Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Steven M. Studebaker
How should one approach the task of theology? This Spectrum volume brings together five evangelical theologians with distinctly different approaches to the theological task who present their own approach and respond to each of the other views. Emerging from this theological conversation is an awareness of our methodological commitments and the benefits that each can bring to the theological task.
Theologian Oliver Crisp explores the meaning of the cross and the various ways that the death of Jesus has been interpreted in the church's history—from ransom theory in the early church to penal substitutionary theory to more recent feminist critiques. What emerges is a more complex, expansive, and fruitful understanding of the atonement and its significance for the Christian faith today.
One hundred years after Karl Barth launched crisis theology in response to the First World War, Carl Raschke proposes a critical theology in response to our global political and economic crisis, which takes up insights from the critical theory of the Frankfurt School and the new critical theory of Zizek and Badiou.
Elouise Renich Fraser describes her personal journey to become a theologian: confronting the past, befriending the Bible, developing theological imagination and finding an authentic voice.
In this quick and vibrant book, Kelly Kapic presents the nature, method and manners of theological study for newcomers to the field. He emphasizes that theology is more than a school of thought about God, but an endeavor that affects who we are. "Theology is about life," writes Kapic. "It is not a conversation our souls can afford to avoid."
Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson show what theology is, what tools theologians use, why every believer (advanced degrees or not) is a theologian, and how the theological enterprise can be productive and satisfying.
Jesus didn't fall back on parables because he lacked the right words. Parables were the exact way Jesus intended to communicate. What pictures or analogies today can give us greater understanding of our faith? Adam English finds fresh insight in four: Christianity as story, game, language, culture. Here is a new way to view the Kingdom of God.
Paying particular attention to the issue of God's sovereignty, Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell critique biblical and theological weaknesses of Calvinist thought.
Exploring biblical, theological and historical perspectives, Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams critique problemmatic aspects of Arminian thought, particularly Arminian views on human nature and God's sovereignty.
Michael Jinkins invites you to walk through the theological maze as you follow the pattern of the Apostles' Creed and consider the most profound reflections on Christian belief to be found through the ages.