Theology Today - Vol 45, No. 2 - July 1988 - BOOK REVIEW

The Logic of Theology
By Dietrich Ritschl
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1987. 3 10 pp. $24.95.

What do theologians do? What tasks do they perform? What methods do they use? Such questions have, through the centuries, received a variety of answers. In this provocative volume, Dietrich Ritschl attempts to give answers that are now cogent and persuasive.

He is admirably equipped for the task, having served as a pastor and analytical psychotherapist, and having taught New Testament, patristics, systematic theology, and ethics at institutions as diverse as Austin and Pittsburgh Seminaries and the Universities of Mainz and Heidelberg.

The Logic of Theology, which he subtitles "a brief account of the relationship between basic concepts in theology," has a distinguished precursor in Schleiermacher's Kurze Darstellung and shares its interest in the curricular implications of the definition and divisions of theological tasks. Also, Ritschl's work is the basis for a "three part theology," which he promises to develop over the next few years. His "aim" is to examine "the basic questions of the theology that has been occasioned by the Bible" so that theology may be "explanatory and inviting." To this end, he sets himself three tasks.

First, he undertakes the descriptive task of exposing the present theological situation. In doing this, his approach is phenomenological, and he is influenced by the methods of Alfred Schutz. Part II, on "Theory," is the heart of the book. In it, he develops the "explanatory theories" of ecclesiology, Trinity, christology, and anthropology. At the center is his assertion "that Israel has been elected by YHWH and that the church of Jews and Gentiles has been elected in Jesus Christ is the most central statement in all theology." His "central thesis" is that "the election of Israel and the church is the most important and most original theological notion of all." Therefore, "the real ecumenical problem" is the division between Christians and Jews! Part II, on "Proof," attempts to test the theological theories of Part II as they "explain" the main themes surveyed in Part I. Here the ethical focus is upon two basic attitudes, the therapeutic and the doxological.

Ritschl's argument is impressive and suggestive, though plagued, unfortunately, by innumerable misprints, and it will surely be enhanced

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by the more leisurely exploration of its implications in his promised three-volume theology. For example, it would be helpful to have more attention given to the relationships between such basic concepts as church, Trinity, christology, and the human. And while he suggests that these concepts should and may be clarified through and for Jewish-Christian dialogue, he remains somewhat vague on what difference this might make. Furthermore, he remains ambiguous on whether theology should continue to subordinate the questions of nature and cosmos. Thus, in discussing God's omnipotence, he asks "should we not think of God more in the image of a mother who bears creation in herself than as a father standing over against creation?" and answers that there "is much to be said for this approach, though here again spatial thought threatens to gain the upper hand over temporal thought." But is his response sufficient? Would it still be so if Ritschl were to take any account of the insights becoming available from feminist theology?

Considered as an essay in method, The Logic of Theology makes a solid case for understanding the task of theology as that of providing explanatory theories. As with all methods, its usefulness awaits the proof of its employment.

John E. Burkhart

McCormick Theological Seminary
Chicago, Illinois