The Future of Christian Theology represents a personal manifesto from one of the world's leading theologians, exploring the ways Christian theology in the twenty-first century has been, and can now continue to be, both creative and wise.  

• Represents an outstanding and engaging account of the task of theology today
• Offers an insightful description of what makes for discerning and creative theology.
• Written from the perspective of decades of experience, and in close dialogue with theologians of other faiths
• Features a strong interfaith and public theology dimension, and a contemporary portrait of the field from the inside
• A hopeful and illuminating search for wisdom and understanding in the increasingly complex religious and secular world of the twenty-first century.

• The Future of Christian Theology 6
  • Contents 10
  • Preface 14
  • Source Acknowledgments 17
  • 1 A Cry for Wisdom: Theology for the Twenty-first Century 18
    • From the Twentieth to the Twenty-first Century: Theological Abundance and Variety 24
    • Four Elements of Wise Creativity 29
    • Conclusion 39
  • 2 Drama in Bible, Theology, and Life 40
    • The Bible: More Dramatic than Epic or Lyric 41
    • Gospel of John – Epic, Lyric, and above all Dramatic 44
    • Intensity and Extensity in the Ongoing Drama 51
    • Conclusion: Drama, Wise Theological Creativity, and an Unanswered Question 58
  • 3 A Dramatic Code for Twenty-first Century Theology 60
    • Modern Secularity and the Health of the Public Sphere 62