Contemporary Theology Collection (6 vols.)

Guarino argues in this volume that the doctrinal form of the Christian faith, in its essential characteristics, calls for certain theoretical exigencies. This is to say that the proportion and beauty of the form is not served or illuminated by simply any presuppositions. Rather, a determinate understanding of first philosophy, of the nature of truth, of hermeneutical theory, of the predication of language and mutual correlation is required if Christian faith and doctrine are to maintain a recognizable and suitably meditative form. Failing to adduce specific principles will lead either to a simple assertion of Christian truth, in which case the form of Christianity becomes less intelligible and attractive—or one will substitute a radically changed form, which is itself inappropriate for displaying the fundamental revelatory narrative of faith.

The house of Christian faith possesses a certain proportion of structure; the form will sag badly if one removes an undergirding item, or if one beam is replaced with another of variable shape or size. The form’s beauty will either be obscured, no longer clearly visible, or the form will become something quite different, no longer architectonically related to what was originally the case. The intention of this volume is to discuss those doctrinal characteristics considered fundamental to the Christian faith, as protective of its revelatory form and, concomitantly, to examine the theoretical principles required if such form is to remain both intelligible and beautiful.

The doctrines of the atonement and the Trinity are central not only to the Christian faith but also to Christian systematic theology. Over the last decade or so, one or another theological interpretation of either of these doctrines has assumed pride of place among theologians. Before Robert Sherman, though, no theologian has ever dared to read the atonement in light of the Trinity.

Most of the time atonement theories simply focus on the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, without any reference to Christ's relationship to the Father and the Spirit of the Trinity. But, as Sherman argues, Christ's atoning work is diverse and cannot be limited to one who ransoms our sins or to one who has victory over our sins (although in Sherman's view Christ's atoning work includes these tasks and more). He offers here a constructive theological proposal that connects Trinity with the rubrics of prophet, priest, and king to help explain Christ's atoning work.

One can understand adequately neither Christ's multifaceted reconciliation of a complex humanity to God, nor that reconciliation’s fundamental unity as God's gracious act apart from the Trinity. Without this framework, one will likely stress one person of the Trinity, one aspect of God's reconciling work, and/or one understanding of the human predicament to the exclusion of others and the detriment of theology, both systematic and pastoral. Sherman's constructive theological proposal suggests that we should recognize a certain correspondence and mutual support between the three persons of the Trinity, the three offices of Christ (king, prophet, priest), and the three commonly recognized models of his atoning work (Christus victor, vicarious sacrifice, moral exemplar).

This volume, one of the earliest by Christos Yannaras, was first published in 1967 and has become a contemporary classic. Yannaras begins by outlining Heidegger's analysis of the fate of western metaphysics, which ends, he argues, in a nihilistic atheism. Yannaras's response is largely to accept Heidegger's analysis, but to argue that, although it applies to the western tradition of what Heidegger calls "onto theology" (which regards God as a “being,” even if the highest), it does not take account of the Orthodox tradition of apophatic theology, of which Dionysius the Areopagite is a pre-eminent example. A God “beyond being” escapes the criticism of Heidegger, and provides an alternative to Heidegger's nihilistic conclusion.

These essays in constructive Christian dogmatics treat a cluster of themes: the nature of Holy Scripture and its interpretations; the place of Jesus in modern intellectual culture, and in theological depiction of the nature of the church; and the inseparability of theological and moral reflection. An important series of essays from one of the world's leading contemporary theologians.

An international group of theologians considers the importance of forgiveness and truth in the modern world. Dogmatic and practical theological themes are addressed, including Christology and atonement, forgiving abusive parents, the economics of forgiveness, forgiveness in Northern Ireland and shame, sin, and guilt. Contributors include Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger, Peter Selby, Christopher Jones, Fraser Watts, Peter Sedgwick, Jane Craske, Todd Pokrifka-Joe, Nico Schreurs, Alwyn Thompson, and David Self.

This book is the first full study of the whole of Hans Frei’s work, from his doctoral thesis on Karl Barth in the 1950s to his great unfinished project on the history of modern theology in the 1980s. Higton draws on a wide range of unpublished material in the Frei archives to present a comprehensive, fresh and original interpretation of Frei’s theology. He places Frei’s well-known work on biblical hermeneutics firmly in the context of his theological wrestling with Barth and of the dominant traditions of Western Protestant theology.