Abstract
In Constructing Constructive Theology, Jason Wyman lands a distinctive contribution to the study of theology as he achieves the proposed goal of sketching the contours of a growing methodology in the field. Indeed, constructive theology (in distinction from systematic, but also in relation to dogmatic, liberal, and liberation) has become an identifiable prefix for theological work. Much employed but little defined, constructive theology is a designation many theologians embrace, so it is in our interest to understand it better. By tracing the history of the use of this term and the methodology it conveys, Wyman helps us to see that this is no mere passing moniker but a sustained way of doing theology that is first identifiable in the very early twentieth century (1902) and has grown to a substantive approach to the discipline.
After an introductory chapter naming the contours of the question, Wyman embarks on a historical narrative that grounds the method in its first use as a response to biblical criticism and scientific reasoning in the work of James Ten Broeke and Bernard Eugene Meland (chapter 1). These proto-constructive theologians are followed by a sustained look at what Wyman proposes is the center of this multi-institutional movement: The Workgroup on Constructive Theology housed primarily at Vanderbilt University since its founding in 1975. In chapter 2 and the subsequent chapters 3 and 4, Wyman builds his case about what constitutes “constructive theology” as a distinctive method by introducing his reader to a wide range of leading theologians who have adopted the method and self-identify with it.
Having earned his PhD at an institution that is home to many significant constructive theologians (Union Theological Seminary in New York City), Wyman, a member of the Workgroup’s most recent iteration, is in a good position to convey the movement’s creativity and purpose. Wyman is clearly capable in his conveyance of the importance of these many figures and their methods (including but not limited to Gordon Kaufman, Sallie McFague, Peter Hodgson, Edward Farley, David Tracy, Paul Lakeland, Serene Jones, Stephen Ray, Laurel Schneider, Catherine Keller, Kathryn Tanner, Dwight Hopkins, James Evans, Jr., Rebecca Chopp, Mark Lewis Taylor, Joerg Rieger, and others). The sheer number of figures under consideration, however, runs the risk of losing the center in the details. And at times the investigation veers toward so much specificity on too many individual thinkers that the reader may lose sight of the coherence among them. Yet, this may be as much a feature of the discipline as it is Wyman’s attempt to capture it. That is, his argument is that the field is disparate and emerging from many distinct locations and idiosyncratic expressions but nevertheless exhibits shared characteristics which, when taken together, do indicate the emergence of an identifiable method that is “constructive.” Distinguishing it from other movements in modern theology, Wyman is simultaneously providing a broader narrative of the field of theology as a whole, as well as offering a method worth consideration.
The qualities Wyman successfully teases out from this disparate and developing movement do indeed provide an instructive description of what makes this method unique. In contrast to a dogmatic defense of pre-given truths, constructive indicates the humanly creative project of all theological thinking. Resisting systematic theology’s striving toward closed coherence, constructive embraces an open-endedness that recognizes its own moment in time. Constructive theology distinguishes itself from its liberal cousins by remaining critical of the failures of the tradition itself, historically concerned about the ways in which theologies informed by the Enlightenment have reproduced injustice in the pursuit of progress. While sharing qualities drawn from liberation theology, the constructivist’s activist stance and commitment to justice are combined with other features that resist the conflation of these two related methods. Filling out with other features, Wyman helps us to see constructive theology as an open-ended endeavor that embraces human creativity as the heart of theology. It is interdisciplinary (and accountable to the insights of other fields like philosophy, political science, and postcolonial and critical theory) and recognizes plurality as a strength even as it orients itself toward Christian communities as potential sites for renewed action on behalf of justice. Arriving at Wyman’s summary chapter (chapter 5), which presents in a concise way the contours of this field, the reader is convinced of its coherence and grateful for the efforts in representing it.
Overall, Constructing Constructive Theology is a welcome addition both as reference work and roadmap for a theological future, recommended for all who are engaged in the graduate study of theology.