Description:
Leading contemporary Episcopal theologians, both established figures and emerging voices, reflect on the vocation of theology from their unique perspectives.
The Episcopal Church has a deep, rich, diverse, and sophisticated theological heritage going back for centuries. However, for various reasons many members of the Church are unaware of this heritage in its complex fullness, and are likewise unfamiliar with those Episcopalians whose professional vocation it is to study, teach, and write about the doctrines of the Christian faith. This book introduces 15 of these contemporary scholars by inviting them to share how they became a theologian, how they understand the ongoing theological enterprise, and their personal vision for the vital place of theology in the life and mission of the Episcopal Church. The outstanding contributors are a mix of academics, thought leaders and PhD students from prestigious institutions around the country including: Scott MacDougall, Anthony Baker, James Farwell, Jason Fout, Francisco Garcia, Olufemi Gonsalves, Thomas Holtzen, Kelli Joyce, Maxine King, Robert MacSwain, Joy Ann McDougall, Kara Slade, Katherine Sonderegger, Kathryn Tanner, and Sameer Yadav. Foreword by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and afterword by Matthew Ichihashi Potts.Brief description:
Robert MacSwain is Associate Professor of Theology at the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), the University of Edinburgh (M.Th.), and the University of St. Andrews (Ph.D.), as well as a postgraduate diploma in Anglican studies from Virginia Theological Seminary. He is a priest of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd and has authored and edited ten books, including Solved by Sacrifice: Austin Farrer, Fideism, and the Evidence of Faith, Essays Anglican and Analytic: Explorations in Critical Catholicism, and Saints as Divine Evidence: The Hagiological Argument for the Existence of God. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Review Quotes:
"[I]nteresting...highly eclectic...it is good to see academic theology valued. Contributors view it as a rigorous way of exploring Christian faith...[One contributor] argues that Anglicanism 'does not prescribe what people must believe but instead pushes the boundaries of Christian theological imagination out as far as possible.' Perhaps that explains the theological pluralism so evident in this fascinating collection..."
-- "Church Times"