The winner: T. F. Torrance

My “greatest living theologian” poll seemed to attract more comments than votes. But although only 37 people voted, a clear winner emerged: T. F. Torrance, the only English-language theologian on the list, who claimed 35% of the votes. In second place was Jürgen Moltmann (27%), followed by Wolfhart Pannenberg (22%), and then Hans Küng (8%) and Eberhard Jüngel (8%).

What the hell?

Over at Connexions, there is a provocative list of Ten Propositions on Hell, supported by quotes from Dante, Milton, Barth and Balthasar. The Balthasar quote is one that I have often pondered: “I can speak of hell only in relation to myself, precisely because I can never imagine the possible damnation of another as more likely than my own.”

God knows

God knows it’s fragile,
God knows everything,
God knows it could snap apart right now
Just like putting scissors to a string.

—Bob Dylan, “God Knows” (1990)

God's new man: John Paul II and Benedict XVI

I have just put down Paul Collins’ new book, God’s New Man: The Election of Benedict XVI and the Legacy of John Paul II (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2005). It’s a very readable and engaging narrative about John Paul II and the rise of Ratzinger, and it also contains a good deal of informed theological discussion. I was especially interested in the account of Ratzinger’s development in the 60s and 70s, and in the comments on his theological relationship to contemporaries like John Paul II, Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Hans Küng, and the liberation theologians.

If you’re interested in the new pope’s biographical and theological background, then this book is well worth checking out.

Moltmann's theological method

“For me, theology was, and still is, an adventure of ideas. It is an open inviting path. Right down to the present day, it has continued to fascinate my mental and spiritual curiosity. My methods therefore grew up as I came to have a perception of the objects of theological thought. The road emerged only as I walked it.”

—Jürgen Moltmann, Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000), p. xv.

Who is the greatest living theologian?

I’ve just added a new poll to the sidebar—have your say!