Doing Theological Research: An Introductory Guide for Survival in Theological Education

by Robert W. Pazmiño

This concise introductory work explores the essentials of doing theological research and writing. It is a handy companion to assist persons as they begin and pursue theological education. It provides an overview of expectations that both various professors have shared and students have reported over many years as basic wisdom to foster quality theological work. It is a time-tested resource to guide those called to seminary study.

Genres: Theology

104 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Eric Blessing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short yet inspiring guide on theological research. Pazmiño addresses theological research not just from the ivory tower that is the academy, but with a pastoral heart. This book is a strong encouragement to those who wish to seek in-depth theological work prayerfully.

[Kitija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Šonakt nenāca miegs, jo joprojām meklēju savu “cīņu ar eņģeli”, Hešela vārdiem.
Neko jaunu nesalasīju, drīzāk teologu un citu domātāju iespraudumi iedeva stiprinājumu. Vai es paņēmu līdzi kādu metoloģiju? Drīzāk ne. Tas kas paņemās ir – raksti ar sirdi, galvu un rokām, bet primāri ar sirdi (rokas labi izkustināt dārza darbos vai kā citādi fiziski likt sevi lietā). Nav dārzs, izskrien līkumu ar putekļu slotu pa māju.

Pieci baušļi teoloģiskai pētniecībai:

1. Ja tas nav teoloģiski, tas nav dziļi (teoloģija joprojām ir *zinātnes karaliene)
2. Cīnies ar eņģeli (ziņnesi)
3. Izvēlies prizmu (tēma, jautājums, problēma)
4. Saki taisnību (cilvēks ir paradokss, to atceries)
5. Lasi, formulē, runā, lasi un pārformulē (neesi mūks savā šūnā, runā ar citiem)


Ak, jā, vēl kas – Hešela vārdiem, reliģija sākas ar jautājumu, teoloģija ar problēmu.


*izziņas

[Lemuel Godinez]

Robert Pazmiño has written an insightful book for any first-time theological researcher. It was written with pastoral care and clarity to help students discern the topics they should be engaging. Doing Theological Research is not a book about research methodologies, workflows, or technological tools. Rather, this book focuses on the outlook students should have when fruitfully engaging theological research, the posture of their heart and mind as they seek to be led by the Spirit of God into all truth. The book does, however, provide an exegetical workflow appendix for New Testament and Old Testament, as well as a workflow for writing in Ethics and Language/Style. They are helpful.

[Peter Kiss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly a product of the spirit of our age. Let's just quote Jewish theologians, put the Catholic and Protestant reformations in the same category (as if they remotely operated by similar principles), and emphasize being open minded in a pluralistic environment and importance of our personal experience. Combine that with the "spiritual" gobbleydook language, and that makes this a very weak book. Seriously, what is a "playful" liturgy?

[Jrod · Rating 1 out of 5]

This work includes a lot of helpful tips. But most of them you can find on other writing books. Most chapters are a compilation of enumerated tips from other books with comments from the author. The section on NT hermeneutics on Appendix A was helpful for an introductory level. The OT counterpart, however, was not. Lots of other things to say, but these are the "highlight" points.

[Rei · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book on two things: 1. The purpose of theological research being doxology and transformation. 2. Ways in which to conduct faithful and excellent theological research. It helped me a lot as a current graduate student.

[Ming Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. The author refers to the Holy Spirit as "her" at one point. The book is a good introduction, but it definitely should recognise that different traditions operate on different epistemological principles: Scripture alone being a case in point.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides some helpful itssues and encouragement for students who are beginning theological study. Students will find the encouragement to take on difficult questions and in their writing. There is also helpful information for students who may be trying to understand disciplinary boundaries within theology. There are also some very practical steps regarding research and writing that students would do well to heed. In particular, Pazmino places theological research and writing within an important communal context that is helpful. There are some research guides at the back that will be helpful for some disciplines. I would recommend this as one quick and easy read for students in their first year of theological education. However, it should be used in concert with other texts that do have some other practical information for students who may be overwhelmed.

[Neil Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a textbook in a course that was taught by the author. This book, although small in size, contains a wealth of information that is useful to those engaged in the study of theology. tHe author introduces the processes used to engage in deliberative theological reflection and expressing the results of that work. In addition, there are a series of appendices by other contributors that provide useful insight into different types of theological research and writing. I highly recommend this book for those embarking on just about any encounter with theological education. It is especially useful for someone who has an academic background in other areas.