The Fear of the Lord: Essays on Theological Method

Description

This volume examines what it means to proceed in the path of wisdom by beginning with fear of God, that is, mindfulness always and everywhere of God's being and presence. Michael Allen describes the praxis of fearing the Lord, how that posture of contemplative pursuit marks the theological task and defines our theological method; in so doing it takes up the significant topics of divine revelation, theological exegesis, intellectual asceticism, and retrieval/ressourcement from a distinctly doctrinal perspective. In each of these conversations, doing theology in the presence of God functions as a consistent thread. God is not mere object but truly functions as subject in the process of theological growth, though God's presence and agency fund rather than negate creaturely theological responsibility. The Fear of the Lord: Essays on Theological Method explores some of the most central questions of contemporary theological method - revelation, Scripture, theological interpretation, retrieval, intellectual asceticism, scholastic method - by asking in each and every case what it means to think fundamentally of the perfect and present God involved and active in these spheres.

Michael Allen is the John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL, USA.

Teachers in the congregational and academic context will profit from reading this rich volume ... and absorb the numerous, positive [insights] for their theological work. * AfeT Reviews (Bloomsbury Translation) * With his characteristic verve and confident engagement with theological conversations past and present, Michael Allen puts us all in his debt. Whether taking up exegetical, dogmatic, or ascetical issues, Allen consistently sheds light, reads charitably, and bears Christian witness in pursuit of a richly contemporary and classical Reformed articulation of faith. Highly recommended! -- Matthew Levering, Mundelein Seminary, USA The sum of these previously published essays is greater than their individual parts just as the fear of the Lord is greater than any one theological proposition or act of obedience. What Allen displays is a way of doing theology that is as wise as it is God-centered and God-fearing. -- Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA Articulating a robust theology for our times, these essays represent a constructive engagement with the Reformed tradition set in its wider catholic context. Marked by clarity, scholarship, and succinct expression, they will repay careful study. -- David Fergusson, Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge, UK