CORE publishes new monograph!

Some of you probably remember that the Center for Origins Research at Bryan College publishes a monograph series in cooperation with Wipf and Stock publishers.  The last volume in the series was volume 5, from the 2009 Genesis Kinds conference.  That was four years ago, and today, I am extremely pleased to announce the publication of the newest title in the series:


A Critical Realist's Theological Method: Returning the Bible and Biblical Theology to be the Framer for Theology and Science
Douglas Kennard
Houston Graduate School of Theology




Abstract

A Critical Realist’s Theological Method explores a systematic theology method that is grounded in a critical realist epistemology in the wake of Roy Sellars, A. H. Strong, Stuart Hackett, Alister McGrath, Imre Lakatos, and Nancey Murphy that will justify the nesting of science within its methodological branches. Kennard surveys each philosophical and traditional theology approach for their precise contributions and their limitations in order to set out a method for theology and science. Such a critical realist approach has especially become acclaim for working in the field of historical Jesus studies as advocated by N. T. Wright, James Dunn, and Dale Allison. Kennard extends this method to interpretation in a Thiselton-Ricoeur hermeneutic that can fund good exegesis and Biblical theology. This same approach is then extended to a descriptive Biblical theology method in the wake of George Ladd, James Dunn, Geerhardus Vos, and John Goldingay. This Biblical theology method is illustrated by wisdom literature, the traditional reef of the discipline and then developed for the contributions made toward a systematic theology approach as Johann Gabler had originally envisioned funding systematics from Biblical theology. With most of the content for systematic theology coming from inspired Scripture contextualized to the reader’s setting, the subtitle for the book identifies the theological goal intended, Returning the Bible and Biblical Theology to be the Framer for Theology and Science. This Biblical trajectory through a critical realist method is applied in several ways that fund systematic theology and several disciplines of science. For example, an exegesis of Biblical and second temple creation texts frame the possibilities within which science is able to nest and contribute consistent to this Biblicism. These same insights of Biblical theology frame bio-ethics and an integration of psychology and theology setting out a transactional model for counseling and psychological recovery. This same method explores a framework to fund community and personal work environment, which sets out a communal context for hoping how the discipline of theology can be practiced and cultivated. This Critical Realist’s Theological Method explains the approach that Kennard has already demonstrated as a theoretician in The Relationship Between Epistemology, Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology and Contextualization (Mellen, 1999) and as a practitioner in 1) integrating philosophy, physics, and theology in The Classical Christian God (Mellen, 2002), 2) integrating Biblical theology, second temple Jewish literature, and systematic theology in Messiah Jesus: Christology in His Day and Ours (Peter Lang, 2008) and with Marv Pate in Deliverance Now and Not Yet: The New Testament and the Great Tribulation (Peter Lang, 2003, 2005), and 3) coursework as Professor of New Testament, Theology, and Philosophy at Houston Graduate School of Theology

Copies currently can be obtained directly from Wipf and Stock ($40 plus shipping), and the book should be available from Amazon soon.

Will this be the last of the CORE Issues in Creation monograph series?  Time will tell...  Stay tuned!

Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.