The Nature And Mission Of Theology

As Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote this book in response to the dialogue going on today concerning theology and the clarification of its methods, its mission and its limits which he thinks has become urgent.

As Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote this book in response to the dialogue going on today concerning theology and the clarification of its methods, its mission and its limits which he thinks has become urgent. Ratzinger states: "To do theology-as the Magisterium understands theology-it is not sufficient merely to calculate how much religion can reasonably be expected of man and to utilize bits and pieces of the Christian tradition accordingly. Theology is born when the arbitrary judgment of reason encounters a limit, in that we discover something which we have not excogitated ourselves but which has been revealed to us. For this reason, not every religious theory has the right to label itself as Christian or Catholic theology simply because it wishes to do so; whoever would lay claim to this title is obligated to accept as meaningful the prior given which goes along with it.

The author proposes that the health of the entire Christian community hinges on getting the theological task right, which includes showing why and how theology and mission are inextricably linked. After surveying the nature of the theological task from the academy to the grassroots level, J. Andrew Kirk discusses factors that are pushing the theological task in new directions. He focuses especially on the twofold task of making sense of the whole of life by reference to God and becoming agents of transformation. The book concludes by expanding upon David Bosch's proposition that theology ceases to be theology if it loses its missionary character.

Leading evangelical mission experts offer a comprehensive theology of mission text, providing biblical, historical, and contemporary perspectives.

Missiology permeated with theological reflection. This volume is the culmination of Van Engen’s teachings, but takes us to an even deeper level. Since mission is first and foremost God’s mission, theological reflection must be permeated by missiological understanding and our missiology must be permeated with theological reflection. Mission theology is an activity of the Church of Jesus Christ seeking to understand more deeply why, how, when, where, and wherefore the followers of Jesus may participate in God’s mission, in God’s world.

Missiologists and theologians do not often talk to each other, which has resulted in increased ignorance of each other’s questions and concerns about how to do theology in ways that effectively serve the Church’s mission. Under the auspices of the Tyndale Fellowship Christian Doctrine study group, a colloquium of distinguished scholars and practitioners recently gathered at the University of Cambridge. This volume, arising out of that symposium, begins conversations that have been waiting to happen. Each participant brings a particular perspective to questions about the nature of theology and how it is most meaningfully constructed so as to offer a truly interdisciplinary perspective on theology and mission. It highlights perspectives of contextual theology and systematic theology, as well as missiology and mission studies, world Christianity and historical inquiry, biblical studies and missional hermeneutics, ethnography, pastoral practice, and social justice. It also pays keen attention to matters on the ground with a profound desire to relate questions of evangelical identity – including ministry practice and mission – to the wider tradition. In short this volume sets out to model the kind of engagement required by both Church and Academy to do theology for mission.