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Thomas Carlyle and the Political Universe: From American Transcendentalism to an Elusive Post-Liberalism recognizes and reckons with Thomas Carlyle's broad and deep influence on politics, on a global scale. Having influenced and inspired iconic and impactful political thinkers and actors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Stuart Mill, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, and Martin Luther King Jr., among so many others, Carlyle is a captivating persona in modern political history. In this way, if there is one person who could be said to be the central figure of what may be called the “political universe,” all that the term politics comprises, Brian Wolfel argues that it is Thomas Carlyle. As the point of nexus of so many political figures embodying such a diversity of political persuasions, Carlyle is also a significant philosopher in Plato's lineage whose ideas can be further constructed and developed in the context of the work of prominent 20th-century political thinkers such as John Rawls, Alasdair MacIntyre, Jacques Ellul, and Sayyid Qutb. Carlyle's conceptualization of transcendentalism in Sartor Resartus was a foundation for Emerson, Thoreau, and American Transcendentalism. In the midst of ideological battle in the 20th and 21st centuries, among such ideologies as liberalism, communism, fascism, and Islamism, Carlyle's transcendentalism largely went unnoticed as a potential ideological competitor. Carlyle's transcendentalism can be developed and constructed in the contexts of modern political theory and religion, and can be defended and promoted as a potential post-liberalism, a refinement of and evolution from liberal democracy and capitalism.

In God's Patience and our Work Ben Fulford argues that Hans Frei's theology and ethics offers unheralded but valuable resources for thinking about the social and political engagement of Christian communities in pluralistic societies in light of hope in Jesus Christ. He shows how Frei's project of recovering the conditions for and shape of a generous orthodoxy runs through his work, offering broad, flexible vision of Christian identity, ethical responsibility and humanistic witness, focused in the person and presence of Jesus Christ. In dialogue with liberation theologies, Fulford draws from Frei an account of divine patience and providence to frame hopeful, pragmatic Christian participation in work for dignity, justice and penultimate reconciliation, rooted in new and deeper contextual reading of his work.

Today's wholesale lack of trust in our institutions is a problem with deep roots in liberalism, and it cannot be solved by tweaking a liberal paradigm in which different conceptions of the good create conflict that is resolved by a sovereign state without reference to a nonexclusive common good. Ultimately, the essence of liberalism is contained in the language of values which serve as wedges to divide people. Philip J. Harold takes this problem head-on with a thoroughgoing survey, reaching back to the early modern era, to uncover the nature of liberalism's basic assumptions and diagnose its breakdown. As opposed to traditional liberal denial of a good superior to individual interest, Harold proposes a postliberal political philosophy able to understand the common good as friendship and social trust built up by loyalty. While critiquing values language, Harold also addresses the concept of sovereignty and the invention of morality as its supplement, the inappropriate distinction between the empirical and the transcendental, the true nature of the secular and the sacred, the necessarily symbolic expression of the common good, and the false conceptualization of religion and politics.

This volume uncovers Barth's and Bonhoeffer's influences on one another and reads them side-by-side, revealing the insights both theologians bring to today's secular and religious context. Greggs addresses the meaning and the extent of salvation, God's relation to time and eternity, sin and confession, and inter-faith dialogue for a church that critiques its own practice of religion.This is a lively exploration of the implications of two great theologians'work for a completely secular and religious world.

Hans W. Frei (1922 - 1988) gilt als einer der Begründer der sog.'postliberal theology'bzw.'Yale School'. Im kritischen Anschluss an K. Barth und H.R. Niebuhr sucht er Theologie im Sinne einer'generous orthodoxy'zu konzipieren. Methodisch einem'anselmischen'Denkstil verpflichtet, wird Freis Name v.a. mit seinen Arbeiten zur Bibelhermeneutik und einer narrativen Interpretation der Heiligen Schrift in Verbindung gebracht. Dabei greift er auf die traditionelle Form der typologischen Auslegung zurück und zeigt, wie sie auch heute theologisch fruchtbar gemacht werden kann.

'La naturaleza de la doctrina, de George Lindbeck, es una de las pocas obras de la teología norteamericana de la segunda mitad del siglo XX que puede considerarse verdaderamente trascendental. En el curso de los últimos veinticinco años se ha convertido en uno de los pocos puntos de referencia absolutamente esenciales a nivel internacional para el discurso sobre la teología, la doctrina, la Iglesia y la teoría de la religión. Le doy mi más sincera bienvenida a esta excelente edición conmemorativa. Tolle, lege!'Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hüttel, Profesor de Teología Cristiana, Divinity School de la Universidad de Duke La naturaleza de la doctrina es uno de los trabajos de teología académica más influyentes de los últimos 50 años. Publicado originalmente en 1984, este libro describe los principios fundamentales de un enfoque postliberal de la teología, enfatizando una perspectiva cultural-lingüística de la religión y una teoría regulativa de la doctrina. Además de exponer la naturaleza de la religión, Lindbeck también aborda la solución de los conflictos doctrinales históricos entre las diferentes comunidades cristianas, la relación entre el cristianismo y otras religiones, y la naturaleza y tarea de la propia teología. Esta programática obra de lo que hoy se conoce como teología postliberal, La naturaleza de la doctrina, ha generado un extenso debate que atraviesa el panorama académico y eclesial, y que ha influido en una generación de punteros teólogos y estudiosos de la religión contemporáneos. Esta edición conmemorativa de su 25 aniversario incluye una introducción escrita por el teólogo Bruce D. Marshall, un nuevo epílogo del autor y una completa bibliografía de la obra de Lindbeck.

Christiane Alpers discusses the contribution and role Christian theology plays in developing of the democratic life in post-Christendom societies. She discusses the three major approaches to this debate – public theology, Radical Orthodoxy, and post-liberal Protestantism – in order to illustrate the shared assumption that such an enhancement should be understood in terms of solving existing political problems. The volume builds on and combines public theology's aspiration to craft a non-triumphant political theology, fit for a post-Christendom context, Radical Orthodoxy's hesitancy to embrace secularism as neutral centre for present democracies; as well as post-liberalism's Christocentric outlook. Alpers engages with a wide variety of thinkers, such as John Milbank, Graham Ward, John Howard Yoder, Kathryn Tanner and Edward Schillebeeckx; to suggest that a political theology in the post-Christendom context could build on the faith that Christ alone has redeemed the whole world.

In the context of the rise of reactionary politics across the globe, this book seeks new ways of developing solidarity across religious, political and economic differences. Drawing on an increasingly influential Christian theological movement, postliberalism, it claims that the dominance of liberal, secular rationality has blinded people to the fundamental role of transcendence and myth in developing solidarity. The result is either atrophy, or a retrenching in divisive myths of faith, race, nation or economic status. Liberalism is now a dominant force across the globe. But its resonance in the Anglo-Saxon West, from which it originates and has been most fully realized, is relatively underexplored. The book thus follows two simultaneous lines of enquiry. Firstly, a genealogical study of social scientific and policy iterations of the relationship between belief and solidarity in the Anglo-Saxon West, placing postliberal theory into dialogue with the sociology and anthropology of religion, politics and economics. Secondly, it draws from original ethnographic research with groups in London, UK, that seek to develop solidarity in the face of deep-seated difference.By bringing a new way of framing these contentious debates about contemporary society, this research offers tools for more productive conversations around religious and political topics, in particular concluding with a clear policy proposal. It is, therefore, a useful resource for both academics of theology and religious studies, political philosophy, sociology and anthropology; and for politicians, policy makers and practitioners hoping to develop solidarity in the modern world.

The essays in this wide-ranging collection fall into three main sections: Ecumenical Theology, Postliberal Theology, and Political Theology. The first section deals with Torrance and Barth on the Sacraments. Hunsinger includes here an examination of Torrance's views of baptism and the eucharist, as well as Karl Barth's voice on the Lord's Supper. He also develops a post-Barthian appreciation of Jews and Judaism. In the second section Hunsinger discusses such figures as Hans W. Frei, Ernst Troeltsch and H.R. Niebuhr in terms of their contribution to Postliberal Theology. The final section offers a discussion of Political Theology, as part of which Hunsinger presents an in-depth analysis regarding the political views of Karl Barth, as well as Barth's understanding of human rights. The book ends with a meditation on André Trocmé and how goodness happened at Le Chambon.

Postmodern challenges to the reliability of Christian belief have left many pastors and theologians wondering whether Christian belief should be rationally defended at all. Gibbs investigates this possibility by a case study of postmodern theologian George Lindbeck. Lindbeck's modern classic, The Nature of Doctrine, is a prime example of theology that is both faithful to the church and highly critical of modern conceptions of faith and reason. Gibbs's careful analysis of Lindbeck shows a way forward that embraces Christian apologetics, while transforming it to answer postmodern criticisms of modern apologetics. The result is a sure confidence that the truth of Christian belief is reasonable, even if not able to be proven. Not only is Christian truth shown reliable, Gibbs argues that apologists can and should defend the reliability of the Christian narrative as the most beautiful and good account of the world as well. Apologetics after Lindbeck is a transformation of apologetics that calls the church to faithfully form Christians who can tell a beautiful, good, and true story of the grace of Jesus Christ.

Postliberal theology is a movement in contemporary theology that rejects both the Enlightenment appeal to a'universal rationality'and the liberal assumption of an immediate religious experience common to all humanity. The movement initially began in the 1980's with its association to Yale Divinity School. Theologians such as Hans Frei, Paul Holmer, David Kelsey, and George Lindbeck were influential and were significantly influenced by theologians such as Karl Barth, Clifford Geertz, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Postliberalism uses a narrative approach to theology, such as developed by Hans Frei, and argues that all thought and experience is historically and socially mediated.Michener provide the reader with an accessible introductory overview of the origins, current thought, potential problems, and future possibilities of postliberal theology. The basic philosphical and theological background are be briefly discussed, along with the seminal and predominant theologians identified with the movement. Michener shows how postliberalism emerges from the context of the postmodern critique of Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism. Postliberal theology is extremely critical of classical liberal theology, rather than an advancement of its agenda.

The Christian sermon--once the chief symbol of authority in Western culture--often appears in the postmodern imagination as synonymous with irrelevancy, biased judgment, and a rejection of absolute truth. While Christian preachers mourn the cultural disintegration of their hallowed practice, Lance B. Pape believes this modern turn enables the preacher to rediscover the sermon. Proclaiming the gospel, he contends, lies not in the cultural acceptance of the message but in God's free act of self-communication. Using Karl Barth's theology of the Word, Hans Frei's hermeneutical method, and, chiefly, Paul Ricoeur's theory of narrative as threefold mimesis, Pape develops a homiletic that recaptures the scandalous intent of the gospel. The Scandal of Having Something to Say then casts the post-liberal preacher as a'surrogate reader'of the biblical text on behalf of the congregation and opens new avenues for practice through the analysis and critique of two sermons.

Nearly thirty years ago, George Lindbeck wrote his seminal and highly influential work The Nature of Doctrine. Since that time, there has been no serious attempt at moving beyond the problems he lays out, in particular the problem of foundationalism. Upon This Rock is not merely a response to George Lindbeck's important work; it is an attempt to show how theology and religious discourse can truly move past the particular problems posed by foundationalism--the assumption of and search for so-called objective and universal standards--by looking at just one important discussion within the field: the modern discussion on the nature and function of doctrine. Upon This Rock offers an account of doctrine--an account that includes such topics as the authority of Scripture, biblical interpretation, and the role of the Church and the nature of her doctrine, among others--that moves the Church past the problems of foundationalism and back to her one true rock: Jesus Christ, her Lord.

The divide between liberal and postliberal theology is one of the most important and far-reaching methodological disputes in twentieth-century theology. Their divergence in method brought related differences in their approaches to hermeneutics and religious language. This split in the understanding of religious language is widely acknowledged, but rigorous philosophical analysis and assessment of it is seldom seen. Liberalism versus Postliberalism provides such analyses, using the developments in analytic philosophy of language over the past forty years. The book provides an original reading of the'theology and falsification'debates of the 1950s and 60s, and Knight's interpretation of the debates supplies a philosophical lens that brings into focus the centrality of religious language in the methodological dispute between liberal and postliberal theologians. Knight suggests that recent philosophical developments reveal problems with both positions and argues for a more inclusive method that takes seriously the aspirations of the debaters. His book makes an important contribution to contemporary theological method, to the understanding of liberal and postliberal theologies, and to our understanding of the role of analytic philosophy in contemporary theology and religious studies.

Examines the Roman Catholic roots of postliberal theology via conversations with three seminal postliberal theologians: George Lindbeck, David Burrell, and Stanley Hauerwas.

This book deals with Bernard Eugene Meland's “life” (as presented in his unpublished intellectual autobiography) and “thought” as a constructive theologian who taught in the Divinity School of The University of Chicago (1945-64). When Meland was in the process of completing his doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, he came into close association with Henry Nelson Wieman who was joining the faculty. Meland took the first course Wieman offered in which they read William Ernest Hocking's The Meaning of God in Human Experience (Part IV) and Whitehead's Religion in the Making. He audited Wieman's other courses. The philosophy of A. N. Whitehead played a large role in their relationship and theology. With the sudden death of G. B. Smith, Wieman became Meland's doctoral advisor. After completing the doctoral program, Meland spent the next year at Marburg University in Germany studying with Rudolf Otto. He came away from this experience having discovered that the stimulus and lure in the language of the arts had become for him an alternative to the moral way of expressing value, sensibility, and fulfillment of human experience. He returned from Europe to begin teaching at Central College in Missouri and in 1936 joined the faculty at Pomona College in Claremont, California. His association with Wieman continued in the 1930s as they co-authored American Philosophies of Religion (1936). While teaching at Central College, Meland authored Modern Man's Worship (1934), and at Pomona College published Write Your Own Ten Commandments (1938), and The Church and Adult Education (1939).In 1945, Meland joined Wieman at the Divinity School as Professor of Constructive Theology. Although Wieman soon retired, their connection continued throughout Wieman's life. The Second World War had concluded and Meland was in a state of anguish and despair over the war and especially by the atomic bomb. In this troubled state of mind he published Seeds of Redemption (1947), America's Spiritual Culture (1948), and The Reawakening of Christian Faith (1949). His next two publications were Higher Education and the Human Spirit (1953) and Faith and Culture (1955), with the latter considered by many as his most important work. While teaching at Chicago, Meland twice served twice as The Barrows Lectures in India. His lectures in 1957-58 were published as The Realities of Faith (1962). In 1963-64, he continued his theme of the relationship between faith and culture by focusing on the impact of secularization on modern cultures. These lectures were published as The Secularization of Modern Cultures (1966). His last book was Fallible Forms and Symbols (1977).In the first section of this book, Meland's “thought” is considered under four headings: Metaphysical View, Method, Doctrine of God, and View of Religion, followed by an evauation. Section two is devoted to his “Later Writings,” followed by a conclusion.

Hans Frei, one of the most influential American theologians of the twentieth century, is generally considered a founder of postliberal theology. Frei never set forth his thinking systematically, and he has been criticized for being inconsistent, contradictory, and insufficiently rigorous. Jason Springs seeks here to offer a reevaluation of Freis work. Arguing that Hans Freis theology cannot be understood without a meticulous consideration of the complex equilibrium of his theological and philosophical interests and influences, Springs vindicates Freis Christologically motivated engagement with Ludwig Wittgenstein, Clifford Geertz, and Erich Auerbach, as well as his use of ordinary language philosophy and non-foundational philosophical insights, while illuminating his orientational indebtedness to Karl Barths theology. Moreover, by placing Freis work in critical conversation with developments in pragmatist thought and cultural theory since his death, this re-reading aims to resolve many of the misunderstandings that vex his theological legacy. What emerges from Toward a Generous Orthodoxy is a sharpened account of the Christologically anchored, interdisciplinary, and conversational character of Freis theology, one he came to describe as a generous orthodoxy-modeling a way for academic theological voices to take seriously both their vocation to the Christian church and their roles as interlocutors in academic discourse.

The Nature of Doctrine, originally published in 1984, is one of the most influential works of academic theology in the past fifty years. A true classic, this book sets forth the central tenets of a post-liberal approach to theology, emphasizing a cultural-linguistic approach to religion and a rule theory of doctrine.In addition to his account of the nature of religion, George Lindbeck also addresses the relationship between Christianity and other religions, the resolution of historic doctrinal conflict among Christian communities, and the nature and task of theology itself. This is a work that all theologians and advanced students should know.This twenty-fifth anniversary edition includes an English translation of the foreword to the German edition and a complete bibliography of Lindbeck's work.

Who is God? The variety of images of God tends to overwhelm us in the present age. Is'God'a fiction of human construction, or a reality that makes claims upon how we practice'faith in God'? How does this quest for an understanding of'God'illumine who'we'are? God in Postliberal Perspective presents an introduction to the doctrine and concept of God in contemporary philosophy and theology, exploring how some theologians and philosophers dare to speak of God as'real'in our sceptical, pluralistic, and interfaith age. Robert Cathey tours the'house of realism'as constructed by postliberal Christians (David Burrell, William Placher, Bruce Marshall), in conversation with living communities of faith and critical work in philosophy and theology, and develops a distinctive argument about the relation of realism and non-realism in constructing the doctrine of God in postliberal theology. Offering a reading of postliberal theology which is open to critical discussion with other types of theology, philosophy, and faith traditions, this book proposes a model of theological reflection that may be extended to the reality-claims of a wide range of doctrines and concepts.