The Vocation of Theology Today: A Festschrift for David Ford

by Tom Greggs (Editor), Rachel Muers (Editor), Simeon Zahl (Editor)

Overview

What is the task of theology in a complex religious and secular world? What are theologians called to contribute to society, the churches, and the academy? Can theology be both fully faithful to Christian tradition and Scripture, and fully open to the challenges of the twenty-first century? In this book, an international team of contributors, including some of the best-known names in the field, respond to these questions in programmatic essays that set the direction for future debates about the vocation of theology. David Ford, in whose honor the collection is produced, has been for many years a key figure in articulating and shaping the role of contemporary theology. The contributors are his colleagues, collaborators, and former students, and their essays engage in dialogue with his work. The main unifying feature of this exciting collection is not Ford's work per se, however, but a shared engagement with the pressing question of theology's vocation today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621895404
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	02/08/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	424
File size:	446 KB

About the Author

Tom Greggs is Professor of Historical and Doctrinal Theology at the University of Aberdeen.

Rachel Muers is Senior Lecturer in Christian Studies at the University of Leeds.

Simeon Zahl is Junior Research Fellow in Theology at St John's College, Oxford University
Rachel Muers is Senior Lecturer in Christian Studies at the University of Leeds. Her publications include Keeping God's Silence (2004), Living for the Future (2008), and, with David Grumett, Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet (2010).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Contributors xiii

1 Introduction Tom Greggs Rachel Muers Simeon Zahl 1

Part 1 Conversing with Theologians

2 Being a Wise Apprentice to the Communion of Modern Saints: On the Need for Conversation with a Plurality of Theological Interlocutors Tom Greggs 21

3 The Wisdom and Love of God: Starting a Conversation between Schleiermacher and Ford Paul T. Nimmo 35

4 The Many Moods of Revelation Jason Fout 48

5 What Has the "Lutheran" Paul to Do with John? Passive Righteousness and Abiding in the Vine Simeon Zahl 61

Part 2 Attending to Scripture

6 Transforming the Grammar of Human Jealousy: Israel's Jealousy in Romans 9-11 Susannah Ticciati 77

7 A Disharmony of the Gospels Nicholas Adams 92

8 Attending to Scripture: The Homiletic Imperative Frances Young 108

9 Wisdom and Rapture Janet Martin Soskice 122

Part 3 In and For the Church

10 Beyond "Belief": Liturgy and the Cognitive Apprehension of God Sarah Coakley 131

11 Wonder-Voyaging: The Pneumatological Character of David Ford's Theology Ben Quash 146

12 "A Secular and Religious World": David Ford's Contribution to the Secularization Debate Timothy Jenkins 163

13 Theology among the Humanities Rowan Williams 178

Part 4 Reasoning between Faiths

14 What Kinds of Thinking Complement What Kinds of Societal Action? Peter Ochs 193

15 Theology as a Vocation: A Weberian Perspective Basit Bilal Koshul 211

16 Dialogue in the Dust: On the Wisdom of Inter-religious Encounter Michael Barnes SJ 228

Part 5 Speaking and Listening in Public

17 Tales of the Unexpected: Theology in Public Space Rachel Muers 245

18 The Habitus of the Theologian: Thinking through Theological Vocation in Conversation with David Ford Alistair I. McFadyen 259

19 Between the Constraints of Freedom and the Aspirations of Love: On Bergson, Levinas, and Theology in the Service of Politics Paul D. Janz 273

Part 6 Theology and the University

20 For Its Own Sake, For God's Sake: Wisdom and Delight in the University Mike Higton 289

21 The Place and Significance of Theology in the Contemporary University Joseph D. Galgalo 303

22 Ecclesial Theology in the University C. C. Pecknold 314

23 The Shaping of Catholic Theology in the UK Public Academy Paul D. Murray 330

Part 7 Theology and the Face

24 The Transforming Power of People with Disabilities Jean Vanier 345

25 Facing Each Other: Friendship, Meaning, and Shaping a World Micheal O'Siadhail 359

26 "Playing Face to Face" Deborah Hardy Ford 374

Bibliography of David Ford's Published Works 393

Index 401