The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg: Twelve American Critiques with an Autobiographical Essay and Response

How deep has Pannenbergs influence been on American theology? Which particular ideas or themes from his work have been most pervasive to Ameri-can thinkers and which have encountered the greatest resistance? What implications does his work have beyond explicitly theo-logical contexts--e.g. for philosophy ethics environmental concerns political ac-tion and the natural sciences? What new forms have his ideas taken as they have been adapted to fit the very different context of American theology? The authors of the twelve critiques in this vol-ume represent a broad cross section of American thought on religion. The essays cover virtually all of the major areas in which Pannenberg has published. An intro-ductory survey provides a comprehensive overview of the critical literature on Pannenberg from the early 1960s to 1986. Together the essays represent an ac-curate barometer of the influence Pannenberg has had in America as well as the sorts of reservations that the English-speaking world brings to his work. It has now been many years since Pannenbergs first visit to the United States. At that time the discussion with Pannenberg fo-cused on the radically historical character of his proposal for theology centering around revelation and resurrection. In the meantime Pannenbergs thought has ex-panded almost encyclopedically into most of the major disciplines studied in a modern university. Without doubt the most comprehensive theologian at work today his place in the history of twentieth-century theol-ogy is well assured. Carl E. Braaten Professor of Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is founding editor of Dialog: A Journey of Theology. Among his many books are Justification: The Article by which the Church Stands or Falls Principles of Lutheran Theology and edited with Robert W. Jenson Christian Dogmatics (2 vols.). Philip Clayton teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Williams college Williamstown Massachusetts.