Interdisciplinary theology

Interdisciplinary dialogue is important in theology. But the point of such dialogue is not simply to become an intellectual jack-of-all-trades. Rather, the presupposition of interdisciplinary dialogue is always that one has first of all mastered one’s own field. Thus I think Gerhard Ebeling is right when he makes this humorous observation:

“In general one could only wish that theologians were better masters of their craft, instead of hankering after things that seem more interesting to them, with the consequence that they have a dilettante knowledge of everything, including theology.”

—Gerhard Ebeling, Introduction to a Theological Theory of Language (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973), p. 206.