our sceptical, pluralistic, and interfaith age. Robert Cathey tours the "house of realism" as constructed by postliberal Christians (David Burrell, William Placher, Bruce Marshall), in conversation with living communities of faith and critical work in philosophy and theology, and develops a distinctive argument about the relation of realism and non-realism in constructing the doctrine of God in postliberal theology. Offering a reading of postliberal theology which is open to critical discussion with other types of theology, philosophy, and faith traditions, this book proposes a model of theological reflection that may be extended to the reality-claims of a wide range of doctrines and concepts.
Eccentricity in Anthropology brings into conversation a constructive, critical interpretation of David Kelsey's Eccentric Existence with a central--yet often overlooked--debate in theological anthropology: the substantive-relational imago Dei. Milford's work explores new insights into human identity and dignity. In particular he demonstrates the value of an alternate constructive of humanity in the image of God. This construction utilizes an interpretation of Kelsey's anthropological formula so as to describe human identity as part of the created order in terms of its myriad features, which are externally rooted. Eccentricity in Anthropology demonstrates that an alternate approach to this de...
This book critically examines David Tracy's well-known methodology of fundamental theology, namely his revisionist model as developed in his Blessed Rage for Order (1975), together with his methodological shifts through the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. It explores how successful he has been in constructing a methodology for the public theological discourse that he deems so necessary. More particularly, this book asks how serviceable this methodology is for articulating Christian discourse in an intelligible and public way in the contemporary context of religious plurality.
Postmodern challenges to the reliability of Christian belief have left many pastors and theologians wondering whether Christian belief should be rationally defended at all. Gibbs investigates this possibility by a case study of postmodern theologian George Lindbeck. Lindbeck's modern classic, The Nature of Doctrine, is a prime example of theology that is both faithful to the church and highly critical of modern conceptions of faith and reason. Gibbs's careful analysis of Lindbeck shows a way forward that embraces Christian apologetics, while transforming it to answer postmodern criticisms of modern apologetics. The result is a sure confidence that the truth of Christian belief is reasonable, even if not able to be proven. Not only is Christian truth shown reliable, Gibbs argues that apologists can and should defend the reliability of the Christian narrative as the most beautiful and good account of the world as well. Apologetics after Lindbeck is a transformation of apologetics that calls the church to faithfully form Christians who can tell a beautiful, good, and true story of the grace of Jesus Christ.
The Tradition of the Gospel Christians explores the post-Soviet tradition of evangelical Christians originating from the ministry of the Victorian revivalist preacher Lord Radstock in St. Petersburg in the 1870s. In an effort to resolve the current evangelical crises of theology and identity, this study provides an analysis of the tradition's history reflecting on its restorationist tradition, the contours and vectors of its theology, and its practice of biblical interpretation. The historical analysis reveals that the major causes of the crises of identity and theology pertain to the socio-political upheavals, which, in turn, led the tradition to develop strategies to maintain relevance in ...
Colleges can do it. Hospitals can do it. Workplaces can do it. Why does the church in the United States still find it so difficult to integrate across racial and ethnic divides? In Blessed and Beautiful Lisa Lamb trains her sights on one often overlooked facet of forging life together: the magnetic power of shared memories. Those common narratives bind ethnic groups together and keep them apart. This book explores the sociological and theological dimensions of social memory and considers the particularly powerful tool preaching could be for shaping individuals who are willing to risk remembering their people's past in church and for shaping churches capable of hearing those stories. While keenly aware of the complex dynamics involved, Lamb ultimately gives pastors and other church leaders a glimmer of hope as they seek to build reconciled communities of faith.