Category: Bibliographies

Readings in the Doctrine of God

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Works like the following, I’d submit, would make for a fascinating course on the doctrine of God in contemporary theology.

Required Reading

I. Classical Theism: David Bentley Hart, The Experience of God (Yale UnivPr, 2014)

II. Questioning Divine Realism: Don Cupitt, Taking Leave of God (1980)

III. Questioning Divine Simplicity: Paul Hinlicky, Divine Simplicity (Baker, 2016)

IV. Questioning Divine Eternity: Ed. Dempsey, Trinity and Election in Contemporary Theology (Eerdmans, 2011)

V. Questioning Divine Impassibility: Eds. Keating and White, Divine Impassibility and the Mystery of Human Suffering (Eerdmans, 2009)

VI. Questioning Divine Hiddenness: Joshua Miller, Hanging by a Promise: The Hidden God in the Theology of Oswald Bayer (Pickwick, 2015)

VII. Questioning Divine Action & Providence: Maurice Wiles, God’s Action in the World (1986)

Suggested Further Reading

  • Sarah Coakley, God, Sexuality, and the Self: An Essay ‘On the Trinity’ (Cambridge UnivPr, 2013)
  • James Dolezal, God without Parts (Pickwick, 2011)
  • Robert Jenson, The Triune Identity: God according to the Gospel (1982)
  • Eberhard Jungel, God as the Mystery of the World (Eerdmans, 1983)
  • Frank Kirkpatrick, The Mystery and Agency of God: Divine Being and Action in the World (Fortress, 2014)
  • Katherine Sonderegger, Systematic Theology: The Doctrine of God, Volume 1 (Fortress, 2015)
  • T. F. Torrance, The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons, 2nd Ed (T&T Clark, 2016)
  • William Placher, The Triune God: An Essay in Postliberal Theology (WJKP, 2007)

Readings on Divine Action (and more)

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An account of divine action can speak to a variety of questions. The theologian with the gumption to begin thinking through them will need a sense for the lay of the land of multiple horizons of inquiry at once. Some questions are conceptual. (What sense does it make to predicate powers of agency, causation, and intentionality to an invisible and incorporeal personality?) Some are epistemological. (Is God’s activity perceivable only to faith?) Some are systematic. (What can doctrines like creation and providence teach about the aims of divine action? And vice versa.) Some are anthropological. (Does divine action enable or inhibit free human action? How can theologians like Thomas, Calvin, Molina, Suárez, Báñez, Arminius, and Process and Open theists help us here?) Some are moral. (If God is the author of natural and human history, how could God not be culpable for evil?) Some are religious. (Does God act in response to our prayers?) Some call for squaring with the latest scientific models of reality. (Is evolution compatible with providence? Are chaos theory or quantum mechanics the sort of explanatory apparatus we need in order to account for the “causal joint” between divine action and the natural order? Are miracles anomalies to natural laws?) Some questions are historiographical. (Is God’s agency in history a possible and proper principle of historical explanation? If God acts in history, what do we mean by history?) All the above should be enough to give an idea of the scope of the material a theologian needs to have at their command. Daunting indeed, but also, for my money, one of the discipline’s principal charms. So for those who share my interest in questions like these, the following works can help you enter the mystery.

To add a personal note, my greatest interests lean toward the conceptual and epistemological questions. When it comes to the anthropological, I think Aquinas, and heirs of his like Farrer, are our best guides on that front. Lastly, I’m not positive that theology’s engagement with the sciences on these matters isn’t in some fundamental ways an exercise in missing the point.

In each section works are listed chronologically. Links are provided to works available online. Feel welcome to offer suggestions to improve the list.

The Idea of Divine Action

  • G. Ernest Wright, (1952) God Who Acts
  • Frank Dilley, “Does the ‘God Who Acts’ Really Act”? Anglican Theological Review 47 (1965): 66-80.
  • Brian Hebblethwaite, “Providence and Divine Action.” Religious Studies 14/2 (1978): 223-236.
  • Owen C. Thomas, ed., (1983) God’s Activity in the World: The Contemporary Problem
  • Maurice Wiles, (1986) God’s Action in the World
  • Thomas Morris, ed., (1988) Divine and Human Action: Essays in the Metaphysics of Theism
  • Hebblethwaite and Henderson, eds., (1990) Divine Action: Studies Inspired by the Philosophical Theology of Austin Farrer
  • T. F. Tracy, ed., (1990) The God Who Acts: Philosophical and Theological Explorations
  • Matts Hansson, (1991) Understanding an Act of God
  • Vincent Brümmer, (1992) Speaking of a Personal God
  • Eberhard Jüngel, (1995) “The Revelation of the Hiddenness of God: A Contribution to the Protestant Understanding of the Hiddenness of Divine Action.” In Theological Essays II
  • Astley, Brown, and Loades, eds., (2004) God in Action
  • Evan Fales, (2009) Divine Intervention: Metaphysical and Epistemological Puzzles
  • Kevin Vanhoozer, (2010) Remythologizing Theology: Divine Action, Passion, and Authorship
  • Rowan Williams, (2011) “Divine Presence and Divine Action: Reflections in the Wake of Nicholas Lash.”
  • Frank Kirkpatrick, (2014) The Mystery and Agency of God: Divine Being and Action in the World
  • William Abraham, (2018–) Divine Agency and Divine Action, 3/4 vols.

Perceiving Divine Action

  • Select Patristic and Medieval treatments are collected in G. E. Thiessen, ed., (2004) Theological Aesthetics: A Reader
  • Brother Lawrence, (late 17th C) The Practice of the Presence of God
  • Rudolf Bultmann, (1934) “How does God Speak to Us through the Bible?” In Existence & Faith, 166-170.
  • John Bailie, (1962) The Sense of the Presence of God
  • Austin Farrer, (1968) “Infallibility and Historical Revelation.” In The Truth Seeking Heart, 81-93.
  • Emil Fackenheim, (1973) “Elijah and the Empiricists: The Possibility of Divine Presence.” In Encounters Between Judaism and Modern Philosophy: A Preface to Future Jewish Thought, 7-29.
  • Cornelius Ernst, (1979) “How to see an Angel.” In Multiple Echo: Explorations in Theology, 187-201.
  • Nicholas Lash, (1979) “These Things were Here and but the Beholder Wanting.” In Theology on Dover Beach, 150-163.
  • —. (1987) “Watchfulness.” In Seeing in the Dark, 21-26.
  • William Alston, (1991) Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience
  • Dallas Willard, (1999) Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
  • N.K. Verbin, “Can Faith be Justified?” Faith and Philosophy 18/4 (2001): 501-522.
  • Ben Campbell Johnson, (2004) The God who Speaks: Learning the Language of God
  • Rowan Williams, (2005) “God.” In Fields of Faith: Theology and Religious Studies for the Twenty First Century, 75-89.
  • Roger Scruton, (2012) The Face of God
  • Gavrilyuk & Coakley, eds., (2014) The Spiritual Senses: Perceiving God in Western Christianity
  • Sameer Yadav, (2015) The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God

Providence (for a bibliography by Terry Wright)

  • G. C. Berkower, (1952) The Providence of God
  • Langdon Gilkey, “The Concept of Providence in Contemporary Theology.” The Journal of Religion 43/3 (1963): 171-192.
  • —. (1976) Reaping the Whirlwind: A Christian Interpretation of History
  • Timothy Gorringe, (1991) God’s Theatre: A Theology of Providence
  • Paul Helm, (1993) The Providence of God
  • Charles Wood, (2008) The Question of Providence
  • Murphy and Ziegler, eds., (2009) The Providence of God
  • John Webster, (2012) “Providence,” In Mapping Modern Theology, edited by McCormack and Kapic, 203-226.
  • Mark Elliott, (2015) Providence Perceived: Divine Action from a Human Point of View
  • Ron Highfield, (2015) The Faithful Creator: Affirming Creation and Providence in an Age of Anxiety
  • David Fergusson, (2018) The Providence of God; A Polyphonic Approach
  • Crisp and Sanders, eds., (2019) Divine Action and Providence: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics
  • Mark W. Elliott, (2020) Providence: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Account

Divine Action & Human Freedom, Responsibility, and Prayer

  • H. H. Farmer, (1963) The World and God: A Study of Prayer, Providence and Miracle in Christian Experience
  • Austin Farrer, (1967) Faith and Speculation
  • Peter Baelz, (1968) Prayer and Providence: A Background Study
  • John B. Cobb Jr., (1969) God and the World
  • Vernon White, (1985) The Fall of a Sparrow: A Concept of Special Divine Action
  • Kathryn Tanner, (1988) God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny or Empowerment?
  • John Cobb Jr., (1995) Grace and Responsibility
  • McLain and Richardson, eds., (1999) Human and Divine Agency: Anglican, Catholic, and Lutheran Perspectives
  • Bernard Lonergan, (2000) Grace and Freedom: Operative Grace in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Terrance Tiessen, (2000) Providence and Prayer
  • Thomas Flint, (2006) Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
  • John Sanders, (2007) The God who Risks: A Theology of Divine Providence
  • Vincent Brümmer, (2008) What Are We Doing When We Pray?, 2nd Ed
  • Terry Wright, (2009) Providence Made Flesh: Divine Presence as a Framework for a Theology of Providence
  • Herbert McCabe, (2010) God and Evil in the Theology of St Thomas Aquinas
  • Darren Kennedy, (2011) Providence and Personalism: Karl Barth in Conversation with Austin Farrer, John Macmurray and Vincent Brümmer
  • Jowers, ed., (2011) Four Views on Divine Providence

Divine Action & Science (and Miracles) (for a typology of leading options)

  • C. S. Lewis, (1960) Miracles
  • C. F. D. Moule, (1965) Miracles: Cambridge Studies in their Philosophy and History
  • John Polkinghorne, (1989) Science and Providence: God’s Interaction with the World
  • Christopher Mooney, (1996) Theology and Scientific Knowledge: Changing Models of God’s Presence in the World
  • Russell, Murphy and Peacock, eds., (1997) Chaos and Complexity: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action, 2nd ed.
  • C. John Collins, (2000) The God of Miracles: An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World
  • Russell, Clayton, Wegter-McNelly, and Polkinghorne, eds., (2002) Quantum Mechanics: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action
  • Nicholas Saunders, (2002) Divine Action and Modern Science
  • T. A. Smedes, (2004) Chaos, Complexity, and God: Divine Action and Scientism
  • Peters and Hallanger, eds., (2006) God’s Action in Nature’s World
  • J. Houston, (2007) Reported Miracles: A Critique of Hume
  • Keith Ward, (2007) Divine Action: Examining God’s Role in an Open and Emergent Universe
  • Philip Clayton, (2008) Adventures in the Spirit: God, World, Divine Action
  • Shults, Murphy and Russell, eds., (2009) Philosophy, Science and Divine Action
  • Denis Edwards, (2010) How God Acts: Creation, Redemption and Special Divine Action
  • Amos Yong, (2011) The Spirit of Creation: Modern Science and Divine Action in the Pentecostal-Charismatic Imagination
  • Craig Keener, (2011) Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts
  • Graham Twelftree, ed., (2011) The Cambridge Companion to Miracles
  • Michael Dodds, (2012) Unlocking Divine Action: Contemporary Science and Thomas Aquinas
  • Robert Larmer, (2013) The Legitimacy of Miracle
  • Louise Hickman, ed., (2014) Chance or Providence: Religious Perspectives on Divine Action

Divine Action & History 

  • Schubert Ogden, “What Sense Does It Make to Say, ‘God Acts in History’?” The Journal of Religion 43/1 (1963): 1-19.
  • Albert Outler. “Theodosius’ Horse: Reflections on the Predicament of the Church Historian,” Church History 34/3 (1965): 251-261.
  • C. T. McIntire, ed., (1977) God, History and Historians: An Anthology of Modern Christian Views of History
  • Henry Warner Bowden. “Ends and Means in Church History,” Church History 54/1 (1985): 74-88.
  • Hans Hillerbrand, “Church History as Vocation and Moral Discipline,” Church History 70/1 (2001): 1-18.
  • Steven Keillor, (2007) God’s Judgments: Interpreting History and the Christian Faith
  • Roland Deines, (2013) Acts of God in History: Studies Towards Recovering a Theological Historiography, edited by Ochs and Watts.
  • Samuel Adams, (2015) The Reality of God and Historical Method: Apocalyptic Theology in Conversation with N. T. Wright
  • G. M. Zbraschuk, (2015) The Purposes of God: Providence as Process-Historical Liberation
  • Jay Green, (2015) Christian Historiography: Five Rival Versions

Historiography (since Carr & Elton)

  • E. H. Carr, (1961) What is History?
  • Geoffrey Elton, (1967) The Practice of History
  • Hayden White, “The Historical Text as Literary Artifact,” Clio 3/3 (1974): 277-303.
  • David Carr, (1991) Time, Narrative and History
  • Keith Jenkins, (1995) On ‘What Is History?’: From Carr and Elton to Rorty and White
  • —. (2003) Re-thinking History, 3rd ed.
  • Elizabeth Clark, (2004) History, Theory, Text: Historians and the Linguistic Turn
  • Mark Day, (2008) The Philosophy of History: An Introduction
  • Joel B. Green, “Rethinking ‘History’ for Theological Interpretation,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 5/2 (2011): 159-74.
  • Frank Ankersmit, (2012), Meaning, Truth, and Reference in Historical Representation
  • Alun Munslow, (2013) A History of History

Readings on Theology and Language

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The literature on this topic is extensive, so here I’m only offering a small sampling of theological and philosophical treatments of the sense of religious language. So if you have interests in theology’s use of tropes and devices like analogy, metaphor, symbol, and sign; or operations like figuration and reference; or theology’s capacity to profit from rhetoric studies, then some of the following titles might be worth consulting. As always, if you have suggestions to improve the list, leave a comment.

(listed chronologically — since 1965)

  • D. Z. Phillips, (1965) The Concept of Prayer
  • John Macquarrie, (1967) God-Talk: An Examination of the Language and Logic of Theology
  • Victor Preller, (1967) Divine Science and the Science of God
  • Robert Jenson, (1969) The Knowledge of Things Hoped For: The Sense of Theological Discourse
  • David Burrell, (1973) Analogy and Philosophical Language
  • Langdon Gilkey, (1976) Naming the Whirlwind: The Renewal of God-language
  • G. B. Caird, (1980) The Language and Imagery of the Bible
  • Sallie McFague, (1982) Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language
  • Janet M. Soskice, (1987) Metaphor and Religious Language
  • Eberhard Jüngel, (1989) “Metaphorical Truth,” in Theological Essays I
  • Phillip Rolnick, (1993) Analogical Possibilities: How Words Refer to God
  • Dan Stiver, (1996) The Philosophy of Religious Language: Sign, Symbol and Story
  • Colin Gunton, (1998) The Actuality of Atonement: A Study of Metaphor, Rationality and the Christian Tradition
  • Paul Avis, (1999) God and the Creative Imagination: Metaphor, Symbol and Myth in Religion and Theology
  • Graham Ward, (1999) Barth, Derrida and the Language of Theology
  • Louis Doupre, (2000) Symbols of the Sacred
  • Paul Janz, (2008) God, the Mind’s Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking
  • D. Stephen Long, (2009) Speaking of God: Theology, Language and Truth
  • Roger White, (2010) Talking about God
  • David Brown, (2011) God and Mystery in Words: Experience through Metaphor and Drama
  • Kevin Hector, (2011) Theology Without Metaphysics: God, Language and the Spirit of Recognition
  • Edward Morgan, (2011) The Incarnation of the Word: The Theology of Language of Augustine of Hippo
  • Garth Hallett, (2012) Theology within the Bounds of Language: A Methodological Tour
  • Paul Hinlicky, (2014) “Metaphorical Truth and the Language of Christian Theology.” In Indicative of Grace — Imperative of Freedom, 89-100.
  • Rowan Williams, (2014) The Edge of Words
  • R. David Nelson, (2015) “Webster and Ebeling on Christian Texts: A Placeholder for a Theological Theology of Language.” In Theological Theology: Essays in Honor of John Webster, edited by Nelson, Sarisky, and Stratis, 203-218.
  • Archie Spencer, (2015) The Analogy of Faith: The Quest for God’s Speakablility
  • Stephen Mulhall, (2016) The Great Riddle: Wittgenstein and Nonsense, Theology and Philosophy

Theology & Rhetoric

  • David Cunningham, (1992) Faithful Persuasion: In Aid of a Rhetoric of Christian Theology
  • Lucretia Yaghjian, (2015) Writing Theology Well: A Rhetoric for Theological and Biblical Writers, 2nd Ed.

Readings on the Nature of Revelation

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An account of revelation should speak to a variety of questions. Among them: what has God revealed? (the question of content); how does God reveal? (the question of revelation’s media); and not to be forgotten, where does revelation figure in God’s economy? (the question of revelation’s systematic location). More than a few theologians now have warned that the doctrine only suffers when it’s lifted from its proper dogmatic context and conscripted to serve as the epistemic foundation for the rest of a system. Many more interesting subtopics could be included. So for those with an interest in such matters, here’s a list of relatively recent treatments of the topic. I’ve tried drawing from a variety of perspectives. They’ll give you a sense for the history and current state of the conversation. If I come across other titles that deserve flagging, I’ll add them to the list. Feel welcome to offer your own suggestions.

(listed chronologically — since Barth)

  • Karl Barth, (1932) Church Dogmatics,1.1
  • G. C. Berkouwer, (1955) Studies in Dogmatics: General Revelation
  • John Baillie, (1956) The Idea of Revelation in Recent Thought
  • Emil Brunner, (1964) Truth as Encounter
  • Second Vatican Council, (1965) Dei Verbum
  • Edward Schillebeecx, (1967) Revelation and Theology
  • Gabriel Moran, (1967) Theology of Revelation
  • Wolfhart Pannenberg, (1968) Revelation as History
  • Carl Henry, (1976) God, Revelation and Authority
  • Paul Helm, (1982) The Divine Revelation: The Basic Issues
  • Ronald Thiemann, (1985) Revelation and Theology: The Gospel as Narrated Promise
  • Rowan Williams, “Trinity and Revelation,” Modern Theology 2/3 (1986): 197-212.
  • Avery Dulles, (1992) Models of Revelation, 2nd Ed.
  • Christoph Schwobel, (1992) God, Action and Revelation
  • Colin Gunton, (1995) Brief Theology of Revelation
  • Nicolas Wolterstorff, (1995) Divine Discourse
  • Paul Avis, ed., (1997) Divine Revelation
  • Gabriel Fackre, (1997) The Doctrine of Revelation: A Narrative Approach
  • David Brown, (1999) Tradition and Imagination: Revelation and Change
  • Peter Jensen, (2002) The Revelation of God
  • William Abraham, (2006) Crossing the Threshold of Divine Revelation
  • Richard Swinburne, (2007) Revelation: From Metaphor to Analogy, 2nd Ed.
  • John Frame, (2010) The Doctrine of the Word of God
  • Matthew Levering, (2014) Engaging the Doctrine of Revelation