David W. Congdon – författare

Christian universalism has become a subject of fierce debate in recent years. Numerous works have been published on the topic, and it can be difficult for readers to recognize the breadth of possible approaches. While universal salvation is often boiled down to (and dismissed as) a single idea--that God saves all people--this oversimplification masks the variety of theologies that reach this conclusion in ways that are not always compatible. Christian universalism is actually an umbrella of different theological interpretations of the idea that all people will be saved.In this book, leading experts on universal salvation--David W. Congdon, Tom Greggs, Morwenna Ludlow, and Robin A. Parry--provide a concise guide to four distinct approaches: patristic, evangelical, post-Barthian, and existential. The contributors, who have each written extensively on Christian universalism, highlight distinct approaches that emphasize different theological values. The book will be useful as a textbook for students of theology, especially those training for ministry, and as a resource for anyone seeking a more well-rounded understanding of Christian universalism.

'No true Christian could vote for Donald Trump.' 'Real Christians are pro-life.' 'You can't be a Christian and support gay marriage.' Assertive statements like these not only reflect growing religious polarization but also express the anxiety over religious identity that pervades modern American Christianity. To address this disquiet, conservative Christians have sought security and stability: whether by retrieving 'historic Christian' doctrines, reconceptualizing their faith as a distinct culture, or reinforcing a political vision of what it means to be a follower of God in a corrupt world. The result is a concerted effort 'Make Christianity Great Again': a religious project predating the corresponding political effort to 'Make America Great Again.' Part intellectual history, part nuanced argument for change, this timely book explores why the question of what defines Christianity has become, over the last century, so damagingly vexatious - and how believers might conceive of it differently in future.

'No true Christian could vote for Donald Trump.' 'Real Christians are pro-life.' 'You can't be a Christian and support gay marriage.' Assertive statements like these not only reflect growing religious polarization but also express the anxiety over religious identity that pervades modern American Christianity. To address this disquiet, conservative Christians have sought security and stability: whether by retrieving 'historic Christian' doctrines, reconceptualizing their faith as a distinct culture, or reinforcing a political vision of what it means to be a follower of God in a corrupt world. The result is a concerted effort 'Make Christianity Great Again': a religious project predating the corresponding political effort to 'Make America Great Again.' Part intellectual history, part nuanced argument for change, this timely book explores why the question of what defines Christianity has become, over the last century, so damagingly vexatious - and how believers might conceive of it differently in future.

Christian universalism has become a subject of fierce debate in recent years. Numerous works have been published on the topic, and it can be difficult for readers to recognize the breadth of possible approaches. While universal salvation is often boiled down to (and dismissed as) a single idea--that God saves all people--this oversimplification masks the variety of theologies that reach this conclusion in ways that are not always compatible. Christian universalism is actually an umbrella of different theological interpretations of the idea that all people will be saved.In this book, leading experts on universal salvation--David W. Congdon, Tom Greggs, Morwenna Ludlow, and Robin A. Parry--provide a concise guide to four distinct approaches: patristic, evangelical, post-Barthian, and existential. The contributors, who have each written extensively on Christian universalism, highlight distinct approaches that emphasize different theological values. The book will be useful as a textbook for students of theology, especially those training for ministry, and as a resource for anyone seeking a more well-rounded understanding of Christian universalism.

Rudolf Bultmann is one of the most widely known but least read theologians of the twentieth century. He is famous as the one who "demythologized" the New Testament, but very few understand what he meant by this or how his hermeneutical program connects to the other areas of his theological project. Bultmann presents a unique challenge to readers, not only because of his radical theological inquiry but also because of the way his ideas are worked out over time, primarily through short, occasional writings that present complex issues in a disarmingly straightforward manner. In this introduction to his theology--the first of its kind in more than twenty years--David W. Congdon guides readers through ten central themes in Bultmann''s theology, ranging from eschatology and dialectic to freedom and advent. By gaining an understanding of these themes, students of Bultmann will have the necessary tools to understand and profit from his writings. The result is not only an accessible guide for those encountering Bultmann for the first time but also a cohesive, systematic presentation of his thought for those wondering how his work might speak to our current context.

The first constructive theology of polyamory—and an invitation to embrace an unnatural, unrepressed Christianity.Christianity and monogamy have been a match made in heaven, at least according to official church leaders. Theologians like Tertullian and Augustine argued for the normativity of monogamous marriage—a tradition that has remained firmly in place for centuries. But monogamy is not just a religious idea. Many have even argued that monogamy is hardwired into human nature itself. More recently, some proponents of polyamory and ethical nonmonogamy have gone the opposite direction by arguing that monogamy is a myth and humans are naturally nonmonogamous. Both defenders of monogamy and advocates of nonmonogamy have sought to lay claim to the authority of nature to support their positions.In Poly Theology, David W. Congdon points out how ironic it is that Christians—who claim to follow a man resurrected from the dead—have invested so much energy in conforming to what people regard as "natural." Christianity is a deeply unnatural faith. Why should Christian ethics be any less unnatural? According to Congdon, the competitiveness and exclusivity associated with monogamy stand in uneasy tension with Christianity’s message of universally abundant grace, God’s noncompetitive transcendence, Christ’s two natures, and his ubiquitous sacramental presence. Without excluding monogamy or making nonmonogamy normative, Congdon argues for a capacious and inclusive account of polyamory that makes space for all kinds of loves. Congdon challenges Christianity’s elevation of suffering and self-denial, arguing for a theology of pleasure and compersion in which another’s happiness does not compete with one’s own—but rather both flow from an original abundance.Poly Theology is an invitation to a sex-positive, pleasure-positive vision of the Christian life.

Christian universalism has been explored in its biblical, philosophical, and historical dimensions. For the first time, The God Who Saves explores it in systematic theological perspective. In doing so it also offers a fresh take on universal salvation, one that is postmetaphysical, existential, and hermeneutically critical. The result is a constructive account of soteriology that does justice to both the universal scope of divine grace and the historicity of human existence.In The God Who Saves David W. Congdon orients theology systematically around the New Testament witness to the apocalyptic inbreaking of God''s reign. The result is a consistently soteriocentric theology. Building on the insights of Rudolf Bultmann, Ernst Kasemann, Eberhard Jungel, and J. Louis Martyn, he interprets the saving act of God as the eschatological event that crucifies the old cosmos in Christ. Human beings participate in salvation through their unconscious, existential cocrucifixion, in which each person is interrupted by God and placed outside of himself or herself.Both academically rigorous and pastorally sensitive, The God Who Saves opens up new possibilities for understanding not only what salvation is but also who the God who brings about our salvation is. Here is an interdisciplinary exercise in dogmatic theology for the twenty-first century.

Karl Barth was an eminently conversational theologian, and with the Internet revolution, we live today in an eminently conversational age. Being the proceedings of the 2010 Karl Barth Blog Conference, Karl Barth in Conversation brings these two factors together in order to advance the dialogue about Barth''s theology and extend the online conversation to new audiences. With conversation partners ranging from Wesley to Žižek, from Schleiermacher to Jenson, from Hauerwas to the Coen brothers, this volume opens up exciting new horizons for exploring Barth''s immense contribution to church and world. The contributors, who represent a young new generation of academic theologians, bring a fresh perspective to a topic--the theology of Karl Barth--that often seems to have exhausted its range of possibilities. This book proves that there is still a great deal of uncharted territory in the field of Barth studies. Today, more than forty years since the Swiss theologian''s death, the conversation is as lively as ever.