Dr Mark Lindsay

"The Role of History in the Construction of Public Theology:

Prolegomena to Further Research."

Abstract: The applicability of history as determinative data for the construction of theological discourse has long been a point of contention within the academic theological world. The debate raged with unparalleled force in the Nineteenth Century, with Martin Kahler, Albrecht Ritschl, Ernst Troeltsch and Julius Kaftan taking centre stage. Later, of course, the celebrated dispute between Barth and Brunner highlighted the divisiveness of the issue as never before.

In the wake of the Holocaust, however, has come an unprecedented need for resolution. This and other traumatic historical events are now increasingly being seen to be as much theological in nature as historical. The question remains, however, in what way are such events theological? More to the point, how do they become theological in such a way as to inform the construction of discourse?

The focus of this paper, then, is to use the example of traumatic history, such as the Holocaust, to re-examine the nexus between history and theology. In this way, it is hoped that a path forward will be shown that will enable orthodox theological motifs to be invested with greater concrete actuality by self-conscious reference to historical events, without thereby surrendering the primacy of revelation in the discursive task.

It is not proposed that answers to specific public theological issues will be suggested - rather, that a paradigm will be put forward by which such answers may be explored.

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