Theology is fracturing along tension lines once hidden by the great modern consensus that reigned from Schleiermacher's day till our own. Now, all of it is in dispute: its starting point, its self-awareness, its claim to truth, its method and interaction with other disciplines and institutions in church, academy and society. Rieger offers an enlightening way to understand the chief strands or options in theology today and a valuable proposal for resituating theology around the crucial issue of inclusion. He sees four competing vectors at work in Christian today's theology: Theology of Identity (liberal theology, represented by Schleiermacher and founded in the self), Theology of Difference (dialectical theology, represented by Barth and founded in the Wholly Other), Theology and the Postmodern (postcritical theology, represented by Lindbeck and founded on the text), and Theology and the Underside (liberation theologies, represented by North American feminist theology). Further, Rieger goes on to propose that each of these is in some way exclusionary and elitist; the mass of humanity and the globe's most pressing problems do not invade this cathedral, and in some ways the market itself has replaced God. Religious thought can remain viable only when it is grounded in an openness that reaches beyond the global market and postmodern squabbles, critiques its own complicity in the situation, and resituates itself in express commitment to those left out of today's "gated community."
Preface Introduction Theology, or What's Left of It A Global Crisis Postmodernity Theological Resistance The Material of the Book Theology of Identity: The Turn to the Self Feeling Absolutely Dependent: Authority The Self as Foundation: Critique Feeling Put Forth in Speech: Doctrine and Truth Middle-Class Interests in Theology and the Church The Liberal Church Conclusion Theology of Difference: The Turn to the Other Discerning Difference and Facing Conflict: Critique Decentering Theology: Authority Encountering God's Presence: Doctrine and Truth Nonconformist Interests in Theology and the Church The Confessing Church Conclusion Theology and Postmodernity: The Turn to Language and the Text A Coherent Semiotic System: Authority God on the Side of the Text: Critique Living Within the Text: Doctrine and Truth Intratextual Interests in Theology and the Church The Confessional Church Conclusion Theology and the Excluded: The Turn to Others Breaking Up Experience: Critique A Theo/acentric Journey: Authority No Other without Others: Doctrine and Truth Beyond Special Interests in Theology and the Church The Liberation Church Conclusion Interconnections, Blind Spots, and Unconscious Desires The Discourse of the Self The Discourse of the Master The Discourse of the Tradition The Discourse of the Marginalized Conclusion Opening the Floodgates: A New Paradigm Self-Critique: Reconstructing the Critical Task Opening Up to the Spirit: Rethinking Authority Telling the Truth: Repositioning Doctrine and Truth Common Interests: Resisting the Powers of Exclusion The Church of the Future Reactivating Theology: Between God and the Excluded Notes Index
