Pannenberg: A Post-Enlightenment Theologian

WHEN AN IMPORTANT new name appears on the theological horizon thinking Christians experience a natural though probably an unwise urge to classify the newcomer in terms of established labels, so that his contribution might the more readily be assimilated into current church thinking. In the case of Wolfhart Pannenberg this would seem to be a mistake. Not only is his theology still only roughly sketched out, but he has shown himself to be a synthetic thinker flexible enough to incorporate widely differing insights and capable of avoiding extreme positions. Peter Bide, reviewing two recent books on Pannenberg by Allan Galloway and Frank E. Tupper1 feels his work is a reminder that today's theological issues remain those raised by the Enlightenment but to which theology has still not formulated an adequate response. Pannenberg asks: (i) which Enlightenment critical postures does theology need to take to heart; (ii) which need to be challenged and exposed; (iii) what is the correct theological response that does justice to the rich heritage of the Christian tradition? His aim is to help counter the deepening crisis of confidence that has overtaken theology during the last two hundred years, thus enabling it challenge in a new way the apparently .secure premises held by secular atheism. Rather to the surprise of many theologians he seeks to do battle by opening up a whole range of philosophical and theological issues that had until recently been widely regarded as settled. Inevitably his approach is seen as a direct attack on the whole Barth-Bultmann tradition. His theology represents a swing of the pendulum as Carl Braaten has observed. 'When one generation turns to the kerygma and faith, the next may be expected to return to history and reason.'• Although he can share many of Barth and Bultmann's concerns he feels that dogmatic theology's biggest mistake has been to flee from the fiery encounter with biblical and historical criticism, seeking as it has done its various refuges: theologies of 'the Word'; 'Kerygmatic theology' and existentialism; or 'Salvationhistory'. In a way that goes beyond even the Heilsgeschichte theolo-