This innovative work is an introduction to Christian theology with a difference. Not only does it interpret, with clarity and energy, fundamental Christian beliefs but it also shows how and why these beliefs arose, promoting an understanding of theological reflection that encourages readers to think theologically themselves. From Irenaeus and Aquinas to Girard, from Augustine to Zizioulas and contemporary feminist thought, Divine Teaching explores the ways in which major thinkers in the Christian tradition have shaped theology through the wide variety of their encounters with God. It makes theological study adventurous and interactive, not necessarily requiring a faith commitment from all, but allowing readers a thoughtful involvement in the subject that takes seriously the Christian vision of God as the ultimate teacher of theology.
Divine Teaching: An Introduction to Christian Theology is an imaginative and lively analysis of the Christian way of thinking, offering vivid and informing insight into the history and practice of Christian theology.
Preface ix
Part I Becoming a Theologian 1
1 How God Makes Theologians 3
Astonishment and Theological Virtue 3
Resurrection to Pentecost: Where Christian Theology Begins 7
But Can You Study Theology without Having to Believe? 13
2 Strange Calling: Theologians as Adventurers, Pirates, Mystics, and Sages 16
Adventure: Continuing Conversion of the Theologian 16
Piracy: Thinking Analogically 18
Mystical Life: Interpreting Reality in Terms of God 22
Wisdom: Thinking by Means of God's Thoughts 27
3 Divine Teaching and Christian Beliefs 31
Theology's Weakness and Wisdom's Parting Gift 32
Sacred Teaching: The Nature and Function of Christian Beliefs 35
Visions of the Whole: Origen, Aquinas, and Barth 40
How Not to Believe: The Dangers of Fantasy and Fanaticism 46
Part II Theology's Search for Understanding 55
4 Salvation: The Foundation of Christian Theology 57
Orientation 57
Why Start with Salvation? 57
Salvation as the Basis for Christian Theology 59
Identifying Different Approaches to the Mystery of Salvation 65
5 Salvation: Meeting Heaven Face to Face 79
Landmarks 79
Irenaeus: Salvation and New Creation 80
Brief Interlude: A Crucial Difficulty in Soteriology 86
Augustine and God's Justice 87
Anselm and the Divine Order 91
Pathfinding 94
On the Death of Christ: Orthodox, Feminist, and Girardian Concerns 94
Salvation and the Paschal Mystery 99
6 Divine Life: Trinity, Incarnation, and the Breathing of the Spirit 111
Orientation 111
Sheer Bliss: Why God Reveals Divine Life to be the Trinity 111
Forgiveness and Abundance: Origins of Trinitarian Awareness 114
The Life of the Incarnate Word and the Power of the Spirit 117
The Developing Principles of Trinitarian Theology 119
Landmarks 138
Augustine on the Mysterious Attraction of the Trinity 139
Karl Barth on the God Who Loves in Freedom 159
Pathfinding 167
Questions in Trinitarian Theology Today 167
The Trinity and Mystical Participation in God 175
7 Creaturely Life: A Journey towards Beatitude 179
Orientation 179
Death No Longer Has Dominion: Creation's Path in the Light of Easter 180
Creation - Revelation - Sacrament 188
Human Life - Ecclesial Life - Beatitude 199
Landmarks 204
Thomas Aquinas on Creation: "A Representation of the Divine Wisdom" 204
Blaise Pascal on Human Existence 210
Pathfinding 217
Two Disputed Questions 217
The Human Calling in Creation 222
Notes 229
Bibliography 241
Index 249
