357 - Our Naming of Go: Problems and Prospects of God-Talk Today

Our Naming of Go: Problems and Prospects of God-Talk Today
By Carl E. Braaten, ed.
Minneapolis, Augsberg Fortress, 1989. 163 pp. $12.95.

In the 1960s, theologians were seriously engaged with the problem of language: How is it possible to speak meaningfully of God? After a hiatus, the problem resurfaced in the 1980s in a new form: How are we to speak meaningfully of God in the face of feminist criticism of patriarchal imagery for God? This collection of essays by faculty from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago addresses the problem in its various formulations. Carl Braaten, whose work bridges the two periods, provides a useful overview of the way in which the problem has evolved. Karen Bloomquist offers a forceful statement of the feminist position and Robert Bertram a provocative reply, in which he suggests that more may be needed to correct the imbalance in our language about God than simply depatriarchalizing the imagery. Other essays examine biblical texts and consider alternative ways of construing the logic of God-talk, with particular attention to the trinitarian paradigm.

Robert H. King
Millsaps College
Jackson, Miss.