Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God Horror Book Review

From the author’s introduction:  Since the middle of the twentieth century there has been a renaissance of new insights into God in the Christian tradition. On different continents, under pressure from historical events and social conditions, people of faith have glimpsed the living God in fresh ways. It is not that a wholly different God is discovered from the One believed in by previous generations. Christian faith does not believe in a new God but, finding itself in new situations, seeks the presence of God there. Aspects long-forgotten are brought into new relationships with current events, and the depths of divine compassion are appreciated in ways not previously imagined.

  This book further explores these discoveries. After the first chapter describes Elizabeth Johnson’s point of departure and the rules of engagement, each succeeding chapter distills a discrete idea of God. Featured are transcendental, political, liberation, feminist, black, hispanic, interreligious, and ecological theologies, ending with the particular Christian idea of the one God as Trinity. The aim of the book is to increase the light of theological knowledge, “ever ancient, ever new,” among a wide circle of people, including students, pastoral ministers, and everyone who questions, wonders, or thinks about their faith.