The Future of Christian Theology

Source Acknowledgments.

1 A Cry for Wisdom: Theology for the Twenty-first Century.

From the Twentieth to the Twenty-first Century: Theological Abundance and Variety.

Four Elements of Wise Creativity.

Conclusion.

2 Drama in Bible, Theology, and Life.

The Bible: More Dramatic than Epic or Lyric.

Gospel of John – Epic, Lyric, and above all Dramatic.

Intensity and Extensity in the Ongoing Drama.

Conclusion: Drama, Wise Theological Creativity, and an Unanswered Question.

3 A Dramatic Code for Twenty-first Century Theology.

Modern Secularity and the Health of the Public Sphere.

A Drama-centered Account of Modernity.

A Dramatic Code for Theology Today.

Conclusion: Within and Beyond the Drama.

4 Desire Above All.

A Balanced Dynamic of Theological Moods.

Between Closed Religion and Wide Open Religion.

Theological Moods in Bible and Tradition.

God-centered Moods: The Divine Passive.

5 Belonging: Church, Collegiality, Conversation.

Belonging to God and Each Other through Covenant.

Theological Creativity in and for the Church.

Learning and Teaching Together: Collegiality.

Extended Belonging: Conversations.

Intensive Belonging: Cohabitations, Collaborations, and Movements.

Intimate Belonging: Friendships.

Conclusion: Complex Belonging.

6 Church and Society.

First Case Study: Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Continuing This Drama.

Contemporary Case: Theological Tasks for the Church in Democratic Civil Societies.

7 Inter-Faith Blessing.

A Jewish Blessing: Dabru Emet.

A Muslim Blessing: A Common Word.

Scriptural Reasoning as "First Inter-Faith Theology".

Seeking Wisdom for Inter-Faith Engagement: A Muscat Manifesto.

Civil Wisdom.

8 New Theology and Religious Studies: Shaping, Teaching, and Funding a Field.

What is New Theology and Religious Studies?

A Framework for Creativity.

Other Frameworks.

Curriculum and Teachers.

Funding.

The Global Potential of New Theology and Religious Studies.

9 Becoming a Theologian: The Apprentice.

Disciple and Apprentice.

Retrieval – A Receptive, Reading Self.

Engagement – A Loved and Loving Self.

Thinking – An Imaginative, Discerning Self.

Communication – A Witnessing, Poetic Self.

10 The Bible: Creative Source of Theology.

How the Bible Has Shaped This Manifesto.

What Sort of Bible Reading is This?

The Four Elements of Wise and Creative Theology in the Bible.

A Biblical Hope for Twenty-first Century Theology.

Notes and References.

Index.