andygoodliff

Systematic Theology, the recent past and the next few years

In the last thirty years there have been (arguably) four important works of systematic theology. Each offering something different.

Robert Jenson, Systematic Theology (2 Vols - The Triune God, The Works of God)

Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology (3 Vols)

Jürgen Moltmann, Contributions to a Systematic Theology (5 Vols - The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, God in Creation, The Way of Jesus Christ, The Spirit of Life, The Coming of God)

James McClendon, Jr. (3 Vols - Ethics, Doctrine, Witness)

The next few years should see the first full-length systematic theologies from an English theologian.

Colin Gunton was writing one before he died (a version of the first of a projected 4-volumes should appear in November). We await systematic theologies from John Webster and Sarah Coakley who are both promising one (Coakley's first volume is on the Trinity and is due out next year; but it will apparently be a few years until we see the first of Webster's projected 5 volumes). I think Paul Fiddes would one day like to write one in conversation with literature. John Colwell wrote an excellent short systematic theology around the liturgical year which demands a longer version.

Over in the United States, Kathryn Tanner has provided us with a sketch of a systematic theology and one day may write an expanded version. We may also eventually see one from Bruce McCormack.

New Reason to Study at Oxford?

Sean has put me on to Graham Ward's move from Manchester to Oxford to be new Regius Professor of Divinity replacing Marilyn McCord Adams from October 2012. Ward will join Nigel Biggar, Paul Fiddes and George Pattison as the major theological line-up in Oxford. Interestingly Ward, Fiddes and Pattison all have a special interest in the relationship and conversation between literature and theology. Of course as Ward arrives, Bernd Wannenwetsch (who although not a professor was a important reason some theological ethicists chose Oxford) leaves.

Ward is the author of Christ and Culture, The Politics of Discipleship, Cities of God, True Religion, Cultural Transformation and Religion Practice, amongst others, and has been part of the Radical Orthodoxy conversation from the beginning (he was a co-editer with Milbank and Pickstock of the original 1999 text that launched the movement.

Is martyrdom the new hospitality?

The last decade saw a growing amount of literature around hospitality, and as another book is published on Christian martyrdom, I'm wondering if we're seeing another trend and why. I have not as yet got round to reading any of these books.

The purple crown: the politics of martyrdom by Tripp York (Hearld, 2007)

To Share in the Body: A Theology of Martyrdom for Today's Church by Craig Hovey (Brazos, 2008)

Pilgrim holiness: martyrdom as descriptive witness by Joshua J. Whitfied (Wipf & Stock, 2009)

Martyrdom and Identity: The Self on Trial by Michael Jensen (T & T Clark, 2010)

Witness of the Body: The Past, Present, and Future of Christian Martyrdom edited by Michael Budde and Karen Scott (Eerdmans, 2011)

Why are so many theologians going to Scotland?

Aberdeen has just announced the German theologian Bernd Wannenwetsch is to be the new professor of theological ethics. Wannenwetsch currently lectures at Oxford (and in fairness has be due a jump to a professorship for a while), but he will be missed - he has supervised a number of PhD students will in Oxford. Tom Greggs is also moving to Aberdeen (from Chester) as Professor of Historical and Dogmatic Theology. Steve Mason has the Kirby Lang Chair in New Testament Exegesis (replacing Francis Watson who left a few years back for a chair in Durham). Aberdeen have already got John Webster, who left Oxford back in 2004. Aberdeen are not alone, last year St. Andrew's nabbed Tom Wright and Ivor Davidson (from Otago, New Zealand), as well as Steve Holmes back in 2005 (from King's), and back in 2006 Edinburgh got Oliver O'Donovan (again from Oxford) and also manged to get Paul Nimmo in 2008 from Cambridge. It seems any of the Scotland divinity departments are by far the place to go if you want to study theology ... poor old England seem to be struggling to hold on, especially to some of the most able theologians of a new generation - the likes of Greggs, Nimmo, Holmes and also Brock (Aberdeen) are all likely to be making a big mark in theological circles in the years to come.

The theological scene in England, managed to get Nigel Biggar in 2007 to Oxford from Dublin, Sarah Coakley to Cambridge from Harvard, Lewis Ayres to Durham from Emory, and as already mentioned above grabbed Francis Watson also back to Durham from Aberdeen.  

Church After Google

I was speaking with another minister today about social networking and remarked that I hoped it wouldn't be too long before we would begin to some theological reflection emerging. I have come home to find the latest edition of the Princeton Theological Review is on 'The Church After Google'. The essays are academic and some a little heavy going, but its good to see some engagement with the ways church, theology and faith are being reconstrued by the new online media.

I know of very little other engagement, save an article on theological blogging by Ben Myers in Cultural Encounters (which due to a error in its publication, can be downloaded for free here), a chapter on blogging by Justin Bailey in Everyday Theology (Brazos, 2007), a book by Dwight J. Friesen, Thy Kingdom Connected (Baker, 2009) and some bits on facebook in Kester Brewin's book Other (Hodder & Stoughton, 2010).

Hauerwas responds to Nate Kerr

Hauerwas' response to Nathan Kerr's criticisms in Christ, History And Apocalyptic (SCM, 2008) can be found in his contribution 'Beyond the Boundaries: The Church as Mission' in Viggo Mortensen and Andreas Osterund Nielsen (eds.), Walk Humbly with the Lord: Church and Mission Engaging Plurality (Eerdmans, 2010), which I found I was able to read via google books.

On another note, the ongoing, and seeming endless, battle between Paul Molnar and Bruce McCormack on how to read Barth, has a close encounter in Molnar's (article length) book review of Orthodox and Modern and McCormack's repsonse found in the April 2010 edition of Theology Today. This is the first time McCormack has directly responded to Molnar.

Why Have You Forsaken Me? by John Colwell now available

John Colwell's new book Why Have You Forsaken Me? was due out last December, but got caught up in the problems Paternoster were then facing. It is now finally available. It has eight chapters reflecting both on Psalm 22 and his own struggles with manic depression.

1. Into the Darkness

2. Reflecting on the Darkness

3.Darkness and the Psalmist

4. Darkness and Israel

5. Christ's Human Darkness

6. Christ's Unique Darkness

7. Darkness and God

8. Darkness and Presence

The book is Colwell's most personal so far - the book opens with the story of his experience of manic depression whilst being a church minister and college tutor. The bulk of the book them explores how we trust God in his absence. Through the book Colwell argues for the importance of lament in worship over against worship that operates only as praise. He is critical of contemporary worship scene. In later chapters he also argues against a understanding of atonement in terms of penal substitution, the doing away with the doctrine of impassibility and a distorted gospel that sees miracles as everyday (and so not they cannot be described as 'miraculous') and healing as a right. The book is a departure from his earlier books on ethics, the sacraments and Christian doctrine. It is a 'Personal Reflection' as the subtitle indicates. Although exploring not an easy subject matter - illness and the absence of God - it is written in the usual Colwell style: the occasional anecdote, the helpful and clear engagement with theological questions (here most notably the doctrines of atonement and impassibility) and a readership that always seem to keep the pastor and interested Christian in mind (that is, the so what question is always near the surface). While there are other books that deal with the absence of God and illness (I can think of several Philip Yancey ones), John provides a theological exploration with honest reflection that I think will be helpful to many.

 
   

The Turn to Political and Public Theology

It seems the University of Chester has (quietly) pulled together an impressive looking line-up in its list of theology staff. While other universities are cutting jobs, since the summer they have recruited Rob Warner (sociology of contemporary religion), Elaine Graham (public theology), and Chris Baker (public and urban theology) to add to David Clough (christian ethics), Celia Deane-Drummond (theology and science, Tom Greggs (systematic theology) and Anthony Thiselton (new testament and doctrine), amongst others. It will be interesting to see if how they shape the department.

There is a definite move in English theology departments towards a more public and political theology - King's with its Faith and Public Policy Forum convened by Luke Bretherton; Cambridge with its Interfaith Programme directed by David Ford; Nottingham with its Centre of Theology and Philosophy, the home of John Milbank; Oxford with its McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life directed by Nigel Biggar; Manchester with its Centre for Religion and Political Culture co-directed by Graham Ward; Exeter with its Network for Religion in Public Life directed by Esther Reed; Bristol with its Centre for Christianity and Culture directed by Gavin D'Costa.

Now this probably reflects two things. Firstly this is where the available research funding is and secondly a renewed interested of theology in the public square. There is the New Visibility of Religion and faith is finding itself it a myriad of relationships with Contemporary Politics, to which theologians are writing Political and Public theology, asking how can we best speak in Public Places and how do we best engage with a diverse Religious and Secular World. You can find theologians writing on The Ethics of Human Rights to the University, Vegetarianism, Euthanasia and New Labour. 

I'm excited by this new engagement with public and political life.

Has Colin Gunton's Theological Project Really Failed?

Mark Thompson (Moore College, Sydney) has posted a great response here to Bernhard Nausnera's recent Scottish Journal of Theology article.  Thompson notes that David Hohne, who wrote his doctorate on Gunton under David Ford at Cambridge and about to publish it as The Spirit of Sonship, is writing a response.

It does seem that Gunton's theological project has not continued, at least in England, but possibly has north of the border at the universities of Aberdeen (with Webster) and St. Andrew's (with Holmes and Torrance) (see the recent articles in Modern Theology). Theology in England is now a different landscape - so Milbank and Radical Orthodoxy at Nottingham, Oliver Davies and Transformation Theology at King's, Ford and what I might describe (mistakenly) as conversational theology (so his recent Christian Wisdom as chapters on inter-faith, inter-disciplinary, and inter-personal wisdom) at Cambridge, Pattison and Fiddes at Oxford, the newly appointed L. Ayres at Durham (whose book on Augustine due in 2010, will I'm sure not look kindly on Gunton), Higton and Gorringe at Exeter and D'Costa and Crisp at Bristol. I'm not saying this is bad - I like lots of theologians above - but it does seem sad that the kind of theology Gunton was doing and encouraging has not continued anywhere.

Amy Plantiga Pauw to deliver the 2009 T.F. Torrance Lectures

Amy Plantinga Pauw, the Henry P. Mobley Professor of Doctrinal Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, will deliver the 2009 T.F. Torrance lectures at King's College, Aberdeen.

The lectures will be held from Monday, 26 October, through Thursday, 30 October, 2009.

Alan Torrance will deliver the Didsbury Lectures October 26th - 29th, 2009.

In 2010 Cardinal Walter Kasper will deliver the annual Sarum Theological Lectures