British theology: Movements and churches

Christian Century, April 19, 2000 by David F. Ford

Unease also exists about Radical Orthodoxy's account of the church, about Milbank's Augustinianism, and about his refusal to allow for "the haunting of ethics by the tragic." A fundamental query is whether this theology of "total peace" is in danger of being "totalizing and ahistorical." Williams wants a mode of discourse that is better suited to healing a contingent world in which "contestation is inevitable," in which the church is not in fact so "dramatically apart" from other ways of realizing the good, and in which there is a need for patience in tracing how the Christian contribution to history is "learned, negotiated, betrayed, inched forward, discerned and risked." Such comments reflect the characteristic temper of British theology.

MY FOCUS IN THESE three articles has been on Christian theology in British universities, but of course that is by no means the only setting for theology. What has been happening recently in church theology? I would name five trends.

First, the collaboration between universities and church educational centers has been increasing, and some institutions closely involved with churches have become universities or parts of universities, giving rise to a new set of university-level departments (which have generally opted for the "theology and religious studies" model). This development is not without its dangers for churches. They might be wise to consider whether they need to supply better resources to their own institutions, and in particular whether they can nurture a new generation of theologians to lead them.

Second, collaboration between churches has increased in theological education, with federations of colleges, shared colleges and common links to universities. These first two trends predictably generate debates and tensions about identity and distinctiveness.

Third, in church colleges and universities most theology is now taught and learned by laypeople. This shift is most striking in the more clerical churches, the Anglican and Roman Catholic. It has also meant that for the first time in history there is a body of laypeople who are theologically trained and active in many areas of society.

Fourth, recent decades have been especially important for the emergence of Roman Catholics as a significant group in British theology. A remarkable "grandparent" generation of theologians such as Cornelius Ernst, O.P., Herbert McCabe, O.P., Fergns Kerr, O.P., and Nicholas Lash, together with others in history, philosophy and literature, have led the way into widespread participation in university life. The British Catholic bishops have been quite successful in resisting pressures from Rome in theological education and discipline. And the Tablet (a sort of CHRISTIAN CENTURY with a Catholic complexion) has consistently brought theology into dialogue with contemporary issues in religion and society.

Fifth, the Anglican Church, which has the largest number of theologians and theological students, has seen a shift toward the more evangelical wing. Yet this has not meant a tendency to fundamentalism (as might be assumed by North Americans). A set of vigorous evangelical theological colleges exist, with theological leaders such as Anthony Thiselton, Jeremy Begbie, Elaine Storkey, Colin Buchanan, Christopher Cocksworth and Tina Baxter. But Anglican Catholic theology is showing signs of recovery (Rowan Williams being its leading thinker), and perhaps a majority of practicing Anglican theologians would resist any party label.