1st Edition
God in Postliberal Perspective Between Realism and Non-Realism
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.
God in Postliberal Perspective
Biography
Robert Andrew Cathey is a Professor of Theology at the McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, USA.
Culturally sensitive and constructively critical, Robert Cathey skillfully guides his reader through the last fifty years of reflection on what is perhaps the fundamental epistemological and ontological question in philosophic theology: the relation -- whether alternative or dialectically interactive -- between realism and imagination Geoffrey Wainwright, Cushman Professor of Systematic Theology, Duke University. Cathey leads his readers on a complex journey from post-liberal theology to realist and non-realist philosophies to the work of Willem Drees and Don Cupitt. On the work I know best (my own!) he is a careful reader and a fair critic. William C. Placher, Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, Wabash College, USA. Robert Cathey’s book significantly advances our understanding of the post-liberal project and its place among competing contemporary theological perspectives. He offers incisive critique of the work of key thinkers on the theological landscape; his constructive proposal has great potential for moving beyond the present impasse between realism and non-realism. Anna Case-Winters, Professor of Theology, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago In thoughtful dialogue with the best minds on the subject, Cathey has written a penetrating analysis of the vexed question of what God means in our contemporary world. Regina Schwartz, Professor of English, Northwestern University ’Recommended.’ Choice '... [this] book provides a provocative survey of some of the debates initiated by post-liberalism...' New Blackfriars
