Systematic Theology (Volume 2) [Hardcover]

Wolfhart Pannenberg (Author), Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1994 | Series: Systematic Theology (Book 2)

Volume 2 of Pannenbergs magnum opus moves beyond the highly touted discussions of systematic prolegomena and theology proper in Volume 1 to commanding, compehensive statements concerning creation, the nature of man, Christology, and salvation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 515 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802837077
• ISBN-13: 978-0802837073
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A world leading theologian continues the systematic quest., October 1, 1998

By 

Adrian Langdon ([e-mail]) (Cambridge, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Systematic Theology (Volume 2) (Hardcover)

In this, the second of a three volume work in systematic theology, Pannenberg picks up where he left of from the first volume. In the last chapters of volume one he explicated the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, making this one of the themes of the whole system. In vol two he hones his skills to discuss the doctrines creation, anthropology, christology and salvation. In typical Pannenberg fashion, the topics are given exhaustive examiniation. In the chapters on creation and anthropology he examines the various subjects in light of modern science and philosophy, carefully decerning what is useful for Christian theology and what is not. The method for his chapters on christology begin with a discussion on the relation of anthropology and christology. This is in keeping with his earlier christological work Jesus-God and Man, which also supports a Christology from below. However, the systematic goes beyond his earlier monograph since it explicates the work of Jesus in light of the Doctrine of God and Salvation. It is an example, then, of from below to above. This second volume sets up for the third volume which will deal with the church and eschatology. But rest assured, the themes of the truth of Christian doctrine and the Trinty will be integrated into the next volume as it was in this one. This is not an easy read, it is very demanding. However, once the mountain is climbed the view is great.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern, Brilliant, Innovative Trinitarian Theology, March 26, 2011

By 

Ross James Browne (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Systematic Theology (Volume 2) (Hardcover)

The Trinity is one of the most important concepts in Pannenberg's Systematic Theology. His style is comprehensive, exhaustive, and encyclopedic. He goes through his customary sequence of introducing a historical idea concerning the Trinity, and then debunking it as antiquated. He will then introduce another concept, debunk it, and the sequence goes on. Eventually he settles on his own preferred concept of the Trinity, but only after cycling through about a dozen alternative theories ranging from early church fathers to Barth's evangelical theology (his favorite target).

Pannenberg seems to have a chronological-historical style of writing where he likes to give us the entire life history of the varying concepts of the Trinity over time. He uses this same style to give us an idea of how various concepts of evangelical theology, natural theology, and mysticism have changed and evolved over time. The advantage of this style is that the reader gets a good background knowledge of all of the theology that has influenced Pannenberg's present day theology, and he is good at giving the reader a crash-course on the theories leading up to his theories. The only disadvantage is that Pannenberg sometimes seems to emphasize the evolution of everybody else's theories so much that his own ideas get lost in the endless succession of debunked theories. But this is just an inevitable result of Pannenberg's insistence on explaining every possible alternative viewpoint and allowing the reader to make his own decision. After all, these viewpoints will come in handy for any seminarian. You will come out of this with a full knowledge of Hegel, Schleiermacher, Athanasius, Origen, Barth, even Tillich. The list could go on and on. Basically, this ultra-comprehensive style of systematic theology is worth the trouble because you are getting a concise synopsis of important concepts from dozens of different writers.

As for Pannenberg's actual ideas regarding the Trinity, allow me to provide a few quotes and a brief explanation of each. "The self distinction of the Son, which corresponds to the fatherly address to him and which gives the Father alone the honor of being the one God, forms a starting point for the otherness and independence of creaturely existence" (p.22). One of Pannenberg's most important concepts is the idea of the self distinction of the Son from the Father. This means that the emergence of Christ helps to identify and distinguish God as God by highlighting God in contradistinction to the Son. In this way, Christ actually sets up God in a way that allows us to see God for who he really is. This leads to Pannenberg's idea of the infinite setting up the finite, or the eternal setting up the temporal in contradistinction. In order for God to set up our temporal reality, Christ has to set up an environment where we can be exposed to the idea of God. Christ is somehow able to set up this environment. The idea of the otherness within creaturely existence is a critical component of this environment where consciousness is incubated. This is what Pannenberg is talking about when he refers to Christ illuminating God thereby forming a starting point for the otherness of creaturely existence. This otherness is a critical ingredient for consciousness because our most primordial self-conscious being is a result of being in contradistinction to the other. Pannenberg theorizes that Christ is responsible for otherness and the preservation of individualism. He describes this as a "principle that generates the plurality and distinction of creaturely things" (p.27).

In another crucial passage, he states "the self-distinction of the Son from the Father is the condition of his unity with the Father through the Spirit, so creatures are related to their Creator by their distinction from God and to one another by their distinctions from one another" (p.31). This passage describes the role of the Spirit within the Trinity (and in a number of other passages Pannenberg does an excellent job at describing the precise way in which the Spirit has a different role than the Son). The Spirit basically glorifies or highlights God and the Son. It does this by orchestrating events in life that force us to turn to God and the Son, and then orchestrating additional events that strengthen our faith in the relevance of Christ and the goodness of God. The end result is the preservation of individualism and otherness, which is a basic building block of consciousness. In his innovative fusion of systematic/ evangelical/ natural theology, Pannenberg glorifies Christ by giving him credit for the preservation of this "plurality and distinction of creaturely things." This elevates Christ to a whole new role of creator of all conscious life. "The Father thus acts as Creator through the Son" (p.30).

Another important aspect of volume two is the idea that the distinction or separation of the Son (or Logos) from the Father is the key to creating distinct individual identities among people. In other words, Christ is the reason why we become unique individuals. Pannenberg does an excellent job explaining why Christ = the emergence of individuality. Of course there were distinct individuals before Christ, and Pannenberg also explains how these individuals came into being through God and the Spirit, in order to create a society that could contain Christ. The important point is that Christ paves the way for the ontological phenomenon of what Sartre would call being-towards-others, which is a critical building block of self-consciousness.

This gives you an idea of how rich and dense this book is. Each of the afforementioned quotes has the density of plutonium. It seems like every sentence is crammed with an entire microcosmic system containing the secrets of the origins of all life.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great price and service - thanks., September 6, 2011

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Todd Kunkler (Lake View Terrace, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Systematic Theology (Volume 2) (Hardcover)

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