Below is a select bibliography for the series I’ve been running for the past month on Method and Historical Theology. Any additional readings and resources that you have found useful would be appreciated. Select Bibliography Acton, John. “Inaugural Lecture on the Study of History.” In Essays on Freedom and Power. Edited by Gertrude Himmelfarb. NewContinue reading “MHT: Select Bibliography”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. The perspective I have been outlining in this series does not to suggest that those who are not Christians cannot participate in historical truth, but rather the acknowledgement that wherever truth may be found is belongsContinue reading “Method and Historical Theology: Conclusions”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. Building upon the methodological principles I have been outlining, I wish to briefly offer some of the operating assumptions of my work in historical theology. Historical theological study must always engage other voices and perspectives—there isContinue reading “MHT: Operating Assumptions”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. What does a methodology invested in both history and theology look like? First, this perspective suggests an examination of the past for the sake of the future. This means conceiving of historical theology as a toolContinue reading “MHT: Applying Historical Theology”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. A final—and supremely important—methodological point for the study of historical theology engages the relationship of history and theology. Existing scholarship often takes a historical or contextual approach to the study of history. And while there isContinue reading “MHT: Integration of History and Theology”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. The fourth important factor in the study of historical theology involves a wide investigation of contexts. While Berkofer somewhat problematizes a context furnished by “thick description,”[50] the type of context sought here does not involve theContinue reading “MHT: Principle of Context”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. The third methodological foundation for historical theology incorporates aspects of an ordered approach to the study of the past. This is the great legacy of the Modern era on the study of history: a scientific approachContinue reading “MHT: Principle of Order”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. To satisfy both the postmodern critique and need for epistemological clarity, I suggest epistemological and methodological perspectivism. Perspectivism acknowledges the limits of the historian and their information, the selectivity of historical presentations, and the variability ofContinue reading “MHT: Perspectivism”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. Epistemological clarity constitutes the second vital component for historical theological work. This necessity arises out of awareness of the postmodern critique of knowledge. As noted above, the postmodern challenge argues that historians can only engage theContinue reading “MHT: Principle of Clarity”
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on the appropriate approach to and method for historical theology. With a metanarrative of developmentalism in a hand, I must now turn to some explicit methodological principles for undertaking the project of historical theology. First, methodological awareness forms the foundation for all solid historical theological work.Continue reading “MHT: Principle of Awareness”
Pursuing Veritas