A Review of Christlicher Glaube im Pluralismus. Studien zu einer Theologie der Kultur by Christoph Schwöbel

Extract

The key question that Christoph Schwöbel raises in Christlicher Glaube im Pluralismus is one that has emerged as an imperative. A Christian theology responsible to the contemporary realities of pluralism must enter its theological analysis of the global situation of Christian faith into wider discussions of culture. Theologians cannot abdicate their role in articulating their distinctive ways of schematizing reality. They cannot shy away from making truth claims amid other competitors, and they cannot give up on the question of unity—whether metaphysical, ethical, or eschatological—while celebrating difference. Christoph Schwöbel, professor of systematic theology at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany since 2004, dares to respond to this imperative. In this recent collection of essays, he enters into the pluralist conversation with a commitment to the trinitarian centerpiece of Christianity, which he fleshes out with considerable knowledge of the Western European Christian theological and philosophical tradition.