The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction

by Roger Olson

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2013

Overview

Modernity has been an age of revolutions—political, scientific, industrial and philosophical. Consequently, it has also been an age of revolutions in theology, as Christians attempt to make sense of their faith in light of the cultural upheavals around them, what Walter Lippman once called the "acids of modernity." Modern theology is the result of this struggle to think responsibly about God within the modern cultural ethos.

In this major revision and expansion of the classic 20th Century Theology (1992), co-authored with Stanley J. Grenz, Roger Olson widens the scope of the story to include a fuller account of modernity, more material on the nineteenth century and an engagement with postmodernity. More importantly, the entire narrative is now recast in terms of how theologians have accommodated or rejected the Enlightenment and scientific revolutions. With that question in mind, Olson guides us on the epic journey of modern theology, from the liberal "reconstruction" of theology that originated with Friedrich Schleiermacher to the postliberal and postmodern "deconstruction" of modern theology that continues today.

The Journey of Modern Theology is vintage Olson: eminently readable, panoramic in scope, at once original and balanced, and marked throughout by a passionate concern for the church's faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This will no doubt become another standard text in historical theology.

Contents

Top Highlights

“More importantly, however, he declared that the physical sciences of observation such as astronomy rule in matters of knowledge about the physical universe even when they seem to contradict the Bible and do contradict theological tradition and doctrine. He argued that when such conflicts arise, it is theology that must adjust its thinking and teaching and not science. In effect, he was restricting theology to the spiritual sphere of salvation and living the Christian life (ethics) and enthroning the physical sciences of observation and deduction in its place in the physical sphere. Instead of one throne, there would now be two. Gradually, throughout the ensuing centuries, science’s throne rose higher in the academic world.” (Page 37)

“Careful study of that declaration reveals what Galileo intended—that the burden of proof in matters of possible conflict between the Bible and science lies with theology if it insists on maintaining a traditional doctrine in conflict with science, and that it will fail if it resists the material facts of science. In the rest of the letter Galileo made clear his intention: that theology must bow to science in such cases and reinterpret Scripture so that it fits what science proves.” (Page 38)

“Most Christians and other religious people held to belief in what is called natural theology—the absolute, rational necessity of God for any total explanation of the universe.” (Page 32)

“Bushnell’s theology was a series of attempts to reconstruct traditional Christian doctrines in such a way as to speak to the modern mind without capitulating to accommodation. Unlike liberal Protestants, he held firmly to the supernatural and defended it against increasing tendencies to reduce God’s action to the mechanical forces of nature and states of consciousness. Unlike conservative Protestants, he wished to update doctrines to make them more adequate to Christian experience and modern thought, especially about law and ethics.” (Page 271)

Product Details

• Title: The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction
• Author: Roger Olson
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subject: Textbooks
• ISBNs: 9780830864843, 9780830840212, 0830864849, 0830840214
• Resource ID: LLS:WS_0D1071293ADB47A482305D12CF63BCC8
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T04:01:12Z

About Roger Olson

Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Previously he served as professor of theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of 18 books, including The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (IVP).

Dr. Olson was born and raised in the Upper Midwest of the United States and considers himself a “Bapticostal.” He grew up Pentecostal but became Baptist while attending North American Baptist Seminary. His PhD in religious studies is from Rice University in Houston, and he studied at the University of Munich with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He served as editor of Christian Scholar’s Review in the 1990s and has served as consulting and contributing editor for Christianity Today. He is married and has two daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. He enjoys southern gospel music, Victorian gothic mystery books, and traveling.