The Trial of the Witnesses: The Rise and Decline of Postliberal Theology (Challenges in Contemporary Theology) - Softcover

Dehart, Paul J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405132965 ISBN 13: 9781405132961

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006

Synopsis

The much-discussed notion of Postliberal theology developed from the writings of two theologians at Yale University, Hans Frei and George Lindbeck.

• An analysis and critique of the much-discussed idea of postliberal theology
• Provides an overview of postliberalism and the controversies which resulted
• Compares the writings of theologians Hans Frei and George Lindbeck, from which postliberal theology developed, and uncovers important differences in their thought
• Reconceptualizes these thinkers’ contributions to contemporary theological discussion
• Published in the prestigious Challenges in Contemporary Theology series.

About this title

About the Author

Paul J. DeHart is Associate Professor of Theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School. His first book, Beyond the Necessary God, appeared in 2000.

From the Back Cover

The much discussed notion of postliberal theology developed from the writings of two theologians at Yale University, Hans Frei and George Lindbeck. In The Trial of the Witnesses, Paul J. DeHart provides a thorough analysis and critique of postliberal theology, beginning with an examination of the intellectual context of Frei and Lindbeck’s thought and the controversies to which their work has given rise. The book scrutinizes the dogmatic underpinnings of Frei and Lindbeck’s understandings of theology and investigates the key concepts taken from their work which have been used to construct the idea of postliberalism.

The author finds the sharp opposition between “revisionist” and “postliberal” modes of theology conceptually incoherent and misleading. He argues that the contributions of both Frei and Lindbeck are distorted by the prevalent tendency to interpret them through these categories. In conclusion, he outlines an alternative understanding of Christian faith and its cultural transactions, and a different configuration of the task of theology, which together enable him to reconceptualize these thinkers’ contributions to contemporary theological discussion.

The author finds the sharp opposition between “revisionist” and “postliberal” modes of theology conceptually incoherent and misleading. He argues that the contributions of both Frei and Lindbeck are distorted by the prevalent tendency to interpret them through these categories. In conclusion, he outlines an alternative understanding of Christian faith and its cultural transactions, and a different configuration of the task of theology, which together enable him to reconceptualize these thinkers’ contributions to contemporary theological discussion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1405132965
• ISBN 13: 9781405132961
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320