Basic Questions in Theology, Volume 2

by Wolfhart Pannenberg

The essays included in this volume focus on specific standpoints inherent to our understandings of God. From a survey of Western philosophies, Pannenberg concludes that the Christian view of truth is distinctive because of its emphasis on the future. On the subject of faith, he asserts that rational knowledge does not oppose faith, but rather gives support to it. Also, the ideas of Feuerbach and Nietzsche as well as those of the dialectic theologians are critiqued by the author. All in all, Pannenberg's uniting of classic theological insights with contemporary life will speak to the contemporary appropriation of traditional Christian themes. In this classic, two-volume set of collected essays, Wolfhart Pannenberg gives special focus to the ways in which history, hermeneutics, reason and truth all guide and inform our various attempts at understanding God. This focus, then, offers the reader a unique insight into the revelation of God. Pannenberg writes, "To say that the revelation of God is not a supernatural event which breaks into history perpendicularly from above but rather that it is the theme of history itself, the power that moves it in its deepest dimension, is to say something about God and his relation to the world."

Genres: Theology

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Wolfhart Pannenberg, born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), was a German Christian theologian. His emphasis on history as revelation, centred on the Resurrection of Christ, has proved important in stimulating debate in both Protestant and Catholic theology, as well as with non-Christian thinkers.

Reviews

[Kathy England · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very, very dry. Only academics in ivory towers could find this book interesting, at least in my estimation. The author spends at least half the book discussing history and how God is only understood through history. He spends more time in the book defining history than he ever spends on actually discussing God, or what we think of as God.

And actually, I read Volume I, not Volume 2.