Pannenberg, the Positioning of Academic Theology and Philosophy of Science (Contributions to Philosophical Theology, 15)

This book offers a bright and learned contribution on the famous German Theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. Centering on his work Wissenschaftstheorie und Theologie (1973) it deals with his passion for an academically sound and respected theology, its radiation in an interdisciplinary university context in general and in the science-and-theology-dialogue in particular. Dr. Gülden Le Maire illuminates the role and function of theology in the German and Anglo-American educational-political landscape in the last decades of the 20st century. But she also offers a vision for the future of a healthy and fruitful academic theology in the German Academy and beyond. Michael Welker, Senior professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Heidelberg Cover 1 Series Information 4 Copyright Information 6 Dedication 7 Acknowledgements 9 Contents 11 Abbreviations 13 Remarks 15 Chapter 1 Introduction 19 1.1 A rational mind in turbulent times: first impressions 22 1.2 Approaching Pannenberg: theology on the basis of philosophy 29 1.3 Arguments and terms 34 1.4 Concluding remarks 40 Chapter 2 A personal sketch of Wolfhart Pannenberg 43 2.1 The historical backdrop 47 2.2 Pannenberg’s main theological and philosophical influences 54 2.3 Deutsche Gründlichkeit:227 Pannenberg’s academic style 65 2.4 Concluding remarks 69 Chapter 3 The making of the book 73 3.1 The initial, life-long academic and spiritual goal: Revelation as History 75 3.2 The German theological philosophy of science debate in the 1960s and 1970s 80 3.3 The curious absence of I. Barbour and T. F. Torrance 89 3.4 Concluding remarks 98 Chapter 4 Theology as a university subject 101 4.1 The educational-historical and denominational backdrop 102 4.2 The educational-political landscape in the 1960s and 1970s 114 4.3 German academic particularities 121 4.4 Concluding remarks 126 Chapter 5 Theology as the science of God 129 5.1 Pannenberg’s theological and philosophical context 133 5.2 Pannenberg’s theorem 138 5.3 The internal classification of theological subjects 156 5.4 Concluding remarks 160 Chapter 6 Pannenberg’s theological heirs 163 6.1 The contemporary theological debate on method 165 6.2 The contemporary academic backdrop 177 6.3 A parity relationship: the German constitutional law on state-church relations 190 6.4 Concluding remarks 194 Chapter 7 The future of theology in the German Academy 197 7.1 The public nature of the discipline 205 7.2 Epistemology as the basis of scientificity 210 7.3 The self-conception of practitioners 220 7.4 Concluding remarks 227 Bibliography 231 Series Index 285 "This book offers a bright and learned contribution on the famous German Theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. Centering on his work Wissenschaftstheorie und Theologie (1973) it deals with his passion for an academically sound and respected theology, its radiation in an interdisciplinary university context in general and in the science-and-theology-dialogue in particular. Dr. Gülden Le Maire illuminates the role and function of theology in the German and Anglo-American educational-political landscape in the last decades of the 20st century. But she also offers a vision for the future of a healthy and fruitful academic theology in the German Academy and beyond." --Provided by publisher, back cover The book is an analysis of the science-political and historical context of Pannenberg's work Wissenschaftstheorie und Theologie (1973). It focuses on the original German setting in the midst of the then university reforms and its subsequent reception in the US religion-science debate.