Postmodern Theologies: The Challenge of Religious Diversity

An introduction and evaluation of contemporary approaches to theology Postmodern Theologies sets out to discern movements shaping the postmodern study of religion in a unique collaborative venture born of a postgraduate seminar at Florida State University. While some might say that theology after the death of God is like biology after the end of life--a discipline without a subject--Postmodern Theologies identifies four general patterns of postmodernisms in theology today: constructive theologies (with Helmut Peukert David Ray Griffin and David Tracy cited as examples); postmodernisms of dissolution (Thomas J. J. Altizer Mark C. Taylor and Edith Wyschogrod); postliberal theologies (George Lindbeck); and communal praxis (exemplified by Gustavo Gutierrez and other Latin American theologians and James Wm. McClendon and Sharon Welch among North Americans). These theologies eschew debates on traditional religious foundations to define true religion as the result of--rather than the impetus to--living ones beliefs. As these disparate approaches to theology are not directly comparable the final chapter of Postmodern Theologies instead analyzes how each one accounts for the plurality of religions. Exploring the postmodern strategies for coping with one of the most difficult questions in any theological age offers a fascinating way to assess their inherent strengths and weaknesses. The best possible introduction to the assorted theological projects now called postmodern. James Wm. McClendon Jr. (1924-2000) Fuller Theological Seminary Tilley has produced a text that is original in composition and content. The breadth and depth of the conversation is impressive. The result is a persuasive model for performing theology in a postmodern context. Dr. Dermot A. Lane Irish School of Ecumenics The individual essays are workmanlike providing an entry into writings which might otherwise prove formidable for those not instructed in the arcane jargon of postmodernism. Lawrence S. Cunningham Commonweal The book is an unusual type of survey highly educative and serious . . . [I]t is worth reading for Tilleys own wise and very balanced summaries and critiques. Roy Kearsley Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology Terrence W. Tilley is Professor of Theology and Chair of the Department at Fordham University. His other books include Talking of God Story Theology The Evils of Theodicy Inventing Catholic Tradition History Theology and Faith and The Disciples Jesus: Christology as Reconciling Practice.