Cover i
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Abbreviations vii
Preface ix
Introduction: God-Talk Then and Now 1
Part 1: The Texture of Historical Developments 7
1. Biblical Narrative and Testimonies of God 9
For Orientation: God-Talk in the Bible
Old Testament: Jewish Monotheism
New Testament: Christian Trinitarian Monotheism
2. The Rise and Consolidation of the Christian Doctrine of God 35
Classical Theism: What Is It?
Early Fathers on God and Trinity
The Emergence of the Trinitarian Doctrine and Its Challengers
Patristic and Creedal Establishment of the Doctrine of God
3. From the Medieval to the Modern Quest for God 59
Mystical Visions and Sophisticated Doctrines of Medieval Times
The Zenith of Classical Theism: The “Schoolmen” on the Doctrine of God
The Rise of the Social Model of the Trinity
The Reformers and Their Followers on God
The Mystical Experience of God among Catholic Reformers
Post-Reformation Testimonies and Doctrines
God in Modernity
Reflections: Looking Back and Forward
Part 2: God in Contemporary Theological Interpretations 89
4. Interpretations of God among European Theologies 93
God as the Wholly Other: Karl Barth
God as the Mystery of the World: Karl Rahner
God as Communion: John Zizioulas and Eastern Orthodox Tradition
God as the Power of the Future: Wolfhart Pannenberg
The Crucified God: Jürgen Moltmann
God’s Existence in Dispute: Secularism and New Atheism(s)
Reflections on Contemporary European Views of God
5. Interpretations of God from Diverse North American Contexts 121
For Orientation: The North American Mosaic
Rebuttals to Classical Theism: Secular and Process Theologies
Revisions of Classical Theism: Contextual Interpretations
Revisiting Classical Theism: Evangelicalism and Open Theism
Reflections on the North American Scene
6. Interpretations of God in the Global South 165
For Orientation: Theology Goes Global
God in African Theologies
God in Latin American Theologies
God in Asian Theologies
Reflections on Non-Western God-Talk
Part 3: The Christian God among Religions 199
7. Christian Theology Faces Religious Plurality and Pluralism(s) 201
Religious Plurality as a New Challenge
Theological Responses to Pluralism(s)
How to Approach the Dialogical Comparative Task
8. The Gods of the Religions 215
Allah of Islam
The Deities of Hinduism
Any Deities in Buddhism?
Concluding Reflections on the Comparative Theological Exercise
Epilogue: The Future of God-Talk in the Third Millennium 241
Subject Index 245
Scripture Index 257
Back Cover 260