Contemporary Western Protestant Theology

Author: Zhu Xinping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-05-01
Features: This book is one of the series "Contemporary Christian Religious Studies," the final of the National Social Science Research Youth Project "Contemporary Christian Thought," and a sub-project of the National Social Science Research "Nineteen-Nineties" Major Project and the Key Research Project of the Chinese Social Sciences "Contemporary Christian Status and Development Trends." The book is divided into four chapters and sixteen sections. Chapter 1 is titled "Great Changes at the Turn of the Century," discussing the major developments in Western Protestant theology at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, such as the collapse and transformation of liberal theology, the emergence of the crisis consciousness in Continental theology, and the development of dialectical theology. Chapter 2 is titled "Catalysis in the Midst of War," discussing the evolution of Western Protestant theology before and after the two World Wars, such as the "secularized interpretation" of Christianity, the emergence of the theology of "the death of God," the rise of neo-orthodox thought, and the development of existentialist theology. Chapter 3 is titled "Reconstruction After Deconstruction," discussing the various efforts of contemporary Protestantism to rebuild its theological system, such as new explorations of historical meaning, reflections on the history of Western culture, reinterpretations of the relationship between revelation and history, the founding of process theology, the development of Nordic Protestant theology, and the emergence of "universal" and "dialogical" theologies. Chapter 4 is titled "Contemplation at the End of the Era," discussing the reflection, organization, and prospects of contemporary Protestant theology on its intellectual development, including unique discussions on personalist theology, theological anthropology, eschatological theology, revolutionary theology, Black theology, feminist theology, theological hermeneutics, narrative theology, neo-evangelical theology, and postmodern theology. This book is the most systematic and comprehensive exploration in this field to date.
[Preface] The development of Christian theological thought in the 20th century entered an era of surging trends and changing ideas, presenting a complex landscape of diverse schools and competing currents. This diversity and variability are vividly reflected in the history of contemporary Western Protestant theology. Therefore, by sorting out and studying the trends of Western Protestant theology since the 20th century, we can feel the pulse of the times. This research plays a crucial role in clarifying the full picture of contemporary Christian thought. The book presented to the readers, Contemporary Western Protestant Theology, is the result of the author's National Social Science Research Youth Project "Contemporary Christian Thought." The book is divided into four parts: The first part is titled "Great Changes at the Turn of the Century," discussing the major developments in Western Protestant theology at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, such as the collapse and transformation of liberal theology, the emergence of crisis consciousness in Continental theology, and the development of dialectical theology. The second part is titled "Catalysis in the Midst of War," discussing the evolution of Western Protestant theology before and after the two World Wars, such as the "secularized interpretation" of Christianity, the emergence of the theology of "the death of God," the rise of neo-orthodox thought, and the development of existentialist theology. The third part is titled "Reconstruction After Deconstruction," discussing the various efforts of contemporary Protestantism to rebuild its theological system after traditional theology was challenged or partially deconstructed, such as new explorations of historical meaning, reflections on the history of Western culture, reinterpretations of the relationship between revelation and history, the founding of process theology, the development of Nordic Protestant theology, and the emergence of "universal" and "dialogical" theologies. The fourth part is titled "Contemplation at the End of the Era," discussing the reflection, organization, and prospects of contemporary Protestant theology on its intellectual development, such as personalist theology, theological anthropology, eschatological theology, revolutionary theology, Black theology, feminist theology, ecological theology, theological hermeneutics, narrative theology, neo-evangelical theology, and the response of Protestant theology to postmodernist thought, among others. The book discusses hundreds of Western Protestant theologians and thinkers, some of whose schools of thought or figures have been explored in China for the first time. Additionally, the book strengthens the study of Western Protestant thought since the 1960s. Of course, contemporary Western Protestant theology has numerous schools and a vast body of theoretical works, and it is difficult for one person to exhaust them with limited energy and time. Therefore, this limited work inevitably has omissions and awaits future supplementation and improvement. Researching contemporary Western Christian thought has been the author's long-standing aspiration for over a decade. For this purpose, the author has carefully observed its development trends, collected relevant materials, and conducted preliminary explorations in the late 1980s. Indeed, Western theological writings are extensive, and the research of Western scholars is also outstanding, making it impossible to fully comprehend this field in a lifetime. However, as a Chinese scholar, conducting an analysis and research that is both immersed within and transcends the field, maintaining a certain distance with a Chinese perspective, allows for knowing what cannot be done while still striving, yielding a different from the faith-based research of Western scholars. Therefore, the author's observations and research focus more on the broader and deeper social, cultural, and historical significance of Western theological trends, emphasizing the analysis and interpretation of their theological thought from the social atmosphere and historical and cultural heritage of the contemporary world, clarifying their essence and value, and using this research to reveal their potential impact on the current development of Chinese society and their inspirational or exemplary role. The research for this book was greatly supported by numerous academic institutions and scholars both at home and abroad. During the author's studies in Germany in the 1980s, the author took systematic theology courses from Professor W. Pannenberg of Munich University, engaged in heartfelt discussions with Professor J. Moltmann at his study in Tübingen University, and asked questions and sought advice from Professor D. Solle at Frankfurt on feminist theology. After completing his studies and returning to China, Dr. Xu Zhiwei of Canada's Wycliffe College invited the author for a short-term research and teaching visit to Canada, providing an opportunity to understand the development of neo-evangelical theology. Professor H. Schmidt-Glintzer, the director of the Duke Augustus Library in Wolfsburg, Germany, also invited the author for a short-term visit to Germany to utilize the rich collections of the library for this research. Professors J. Moltmann of the University of Oxford, Dr. Xu Zhiwei and Professor J. I. Packer and Professor S. J. Grenz of Wycliffe College in Canada, as well as Dr. Liu Xiaofeng and Mr. Yang Xingnan of the Hong Kong Institute of Chinese Christian Studies, have kindly gifted the author with academic works related to this research. The National Social Science Fund selected this project as the 1990 Youth Project, and the China Social Sciences Academy Publishing Fund and Mr. E. Muhlbacher of Rothenburg District provided financial support for the publication of this book. Additionally, Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore provided strong support for the publication and distribution of this book, and Mr. Ni Guowei also offered valuable suggestions on the structure and content of the book. The author is deeply moved by all this support and assistance and hereby expresses his sincere gratitude!