Reforming Theological Anthropology: After the Philosophical Turn to Relationality (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Relationality is not a new concept for Christian theology..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jesus Christ, New York, Grand Rapids (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With the profound changes in today's intellectual and scientific landscape, traditional ways of speaking about human nature, sin, and the image of God have lost their explanatory power. In this volume F.LeRon Shults explores the challenges to and opportunities for rethinking current religious views of humankind in contemporary Western culture.

From philosophy to theology, from physics to psychology, we find a turn to the categories of "relationality." Shults briefly traces this history from Aristotle to Levinas, showing its impact on the Christian doctrine of anthropology, and he argues that the biblical understanding of humanity has much to contribute to today's dialogue on persons and on human becoming in relation to God and others. Shults's work stands as a potent effort to reform theological anthropology in a way that restores its relevance to contemporary interpretations of the world and our place in it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (February 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802848877
• ISBN-13: 978-0802848871
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #349,582 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Through a glass darkly..., May 4, 2004

By	Gregory Gilbert (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I Corinthian 13:12 says that "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known." Yet oddly, it seems that many who have theological interests seem to think that we can see all of theology in a crystal-clear way, and now that we 'have' this perfect knowledge, all we need to do is pass it down.

LeRon's excellent book Reforming Theological Anthropology is basically about Paul's point in I Corinthians: we DON'T have everything figured out. As we all see darkly now, we must work to understand that darkness through the light of Christ, as Christ related to the world: by interacting with people's understanding of the times. LeRon's book is very much about deconstructing some of the strong assumptions that we've come to accept as fact, and he challenges us to see that many of these 'facts' are, in fact, not facts.

This is a thick read: don't expect to blow through it and have full comprehension of it. For myself, I know that I probably woudn't have understood half of it if I hadn't had him as a professor who was willing to explain things in class. But don't be to quick to pass it by because of this...LeRon's work deserves careful consideration.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There Is No Spoon, April 18, 2003

By	Shane Stephen Oborn (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Shults has painted a fantastic piece of theological art which speaks humbly, yet boldly to theologians in the West. It's art is found not so much in raw innovation, as it is in re-covering key Christian theological intuitions that have been buried, especially in the Theological West. In the process of analyzing and critiquing our post-modern landscape, Shults offers the reader a tertium quid, which he refers to as "postfoundationalism." Exploring what he considers to be promising opened doors in light of the recent philosophical "turn to relationality" in the West, Shults engages the significant anthropological doctrines for any Christian systematics in an attempt emphasize the importance of responding to the on-going call of reformation with respect to the church's articulation of the Christian faith in each generation. Shults has written something special here that can only be ignored to the detriment of the contemporary theologian.

As certain strands of the Christian tradition have at times been guilty of simply propagating its beliefs over time without regard to its inherent reciprocal relation to science, philosophy, and experience; Shults challenges us to look closer.....in some cases, "there is no spoon."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important work, February 27, 2004

By	Mark Van Steenwyk "Van S" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

All in all, I think the book was pretty dense, but it challenged some long-held evangelical assumptions that must be reformed for the future. This is an important book that helps to make evangelical thought more conversant with some of the major contributions in 20th century theology. It serves to help conservative christians engage other disciplines, as well as helping us to understand our faith in philosophical categories that more closely correlate to the Biblical presentation of a dynamic transformative Triune God.