Читать книгу The Craft of Innovative Theology. Argument and Process онлайн

33 страница из 123

inclusivismexclusivismsoteriological

What does it mean, then, to speak about God – that is, do theology, and specifically creative theology – in the face of our religious Others? I suggest that it will or should display, minimally, the following characteristics (see Box 1.4):

Box 1.4

He helpfully lists the characteristics of a theology that takes religious pluralism seriously. The following five characteristics are his own listing. Although he is drawing on approaches found throughout the literature, his own listing of these five characteristics is his contribution to the debate.

1 Theology must be radically humble (principle of fallibilism).

2 Theology must be radically flexible (principle of indeterminacy).

3 Theology must be radically open (principle of contingency).

4 Theology must be radically poetic (principle of attraction).

5 Theology must be radically risky (principle of irony).

These are in no way meant to be an exhaustive set of characteristics, nor should we imagine that they will be present in equal measure, however, I argue that these are at least necessary features of knowing and speaking about God in the context of religious plurality. We will see, moreover, that these principles are interwoven, one often implying or melding into the others. Let us take them in turn before drawing some concluding insights and responding to some potential concerns.