Theology #1

Recently, it has been helpful to me to understand a theologian's work to be taking place at two different but clearly interconnected levels. There is the normative level, where theological statements are tested against the general consensus of viability and there is the formative level where theological statements are tested overagainst the religious foundations of the greater tradition in which one is writing. Most helpful resources at the normative level for me have come from the tradition of process theology and writers such as John B. Cobb, Jr. Metaphorical theological analysis has been most promising for my work at the formative level. In particular for me, Sallie McFague's work has best defined this task. While I have studied process theology for years, I always feel that I am just a beginner. However, just the presence of a theological model that allows me with some integrity to talk of a God acting in the midst of the world give me permission to work at the formative level!