Pannenberg Primers
Wolfhart Pannenberg is something of a curiosity to the American theological mind; while he is generally included in all the "whos-who" lists of giants of 20th century theology and has produced numerous notable students and admirers who adopt and modify parts of his thought--Robert Jenson, Ted Peters, William Lane Craig, Stanley Grenz, Anthony Thistleton, Philip Clayton etc...--he nonetheless remains in some obscurity and at the margins of popular reflection. The reasons for this are probably numerous. For one, his thought is difficult, rigorously systematical, and unfriendly to the casually interested. And, as with most thinkers who are identified as neither liberal nor conservative, his thought often has to suffer assault from both sides of the spectrum. Or, another reason, in the words of Jenson himself reviewing Pannenberg's Systematic Theology, if postmodernity is something fundamentally and materially new "[Pannenberg's] Systematic Theology...will probably be an historical artifact from the day of its publication," but if, as Jenson himself suspects, Postmodernity is a "purely negative phenomenon," and that the world will continue to be a late modern climate "Pannenberg's work maybe be disregarded only long enough to be rediscovered." (First Things53 (May 1995) p.61) And finally--lets be honest--Pannenberg's writing style is not often one that scintillates with glistening prose (though even Pannenberg, generally in his essays rather than books, can be given to flights of more poetic description) but reflects the highly reserved and technically precise nature of Pannenberg's demeanor.
That being said, reading Pannenberg can be a beautiful thing and indeed there are occasions (reading his Jesus: God and Man for example) that are simply astounding and, at least for me, constitute one of those fundamental paradigm altering moments of your life (at least your thought life). But like I said jumping in to his thought is daunting. So here are some of the best primers and summaries of Pannenberg's overall thought that I have read that I highly recommend as necessary companion volumes to reading the man himself (in no particular order):
--Stanley Grenz Reason for Hope: The Systematic Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company, 2005) 318 pages.
This is pretty much the standard summary volume of Pannenberg's work and anyone even remotely interested in Pannenberg should read it. It is essentially a chapter by chapter analysis of Pannenberg's theology (and in its own way is like a mini-version of Pannenberg's systematic theology because it roughly follows the same order but tries to give an overall picture of each theme like Trinity, Creation, Eschatology etc...) Grenz does a great job of not only outlining Pannenberg's thought (showing its relative evolution between his early works and the Systematics etc...) but also incorporates criticisms of Pannenberg, defending his mentor where it seems appropriate, but also occasionally offering his own insights into the matter. Pannenberg himself in his characteristically and humorously terse manner of reviewing books notes that "this book provides a correct picture concerning the overall synthesis of my theology." 'Nuff said.
--F. LeRon Shults The Postfoundationalist Task of Theology: Wolfhart Pannenberg and the New Theological Rationality (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1999) 270 pages.
A complex combination of Shult's own elaboration of van Huyssteen's "post-foundationalist," model of rationality and an analysis of Pannenberg's theological methodology, this volume provides a superb defense of Pannenberg against critics who note him as: a foundationalist, a rationalist, a historicist, a modern, etc... While Grenz's book is probably the best overall material summary of Pannenberg, Shult's book is the absolute and unquestioned standard on Pannenberg's method. Shult's identifies Pannenberg's overall theme as sub ratione Dei or that all things are "in relation to God," and hence are understandable only as an explication of this relationship they have to God and all of His creation (this theme incorporates into itself all the other "usual suspects" often touted--incorrectly-- as Pannenberg's main themes, e.g. history, prolepsis, Jesus Christ, rationality, and provisionality). Pannenberg is identified by Shults as having affinities to the newly emerging "post-foundationalist," model of rationality, and labels Pannenberg's overall method of the the relationship between anthropology and his theology of science, to Systematic theology proper (or if you will, the relation between Pannenberg's method "from below," and the method "from above,") is "assymetric bipolar relational unity" (p.206). If you're curious as to just what the hell this could mean read the book (or actually my upcoming continuations posting about P's theological anthropology will elaborate on it as well).
--Christiaan Mostert God and the Future: Wolfhart Pannenberg's Eschatological Doctrine of God. (New York: T&T Clark, 2002) 262 pages.
Perhaps one of the most notorious areas of Pannenberg's theology is his meticulous (though incredibly difficult) concept of an "eschatological ontology." Namely Pannenberg wants to argue (forgive this short and insufficient summary) that causation is not a push-oriented movement from the past. Rather it stems from the future becoming present now (e.g. Christ's resurrection is the prolepsis of the eschaton in history). By this Pannenberg not only wants to create an ontology that he feels does justice to the apocalyptic in-breaking of God's Kingdom into history, but also of creaturely freedom in the concept of contingency. That which finds its being produced from past causes is not free. Rather our being, argues Pannenberg, is a contingent (i.e. based upon the freedom of God) reality constantly given to us from the future, and retroactively "harmonized" with all past experiences. In this sense, argues Pannenberg, history is genuinely "open," because it is not a perdurable "essence," but is the constant apocalyptic interruption and retroactive continuation given to us by God's love. One of the difficulties--not just in the complexity of his thought--is that his eschatological ontology is not contained or elaborated in any single place, since it is essentially a framework that extends through all Pannenberg's material conclusions. Mostert provides us with a fascinating exposition on this radical (and in some senses, as Mostert points out, not so radical) aspect of Pannenberg's program, and how it relates intrinsically to Pannenberg's Trinitarianism, his concept and controversial use of Apocalyptic literature, his concept of the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of Christ, and his philosophical analysis of the relationships between part and whole. A fascinating study.
--Cornelius A. Buller The Unity of Nature and History in Pannenberg's Theology (Maryland: Littlefield Adam's Books, 1996) 227 pages.
Less well known than the other three books above, this is nonetheless an insightful corrective to those who think Pannenberg's theology has little to nothing to say to the post-modern world. As the title suggests, Buller is arguing against any type of dualism between the secular world and the religious; rather he sees Pannenberg as providing a theological ethic that is capable of addressing (e.g.) ecological issues based upon the sub ratione Dei theme, namely all of creation is related intrinsically to the Creator, and can only be understood fully if such a relation is made conceptually explicit. This means that the in-breaking of the future Kingdom of God now provides us with impetus to use Christianity's universal claims to truth to view the revelation of the proleptic Kingdom in the Church as the model for correct relations to the world. Essentially this book is an elaboration of Pannenberg's theology of the ethic of dominon over creation. Pannenberg re-vamps the time-honored tradition of in some sense seeing man as a microcosm of the universe, the bridge of creation between spiritual and material worlds (though in different terms, of course, Pannenberg does not want to somehow jump behind the Enlightenment as if it never happened). That is to say, mans redemption and incorporation into the Kingdom is also the restoration of the rest of nature in man. This slim volume has some important things to say in its own right, and provides a good survey of Pannenberg from this particular perspective of the unity of history and nature.
--Carl E. Braaten, Philip Clayton eds The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg: Twelve American Critiques. With an Autobiographical Essay and Response (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988) 352 pages.
In relation to the other volumes, this one will probably be the least helpful to the uninitiated (though it has many fascinating insights and dialogue). It is exactly what its title says it is: 12 critiques of Pannnberg's thought, ranging from more reserved critiques of Clayton that there is a tension in Pannenberg's eschatological ontology of contingency, to the more absurd critiques of those like John Cobb, who essentially criticizes Pannenberg for not being a process theologian like he is. Pannenbergs responses and autobiographical essay are worth the price of admission though.
That being said, reading Pannenberg can be a beautiful thing and indeed there are occasions (reading his Jesus: God and Man for example) that are simply astounding and, at least for me, constitute one of those fundamental paradigm altering moments of your life (at least your thought life). But like I said jumping in to his thought is daunting. So here are some of the best primers and summaries of Pannenberg's overall thought that I have read that I highly recommend as necessary companion volumes to reading the man himself (in no particular order):
--Stanley Grenz Reason for Hope: The Systematic Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company, 2005) 318 pages.
This is pretty much the standard summary volume of Pannenberg's work and anyone even remotely interested in Pannenberg should read it. It is essentially a chapter by chapter analysis of Pannenberg's theology (and in its own way is like a mini-version of Pannenberg's systematic theology because it roughly follows the same order but tries to give an overall picture of each theme like Trinity, Creation, Eschatology etc...) Grenz does a great job of not only outlining Pannenberg's thought (showing its relative evolution between his early works and the Systematics etc...) but also incorporates criticisms of Pannenberg, defending his mentor where it seems appropriate, but also occasionally offering his own insights into the matter. Pannenberg himself in his characteristically and humorously terse manner of reviewing books notes that "this book provides a correct picture concerning the overall synthesis of my theology." 'Nuff said.
--F. LeRon Shults The Postfoundationalist Task of Theology: Wolfhart Pannenberg and the New Theological Rationality (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1999) 270 pages.
A complex combination of Shult's own elaboration of van Huyssteen's "post-foundationalist," model of rationality and an analysis of Pannenberg's theological methodology, this volume provides a superb defense of Pannenberg against critics who note him as: a foundationalist, a rationalist, a historicist, a modern, etc... While Grenz's book is probably the best overall material summary of Pannenberg, Shult's book is the absolute and unquestioned standard on Pannenberg's method. Shult's identifies Pannenberg's overall theme as sub ratione Dei or that all things are "in relation to God," and hence are understandable only as an explication of this relationship they have to God and all of His creation (this theme incorporates into itself all the other "usual suspects" often touted--incorrectly-- as Pannenberg's main themes, e.g. history, prolepsis, Jesus Christ, rationality, and provisionality). Pannenberg is identified by Shults as having affinities to the newly emerging "post-foundationalist," model of rationality, and labels Pannenberg's overall method of the the relationship between anthropology and his theology of science, to Systematic theology proper (or if you will, the relation between Pannenberg's method "from below," and the method "from above,") is "assymetric bipolar relational unity" (p.206). If you're curious as to just what the hell this could mean read the book (or actually my upcoming continuations posting about P's theological anthropology will elaborate on it as well).
--Christiaan Mostert God and the Future: Wolfhart Pannenberg's Eschatological Doctrine of God. (New York: T&T Clark, 2002) 262 pages.
Perhaps one of the most notorious areas of Pannenberg's theology is his meticulous (though incredibly difficult) concept of an "eschatological ontology." Namely Pannenberg wants to argue (forgive this short and insufficient summary) that causation is not a push-oriented movement from the past. Rather it stems from the future becoming present now (e.g. Christ's resurrection is the prolepsis of the eschaton in history). By this Pannenberg not only wants to create an ontology that he feels does justice to the apocalyptic in-breaking of God's Kingdom into history, but also of creaturely freedom in the concept of contingency. That which finds its being produced from past causes is not free. Rather our being, argues Pannenberg, is a contingent (i.e. based upon the freedom of God) reality constantly given to us from the future, and retroactively "harmonized" with all past experiences. In this sense, argues Pannenberg, history is genuinely "open," because it is not a perdurable "essence," but is the constant apocalyptic interruption and retroactive continuation given to us by God's love. One of the difficulties--not just in the complexity of his thought--is that his eschatological ontology is not contained or elaborated in any single place, since it is essentially a framework that extends through all Pannenberg's material conclusions. Mostert provides us with a fascinating exposition on this radical (and in some senses, as Mostert points out, not so radical) aspect of Pannenberg's program, and how it relates intrinsically to Pannenberg's Trinitarianism, his concept and controversial use of Apocalyptic literature, his concept of the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of Christ, and his philosophical analysis of the relationships between part and whole. A fascinating study.
--Cornelius A. Buller The Unity of Nature and History in Pannenberg's Theology (Maryland: Littlefield Adam's Books, 1996) 227 pages.
Less well known than the other three books above, this is nonetheless an insightful corrective to those who think Pannenberg's theology has little to nothing to say to the post-modern world. As the title suggests, Buller is arguing against any type of dualism between the secular world and the religious; rather he sees Pannenberg as providing a theological ethic that is capable of addressing (e.g.) ecological issues based upon the sub ratione Dei theme, namely all of creation is related intrinsically to the Creator, and can only be understood fully if such a relation is made conceptually explicit. This means that the in-breaking of the future Kingdom of God now provides us with impetus to use Christianity's universal claims to truth to view the revelation of the proleptic Kingdom in the Church as the model for correct relations to the world. Essentially this book is an elaboration of Pannenberg's theology of the ethic of dominon over creation. Pannenberg re-vamps the time-honored tradition of in some sense seeing man as a microcosm of the universe, the bridge of creation between spiritual and material worlds (though in different terms, of course, Pannenberg does not want to somehow jump behind the Enlightenment as if it never happened). That is to say, mans redemption and incorporation into the Kingdom is also the restoration of the rest of nature in man. This slim volume has some important things to say in its own right, and provides a good survey of Pannenberg from this particular perspective of the unity of history and nature.
--Carl E. Braaten, Philip Clayton eds The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg: Twelve American Critiques. With an Autobiographical Essay and Response (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988) 352 pages.
In relation to the other volumes, this one will probably be the least helpful to the uninitiated (though it has many fascinating insights and dialogue). It is exactly what its title says it is: 12 critiques of Pannnberg's thought, ranging from more reserved critiques of Clayton that there is a tension in Pannenberg's eschatological ontology of contingency, to the more absurd critiques of those like John Cobb, who essentially criticizes Pannenberg for not being a process theologian like he is. Pannenbergs responses and autobiographical essay are worth the price of admission though.
Comments