The Word as True Myth: Interpreting Modern Theology [Paperback]

Gary Dorrien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

The twentieth century saw a wide variety of theological stands that were often confusing. Gary Dorrien sorts through theological trends by focusing on the notions of Christ and word. He presents the story of recent theology in a narrative style that makes the book ideal for classroom use, integrating the major theologians of the century along with other developments in philosophy and culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dorrien, who teaches religion at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, weaves a coherent, accessible and generally persuasive account of the development of modern theology, arguing that it has been "in crisis for most of its history." From the opening paragraph of the introduction, he insists that the crisis has been and continues to be a "crisis of belief." Modern theology emerged with the question of whether it is possible to sustain Christian faith in the face of the desacralization of the world by modern science. This desacralization and disintegration led, according to Dorrien, to a "return of the repressed" mythological aspects of Christianity on the part of modern theology. The bulk of the book, however, is devoted to a careful historical account of theological developments that began with Kant, Hegel and Schleiermacher, continued through Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann and Emil Brunner, and culminated in Schubert Ogden's appropriation of Bultmann and the "postmodern" turn of liberation and feminist theologies. Dorrien's book will appeal to those who share his commitment to a historical framework within which to understand theology.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Gary Dorrien is Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University in New York City. An Episcopal priest, he is the author of eleven books and over one hundred articles that range across the fields of theology, philosophy, social theory, politics, ethics, and history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664257453
• ISBN-13: 978-0664257453
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A critical reading of liberal theology, January 14, 2000

By 

Trash Gordon "seraph127" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Word as True Myth: Interpreting Modern Theology (Paperback)

In this suprisingly brief work, Dorrien offers a sympathetic yet critical reading of the various positions liberal theologians since Schleiermacher have taken vis-a-vis the role of myth in Christian theology. He demonstrates how this development has been affected by an understaniding of myth itself which has gone from myth as primitive superstition to myth as essential mode of religious expression and existence. As a bonus one gets a fine capsule summary of some of the major themes of theologians such as Barth, Tillich, R. Niebuhr, Bultmann and some other, lesser-known figures. An extended discussion of the evolving work of Langdon Gilkey provides a sort of pivot-point from "classical" liberalism to newer theological projects in which a more muscular notion of transcendence is recovered. The closing chapter offers tantalizing glimpses of a possible future work by Dorrien in the nature of a "new neo-orthodoxy" which goes beyond Barth's theological ghettoism. Included here is a highly salutary though somewhat clipped description of C.S. Lewis' own intriguing notions about the nature of myth in Christian doctrine. Get this one!