The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology

This introductory 2003 guide offers examples of different types of contemporary theology and Christian doctrine in relationship to postmodernity.

Kevin J. Vanhoozer (Edited by)

9780521793957, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 31 July 2003

312 pages
23 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

'… arguably the most significant collection … It gathers together contributions from leading Christian theologians and philosophers of religion - including Venhoozer himself, Graham Ward and Mary McClintock Fulkerson - to consider the challenges and opportunities offered by postmodernity to theology … This collection seems to be predominantly aimed at students of theology and the philosophy of religion … but there is much here to think about for anyone working in the fields of continental philosophy of religion and theology … Graham Ward's 'Deconstructive Theologies' offers a characteristically penetrating account of the promise and threat of deconstruction for theology … Mary McClintock Fulkerson is given the unenviable task of surveying Feminist theologies in one short essay but she effortlessly meets it in a clear and constructive account which will serve as an excellent introduction to students entering this rich and varied field for the first time … Kevin Vanhoozer's own excellent contribution explores the impact of postmodern thought and Derridean deconstruction in particular on scriptural exigesis … I hope it goes without saying that Postmodern Theology is an extremely significant contribution and - despite my reservations - arguably the only really indispensable publication in the field for teachers and students this year.' Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory

Postmodernity allows for no absolutes and no essence. Yet theology is concerned with the absolute, the essential. How then does theology sit within postmodernity? Is postmodern theology possible, or is such a concept a contradiction in terms? Should theology bother about postmodernism or just get on with its own thing? Can it? Theologians have responded in many different ways to the challenges posed by theories of postmodernity. In this introductory 2003 guide to a complex area, editor Kevin J. Vanhoozer addresses the issue head on in a lively survey of what 'talk about God' might mean in a postmodern age, and vice versa. The book then offers examples of different types of contemporary theology in relation to postmodernity, while the second part examines the key Christian doctrines in postmodern perspective. Leading theologians contribute to this clear and informative Companion, which no student of theology should be without.

Preface
Part I. Types of Postmodern Theology: 1. Theology and the condition of postmodernity: a report on knowledge (of God) Kevin J. Vanhoozer
2. Anglo-American postmodernity Nancey Murphy, Brad J. Kallenberg
3. Postliberal theology George Hunslinger
4. Postmetaphysical theology Thomas Carlson
5. Deconstructive theology Graham Ward
6. Reconstructive theology David Ray Griffin
7. Feminist theology Mary McClintock Fulkerson
8. Radical orthodoxy Steve Long
Part II. Christian Doctrine in Postmodern Perspective: 9. Scripture and tradition Kevin J. Vanhoozer
10. Theological method Dan Stiver
11. Trinity David Cunningham
12. God and world Philip Clayton
13. The human person John Webster
14. Christology and salvation Walter Lowe
15. Holy Spirit and Christian spirituality David Ford
16. Ecclesiology Stanley Grenz.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], Philosophy [HP]