Engaging with Contemporary Culture: Christianity, Theology and the Concrete Church
25 Jun 2007
I got a review copy of this book, which is sooo expensive in hardback, but is coming out as paperback edition soon. You can search inside it here.
I know I read and recommend a lot of books, but this one is outstanding, at least for me. Practical theology is the focus of the book, which is usually relegated to the application we make once we have done real theology, like biblical studies, systematics, historical theology, and is often called ‘applied theology’. This book sits in the emerging stream of ‘practical theology’ that engages with concrete everyday church life, rather than something to do/apply after having done theological reflection. It’s also focused on current changes in church ecclesiology in the face of consumer culture.
It’s helpful for exploring theological method that attends to concrete realities of church instead of the usual abstractions of church life, and then uses that method to explore current issues of church life amidst consumer culture. It’s on the list of my top ‘must read in full’ books at present.
Tagged: Books, Consumerism, Culture, Martyn-Percy, Method, Practical-Theology, Theology
8 comments
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Comment by Paul Fromont
7.56 pm on 26 Jun 2007
Excellent Jase. I’m pleased you managed to track down a copy without the expense :-) Though I still have to read it in detail, I agree fully with your comments, and like you would very much recommend it to others.
Comment by Jason
8.42 pm on 26 Jun 2007
Hi Paul, funny thing is I can’t remember who gave me the heads up on the book, was it on you’re blog a few weeks ago? I’ll need to try the Kathryn Tanner book on theology of culture next, that you recommended.
Jase
Comment by Scott
12.30 am on 27 Jun 2007
I am always amazed at the difference in price between paperback and hardback books, I can sometimes pay an extra £20 for a text book that I need for my degree and all I gain is two slices of cardboad.
Maybe we could all gather up our unused cardboard and send it to publishers, it may communicate some kind of message at least.
Thanks for the recormendation, I shall wait until tommorow to order ;-)
Comment by Jason
7.46 am on 27 Jun 2007
Yep, the price of hardback books, is amazing sometimes!
Comment by Helen
2.06 pm on 27 Jun 2007
Jason, I’m curious (if you’ve read enough to answer this): how does this author/theologian get away with starting on page 1 with Practical Theology when other authors/theologians need to cover Real Theology before getting to Practical aka Applied Theology?
What’s his secret? :-)
Comment by Jason
7.35 am on 2 Jul 2007
Hi Helen,
Practical theology emerged under Frederick Schleiermacher. Until his articulations, ‘real’ theology took place in several streams, ’systematics’, ‘biblical’, ‘historical’. (Interesting that people doing biblical theology often think of systematics as not being ‘real’ theology).
Practical theology became about the ‘application’ of insights from the other theologies to the real world. The other theologies being done in the abstract most often. Yet practical theology became primary about the pastoral care and implications for ‘real’ theology, and mostly therapeutic.
To this day when people here practical theology they think you mean the psychology of pastoral care and practice.
Yet over the last 25 years there has been a move to see that ‘practical theology’ is a means to deal with the split in the modern world between theory and practice, as an inductive process, of reflective practice.
Practical theology is now more about being reflexive, intuitive, problem based, contextual and synthetic. Often this form of practical theology is called ‘theological reflection’.
For those involved in it’s development, is the claim that all ‘real’ theology is practical, or that the other disciplines of abstract theology (biblical, systematic, historical etc), come together within practical theology.
Hope that helps some. Jason.
Comment by Paul Fromont
8.49 pm on 29 Jun 2007
Hi Jase, I e-mailed the title to you as a suggestion for your PhD as I’d just got and oh so expensive copy after reading the introduction online.
Kathryn Tanner’s lecture the other night was excellent – as she said, “nothing radically” new, but nonetheless, after an introduction consisting of multiple caveats and challenges to Moltmann and Volf’s conceptions of “the trinity” the body of her argument was surprisingly Christological and orthodox. I’m going to e-mail her for a copy of her paper.
Have a groovy weekend.
Comment by Jason
8.28 am on 1 Jul 2007
So it was you Paul, thanks for the heads up, it has been so helpful. I have several of Tanner’s books, she’s a great writer. I’ve never heard her speak/teach. If you get that paper from her, can you send me a copy? Cheers, Jase
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