At the top of my list is Duke. Richard Hays and Ellen Davis are leading a strong cohort of biblical scholars toward the recovery of a theological voice in biblical interpretation. Add to that the creative mind of Stanley Hauerwas, the rigorous mind of Reinhard Huetter, the learned mind of Geoffrey Wainwright, and the outspoken voice of David Steinmetz, as well as some excellent younger faculty (Amy Laura Hall, Warren Smith, Steve Chapman, and others), and you have a program firing on all cylinders. Three cheers for the Dean, Gregory Jones. He has done wonders in bucking the trends toward the banality and post-Christian distraction that afflict other mainline institutions. It isnâ??t perfect, but itâ??s as good as we have now in the United States.
In the No. 2 spot, I put Notre Dameâ??s Department of Theology. Itâ??s not firing on all cylinders. The biblical scholars pretty much follow the tired old distinction between â??what it meant for themâ?? and â??what it means for us.â?? This guarantees their marginal relevance to the study of theology. Most of the systematic theologians are still living in the 1970s and 1980s. But this is a huge department with some great people. Notre Dame is the best place to study the Church Fathers (Brian Daley, John Cavadini, Robin Darling Young). Gary Anderson and Cyril Oâ??Regan are first-rate Christian intellectuals capable of inspiring a wide range of doctoral students toward genuine vocations in theology rather than careers of expertise. Jean Porter and Jennifer Herdt have creative things to say in moral theology. Itâ??s a strong program, and it is getting better every year.
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Ephraim Radnerâ??s extraordinary book The End of the Church is the most creative, erudite, and important book of historical theology since Henri de Lubacâ??s Surnaturel. David Hartâ??s The Beauty of the Infinite is a bold (and to my mind brilliantly successful) theological campaign that carries the fight for truth into the deepest reaches of our sad, failing, postmodern academic culture.
These two remarkable theological minds are not just in less-than-ideal places for an aspiring, adventuresome graduate student interested in serious theology in the service of the Church, as is the case with Marshall. Radner and Hart are totally inaccessible. Radner is a parish priest in an Episcopal church in Pueblo, Colorado. Hart has a temporary, one-year appointment at Providence College. For all intents and purposes, both have been excluded from academia. It is a sign of the times. The United States, a wealthy country with vibrant churches, has only two graduate programs in theology that get even a relatively strong thumbs up.
R. R. Reno at First Things
Reno’s is an apocalyptically short list. But, even taking into account the relative sizes of the US and UK, the UK list would be shorter still. Since Reno is asking about theology faculties as a team, with a team ethos, it is a very good question whether we could come up with a list for the UK at all. So I will be trying to bring to your attention whatever good work I can find in the UK, and, more of a challenge, in London.
And on a related subject see Jason Byassee’s Going Catholic: Six journeys to Rome (the six include Reinhard Hütter, Bruce Marshall, Russell Reno and our very own Douglas Farrow).
