Theology as Hope

Description: Hope is the leitmotiv of J rgen Moltmann's theology. Not merely one aspect of his project, hope is the whole of it, the supreme doctrine interpenetrating all others. Indeed, hope is his method. The present study is both historical and developmental while also being analytical and interrogative. This chronological exploration seeks to show the nature, composition, and development of Moltmann's doctrine of hope, as the distinctive doctrine of his theology, implicating all others. Part I establishes Moltmann's doctrine of hope as grounded in God's faithfulness in the cross and resurrection. Part II investigates major doctrines in his project in light of this ground. This design seeks to take advantage of the chronological approach while also integrating the best elements of a topical approach. Endorsements: ""One of the most significant theological texts of the second-half of the twentieth century, Theology of Hope remains amongst the most enduring in J rgen Moltmann's output. In this clear and incisive study, Ryan Neal shows how the theme of hope shapes Moltmann's subsequent work across the field of Christian doctrine. A perceptive study, this will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of Moltmann's theology."" --David Fergusson Professor of Divinity University of Edinburgh ""In the 1960s the so-called theologies of hope rolled in to become one of the most noteworthy and influential waves of the late twentieth-century European theology, taking seriously a claim made four decades earlier by Karl Barth, that all theology is eschatology. Contrary to much of the commentary on his work, the oeuvre of the German theologian J rgen Moltmann continued to be shaped by many of the concerns about hope and theological insights he developed during this earlier period, and Neal's valuable book convincingly demonstrates that this is the case. This is an important, critical, and excellently researched study of a perennial theological issue in the fruitful reflections of one of the most important modern theologians."" --John C. McDowell Morpeth Professor of Theology University of Newcastle, Australia About the Contributor(s): Ryan A. Neal is Assistant Professor of Religion at Anderson University, South Carolina.