The Collected Works of James Wm. McClendon, Jr.: Volume 1

by James W. McClendon Jr., Ryan Andrew Newson (Editor), Andrew C. Wright (Editor), Nancey Murphy (Foreword by)

Overview

James Wm. McClendon, Jr. was the most important "baptist" theologian of the twentieth century. McClendon crafted a systematic theology that refused to succumb to the pressures of individualism, grew out of the immediacy of preaching the text, and lamented the stunted public witness of a fractured Protestant ecclesiology.

This two-volume set mixes previously unpublished and published lectures and essays with rare and little known works to form a representative collection of the essential themes of McClendon's work. The first volume focuses on the philosophical and theological shifts leading to McClendon's articulation of the baptist vision. The second volume specifically elucidates the more philosophical themes that informed McClendon's work, including ways in which these themes had immediate theological import. Taken together, the set provides the most comprehensive presentation of McClendon's work now available, revealing the sustained and systematic character of his vision over the course of his life. These two volumes will provide scholars, preachers, and students with McClendon's radical, narrative, and connective theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481300919
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2014
Pages:	355
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James William McClendon, Jr. was a Christian theologian in the Anabaptist tradition and the author of several important works, including Biography as Theology: How Life Stories Can Remake Today's Theology and Making Gospel Sense to a Troubled Church. He was, at the time of his death, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Ryan Andrew Newson is Adjunct Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Campbell University.

Andrew C.Wright is a Doctoral Candidate in Christian Ethics and Philosophical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and is Adjunct Professor in the Division of Religion and Philosophy at Azusa Pacific University.

Nancey Murphy is Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Volume 1

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword xi

Introduction to Volume 1

Part I Prospect

§1 The Radical Road One Baptist Took (2000) 17

Part II Early Baptist Reflections

§2 Creation, Humanity, Sin (1964) 29

§3 Atonement, Discipleship, and Freedom (1964) 37

§4 Death, Resurrection, Survival, and Immortality (1964) 47

§5 A Brief Narrative Account of My Professional life and Work to the Present (1969) 57

§6 Some Reflections on the Future of Trinitarianism (1966) 61

§7 Baptism as a Performative Sign (1966) 71

Part III Focusing the baptist Vision

§8 A Decade of Deeds and Dreams: My History Continued. 1969-1978 (1978) 87

§9 What Is a baptists Theology? (1982) 91

§10 The Concept of Authority: A Baptist View (1988) 119

§11 Primitive, Present, Future: A Vision for the Church in the Modern World (1991) 127

§12 The Mennonite and Baptist Vision (1993) 135

§13 The Voluntary Church in the Twenty-First Century (1998) 151

Part IV Social Ethics for Radical Christians

§14 Social Ethics for Radical Christians: Analysis and Program (1989) 173

§15 The End of the World (1989) 183

§16 The Church Seeking a Peaceable Culture: The Way of the Cross (1995) 189

§17 The Church Seeking a Peaceable Culture: The Way of the Resurrection (1995) 201

§18 Knowing the One Thing Needful (1995) 215

§19 The Politics of Forgiveness (1998) 221

Part V Paths to Catholicity: The baptist Path

§20 What Is a Southern Baptist Ecumenism (1968) 237

§21 Christian Identity in Ecumenical Perspective (with John Howard Yoder) (1990) 245

§22 Balthasar Hubmaier, Catholic Anabaptist (1991) 269

§23 Law and Faith (1994) 283

§24 A baptist Millennium? (1998) 293

Part VI Retrospect

§25 Embodying the Great Story: An Interview with James Wm. McClcndon, Jr. (2000) 307

Permissions for Volume 1 315

Scripture Index for Volume I 317

General Index for Volume 1 321

Volume 2

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword xi

Introduction to Volume 2 1

Part I Retrospect

§26 Three Strands of Christian Ethics (1978) 17

§27 Distinguishing Modern and Postmodern Theologies (1989) 39

Part II Language, Convictions, and Speech-Acts

§28 Christian Philosophers or Philosopher Christians? (1968) 65

§29 How Is Religious Talk Justifiable? (1968) 75

§30 Can There Be Talk about God-and-the-World? (1969) 95

§31 Saturday's Child: A New Approach to the Philosophy of Religion (with James Marvin Smith) (1970) 111

§32 Homo Loquens: Theology as Grammar (1971) 125

§33 'Convictions' after Twenty Years (1995) 141

Part III Convictions Made Flesh Speech-Acts as Embodied Narrative

§34 Biography as Theology (1971) 153

§35 Theology, Language, and Life: A Christian Perspective (1974) 173

§36 The God of the Theologians and the God of Jesus Christ (1981) 189

§37 Story, Sainthood, and Truth: Biography as Theology Revisited (1982) 207

§38 Narrative Ethics and Christian Ethics (1986) 219

Part IV On the Significance of Practices

§39 Christian Practices and the Postmodern Philosophical Task (1991) 237

§40 Toward a Conversionist Spirituality (1994) 249

§41 A New Way to Read the Bible (1995) 259

§42 A Practical Theory of Religion (1995) 271

Part V Embodying the Great Story in the World

§43 Do We Need Saints Today? (1986) 285

§44 Toward an Ethics of Delight (1988) 295

§45 Ethics for a Career (1988) 313

§46 How Can a Christian Be a Law Librarian? (1990) 327

§47 How Is Christian Morality Universalizable? (1991) 339

§48 Picture Eschatology (1995) 355

§49 Taking the Side of (he World (2000) 365

Part VI Prospect

§50 Ten Theses on the Task of Today's Theology (1989) 379

Permissions for Volume 2 383

Scripture Index for Volume 2 385

General Index for Volume 2 388

What People are Saying About This

Dr. Terrence Tilley

McClendon's explorations in philosophical theology, narrative theology, dogmatics, and ethics serve as excellent introductions to the masterful works of his maturity. His works teach Catholics, Protestants, and baptists alike how to construct a lively Christian theology.

William H. Brackney

All concur that James McClendon is the preeminent progressive Baptist theologian of his era. His work is fresh, compelling, and sometimes theologically mischievous.

Elizabeth Newman

The Collected Works of James Wm. McClendon, Jr. is a testament to McClendon’s stature as one of the most significant American theologians of the twentieth century. Readers familiar with McClendon’s work and those coming to it for the first time will discover in these pages an extraordinary ecumenical achievement.

Editorial Reviews

The editors have done an admirable job not only of collecting nearly four decades of McClendon’s work, but of locating those works in relation to his academic career and his developing theological and philosophical themes. New and Wright have, indeed, provided a rich resource that may, indeed, bring McClendon’s voice back into consultation.

Amy L. Chilton Thompsonn Baptist Quarterly

The editors have done an admirable job not only of collecting nearly four decades of McClendon’s work, but of locating those works in relation to his academic career and his developing theological and philosophical themes. New and Wright have, indeed, provided a rich resource that may, indeed, bring McClendon’s voice back into consultation.

American Baptist Quarterly - Amy L. Chilton Thompson

"McClendon's explorations in philosophical theology, narrative theology, dogmatics, and ethics serve as excellent introductions to the masterful works of his maturity. His works teach Catholics, Protestants, and baptists alike how to construct a lively Christian theology." --Dr. Terrence Tilley, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology, Fordham University

Baylor University Press

From the Publisher