CULTURE
of THEOLOGY
John Webster
Edited by
Ivor J. Davidson
and Alden C. McCray
a division of Baker Publishing Group
Grand Rapids, Michigan
© 2019 by Baker Publishing Group
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Webster, John, 1955–2016, author. | Davidson, Ivor J., editor.
Title: The culture of theology / John Webster ; edited by Ivor J. Davidson and Alden C. McCray.
Description: Grand Rapids : Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019003751 | ISBN 9781540960801 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: Theology.
Classification: LCC BR118 .W395 2019 | DDC 230.01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019003751
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction Ivor J. Davidson
1. Culture: The Shape of Theological Practice
2. Texts: Scripture, Reading, and the Rhetoric of Theology
3. Traditions: Theology and the Public Covenant
4. Conversations: Engaging Difference
5. Criticism: Revelation and Disturbance
6. Habits: Cultivating the Theologian’s Soul
In most books, authors thank those who have helped them; in this one, the others must chiefly thank the author. The editors gladly register their enduring debts to John Webster for the stimulus of his work; it has been a privilege as ever to spend time with his writing and learn from it afresh. They are grateful also to all who have facilitated their own little bit of labor: to the editors of Stimulus for gracious permission to present the text in this new form, and to Fiona Sherwin in particular for her considerable help; to Dave Nelson at Baker Publishing Group for his great enthusiasm for the project and his skill and generosity in steering it toward publication; to Melisa Blok and her colleagues for their dedicated work in the press.
Others have provided encouragement in the venture or been instruments of its possibility. Ivor Davidson is glad in particular to express gratitude to his former colleague at the University of Otago, Professor Paul Trebilco, for his vital role in the organization of the Burns Lectures back in 1998, ...
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About The Culture of TheologyThis outstanding work offers a short account of the nature of Christian theology. In a series of six lectures, John Webster explores the privilege of thinking and speaking of God in light of “the staggering good news of Jesus Christ.” How might faith approach that task? Webster proposes that we do theology well when we recognize the gospel as the most important reality. He considers the significance of church, Bible, and tradition as foundational to the unique “cultural world” the gospel brings into being, and he explores the challenges as well as the joys of inhabiting that sphere. Theology has particular responsibilities: in its academic conversations, in its self-criticism, and in its spiritual and moral life; at the heart of its calling lies prayer. Webster’s exposition, here available in book form for the first time, is accompanied by an introduction by his close colleague, Ivor J. Davidson, who was involved in the original lecture series and discussed the material extensively with him. |
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