Table Of ContentFAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING
An Introduction to Christian Theology
• •
THIRD EDITION
Daniel L. Migliore
WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN / CAMBRIDGE, U.K.
First edition © 1991 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Second edition © 2004 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
This third edition © 2014 Daniel L. Migliore
All rights reserved
Published 2014 by
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Migliore, Daniel L., 1935-author.
Faith seeking understanding: an introduction to Christian theology /
Daniel L. Migliore. — Third edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-8028-7185-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4674-4221-3 (ePub)
ISBN 978-1-4674-4187-2 (Kindle)
1. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Title.
BT65.M54 2014
230 — dc23
2014012176
www.eerdmans.com
Contents
Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgments
Sources Frequently Cited
1. The Task of Theology
Theology as Faith Seeking Understanding
The Questionable Nature of Theology
The Questions of Theology
Methods of Asking Theological Questions
For Further Reading
2. The Meaning of Revelation
What Is Revelation?
God Hidden and Revealed
Revelation as Objective and Subjective
General and Special Revelation
Models of Revelation
Revelation as God’s Self-Disclosure Narrated in Scripture
Revelation, Scripture, and Church
For Further Reading
3. The Authority of Scripture
The Problem of Authority in Modern Culture
Inadequate Approaches to the Authority of Scripture
The Indispensability of Scripture in Relating Us, by the Powerof the
Spirit, to the Living God Revealed in Jesus Christ
Principles of the Interpretation of Scripture
For Further Reading
4. The Triune God
The Problem of God in Modern Theology
The Biblical Roots of the Doctrine of the Trinity
Classical Trinitarian Doctrine
Distortions in the Doctrine of God
Restatement of the Meaning of the Doctrine of the Trinity
The Attributes of God
The Electing Grace of God
For Further Reading
5. The Good Creation
Christian Faith and the Ecological Crisis
Rereading the Scriptural Witness on Creation
Rethinking the Themes of the Doctrine of Creation
Trinity, Creation, and Ecology
Models of Creation
The Doctrine of Creation and Modern Science
For Further Reading
6. The Providence of God and the Mystery of Evil
Belief in Providence and the Reality of Evil
Providence and Evil in the Theological Tradition
Rethinking Providence and Evil
Recent Theodicies
The Triune God and Human Suffering
Providence, Prayer, Practice
For Further Reading
7. Humanity as Creature, Sinner,and New Being in Christ
Interpretations of “Image of God”
Created Humanity
Fallen Humanity
The Meaning of Original Sin and of Death as Enemy
New Humanity in Christ
For Further Reading
8. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
Problems in Christology
Principles of Christology
Patristic Christology
Rethinking Classical Affirmations of the Person of Christ
Rethinking Classical Interpretations of the Work of Christ
Violence and the Cross
Dimensions of the Resurrection of Christ
For Further Reading
9. Confessing Jesus Christ in Context
The Particularity and Universality of the Gospel
Latin American Christology
African American Christology
Feminist, Womanist, and Mujerista Christologies
Hispanic Christology
Asian American Christology
The Local and the Global in Christology
For Further Reading
10. The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life
Neglect and Recovery of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
A Sketch of a Theology of the Holy Spirit
The Christian Life: Justification
The Christian Life: Sanctification
The Christian Life: Vocation
For Further Reading
11. The New Community
The Problem of the Church
New Testament Images of the Church
Critique of Current Models of the Church
The Church and the Call to Communion
The Church and the Call to Mission
Classical Marks of the Church
For Further Reading
12. Proclamation, Sacraments, and Ministry
Proclamation of the Word
What Are Sacraments?
The Meaning of Baptism
The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper
Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Ethics
The Meaning of an Ordained Ministry
For Further Reading
13. The Finality of Jesus Christand Religious Pluralism
The Ambiguity of Religion
Types of Christian Theologies of the Religions
Toward a Trinitarian Theology of the Religions
Salvation in Other Religions?
Christians and Jews
Christians and Muslims
Witness to Jesus Christ in a Religiously Pluralistic World
For Further Reading
14. Christian Hope
The Crisis of Hope in an Age of Terrorism
Principles for Interpreting Christian Hope
Classical Symbols of Christian Hope
Eschatology and Ethics
For Further Reading
APPENDIX A: Natural Theology: A Dialogue
An Unusual Meeting
Tillich and Barth
Ecumenist and Barth
Rahner and Barth
A Final Exchange
APPENDIX B: The Resurrection: A Dialogue
Resurrection and Historical Reason
Mostly Barth and Bultmann
Mostly Pannenbergian
Mostly Moltmannian
Summations
APPENDIX C: Political Theology: A Dialogue
A Gathering of Political Theologians
Niebuhr and Barth
Liberationist and Niebuhr
Feminist and Liberationist
Prayer and Politics
APPENDIX D: Atheism: A Dialogue
The Death of God
A New Humanism?
The Humanity of God
APPENDIX E: A Glossary of Theological Terms
Index of Names and Subjects
Index of Scripture References
T
Preface to the Third Edition
here are several new features of the third edition of this book.
Questions from readers of previous editions and my own desire to
edit or amplify a number of passages in the text for greater clarity have
prompted some rewriting and reorganization. I have also included a
section on “Christians and Muslims” in chapter 13; written a new
imaginary theological dialogue (the earlier three dialogues having proved
to be one of the more popular marks of the book among readers); added a
dozen or so suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter;
and substantially increased the number of terms in the glossary. The
purpose of this edition remains the same as when the book was published
nearly a quarter of a century ago: to provide a clear and challenging
introduction to Christian theology that places Christ at the center; is both
Reformed and ecumenical in perspective; includes both classical and
contemporary theological voices; and ties theological reflection to
Christian life, witness, and service.
I want to express my gratitude to President Craig Barnes and Librarian
Donald Vorp for providing me with a space in the magnificent new
library of Princeton Theological Seminary in which to prepare this
revision. Thanks also to Kate Skebutenas, Reference Librarian, and other
members of the staff of the library for their expert and cheerful
assistance; to Bill Eerdmans, President, and Jon Pott, Editor in Chief, of
Eerdmans Publishing Co. for their support and guidance through the
several editions of this book; and to Jennifer Hoffman of Eerdmans for
her careful shepherding of the intricate editorial process of transforming
typescript to print. Most of all, I thank my wife Margaret for her
unfailing love and encouragement, for her wise suggestions for
improvement of the text, and for patiently enduring a husband who,
though retired from most teaching responsibilities, still spends an
inordinate amount of time in his study or in the library.
“E
Preface to the Second Edition
verything has changed.” These words were heard again and again in
the days after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on
September 11, 2001. Many things have indeed changed since that event.
After the initial shock and sadness, the United States launched “counter-
terrorist” wars first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. Anxiety is
widespread, security concerns are paramount, and the foundations of
international order are shaking. At another level, however, everything has
not changed. What has not changed is a world groaning in bondage to
sin, death, and destruction, where strangers are feared, violence is a way
of life, and the poor and vulnerable are forgotten. What has also not
changed is the good news of the gospel of God’s forgiving and
transforming love, the promise and power of God’s work of
reconciliation in Jesus Christ, and the real but often unnoticed
manifestations of a new world of hospitality, friendship, and peace born
of the Spirit of Christ.
What the church needs at all times and especially in times of crisis is
clarity of conviction and purpose. While signs will not be lacking in this
second edition of Faith Seeking Understanding of my own wrestling with
recent terrorist acts and wars against terrorism, my central concern has
been to sharpen and expand the basic convictions informing this
introduction to Christian theology: the understanding of God as triune,
the centrality of Jesus Christ and his work of reconciliation, and the hope
of fulfillment of life in communion with God and with all others by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
I said in the preface to the first edition and repeat now that every
theology must be critical reflection on the beliefs and practices of the
faith community out of which it arises. In this way theology that speaks
from and to the church also becomes public theology. Faith seeks
understanding and does not pretend that it has arrived at its goal. More
than a decade ago I worried about “the surge of fundamentalism in
Christianity and Islam” and hoped that the cultured despisers of religion
would not continue to underestimate the immense influence, for good or
ill, of religious conviction on human life. I would now add only that
when religious passion goes awry, it is the most dangerous and
destructive passion of all. Religious communities have a continuing
responsibility to search for what is central in their faith heritage and to
examine all their doctrines and practices in that light. That is a crucial
theological task both for times when it is claimed that “everything has
changed” and for quieter times when no catastrophic event has occurred
to show how important this self-critical responsibility of faith
communities is.
Criticism needs, of course, a criterion. In the Christian church the
criterion of critical and constructive theological work is the “the central
Christian message,” the gospel of Jesus Christ, the incarnate, crucified,
and risen Word of God. This living Word is present here and now by the
power of the Holy Spirit in the witness, life, and service of the church.
The same Word and Spirit are also at work, if still more hidden,
throughout the creation to bring God’s reconciliation of the world to
completion. My effort in this new edition has been to strengthen what I
earlier called “the fullness of trinitarian faith” and its relational
understanding of God, creation, reconciliation, and consummation.
I continue to hold that “the work of theology is inseparably bound to
an identifiable faith community” and goes hand in hand with
“participation in the common life of a community of faith, prayer, and
service.” As for the “Reformed theological heritage and orientation” that
I said marked the first edition of the book, I hope that it continues to be
evident in the new edition, provided that “Reformed” is not understood
as an alternative to “catholic” or “ecumenical.” I have no desire to do
“denominational theology.” Like every Christian theologian, I stand
within a particular stream of the Christian theological tradition. But
Christian theology is necessarily “catholic” in scope and “evangelical” in
substance or it is not Christian theology at all.
In addition to rewriting, expanding, and updating all chapters, I have
added two new chapters on “Confessing Jesus Christ in Context” and
“The Finality of Jesus Christ and Religious Pluralism.” I have also
supplied a glossary of terms that I hope will be helpful to first readers in
theology.
Once again, my indebtedness to students, colleagues, and friends is
great. Thanks especially to Ph.D. candidates Rachel Baard, Matthew
Flemming, Matthew Lundberg, Kevin Park, and Ruben Rosario
Rodriguez, and to my colleagues, Professors Karlfried Froehlich and
Mark K. Taylor. Each read parts of the revised text and suggested
improvements. I am, of course, entirely responsible for the flaws that
remain.
T
Preface to the First Edition
he past few decades have been a time of remarkable ferment in
Christian theology. Many new emphases, proposals, and movements
have appeared — black theology, feminist theology, Latin American
liberation
theology,
process
theology,
narrative
theology,
and
metaphorical theology, to mention only the more prominent. It has been a
time of unprecedented ecumenical dialogue, of intense reflection on
theological method, of dramatic paradigm shifts, of insistence on the
importance of praxis, and of many experiments in conversation between
theology and other areas of inquiry. Some observers of this ferment have
suggested that theology is in utter disarray; I do not share that pessimistic
judgment.
Still, the present situation is not without its dangers, especially for the
beginning student in theology. The exciting diversity of new theological
proposals and programs can easily lead to confusion or thoughtless
eclecticism. These dangers are heightened if certain perennial tasks of
theology are neglected. One writer warns, for example, of the “abdication
of responsibility” for constructive or systematic theological work in our
time, due in part to a preoccupation with methodological issues. “There
is a growing danger,” he says, “that the work of theology is being
replaced by the work of preparing to do theology.”1
My purpose in writing this book is to offer an introduction to
Christian theology that is both critically respectful of the classical
theological tradition and critically open to the new voices and emphases
of recent theology. I hope that the influence of the liberation theologies
of our time — especially feminist, black, and Latin American — will be
evident throughout the book. I am fairly certain that my Reformed
theological heritage and orientation will not go unnoticed. I will consider
my work successful if it helps to strengthen younger theologians in the
conviction that a mutually critical and a mutually enriching interaction
