The Postfoundationalist Task Of Theology

In recent years the theological writings of Wolfhart Pannenberg have exerted considerable influence. However, Pannenberg's work has also been criticized for not taking seriously the postmodern challenge to traditional conceptions of rationality and truth. This volume by F. LeRon Shults argues that the popular "foundationalist" reading of Pannenberg is a misinterpretation of his methodology and shows that, in fact, the structural dynamics of Pannenberg's approach offer significant resources for the postfoundationalist task of theology in our postmodern culture. Shults begins by laying out the first comprehensive summary and interpretation of the emerging postfoundationalist model of theological rationality. He then revisits Pannenberg's theological method and finds the German theologian to be a surprising ally in the quest to reconstruct a theological rationality along postfoundationalist lines. In the course of his discussion, Shults challenges views that see the future, reason, or history as the central concept of Pannenberg's thought and offers instead a new interpretation of Pannenberg's basic theological principle as understanding and explaining all things sub ratione Dei (under the aspect of the relation to God)-an interpretation endorsed by Pannenberg himself in the book's foreword. Shults also focuses on Pannenberg's unique way of linking philosophical and systematic theology and demonstrates how the underlying reciprocity of this method can carry over into the postfoundational concern to link hermeneutics and epistemology in the postmodern context.

This collection of essays boldly addresses many of the challenges faced by Christian theology in the context of contemporary postmodern thought. Handling abstract topics in a remarkably clear and concise way, J. Wentzel van Huyssteen presses the case for a "postfoundationalist theology" as a viable third option beyond the extremes of foundationalism and nonfoundationalism. Van Huyssteen discusses themes related to rationality, epistemology, and philosophy of science. In the process he critically engages the work of such thinkers as Wolfhart Pannenberg, Nancey Murphy, Jerome Stone, and Gerd Theissen. The result is a convincing argument that only a truly accessible and philosophically credible notion of interdisciplinarity will be able to pave the way for a plausible public theology that can play an important intellectual role in our fragmented culture today.

Postfoundationalist Reflections in Practical Theology seeks to explore the implications of a Postfoundationalist theology for the discipline of Practical Theology. While moving beyond the modernist and postmodernist debates, it charts a way forward for a theology that is bound by neither relativism nor certainty. It believes that Practical Theology is well suited to this task by its very nature and methodology.

Defining the Nature, Process, and Mission of Dogmatic Discourse. Theologians often discuss method in a remote and preliminary way that suggests they are not yet speaking theologically when speaking methodologically. But it is also possible to reflect on the work of Christian dogmatics in a way that is self-consciously nourished by biblical reasoning, resourced by tradition, joined up with ecclesial practice, and alert to spiritual dynamics. Bringing together theologians who are actively engaged in the writing and editing of extended dogmatics projects, The Task of Dogmatics represents the proceedings of the 2017 Los Angeles Theology Conference and seeks to provide constructive accounts of the nature of the dogmatic task. The eleven diverse essays in this collection include discussions on: Identifying theology's pattern and norm. The validity and relativity of doctrinal statements. The Apostle Paul and the task of dogmatics. The retrieval of patristic and medieval theology. Each of the essays collected in this volume engage with Scripture as well as with others in the field—theologians both past and present, from different confessions—in order to provide constructive resources for contemporary systematic theology and to forge a theology for the future.

Grenz and Franke provide a methodological approach for doing theology in the postmodern world. They call for a theological method that moves beyond the Enlightenment way of ordering and understanding information (foundationalism). They propose a theological method that takes seriously the Spirit, tradition and contemporary culture, while stressing trinitarian structure, community and eschatology.

In the history of Western thought, Christian theology was once considered to be 'the Queen of Sciences'. Today it has been marginalised by a prevailing scepticism. Randal Rauser confronts the problem of developing a public voice for the theologian as engaged in true theological science while not compromising the commitment to the Christian community of faith. This book posits a viable account of theological rationality, justification, and knowledge that avoids the twin pitfalls of modern rationalism and postmodern irrationalism. Theology is freshly understood as a rigorous and rational truth-seeking discipline that seeks theoretical understanding of divine reality. Throughout the modern era the predominant epistemological position has been classical foundationalism, a position now widely rejected by philosophers and theologians alike. Philosophers recognize that it fails to achieve a plausible account of rationality, justification or knowledge, while theologians recognize the extent to which classical foundationalist strictures have distorted Christian doctrine. In its place many philosophers and theologians alike have adopted a nonfoundationalist epistemology, which is in turn often associated with a problematic alethic and metaphysical antirealism. Engaging with the ideas of key thinkers from Descartes, Locke, and Kant, to Bruce Marshall and Alvin Plantinga, Rauser provides an accessible and provocative survey of the theological terrain of the modern - and postmodern - era, arguing in favour of a return to a moderate foundationalism.

Christianity must be understood not as a religion of private salvation, but as a gospel movement of universal compassion, which transforms the world in the power of God's truth. Amid several major global crises, including the rise of terrorism and religious fundamentalism and a sudden resurgence of political extremism, Christians must now face up fearlessly to the challenges of living in a "post-truth" age in which deceitful politicians present their media-spun fabrications as "alternative facts." This book is an attempt to enact a transformative theology for these changing times that will equip the global Christian community to take a stand for the gospel in an age of cultural despair and moral fragmentation. The emerging post-Christendom era calls for a new vision of Christianity that has come of age and connects with the spiritual crisis of our times. In helping to make this vision a reality, Searle insists that theology is not merely an academic discipline, but a transformative enterprise that changes the world. Theology is to be experienced not just behind a desk, in an armchair, or in a church, but also in hospitals, in foodbanks, in workplaces, and on the streets. Theology is to be lived as well as read.

Public theology is an increasingly important area of theological discourse with strong global networks of institutions and academics involved in it. Elaine Graham is one of the UK’s leading theologians and an established SCM author. In this book, Elaine Graham argues that Western society is entering an unprecedented political and cultural era, in which many of the assumptions of classic sociological theory and of mainstream public theology are being overturned. Whilst many of the features of the trajectory of religious decline, typical of Western modernity, are still apparent, there are compelling and vibrant signs of religious revival, not least in public life and politics - local, national and global. This requires a revision of the classic secularization thesis, as well as much Western liberal political theory, which set out separate or at least demarcated terms of engagement between religion and the public domain. Elaine Graham examines claims that Western societies are moving from ‘secular’ to ‘post-secular’ conditions and traces the contours of the ‘post-secular’: the revival of faith-based engagement in public sphere alongside the continuing – perhaps intensifying – questioning of the legi¬timacy of religion in public life. She argues that public theology must rethink its theological and strategic priorities in order to be convincing in this new ‘post-secular’ world and makes the case for the renewed prospects for public theology as a form of Christian apologetics, drawing from Biblical, classical and contemporary sources.

After the postmodern turn, every tradition seeks the right to have their own rules of rational discourse. The crucial question is: are there ways to communicate between the traditions so that the traditions do not need to give up their identities in order to take part in conversation? Vainio examines the basic assumptions behind well-known types of Christian theology and seeks ways in which they might interact with one another and with other non-Christian traditions without capitulation of their identities. Vainio claims that there are religious identities that can be negotiated and communicated, and that there are ecclesiastical doctrines which can be meaningfully discussed among churches. This book explores three key areas: analysis of the uses of "fideism" within classical Christian theology; clarification of different types of theological method that seek to express the task of theology in contemporary setting; an explanation of the contours of religious identity and rationality which takes seriously both classical Christian identity and pluralistic contexts where most of the Christian communities dwell nowadays. The proposal for "negotiability" of Christian identity draws together ideas from, among others, virtue epistemology, Reformed epistemology, communitarianism, and feminist sensibilities.