KNOWING & DOING A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind This article originally appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Knowing & Doing. C.S. LEWIS INSTITUTE Built on Vapors: The Rise and Diffusion of by Winfried Corduan Professor of Philosophy and , Taylor University

ost-what? It’s not all theologians has decided that a new era in theol- that long ago that ogy has come about, a notion that already should we h ad to lea r n put us on alert, and many Christian leaders, both about postmodern- evangelical and non-evangelical, are becoming a ism,P and many of us found part of the movement. Consequently, even though it to be a pretty wiggly idea. this article may be one of the few places that you Now we’re supposed to encounter “postliberalism” by name, the nature of learn about postliberalism. this theology may be influencing what you read Couldn’t we just declare our- Winfried Corduan in your Sunday School quarterly, what your pas- selves to be post-postliberal tor preaches, and in which ministries your home and spare ourselves the agony of learning the church does or does not engage. There is much name of another theological label that only people talk today of the “Emergent Church” movement, in seminaries and universities will ever use any- and many of the traits of this school of thought way until it is replaced by the next fad? are derived from postliberalism under a very thin As understandable as this attitude may be, guise. Most seriously, under the illusion of mani- the truth is that the term “postliberal” refers to a festing a greater appreciation for the , it ulti- way of thinking that is bringing about large-scale mately undercuts the assurance of the gospel. changes in today’s church. Sometimes some of the The theology that we call “postliberalism” most powerful ideas, whether for good or ill, come began with two well-known theologians at Yale in obscure packages, and we ignore them at seri- University, and . I met ous risk. For example, we may have heard about Hans Frei once when he gave the three-evening the philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, but I suspect few Rockwell Lectures at Rice University in 1974. of us have read him, and even fewer have been This was the time when popular theology in the able to understand him. Hegel’s writing is hard United States was just recovering a little more self- to follow and seems to be well suited for the ivory integrity from so-called “secular theology”—not tower. Who would have thought back in the early to mention the disastrous “-is-Dead” move- 19th century that a hundred years later his ideas ment—and was enjoying its would contribute to events that changed the en- years in the sun. tire world. Hegel’s philosophy was a crucial influ- I called on Dr. Frei at his guest lodgings one ence on Karl Marx, and the rest is history. So, we afternoon just to chat, and I was impressed by need to be very careful; sometimes an apparently the genuine interest he showed in the contem- meaningless and unnecessary label may conceal plations of an idealistic first-year Ph.D. student. an idea that, without the label, is bringing about I had just become engrossed in the philosophi- major changes in the world. cal underpinning of Karl Rahner’s theology, and This is the case for postliberalism, an out- Dr. Frei manifested a lot of interest as I recounted wardly pretty empty term. Behind this label is what I had learned. Then he asked me a question an attitude that is influencing the church in many that genuinely surprised me: “But how do you get ways right now, and, sad to say, most of them are from there to the incarnation?” Looking at it from negative. Even though the name does not tell us a Rahnerian perspective, I did not have an answer much at first glance, it does reveal that a group of at the time,1 though as an evangelical Christian, 2 Theology Built on Vapors

it did not bother me at the moment that I could biblical studies that brought up serious ques- not speak for Rahner in this respect. What really tions concerning the reliability of the Bible, intrigued me was the fact that this impressive but ultimately is not dependent on it. In other contemporary theologian would put the incarna- words, you could be a theological liberal even tion (a event if there ever was one, if you affirmed an inerrant or infallible view of and one that would continue to be impeached by the Bible (though I must hasten to add that I do many other theologians2) ahead of philosophical not think that you would excel in logical consis- speculation. I did not know at the time that Frei tency if you took that route). The most central and his colleagues were in the process of deliver- characteristic of theological is the re- ing a whole new paradigm, which reversed many formulation of Christian doctrine into general of the trends that had de-theologized theology for moral exhortations, either for an individual or the previous fifteen years. This was the year in for society. Thus, liberalism sees the doctrine which his ground-breaking book, The Eclipse of of the cross not as the reconciliation between Biblical Narrative,3 came out. God and the human person in a substitution- ary atonement, but as an example of how people The Maze of Terminology should live in self-sacrificial love. In this more To understand the meaning of “postliberal” theol- specific delimitation, liberalism was a powerful ogy, we need to acquaint ourselves with a number presence in German theology in the late 19th of theological labels. Obviously, if it is post-liberal, century, and in American theology, particularly we need to be clear on what “liberal” means in in the Northeast, in the early 20th century. The this context. In ordinary conversation, it is com- so-called “social gospel” is a typical representa- mon for us to pit “conservatism” against “liberal- tive of theological liberalism. ism.” In such a general bifurcation, it is not really While liberalism was flourishing in many possible to say what those terms mean, other than circles, evangelicals maintained their own iden- that presumably conservatives hold on to more tities and often went to great lengths to repu- traditional beliefs than liberals. Thus, I need to diate liberalism by scholarship that directly specify my terms quite a bit more. confronted the errors of liberal biblical criticism One term that will become crucial in this dis- on its own ground. But liberalism also had its cussion is the word “orthodox,” by which I am own problems. For one thing, the basic optimism not referring to the Eastern branch of the Chris- necessary to advocate the moral betterment of tian Church, but to a basic adherence to the true the human race was devastated by the inhuman- doctrines of . Orthodoxy in this sense ity and cruelty of World War I. Simultaneously, can span Christian groups ranging all the way , coming out of the liberal theological from Roman Catholicism to Tennessee Mountain world, called for a fresh look at the actual teach- Charismatics. Perhaps a happy synonym for “or- ings of Scripture and thereby initiated the move- thodoxy” might be what C.S. Lewis had in mind ment of neo-orthodoxy. when he talked about “mere Christianity.” Neo-orthodoxy and postliberalism appear to One orthodox subgroup is constituted by be very similar, but postliberals wish to see them- evangelicals, who are Protestants who emphasize selves as quite different, and so we need to say the need for personal salvation in Christ, a few more words about neo-orthodoxy. Neo-or- and who hold to the Bible as truthful in all that it thodoxy, as espoused by Karl Barth, tried to call affirms, frequently invoking the term “inerrancy.” the church back to the essential beliefs of historic For purposes of this essay, there is no need to dis- Christianity, such as sin, the atonement, the Trin- tinguish between evangelicals and fundamental- ity, and salvation. But even though it promoted ists. In our context, evangelicals are the epitome orthodoxy, its method was rather free-floating of conservative Christians. because it accepted the conclusions of negative Now let us take a closer look at what “lib- biblical criticism, and thus—Barth’s own pro- eralism” means in this connection. In the his- tests notwithstanding—constructed a set of be- tory of theology, liberalism has a fairly specific liefs based on an inadequate foundation. In other meaning. It is closely tied to developments in words, it may have been orthodox, but it was neo- Theology Built on Vapors 3

orthodox because there was no controlling author- the first few generations, people simply accepted ity. Consequently, neo-orthodoxy lost no time in the story, went to the bank, and rejoiced in their redefining itself with every new theologian who good fortune. However, several generations later, somehow claimed that label, and it is utterly un- people started to ask questions about this story. surprising that the “God is dead” movement had They wanted to know: its roots in neo-orthodoxy. For example, Paul Van 1. Is this story really true? Buren earned his doctorate under Barth in Basel, 2. Who first came up with this story? writing his dissertation on the theology of Calvin, 3. Is this really $1 million or does the expression and then proceeded to publish a book that declared “$1 million” merely refer to some good fortune that, due to the philosophy of logical positivism, that makes us feel good but is not constituted the word “God” is dead.4 The founders of post- by a genuine amount of legal currency? liberalism looked at the fate of neo-orthodoxy 4. Where is this bank? and realized that a theology apart from biblical 5. Is the bank a genuine bank or is it a symbol for grounding bears the seed of its assured and hasty something else? self-destruction. 6. Is this rich benefactor a genuine person, and if Therefore, a more refined definition of “post- so, who was he, or is he possibly a symbol for liberalism” is that it is a new method of doing the- something else? ology that opposes the watered-down concepts of 7. Is this story a report of an actual event, or is it liberalism and embraces the content of the Bible. It perhaps a composite of several earlier stories attempts to be orthodox and biblical, but for rea- that have been brought together? sons we will describe below, it repudiates evan- Now, let us say that many people spend time gelicalism as much as liberalism. trying to find the answers to these questions, but the one thing that they do not do is to go to the Back to the Story! bank and claim their money. The above-described categories can now help us On the other hand, there are a number of to establish a possible goal for postliberal theol- people who take this story extremely seriously. ogy: to find a way of doing theology that is true They insist that this story is true, and they spend to the message of the Bible, remains orthodox in a lot of time defending all of its components. They the general sense of the term, but does not fall into prove the authenticity of the story, the reality of the various traps perceived by postliberal theolo- the amount, the identity of the bank and the rich gians in either liberal theology or . benefactor, and why going to the bank and claim- To expand on this goal and its implementation, let ing your money is the most rational thing to do. us invent a little story. But again, the one thing that these folks do not do Imagine that you receive a document narrat- is simply go to the bank and claim the money. ing certain events, which can be of great personal In a nutshell, this story illustrates Hans Frei’s value for you. This document relates that a very perception of the fate of Scripture in the scholar- wealthy man went to his bank and established ship of the last 500 years. There was a time, such an account in your name that contains $1 million. as during the Reformation, when people, such All you have to do is to go to the bank, sign your as Luther and Calvin and their followers, ac- name, and the million dollars are yours. Let us cepted the accounts of Scripture as true. Despite assume for the sake of this illustration that there the variations found between, say, the Old and is good reason to believe that the story is true, and New Testaments, or certain apparent difficulties that, consequently, all you need to do is respond in reconciling all of the content of the Bible, they to it. What difference this event would make in believed that the Bible was one coherent nar- most of our lives! So, what would you do? Clearly, rative and that a person could bring the entire the rational option would be to go to the bank and story together and live according to it. The story to claim this benefit. was true; therefore, it referred to something that To continue with this fable just a little more, let was real; and thus, rather than questioning the us suppose that this event has happened to nu- story, it was their obligation to live in the light of merous people over several generations. During the story. 4 Theology Built on Vapors

But biblical scholarship started to raise ques- of defending a story that does not need to be de- tions about the nature of the biblical story. Begin- fended by human beings, and placing ourselves ning with Baruch Spinoza and continuing through under its authority. the Enlightenment, deism, the 19th century, and So, to give a simple example of how this way right into the present, more and more questions of doing theology works itself out, in a book en- were brought up and received negative answers titled The Identity of Jesus Christ,6 Hans Frei does concerning the truth of the story that is related in not engage in the customary so-called search for the Bible. As a result, it became impossible to live the historical Jesus, but he studies what we can according to this story, though theologians found learn about Christ’s character by means of the alternatives for the biblical message and, as we gospel stories. The actual details of the accounts observed earlier, in classical liberalism the teach- are not crucial; Frei is still open to the critical ings of the incarnation, sin, and atonement were conclusions of biblical research. He concludes by replaced by moral platitudes. making a somewhat unkind reference to Albert On the other hand, there were those who re- Schweitzer’s Quest,7 but then quotes with approval sisted this negative assault on the Bible. Evangeli- Schweitzer’s own assessment: “to know this story cals and conservative Catholics, for example, went is to adopt a way of life consequent upon hearing to great lengths to prove the authenticity and the it and shaped by it.”8 trustworthiness of the Bible. But again, their pre- Thus, postliberalism presents us with a story, occupation with defending the truths of Scripture and our obligation is to subordinate our lives to substituted for actually living according to Scrip- the biblical story rather than to sit in judgment ture. Their second-order defense of the Bible had upon it. It becomes obvious, then, that in this re- supplanted the first-order biblical narrative.5 spect postliberalism is heading in the opposite Let me give you a specific example. I men- direction from postmodernism. Postmodern- tioned earlier that at the time of the Reformers ism, according to some of its advocates, such as Christians accepted the Bible as true. Using a Lyotard,9 distinguishes itself from other thought simple correspondence theory of truth, this ac- forms by denying that there is any single over- ceptance implied that the facts to which the Bible arching story (metanarrative) for all people at all refers are real. Does this conclusion then imply times. What Frei appears to be saying is that there that the events of the Bible are historical? Frei says is indeed such a story, namely the narrative of no, not necessarily, because historicity is not the the Bible. same thing as reality. “History” is a scholarly en- To understand a little more of what it means deavor, based on scholarly principles and meth- to have such a grand narrative, we can look at the ods and, consequently, as soon as we raise the work of Frei’s colleague George Lindbeck.10 In at- question of historicity, whether we are trying to tempting to clarify the nature of this story and its provide a positive or negative answer, we are al- function in the Christian community, Lindbeck ready undercutting the authenticity of the story. takes recourse to ’s analysis Thus, evangelicals, who take their cue from liber- of “language games” as they are maintained in als and respond to liberals on their home ground, their respective forms of life. There are many ways are missing the point just as much as liberals. of living and many aspects to our lives, and each This, then, becomes the essence of postlib- of these compartments of life comes with its own eralism: to take the narrative of the Bible as it is “language game.” The term “language game” is given, not to subject it to our criteria of truth or not meant to imply that life is frivolous, but that, acceptability, but to subject ourselves to the sto- just as each game that we might play has differ- ry of the Bible as the overarching paradigm for ent rules (soccer has different rules from chess; our lives. In this way postliberalism appears to Twister has different rules from Bridge, etc.), so have achieved the goals of early neo-orthodoxy, each form of life comes with its own idiomatic namely to repudiate liberal misconstruals of the language in its own “grammar,” which is to say, biblical message, but to retain a solid foundation its rules for what is and what is not proper use of in the Bible. As opposed to evangelicalism, post- language in that particular context. So, Lindbeck liberalism sees itself as avoiding the red herrings states that, Theology Built on Vapors 5

Any religion can be viewed as a kind of cultural But they are not historical. To apply the tests and/or linguistic framework and medium that of historicity to the biblical narrative is to compro- shapes the entirety of life and thought…. It is not mise it and to miss its meaning. primarily an array of beliefs about the true and But is this a realistic distinction? First of all, it good (though it may involve these), or symbol- seems as though the assumption that history by ism expressive of basic attitudes, feelings, or sen- its very nature must exclude reference to divine timents (though these will be generated). Rather, intervention is arbitrary. It is only a gratuitous it is similar to an idiom that makes possible the definition that prevents one from finding evidence description of realities, the formation of beliefs, for the miraculous in history. Second, it would ap- and the experiencing of inner attitudes, feelings, pear that making an end run around the question and sentiments. Like culture or language, it is a of history in the 21st century is to concede the communal phenomenon that shapes the subjec- truth of the narrative. During Luther’s and Cal- tivities of individuals rather than being primarily vin’s day, the academic discipline of history was a manifestation of those subjectivities.11 not what it is today, when the historical reality of an event is considered to be synonymous with the Christianity does not constitute an exception. truth of its account. It does not make sense to say The Christian story provides a conceptual frame- that the event really happened in the past, but that work that guides us into the correct ways of in- it is not historical. Once the question of historicity terpretation and living what we consider to be a has been raised, it becomes impossible to put that proper Christian life. proverbial genie back into the bottle. Evangelicals To sum up this part of my exposition, postlib- are not insisting on the historicity of the biblical eralism has attempted to repudiate the arbitrary narratives because they have an aberrant fascina- reinterpretation of Christianity of liberalism, and tion with the topic, but because the culture at large it has avoided the instability of neo-orthodoxy by questions the truth of the narrative by means of clinging to the biblical narrative. Or so it would historical criteria. seem. Furthermore, when Frei concedes that the biblical accounts are frequently “history-like,” The Problem of History he is invoking a nonexistent category. What does The apparent success of postliberalism is due to it mean for a true story to be “history-like”? It a large extent to the fact that it sidesteps certain would seem that, other than inventing a word questions, which other forms of theology consider that invokes an irresolvable ambiguity, the term to be crucial. Thus, for example, Hans Frei thinks does not contribute anything. If there is an actu- that it is a mistake to consider the biblical narra- al event in the past, it is a part of history. If it is tives to be historical. He concedes that they are not actual, then it cannot be historical, though it very much like history insofar as they depict what can be history-like. But to say that it is actual and really happened a long time ago, but being real history-like without being historical is to invent and true does not amount to historical in his eyes. a meaningless category. The biblical writers cer- He claims that, tainly saw themselves as penning what we would consider to be history. For example, Luke includes historical accounting, by almost universal modern in his gospel specific contemporary references to consent, involves that the narrative… must consist the rulers of Jesus’ day (e.g., 1:5; 2:1-2; 3:1), and if of events, and reasons for their occurrence, whose these are supposed to be true, but do not enjoy at connections may be rendered without recourse to least purported historical status, I, for one, would supernatural agency. By contrast in the biblical be lost as to the meaning of “historical.” stories, of course, non-miraculous and miraculous The apostle Peter emphasized the factual accounts and explanations are constantly inter- grounding of the Christian message by stating, mingled…. Even such miraculous accounts are “For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths history-like or realistic if the depicted action is in- when we made known to you the power and com-

dispensable to the rendering of a particular char- ing of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eye- acter, divine or human, or a particular story.12 witnesses of His majesty”13 (2 Peter 1:16). Given 6 Theology Built on Vapors his restrictive understanding of the nature of his- language game, and so one ought not to expect tory, I would be tempted to turn Dr. Frei’s ques- the religious language game to conform its state- tion back on him: “But how do you get from there ments to the grammar of a historical language to the incarnation?” game. Consequently the language game of biblical religion has its own integrity and can be “played” Identifying the Story without regard to its competitors or critics. Inside And thus, by cutting off its anchor to history, of the language game, we can claim the truths of postliberalism has not really made progress over the narrative without apology.14 neo-orthodoxy, despite its claim of faithfulness The problem is that there is no independent to the biblical message. The problem is that the standard of truth. Frei may think that the efforts assertion of truths while deliberately dismissing by evangelicals to nail down the exact meaning accepted criteria for the testing of these truths be- of propositions and to harmonize apparent dis- comes meaningless. I do not mean to invoke the crepancies are artificial, but not to do so leaves verifiability principle of logical positivism, which us guessing as to which version of the story is maintained that only those statements that are the correct one. Frei’s response is to be content potentially empirically verifiable are allowed to with a “generous orthodoxy,” but this is another count as meaningful. But postliberalism has put meaningless term, which has been rapidly assimi- itself into a very different position because its as- lated by numerous theologians. “Orthodoxy,” as sertions can clearly not only be confirmed, but we observed at the outset, refers to a basic ad- even expanded by conventional historical means. herence to the true doctrines of Christianity. We By disallowing a rigorous examination, postlib- may not agree on exactly which doctrines belong eralism not only makes the truth claim arbitrary, to essential Christianity, but, whatever those be- but also leaves us ultimately hanging with regard liefs may be, you either are orthodox or you are to the actual content of the narrative. not. The very word makes it impossible for there To give a brief illustration of what I mean, let to be gradations in orthodoxy. If the set of us say that we have prepared a surprise birthday becomes flexible, “orthodoxy” is simply not an ap- party for a coworker. She has been asked to come propriate term. to a certain room in our building, but she does not Thus it turns out that, just as with neo-or- show up. Someone claims that he knows for sure thodoxy, since postliberalism has no controlling that she is in the building. Still, after she has not authority, and since it does not accept the biblical shown up for quite a while, it is legitimate to ques- texts as necessarily flawless, and since the biblical tion how our colleague knows that she is in the language game is not accountable to other concep- building. Did he see her? Has he spoken with her? tual reference points, the question of what exactly Is there circumstantial evidence of her presence constitutes the story is left open. How precisely because her purse is on her desk or her computer we construe the meaning of the narrative is left is switched on? For our colleague to keep insist- to the interpreter, and thus, despite all good in- ing that she is in the building without making tentions to the contrary, we find ourselves all of any attempt at justifying this assertion becomes a sudden side by side with postmodernism after irrational. In the same way, Frei’s assertion that all. George Lindbeck, though denying the charge the narrative is true without allowing the normal of relativity, let alone irrationality, asserts: tests for the truths of such an assertion becomes just as gratuitous. The sense of what is real or unreal is in large part Let us return to Lindbeck’s analysis of reli- socially constructed, and what seems credible or gious narrative as similar to Wittgenstein’s lan- incredible to contemporary theologians is likely guage games. The point about these language to be more the product of their milieu and intel- games is that none of them is fundamental. Every lectual conditioning than of their science, philoso- language game has its own integrity, and none of phy, or theological argumentation.15 them is accountable to any others. Thus, in this context, it would make sense to say that a reli- It is not that Lindbeck promotes this post- gious language game is different from a historical modern understanding of the theologian’s work; Theology Built on Vapors 7

in fact, he might consider it to be undesirable, but the mission of Jesus was one of inclusiveness; after since he presents it as undeniable reality, it be- all, he welcomed even the woman caught in adul- comes an unavoidable factor. tery. The church’s mission is to serve the kingdom A fascinating negative example of this problem of God in the world, which is not synonymous is illustrated in an article by Robert P. Jones and with the church, and that means to leave behind Melissa C. Stewart. They raise the point that it is all obstacles. What difference does it make what all very well to call for a return to the Christian’s specific attributes we believe about God, Christ, self-identity by being faithful within the Christian Scripture, or salvation? Furthermore, he declares paradigm, but what if your understanding of the that it is a serious mistake to divide the world into paradigm is faulty from the outset? Their case in those who are saved and those who are not; we do point is dubious, but that fact only enhances their not have the right to think that any human beings, contention. Jones and Stewart argue that, when including people of different , are lost. one applies postliberal strategy to the Christian- Even though McLaren is still called “evangelical” ity of the American South, one winds up bolster- by many people, it appears to me that the two ing the flawed theology of Southern Baptists and originators of postliberalism have greater respect related movements, which these authors consider for doctrines than McLaren, for whom they are to be wrongheaded. So, they contend, postliber- not much more than obstacles. alism is helpful as a corrective to liberalism, but Sadly, whether we are talking about the potentially harmful in other contexts. Regardless original form of postliberalism or its even more of what one may think of their example, it makes watered-down pseudo-evangelical version, its it clear that, without external standards of cor- ultimate fate can only be the opposite of its in- rectness, postliberalism’s appeal to simply live by tent. By robbing the gospel of its objective content, the biblical narrative is naïve because it does not there can no longer be true grace. The good news provide sufficient ways of identifying which inter- is good only because it is preceded by the bad pretation of the narrative is the correct one. news of our sin and its fatal consequences. What McLaren gives us is not a God of grace or mercy, A Final Admonition but a god of indulgence, a god who overlooks our There is something intrinsically appealing in the sin because, after all, no one is perfect. But if this idea that we dispense with critical issues and were the case, then there could be no rejoicing in merely focus on the biblical narrative and live ac- the fact of salvation and no assurance of being cording to it, and thus it is not surprising that it accepted by God because indulgence is subjec- has lapped over from those who originally were tive. I can be sure of my salvation because I know at home in a liberal context, to authors who still that, even though I am a sinner who deserves only accept the label of “evangelical.” A current fash- condemnation, God gave his word that if I trust ion among evangelicals is the so-called “Emergent in Christ, who died on the cross for me, I will be Church.” One of its leaders is Brian McLaren,16 saved. If all I have left is a vague notion that God who has achieved a great deal of popularity by abhors categories, I have nothing left to celebrate. teaching that we need to focus on the story of I cannot know either when I may have over- Christ, and that doctrines and standards may stepped the bounds, or that Christ’s atonement only stand in the way of living an authentic Chris- is applicable to me because I have abandoned ra- tian life. In fact, one of his more recent books is tional thought (which would still be true, even entitled A Generous Orthodoxy.17 if I picked and chose among doctrines based on McLaren asks his readers in the Christian whether they appeal to me). Historically, when the church to get beyond their preoccupations with church lost its affirmative voice, such as just prior irrelevant doctrines, labels, and categories that to the Reformation, the result was not a time of only serve to exclude people and to empower our freedom and happiness, but a time of fear and pride. Instead, we need to learn to accept the fact uncertainty. that the Church is filled with sinners, and that by It is not the calling of the servant of God to judging them, we are erecting barriers between teach what makes him feel good about himself. people and between us and God. He claims that The Bible exhorts us in 2 Timothy 2:15: 8 Theology Built on Vapors

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, 10 George A. Lindbeck, The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, cor- Theology in a Postliberal Age (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, rectly teaching the word of truth. 1984). 11 Ibid., 33. and in James 3:1 12 Frei, Eclipse, 14. 13 Quotations from the Bible come from The Holy Bible: Hol- Not many should become teachers, my broth- man Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publish- ers, 2003). ers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judg- 14 ment. See the work of another postliberal theologian, William C. Placher, Unapologetic Theology: A Christian Voice in a Pluralistic Conversation (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1989). Whether we consider ourselves postliberal or 15 Lindbeck, Nature of Doctrine, 63. evangelical, or we eschew labels, there is no short- 16 Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two cut permitted for those who wish to expound the Friends on a Spiritual Journey (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001). truth of God’s revelation. 17 Or, more specifically, A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a mis- sional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, Notes biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/calvinist, anabap- 1 I would be able to give a detailed answer a few months tist/anglican, methodist, catholic, green, incarnational, depressed-yet- later. See my article, “Hegel in Rahner: A Study in Philosophical hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Hermeneutics.” Harvard Theological Review 71 (1978):285-298. 2004). Nobody can be all of those things since they are contra- 2 E.g., John Hick, ed., The Myth of God Incarnate (Philadelphia: dictory. What McLaren may think of as cute and inclusive is of- Westminster, 1977). fensive to anyone who takes maturity in seriously. Even 3 Hans Frei, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative: A Study in Eigh- so-called postmodern Christians are not brain-dead. teenth and Nineteenth Century Hermeneutics (New Haven: Yale, 1974). Winfried Corduan, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at 4 Paul van Buren, The Secular Meaning of the Gospel (New York: Taylor University in Indiana. He earned his M.A. in from Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, MacMillan, 1963). and his Ph.D. in from Rice University, Houston, Texas. 5 Frei seems to imply that it is not possible to do both: live His books cover a wide variety of subject matter, including Handmaid according to the first-order story and supply a second-order de- to Theology (1981-philosophical theology), No Doubt About It, fense of the text. It would appear to me that they are logically and (1993-apologetics), The Holman Old Testament Commentary—1 & 2 Chronicles (2004), and The Pocket Guide to experientially compatible. (2006). He is one of the founders of and webmaster for the International 6 Hans Frei, The Identity of Jesus Christ (orig. 1975, reprint: Society of (www.isca-apologetics.com). Win and his Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 1997). wife, June, live in Alexandria, Indiana. His almost daily blog (http://clik. 7 Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Criti- to/wincorduan) includes regular Bible commentary and reflections on a mercurial range of topics. cal Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede (London: A.&C. Black, 1954). 8 Frei, Identity, 200. 9 Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1984). ______

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