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Theology Through the Theologians. By

Colin E. Gunton. Edinburgh: T&T Clark,
1996. Pp. xi + 228. £22.50.

Alan P. F. Sell

Scottish Journal of Theology / Volume 53 / Issue 02 / May 2000, pp 262 - 264

DOI: 10.1017/S0036930600050894, Published online: 30 January 2009

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Alan P. F. Sell (2000). Scottish Journal of Theology, 53, pp 262-264
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262 SCOTTISH JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

articulate their own proposals or epistemic traditions. Yet he warns that

it is harmful for any Church communion to canonize a particular
epistemology. We need not abandon our epistemological studies, but
we should be clear about the soteric nature and content of the canonical
heritage and clear about the nature and limits of epistemology within
theology. Abraham concludes that no theory of knowledge can really
show or explain the knowledge that the Holy Spirit has given to the
Church through its canonical heritage.
The reader may marvel at the dialectical skill, depth of research,
and daring insights developed in this volume and still question whether
the author has succeeded in proving his case. First, Abraham wants us
to accept his argument as it is found by way of an historical narrative
which he unfolds. Yet to what extent has Abraham framed the story
to fit the argument? To the extent that the rhetorical form is con-
trived, we may find the argument unconvincing. Second, there are
puzzling interpretations proffered in this book. For example, should
we see Schleiermacher as epistemologically 'conservative and tradi-
tionalist' (p. 268) and Barth as 'thoroughly Cartesian' in his perspective
on knowledge (p. 384)? Third, might the aesthetic appeal of the early
Church's so-called canonical symphony coax many believers into a
fideistic conformity to tradition and an authoritarian posture toward
theological innovation? Perhaps in another work Abraham will resolve
such quandaries. In die meantime, Abraham has presented a formidable
work for scholars who desire a rigorous yet readable reflection upon
the theme of authority in Christian theology.
MARTY MILLER MADDOX (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley)

Theology Through the Theologians. By COLIN E. GUNTON. Edinburgh: T&T

Clark, 1996. Pp. xi + 228. £22.50.

In general and in particular, Professor Gunton is an enthusiast (I

eschew Dr Johnson's pejorative definition of that term). He writes
with restless energy of the importance of systematic theology, and he
wishes us to share his great if, on occasion, qualified appreciation of
such ancients and moderns as Augustine, Anselm, Calvin, Coleridge,
Irving, Barth, Hardy, Jensen, Zizioulas; and, from his own tradition,
John Owen, R. W. Dale and P. T. Forsyth. The mere recitation of
these names prompts the suspicion that the author's expression of
his objective, 'tiiis book is intended as an introduction of a kind to
systematic theology' (x) may be turned around: this book is an
introduction to a kind of systematic theology. It is none the worse
for that. On the contrary, the selection of a manageable set of
 BOOK REVIEWS 263

theologians, and the admission that not all of theology's central topics
are to be treated, strengthen the book by facilitating an unusual degree
of coherence between the several chapters, many of them previously
published.
We are first introduced to the sorry state into which, from the nine-
teenth century onwards, systematic theology has fallen in England, and
especially in the Church of England. Professor Gunton seeks a syste-
matic theology understood as 'the articulation of the truth claims of
Christianity, with an eye to their internal consistency, on the one hand;
and, on the other, to their coherence with Scripture, the Christian
tradition and other truth . . . ' (5). Coleridge, pitted against Newman, is
applauded for his obsession with truth as a systematic theological quest
in which the thinker is untrammelled by a given system, and for his
ability (like Irenaeus) to see the whole as well as the parts. There follows
a chapter on the nature of dogmatic theology, in which the 'sins' and
'vices' of rationalism are announced and denounced, and the strengths
and weaknesses of Newman's critique are weighed. Then comes the
author's prescription: 'What is needed to engage with the challenge of
the end of modernism, if it is the end, is a combination of Newman's
firm hold on the tradition with Coleridge's willingness to engage with
any thought that came his way' (32-3).
In the next four chapters the author turns to Barth and Jiingel. He
discusses the development of Christian doctrine; the knowledge of God,
the distortions of Enlightenment individualism, and the need of an
epistemology in which the relational is understood as being prior to
the conceptual; the being and attributes of God; and Barth's doctrine
of election. In these chapters, as in the seventh, on Augustine and his
successors, pneumatology is a prominent linking theme. Indeed,
perhaps, the most valuable feature of the book are Professor Gunton's
suggestions as to how pneumatology may be brought to the rescue of
systematic theology at critical points.
The doctrine of creation is next in view, and then we come to
christology, where help towards a Spirit christology is sought from
Irving; Dale on the atonement; Owen and Zizioulas on the Church;
Niebuhr on human nature; and Forsyth on authority and freedom.
Pneumatology is again invoked, and the entire collection is informed
by the author's strong trinitarian stance.
These stimulating papers prompt many observations and queries,
among them the following: (a) given the terms of reference of the
volume as an introduction, a glossary of technical terms would have
assisted some readers, (b) Inadequately documented complaints
are made from time to time—for example, against theological ration-
alists (21) and foundationalism (52). (c) Torpedoes are occasionally
launched against the likes of Bonhoeffer (53) and Moltmann (72)
264 SCOTTISH JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

without the targets being heard on the complained-of issue, and as if

all readers were conversant with the stances to which exception
is taken. In this connection Professor Gunton's introductory lament
that 'the blank dismissal of opposing positions . . . often happens'
(16) is something of a hostage to fortune, (d) To attribute the sorry
state of English (especially Anglican) theology to nationalism (1-4) is
to tell less than half of a very complicated story, (e) Novices may well
find Professor Gunton's insufficiently discriminating references to the
Enlightenment (23, 50, 188) puzzling; and scholars will feel that his
compressed reference to Locke (20, 208) are unsubtle.
The above remarks are those of one who has, through this book,
greatly enjoyed sitting at the feet of Professor Gun ton; and to sit at the
feet of theologians is, as he rightly says (albeit not with reference to
himself), 'One of the ways of learning to write theology' (ix).
ALAN P. F. SELL (Aberystwyth and Lampeter University School of Theology)

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IAIN TORRANCE (University ofAberdeen)