The Craft of Theology: From Symbol to System (new expanded ed)

Avery Dulles’s theological career has spanned one of the most creative and confusing periods in the history of the church.

With the goal of integrating new information from philosophy and the sciences into a deeper understanding of the world and society, many theological schools pursued independent agendas, with the net effect of a loss of coherence. It is Fr. Dulles’s contention that theological schools have drifted so far apart that what seems false and dangerous to one school seems almost self-evident to another. Theologians lack a common language, common goals, and common norms. Fr. Dulles discusses the freedom of theology within the university and sets forth principles for a fresh dialogue with philosophy, the sciences, and other Christian churches.

A work of remarkable balance and depth by one of the few living theologians who deserves to be called a master. The Craft of Theology is a lucid introduction to the symbolically oriented, postcritical theology Avery Dulles has been developing for over twenty-five years, and will be instructive for professional theologians and introductory students alike.—Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J.