Yale Divinity SchoolMissionary to postmodernity George Sumner January 18, 2018 Commentary George Arthur Lindbeck 1923-2018George Arthur Lindbeck — Lutheran ecumenist, medievalist, and Pitkin Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School — died Jan. 8. He was 94. In the days ahead, Covenant will publish tributes to Professor Lindbeck by leaders who studied with him and others influenced by his thinking. How to describe George Lindbeck’s perspective in brief? This is a difficult question about a mind so supple and original. I once heard him describe himself as a Wittgensteinian Thomist Lutheran. But there is another side of George I would like to highlight: the child of pietist Augustana Lutheran missionaries in northern China. Though not often on view, it was always down there. He once mentioned an early memory of his father ministering to the sick late at night in a makeshift cholera ward. He also spoke of being evacuated at the outset of World War II and sailing back to the United States from Hong Kong while “the world seemed on fire.” I might add that his early days in China included prowess as a high school ping-pong player on the national team. Whatever else postliberalism is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age. That is what George was and what he wanted to promote. Furthermore, it was a deeply missionary-influenced theory. He once said that he grew up in a non-Christian milieu in which the reality of the spiritual world was not in question, within which the mission station was a distinct cultural-linguistic world. Advertisement George was, like all great minds, ahead of his time. His call for a Church Catholic in thought but more sect-like in sociology was prescient. The root metaphor of doctrine as grammar oriented the research projects of many of us, and more widely the way people think about the Church’s mission in postmodernity. We who are his theological children offer our deepest gratitude and thanksgiving to God for George’s life and ministry. 8 Responses George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology, Dies at 94 - Urban Christian News January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology, Dies at 94 | BCNN1 - Black Christian News Network January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – The Reformed Post January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – Charles Milander January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply Postliberal Theologian George Lindbeck Dies at 94 January 24, 2018 […] Sumner, writing of Lindbeck’s death for The Covenant described postliberalism this […] Reply Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – God and His Covenants January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – United Church Energy Fund January 25, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply Teolog Pasca-liberalisme telah berpulang, tinggalkan warisan kerja teologi dan praktek iman | Yubelium January 29, 2018 […] atau yang secara sederhana adalah Kristen (mere Christian) di zaman kita,” demikian tanggapan Uskup Dallas Gereja Episkopal, George Sumner. “Ini yang diharapkan [almarhum] dan apa yang ingin ia sumbangkan. Lebih jauh lagi, […] Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology, Dies at 94 - Urban Christian News January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply
George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology, Dies at 94 | BCNN1 - Black Christian News Network January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply
Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – The Reformed Post January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply
Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – Charles Milander January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply
Postliberal Theologian George Lindbeck Dies at 94 January 24, 2018 […] Sumner, writing of Lindbeck’s death for The Covenant described postliberalism this […] Reply
Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – God and His Covenants January 24, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what […] Reply
Died: George Lindbeck, Father of Postliberal Theology – United Church Energy Fund January 25, 2018 […] is, it was meant to be an apologetic help to be a credal or mere Christian in our age,” wrote George Sumner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. “That is what George was and what he […] Reply
Teolog Pasca-liberalisme telah berpulang, tinggalkan warisan kerja teologi dan praktek iman | Yubelium January 29, 2018 […] atau yang secara sederhana adalah Kristen (mere Christian) di zaman kita,” demikian tanggapan Uskup Dallas Gereja Episkopal, George Sumner. “Ini yang diharapkan [almarhum] dan apa yang ingin ia sumbangkan. Lebih jauh lagi, […] Reply