God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny and Empowerment?
How are God and creatures related? How can one reconcile the sovereignty and power of God with creatures' capacity to act freely?
Kathryn Tanner's important and original work seeks an answer in the features and limits of traditional Christian discourse. Her search for a unique kernal or regulative dimension of the Christian doctrine of God-world relations leads her to identify in the tradition an operative "grammar&334; of meaningful theological discourse that not only informs the past but can guide the future.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9780800637378
- eBook ISBN 9781451412338
- Pages 208
- Publication Date December 1, 2004
Endorsements
"Steeped in a rich tradition, Kathryn Tanner has been able to
expose the mis-steps of much of current philosophy of religion,
to direct us on a fruitful tack as we learn from the past how to
confront current issues. Her key notion of a 'non-contrastive'
relation between creator and creation challenges as it retrieves."
— David Burrell, University of Notre Dame
"Tanner illustrates cogently how theologians as different as
Irenaeus, Aquinas, Schleiermacher, Rahner, and Barth are faithful
to the rules of divine transcendence and immanence while yet
articulating remarkably different theological stances.... A valuable
resource for current discussions of theological method."
— John E. Thiel, Theological Studies
"Before I read God and Creation, I thought Christians had to
choose between grace and free will. If they chose grace, so
much the better. As I read, I found myself moved. Grace and
free will were not rivals but companions. The shock made me
stop reading and shiver.... The book enjoys an austere beauty, a
rational elegance, and a charity toward other theologians that
deserves to be more imitated. In an undergraduate class of 120,
I use it every year."
— Eugene F. Rogers, Jr., University of Virginia