THE NEW THEOLOGIAN

by Ved Mehta ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The death of God, recently announced American-style in Time magazine, was a lingering one. Nietzsche had mistaken silence for death and blurted out a premature obituary in the nineteenth century. But everyone concluded that it was a case of mistaken identity. In mid-twentieth century, however, the event recorded by the philosopher has gained enormously in recognition by serious theologians of liberal tincture, and the God-is-dead movement is locked in mortal, if self-consciously polite, combat with traditional Christian theology. This volume is a report of that battle, written by an author who combines, mirabile dictu, journalistic expertise with scholarly abilities in analysis and synthesis. The book is, in effect, a survey of progressive Christian theology in its most advanced expression -- i.e., that the passing of the traditional Judaeo-Christian god-concept is necessary in order for man's creative energies to develop fully in keeping with his present and future intellectual, cultural, social, and economic needs; that man's mind no longer need look to a kingdom more heavenly, or to a world more supernatural, than that of earth. The author presents, by means of a series of brilliant synopses and portraits, the thought and the theologians of the new theology: Bultmann, Tillich, Bishop Robinson, Barth, Niebuhr, Arthur Ramsey, and Paul Van Buren, among others. He succeeds in making clear both the rationale behind, and the vast importance for the modern world, of the theological revolution against God. The New Theologian is a book for everyone: for the theologian and the clergyman, certainly; but also for the literate layman who may suspect that the death of God is an event every bit as important for humanity as his birth.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION