Postmodern Christianity: Doing Theology in the Contemporary World

Rating:
Summary: A thoughtful analysis of the common ground
Review: An impressive body of work by John W. Riggs (Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri), Postmodern Christianity: Doing Theology In The Contemporary World offers the proposition that postmodernism and Christianity both have much to offer one another, and should scrutinize one another while avoiding complete acceptance or rejection. A thoughtful analysis of the common ground between philosophy and theology, Postmodern Christianity is a timely and welcome addition to Christian Theological Studies reference collections and personal reading lists.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Little Book
Review: This is a good little book that adroitly links the development of Protestant theology, its "traveling companion" philosophy and contemporary develoments in postmodern philosophy and theology. It is as an accessible introduction to postmodernism and theology as I have seen. This book would be useful as a discussion text for an educated adult Sunday School class, who would find it useful, tough and rewarding. It is an excellent book for pastors who wonder what all this "postmodernism" stuff is all about and how it relates to them. It has a point of view---in defining the Enlightenment as the "Age of Reasoned Criticism" rather than the "Age of Reason", Riggs is able to link postmodernism not as the "post modern" but in David Ray Griffin's apt term, the "most modern." While this is a legitimate criticism of postmodern theorists, in the hands of process theologians like Riggs this opens the door for the argument that process theology is "really post-modern," an argument that only seems convincing to process theologians. Process thought is a totalizing schema and thus is inherently modernist and antithetical to postmodernism. That being said, "Postmodern Christianity" is a valuable book for pastors, interested and educated Christians and students.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Little Book
Review: This is a good little book that adroitly links the development of Protestant theology, its "traveling companion" philosophy and contemporary develoments in postmodern philosophy and theology. It is as an accessible introduction to postmodernism and theology as I have seen. This book would be useful as a discussion text for an educated adult Sunday School class, who would find it useful, tough and rewarding. It is an excellent book for pastors who wonder what all this "postmodernism" stuff is all about and how it relates to them. It has a point of view---in defining the Enlightenment as the "Age of Reasoned Criticism" rather than the "Age of Reason", Riggs is able to link postmodernism not as the "post modern" but in David Ray Griffin's apt term, the "most modern." While this is a legitimate criticism of postmodern theorists, in the hands of process theologians like Riggs this opens the door for the argument that process theology is "really post-modern," an argument that only seems convincing to process theologians. Process thought is a totalizing schema and thus is inherently modernist and antithetical to postmodernism. That being said, "Postmodern Christianity" is a valuable book for pastors, interested and educated Christians and students.