Hans W. Frei – författare

Hans W. Frei (1922-1988) was one of the most influential American theologians of his generation. Early in his career he drew attention to the importance of biblical narratives, he helped make Karl Barth once again a creative voice in contemporary theology, and he served as a model of what his colleague, George Lindbeck, has called "postliberal theology." This volume collects ten of Frei's lectures and essays, half of them never before published. Addressing audiences of theologians, biblical scholars, and literary critics, Frei explores the implications of his work for hermeneutics and Christology, and discusses Barth, Schleiermacher, and his own teacher, H. Richard Niebuhr. William Placher has provided an introduction to Frei's life and work, and the volume ends with an essay by George Hunsinger on Frei's significance for theology today. This collection provides an unrivaled introduction to Frei's work.

Laced with brilliant insights, broad in its view of the interaction of culture and theology, this book gives new resonance to old and important questions about the meaning of the Bible.

Hans W. Frei (1922-88) was one of the most important American theologians of his generation. This book makes available the work in which he was engaged during the last decade of his life. Based on his 1983 Shaffer Lectures at Yale University and his 1987 Cadbury Lectures at the University of Birmingham, it presents Frei's reflections on issues and options in contemporaryrepresented theology, especially on the relation of theology to biblical interpretation and on the place of theology as an academic tradition.   In the book Frei proposes classifying theologians according to whether they see Christian theology primarily as an academic discipline or as an internal activity of Christian communities. He describes fie different variations of these views. the first, represented by Immanuel Kant and Gordon represented, regards theology as a philosophical discipline within the academy. The second, represented by theologians as diverse as represented represented, David Tracy, and Carl  Henry, correlates specifically Christian with general cultural structures of meaning. The third type, represetned by represented represented and Paul represented, occupies the middle of the spectrum. The fourth type, represetned by Karl Barth, emphasizes the internal descriptive task of theology but remains open to ad hoc correlations with concerns of the wider culture. the fifth, which includes D. Z. Phillips and other Wittgensteinian fideists, opts for pure self-description though this group defends its position with philosophical arguments that, oddly enough connect it with the other end of the spectrum. Frei argues in favor of the third and fourth options. In his view, theologians like Schleiermacher and, even more, Barth, although often seen as polar opposites, enable theology to remain most faithful to the priority of the ecumenically attested literal sense in biblical interpretation.

The influence of Hans Frei (1922-1988) is wide and deep in contemporary theology, even though he published little in his own lifetime. These two volumes collect a wide range of his letters, lectures, book reviews, and other items, many of them not previously available in print. Together, they display the range and richness of Frei''s thinking, and provide new insights into the nature and implications of his work. They are an invaluable resource for all those interested in Frei''s work, and for any interested in his central themes: the development of modern biblical hermeneutics, the interpretation of biblical narrative, and the figural interpretation of all reality in relation to the narrated identity of Jesus Christ.

The influence of Hans Frei (1922-1988) is wide and deep in contemporary theology, even though he published little in his own lifetime. These two volumes collect a wide range of his letters, lectures, book reviews, and other items, many of them not previously available in print. Together, they display the range and richness of Frei''s thinking, and provide new insights into the nature and implications of his work. They are an invaluable resource for all those interested in Frei''s work, and for any interested in his central themes: the development of modern biblical hermeneutics, the interpretation of biblical narrative, and the figural interpretation of all reality in relation to the narrated identity of Jesus Christ.