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God's Advocates: Christian Thinkers in Conversation

Author:	Rupert Shortt
Published By:	Darton, Longman and Todd (London)
Pages:	284
Price:	£12.95
ISBN:	0 232 52545 5

Reviewed by Chris Skilton.

Rupert Shortt, the Religion editor of The Times Literary Supplement, has interviewed eighteen contemporary Christian thinkers and philosophers and this book is the transcript of those conversations. Some of the names will be reasonably well-known to readers of Ministry Today - Stanley Hauerwas, Oliver and Joan O'Donovan, Christoph Schwobel and Rowan Williams. Others will be less familiar and in this category probably come Jean-Luc Marion, Miroslav Wolf and Alvin Platinga. Shortt admits that his selection of names is essentially from the States and Western Europe, but it is also an attempt to capture something of the recovery of nerve of Western theology in the last twenty years.

At least four of the contributors effectively engage in a debate about the Christian’s right relation to society and the political order, which includes the O’Donovans’ careful critique of a liberal position and Christopher Insole’s robust defence of it.

The book is not an easy read, but is worth persevering with to see where some of the key debates between different theological positions are engaging.

Most interest will inevitably fall on the opening chapter, which is a conversation with Rowan Williams (Shortt has also written a critical introduction to the Archbishop’s writings). It has a slightly different feel from the others, given that it takes the form of an overview of British theological thinkers and writers - a useful introduction, despite the name dropping. The final question of this conversation seems abruptly introduced - seeking a quick overview of contemporary religious art (apropos of nothing that has gone before) - in much the same way that Hauerwas is bowled a final googly about transsexuals. I particularly enjoyed Tina Beattie’s discussion of Feminist Theology, coupled with her own moving encounter with a vibrant Catholicism in marked contrast to her childhood Presbyterian roots. Her vision of a future “when theology speaks with an openness to revelation which allows us to see God in everyone, and in all creation, filtered through the lens of a rich sacramental tradition” (p.213) may not appeal to all readers of the journal but is worthy of consideration.

Readers may also be disappointed that there is no serious engagement with Scripture in this volume, but maybe Shortt would like to contemplate a further set of conversations with a variety of biblical scholars. This is a challenging read, but an excellent introduction to the work of some leading theological writers and thinkers of our day and has certainly whetted my appetite to read them more fully.