The Fabric of Theology: A Prolegomenon to Evangelical Theology

by Lints, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781579103262
• ISBN10: 157910326X
• Format: Textbook Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers

Author Biography

Richard Lents is associate professor of theologg at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Theology: Texts and Contexts
Preliminaries to Prolegomena	p. 3
Introduction	p. 3
The Nature and Purpose of a Theological Vision	p. 12
Philosophical Assumptions	p. 19
The Face of Evangelicalism and the Task of Evangelical Theology	p. 29
Defining Evangelicalism	p. 29
The Second Great Awakening and the Evangelical Empires	p. 32
The Fundamentals and the War with Modernism	p. 38
Social Engagement and Adaptation	p. 43
Identity and Independence	p. 48
A Theological Patchwork Quilt	p. 54
The Foundation of Theology	p. 57
Epistemological Grace	p. 57
The Use of the Bible in Theology	p. 66
Stages of Reorientation	p. 70
The Strange Unity of Two Authors	p. 74
Redemptive History and the Progress of Theology	p. 77
Concluding Comments	p. 78
The Trajectory of Theology	p. 81
Introduction	p. 81
The Use of Tradition in Theology	p. 83
The Distant Past	p. 86
Antitraditionalism	p. 87
Antitraditional Traditionalism	p. 91
The Private Bible	p. 92
The Parachurch Church	p. 93
Temporal Piety	p. 95
The Mean between Two Extremes	p. 97
The Use of Culture in Theology	p. 101
The Power and Ambiguity of Culture	p. 103
Modern Culture	p. 106
Populist Culture and Popular Dissent	p. 110
Theological Responsibilities	p. 112
The Use of Reason in Theology	p. 117
Native and Cultural Rationality	p. 117
Irresistible Beliefs	p. 121
Skepticism and Doubt	p. 129
Internal and External Reason	p. 132
Theology: Past and Present
The Theological Past	p. 139
Introduction	p. 139
The Magisterial Reformation	p. 144
Martin Luther	p. 146
John Calvin	p. 154
The Reformed Scholastics	p. 162
Jonathan Edwards	p. 171
Geerhardus Vos	p. 181
The Theological Present	p. 191
Introduction	p. 191
What Is Postmodern Theology?	p. 193
The Cultural Setting of Postmodern Theology	p. 200
The Roots of Postmodern Theology	p. 204
The Enlightenment Legacy: The Critique of Authority	p. 204
The Enlightenment Legacy: The Critique of Purpose	p. 207
The Character of Postmodern Theology	p. 210
Ecclesial Authority	p. 213
Theological Realism	p. 216
Epistemic Pragmatism	p. 218
Theology as Hermeneutic	p. 222
Evangelical and Postmodern Theology	p. 234
Theology and Publicness	p. 235
Theology and the Critique of Modernity	p. 240
Theology and Pluralism	p. 245
Theology and Liberation	p. 250
Theology, Language, and the Bible	p. 253
Conclusion	p. 255
Theology: Frameworks and Visions
The Theological Nature of the Bible	p. 259
Introduction	p. 259
Redemptive History	p. 262
Redemptive Revelation	p. 265
Redemptive Theology	p. 268
Structure and Content	p. 270
Theological Narrative	p. 274
Organic Unity	p. 276
A Note on Method	p. 279
The Redemptive Theologian	p. 281
Interpretive Expectations	p. 283
The Community	p. 286
The Redemptive Matrix: A Suggestion	p. 287
From Biblical Text to Theological Framework	p. 290
Sola Scriptura	p. 290
The Three Horizons of Redemptive Interpretation	p. 293
The Textual Horizon	p. 295
The Epochal Horizon	p. 300
The Canonical Horizon	p. 303
The Task of Mirroring	p. 310
From Theological Framework to Theological Vision	p. 312
Introduction	p. 312
Theology and the Pieces of Culture	p. 315
Theology and the Church	p. 318
Theology and Popular Culture	p. 321
Theology and the Academy	p. 327
Afterword	p. 335
Bibliography	p. 337
Index	p. 357
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