Doctrine of God

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (DrTheol, University of Helsinki) is professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and docent of ecumenics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is the author of numerous books, including Pneumatology and Christology.

Contents

Introduction: God-Talk Then and Now
Part 1: The Texture of Historical Developments
1. Biblical Narrative and Testimonies of God
For Orientation: God-Talk in the Bible
Old Testament: Jewish Monotheism
New Testament: Christian Trinitarian Monotheism
2. The Rise and Consolidation of the Christian Doctrine of God
Classical Theism: What Is It?
Early Fathers on God and Trinity
The Emergence of the Trinitarian Doctrine and Its Challengers
Patristic and Creedal Establishment of the Doctrine of God
3. From the Medieval to the Modern Quest for God
Mystical Visions and Sophisticated Doctrines of Medieval Times
The Zenith of Classical Theism: The "Schoolmen" on the Doctrine of God
The Rise of the Social Model of the Trinity
The Reformers and Their Followers on God
The Mystical Experience of God among Catholic Reformers
Post-Reformation Testimonies and Doctrines
God in Modernity
Reflections: Looking Back and Forward
Part 2: God in Contemporary Theological Interpretations
4. Interpretations of God among European Theologies
God as the Wholly Other: Karl Barth
God as the Mystery of the World: Karl Rahner
God as Communion: John Zizioulas and Eastern Orthodox Tradition
God as the Power of the Future: Wolfhart Pannenberg
The Crucified God: Jurgen Moltmann
God's Existence in Dispute: Secularism and New Atheism(s)
Reflections on Contemporary European Views of God
5. Interpretations of God from Diverse North American Contexts
For Orientation: The North American Mosaic
Rebuttals to Classical Theism: Secular and Process Theologies
Revisions of Classical Theism: Contextual Interpretations
Revisiting Classical Theism: Evangelicalism and Open Theism
Reflections on the North American Scene
6. Interpretations of God in the Global South
For Orientation: Theology Goes Global
God in African Theologies
God in Latin American Theologies
God in Asian Theologies
Reflections on Non-Western God-Talk
Part 3: The Christian God among Religions
7. Christian Theology Faces Religious Plurality and Pluralism(s)
Religious Plurality as a New Challenge
Theological Responses to Pluralism(s)
How to Approach the Dialogical Comparative Task
8. The Gods of the Religions
Allah of Islam
The Deities of Hinduism
Any Deities in Buddhism?
Concluding Reflections on the Comparative Theological Exercise
Epilogue: The Future of God-Talk in the Third Millennium
Indexes