Reading Update

So with the end of a term so comes the changing of my reading.  This term for Missiology I was assigned David Bosch's Transforming Mission which I thought was an absolutely glorious book.  Sadly, I didn't get a chance to finish it during the term and while I was in Mississippi I read a good chunk of it but still failed to finish it.  So that's still on my currently reading list.  One book I did finish was Stanley Grenz's A Primer on Postmodernism which I found to be an excellent introduction to postmodern thought.  Perhaps most helpful is that Grenz doesn't presuppose that all postmodern thinkers are in agreement, and does a good job showing where those differences.  I also started reading another book by Grenz, Rediscovering the Triune God where he looks at the major developments in Trinitarian thought during the 20th Century, survey thinkers such as Barth, Rahner, Moltmann, Pannenberg, Jenson, Torrance, and others.  I've only read the sections on Barth, Rahner, and Moltmann but so far its been a really helpful book.  It has also piqued my interest in Jurgen Moltmann and has me even more interested that I am auditing the Trinity class here next term, where we'll be reading The Crucified God and Theology of Hope.  Finally, in my on-going reading I am slowly making my way through Barth's Church Dogmatics 1.1, Doctrine of the Word of God, where he does his Trinitarian exposition.  His "Doctrine of God" is contained in volumes 2.1 and 2.2, but he develops the unity of God emphasizes in 2.1 and 2.2 from the exposition of the Trinity in 1.1.  

As a side note, what has been helpful about Grenz's book on the Trinity was his critique of Barth.  Unlike my teacher (Barth) I tend to emphasize God's threeness over God's oneness (see my posts on plural pronouns for God), especially given my context in the United States where the word "God" is a loaded cultural term.  I think we're better off talking about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and using phrases such as "Triune God" instead of just "God".  That being said, I have a lot to learn from Barth's exposition of the Trinity and the Doctrine of God.  

Looking ahead to next term my reading will be of top-caliber.  I'm taking Theology and Pastoral Care with Dr. Andrew Purves, which will be my 6th full class with him.  He's basically teaching his most recent book, but having us read the sources that influenced his thinking.  Included on that list are the following: Calvin, Athanasius, Moltmann, McLoed Campbell, Torrance (James), and Milligan.  Needless to say, it’s a pretty impressive list.  For Church and Society: Local (which would be more aptly named Theology from the African-American Context) we're reading a number of books that I've never read, and probably wouldn't if I didn't have to take this class and that is the good part of this class.  I'm auditing Doctrine of the Trinity, which will be an introduction to the Trinity through Moltmann.  Finally, I'll have my last term reading Alister McGrath's Scientific Theology vol. 3, Theory.  All in all, it'll be a good term of reading.