Preface.
Source Acknowledgments.
1 A Cry for Wisdom: Theology for the Twenty-first Century.
From the Twentieth to the Twenty-first Century: Theological Abundance and Variety.
Four Elements of Wise Creativity.
Conclusion.
2 Drama in Bible, Theology, and Life.
The Bible: More Dramatic than Epic or Lyric.
Gospel of John - Epic, Lyric, and above all Dramatic.
Intensity and Extensity in the Ongoing Drama.
Conclusion: Drama, Wise Theological Creativity, and an Unanswered Question.
3 A Dramatic Code for Twenty-first Century Theology.
Modern Secularity and the Health of the Public Sphere.
A Drama-centered Account of Modernity.
A Dramatic Code for Theology Today.
Conclusion: Within and Beyond the Drama.
4 Desire Above All.
A Balanced Dynamic of Theological Moods.
Between Closed Religion and Wide Open Religion.
Theological Moods in Bible and Tradition.
God-centered Moods: The Divine Passive.
5 Belonging: Church, Collegiality, Conversation.
Belonging to God and Each Other through Covenant.
Theological Creativity in and for the Church.
Learning and Teaching Together: Collegiality.
Extended Belonging: Conversations.
Intensive Belonging: Cohabitations, Collaborations, and Movements.
Intimate Belonging: Friendships.
Conclusion: Complex Belonging.
6 Church and Society.
First Case Study: Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Continuing This Drama.
Contemporary Case: Theological Tasks for the Church in Democratic Civil Societies.
7 Inter-Faith Blessing.
A Jewish Blessing: Dabru Emet.
A Muslim Blessing: A Common Word.
Scriptural Reasoning as First Inter-Faith Theology.
Seeking Wisdom for Inter-Faith Engagement: A Muscat Manifesto.
Civil Wisdom.
8 New Theology and Religious Studies: Shaping, Teaching, and Funding a Field.
What is New Theology and Religious Studies?
A Framework for Creativity.
Other Frameworks.
Curriculum and Teachers.
Funding.
The Global Potential of New Theology and Religious Studies.
9 Becoming a Theologian: The Apprentice.
Disciple and Apprentice.
Retrieval - A Receptive, Reading Self.
Engagement - A Loved and Loving Self.
Thinking - An Imaginative, Discerning Self.
Communication - A Witnessing, Poetic Self.
10 The Bible: Creative Source of Theology.
How the Bible Has Shaped This Manifesto.
What Sort of Bible Reading is This?
The Four Elements of Wise and Creative Theology in the Bible.
A Biblical Hope for Twenty-first Century Theology.
Notes and References.
Index.
