Divine Presence: An Introduction to Christian Theology
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
Theology should be at home both in the academy and in the church. This book takes such dual affiliation seriously and lets the two different contexts illuminate each other. It explores how we should understand theology within the context of the current debate on theory of science and discusses the methodological implications of belief in God as Creator and in the incarnation. The first part of the book concludes by examining the consequences of theology’s dual affiliation for the self-understanding of believers in general and theologians in particular. The second part deals with four different sources of theological knowledge and their relation to each other: the Bible, the history of the church, experience, and reason. Among the central issues are the status of the Bible in contemporary theology, the unity of the church, and the relationship between theology and the natural sciences. The central question is: where do we experience divine presence?
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Provides an overview of the Christian faith that refuses to reduce truth to unambiguous knowledge.
- Discusses content and method in Christian theology that will benefit classroom and study alike.
- Explains how theology should be at home both in the academy and in the church.
Alfsvåg has written a challenging introduction to Christian theology, arguing that it has the right to claim a place among the academic disciplines of the university. At the same time, the author tries to bridge the gap between church and academy. This is a book not only for students and teachers but for all who want to understand more deeply the mystery of the divine presence in the world.
—Jeffrey Silcock, Australian Lutheran College/University of Divinity
Divine Presence moves beyond the modernist model of knowledge to show how theology as an academic discipline goes about describing the relationship between God and the world. This work embraces the full rigors of the cognitive challenges of our time while exploring and communicating the pathways of an active life of faith. This is an excellent discussion of content and method in Christian theology that will benefit classroom and study alike.
—Gordon L. Isaac, Berkshire Professor of Church History, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Alfsvåg offers a refreshing overview of the Christian faith that refuses to reduce truth to unambiguous knowledge... but instead situates faith within the ungraspable horizon of wonder and mystery, an orientation through which all other knowledge comes to light.... This book is an excellent resource for those seeking an ecumenical approach to faith which resists accommodation to modern prejudices but instead seeks to mediate truth across disciplines.
—Mark Mattes, LBI Chair in Bible and Theology, Grand View University
This is a beautiful introduction to a Christian understanding of the most primary relation defining our experience of reality—that of the relation of God to humanity.... Highly recommended.
—Paul Tyson, University of Queensland