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Witness and Existence

Essays in Honor of Schubert M. Ogden

For over thirty years Schubert Ogden has championed and exemplified a particular understanding of the task and content of Christian theology. The task of theology is to examine the meaning and truth of Christian faith in terms of human experience. All theological claims, therefore, are assessable by two criteria: their appropriateness to the normative Christian witness and their credibility in terms of human existence. The content of Christian theology may be accurately and succinctly stated in two words: radical monotheism. The point of all theological doctrines, from christology to ethics, is to reflect on the gift and demand of God’s love. It may be said, then, that Ogden’s entire theological project consists in the attempt to show that radical monotheism, which is the essential point of the Christian witness, is also the inclusive end of human existence.

Witness and Existence pays tribute to Ogden by bringing together essays by eminent scholars in New Testament studies and philosophical theology, two fields which directly reflect his methodological concerns and his substantive contributions. The book honors Ogden precisely by engaging the fundamental issues which Ogden himself has taken so seriously.

The first group of essays presents careful analyses of issues basic to the early Christian witness; the second group examines the credibility of the Christian claim about God in terms of human experience. The editors’ introductory essay provides the first comprehensive analysis yet to appear of Ogden’s theology. A complete bibliography of his published writings is included as an appendix.

256 pages | 6.00 x 9.00 | © 1989

Religion: Philosophy of Religion, Theology, and Ethics

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Christian Faith and the First Commandment: The Theology of Schubert Ogden
Philip E. Devenish and George L. Goodwin
Part I: The Appropriateness of Christian Theology: Essays in Biblical Studies
1. The Limit to the Possibility of Christological Assertions
Willi Marxsen
2. The Foundations of Christian Ethics according to Romans 12:1-2
Hans Dieter Betz
3. Paul the MAPTY[Epsilon]
Victor Paul Furnish
Part II: The Credibility of Christian Theology: Essays in Philosophical Theology
4. Argument, Dialogue, and the Soul in Plato
David Tracy
5. Faith and Existence in the Philosophy of F. H. Jacobi
B. A. Gerrish
6. Nietzsche and the Kantian Paradigm of Faith
Van A. Harvey
7. Deconstruction and Reconstruction of "God"
John B. Cobb, Jr.
8. Metaphysical and Empirical Aspects of the Idea of God
Charles Hartshorne
9. In What Contexts Does It Make Sense to Say, "God Acts in History"?
Maurice Wiles
10. Metaphysics and the Moral Law: A Conversation with Karl-Otto Apel
Franklin I. Gamwell
Appendix: Published Writings of Schubert M. Ogden
List of Contributors

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