TheMinibishop Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) In seminary, I just got a taste of Pannenberg's work, and it has been so thought provoking to me. Though the professor did not set out to make us all Pannenbergians, I was certainly hooked. I would love to have his Systematic Theology in Accordance if only for personal study. I don't know who else would be interested in that, so I'll create a poll. Logos has it for $129.95 published by Eerdmans. And for those who are unfamiliar with Pannenberg, you can read his article "When Everything is Permitted" published in 1998 in First Things. Here's a snippet from his conclusion: Christian love enriches and strengthens the natural inclination of human beings to benevolence, which is always in desperate need of being strengthened. This is the most important Christian contribution to moral life in general, also under the conditions of modern secular societies. But Christians also need to point out that benevolence and the joy that comes with it are evidence of a deeper longing of human nature for the good. The good for which the human being longs is not limited to the moral good. It is the good understood in the Platonic sense, meaning the good that is the source of happiness. It is, in short, a longing for God, the source of ultimate and lasting happiness. In benevolence, there is a glimpse of that ultimate good, accompanied by the experience of happiness. It is a hint of the kingdom to come. Our sighting of that kingdom, however, does not lead to indifference to the quotidian conditions of human community. On the contrary, where mutual benevolence holds sway, those conditions are met without further ado. In the words of Paul, “Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” If Christian ethics attends to the living out of this new way”a new way that is the fulfillment of our nature from the beginning”the world may again take note. Then, at last, we may overcome the striking oddity of our modern circumstance that the subject of morality and ethics is assumed to be a matter of public significance, while the subject of God is thought to be an esoteric matter of interest to theologians and “people who go in for that sort of thing.” Then, at last, our culture may be renewed by understanding that we do not need to choose between nature and religion, and that freedom, far from being limited when ordered to moral authority, is not possible without it. Edited January 28, 2015 by TheMinibishop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Cobb Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Pannenberg would be a good addition to the Systematic works already available in Accordance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan S Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Thanks for reviving this thread. I'll add it to the list. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Cobb Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 34 minutes ago, Jordan S said: Thanks for reviving this thread. I'll add it to the list. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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