Todd Speidell – författare

A properly ecumenical theology, T. F. Torrance believed, points the church to Christ as the only source and reality of its own unity. Its only hope for unity must be discovered in him and unveiled to the church, rather than pieced together and manufactured through ecumenical slogans and well-meaning intentions. Acting on this belief, Torrance initiated an international dialogue of Reformed and Orthodox Churches, which culminated when the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Church issued a groundbreaking joint statement of agreement concerning the Trinity in 1991, a move beyond the filioque controversy that has divided East and West for a millennium. The current volume on T. F. Torrance and Eastern Orthodoxy continues the theological and ecclesial work of the reintegration of Western and Eastern traditions on a classical patristic foundation.

By publishing these essays together for the first time, this collection widens access to a number of T. F. Torrance's illuminating studies on the history of biblical hermeneutics. Moreover, by detailing Torrance's extensive engagement with primary sources, which generally appear only in summary form across his writings, this collection reveals to readers how Torrance's own theological hermeneutics were forged through deep fellowship with the communion of the saints.

The triune God of grace, James B. Torrance tirelessly insisted, is the true agent to transform worship, mission, and society. Unfortunately, the church often lapses into moralism and legalism, or exhortations and condemnations, rather than witnessing to the sole-sufficient grace of God in Christ. When we neglect the Trinity, a de facto unitarianism throws the church back onto its own existence and resources. In Christ, however, the church participates through the Spirit in union with Christ''s communion with the Father. By so doing, it also participates in Christ''s mission to the world. The essays of this volume articulate and extend Torrance''s evangelical theology, which draws attention away from ourselves and toward the triune God who is for us and for the world.

Thomas F. Torrance''s theology included a thoroughgoing, albeit implicit, ethic of reconciliation. It focused on the personalizing and humanizing mediation of Christ in all realms of life--including not only a supposed private dimension of human life but also the social, historical, and political structures of human society and even of the cosmos itself. This book builds upon that vision of a Christian ethic radically rooted in God''s grace, which encompasses, sustains, and transforms the entire human and created order. A trinitarian-incarnational social ethic does not begin with our human causes, projects, and agendas, however noble they might be, but with witness to the reconciling person and work of Jesus Christ for us.

From the Introduction: "e;The approach of this text will be multidisciplinary: psychologists, philosophers, theologians, and ethicists grappling with what it means to be a person. This volume will not attempt to provide a comprehensive history of psychology but will instead focus on selected representatives of various paradigms of psychology: from the first systematic psychologist, Aristotle, through psychology's development as an empirical science, and to recent developments in family systems theory. It will especially emphasize a social-relational-spiritual view of the self: namely, human relations to God and to others are essential to humanity."e;

THE RAY S. ANDERSON COLLECTION by WIPF & STOCK PUBLISHERSRay Sherman Anderson (1925-2009) worked the soil and tended the animals of a South Dakota farm, planted and pastored a church in Southern California, and completed a PhD degree in theology with Thomas F. Torrance in New College Edinburgh. He began his professional teaching career at Westmont College, and then taught and served in various administrative capacities at Fuller Theological Seminary for thirty-three years (retiring as Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ministry). While teaching at Fuller, he served as a parish pastor, always insisting that theology and ministry go hand-in-hand.The pastoral theologian who began his teaching career in middle age penned twenty-seven books. Like Karl Barth, Prof. Anderson articulated a theology of and for the church based on God's own ministry of revelation and reconciliation in the world. As professor and pastor, he modeled an incarnational, evangelical passion for the healing of humanity by Jesus Christ, who is both God's self- revelation to us and the reconciliation of our broken humanity to the triune God. His gift of relating suffering and alienated humans to Christ existing as community (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) is a recurrent motif throughout his life, ministry, and works.The Ray S. Anderson Collection comprises books by Ray Anderson, an introductory text to his theology by Christian D. Kettler, two edited volumes that celebrate his distinguished academic career (??ncarnational ??inistr??: The Presence of Christ in Church, Society, and Family and On Being Christian . . . and Human), and a reprint of an E??ification volume that focuses on Ray Anderson's contributions to the field of Christian Psychology. A word of gratitude is due to The Society of Christian Psychology and its parent organization, The American Association for Christian Counselors, for their permission to make the E??ification issue available in book form. Jim Tedrick of Wipf and Stock Publishers deserves a special word of thanks for publishing many of Ray Anderson's books and commissioning this collection of works to continue his legacy.Todd H. Speidell, General Editor