Thiselton’s amazing theology Dictionary
The SPCK Dictionary of Theology and Hermeneutics Anthony C Thiselton SPCK, pb, £40.00
Some years ago Anthony Thiselton produced A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion that proved to be a valuable resource to anyone interested in the subject. Now he has written a new dictionary, devoted to theology and hermeneutics, that will prove to be an immensely useful companion to anyone interested in theology. The book has been written entirely by Thiselton himself. It runs to over 850 pages, there are no collaborators and the range is amazing.
Other comparable books such as The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought and The Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology were produced by a number of contributors, many experts on the topics they wrote about. There are obvious advantages in this approach but reading Thiselton it becomes apparent that there are also advantages in seeing how one very well read and thoughtful theologian surveys the whole field. In the very best sense of the word this is a personal work that conveys a good deal about its author.
There are, for example, some personal touches as when Thiselton pays tribute to the way Rowan Williams chaired the Crown Nominations Committee or tells of a time at an Anglo-American seminar when Oliver O’Donovan reminded those present ‘We are not citizens but subjects of a Queen’.
Thiselton’s comments often betray his own point of view but the tone is never strident and the arguments fair. Writing of Rahner, for example, he finds his treatment of the Marian doctrines a ‘genuine puzzle’. While critical of what some Pentecostal theologians have said about baptism in the Spirit and speaking in tongues, Thiselton righty pays tribute to the growth of Pentecostal scholarship and the insights it has to offer.
Two theologians who receive a good deal of attention are Hans Kung and Wolfhart Pannenberg. As Thiselton points out, Pannenberg actually receives 2,000 words more than Karl Barth. This obviously reflects the author’s own interest but given the fact that no obituaries of Pannenberg appeared in the British press there is something to be said for underlining his importance. The summaries offered of the major works of Pannenberg and Kung (as well of a number of other major theologians) are excellent guides.
Neither the Oxford Companion nor the Cambridge Dictionary have entries on this scale and the Cambridge work does not cover living theologians.
Most of the entries are quite short but there are a number of longer entries on important subjects that almost constitute short books in their own right. The entries on Christology and the Holy Spirit are both very good; that on God is perhaps less useful and a little disappointing in its coverage of the Trinity. More attention could have been given to Lewis Ayres and other critics of the social model of the Trinity.
But the Christology section devoted to the Ministry of Jesus shows a commanding grasp of the secondary literature and an ability to form balanced conclusions on such issues as Jesus’ use of ‘Abba’ in addressing the Father or the nature of the Resurrection as ‘transformation’ rather than ‘resuscitation.
Given the large number of books Thiselton has already published it is not surprising that he draws on previous work. Modestly he rarely cites himself in the text but discerning readers of the entry on Postmodernism will probably want to read a book Thiselton wrote on the topic. Rightly he criticises the disguised pragmatism of American postmodernism and warns that a sinister authoritarianism can step into the breach when the search for truth is abandoned.
Inevitably there are surprising omissions. Austin Farrer was once called ‘the greatest Anglican mind of the 20th century’ by Rowan Williams but he does not appear in this new work or in the earlier Encyclopedia. I did not even find him quoted. John Macquarrie is quoted on a number of occasions but, unlike Ian Ramsey, receives no entry of his own. The same is true of Donald MacKinnon although he is mentioned in the entry on Rowan Williams (it would be hard to overlook him there).
Sometimes failure to examine a major theologian influences the treatment of a particular topic. Lancelot Andrewes does not figure so it is not surprising Thiselton thinks that until the Tractarian movement Anglican Eucharistic theology was close to that of Calvin. Andrewes defended the real presence and the use of such terms as ‘sacrifice’ and ‘altar’ in controversy with Cardinal Bellarmine. King James, an admirer, worried his views were too Catholic to risk sending him to the Synod of Dort.
I could go on offering criticism. Inevitably there are mistakes (Marcus Borg ended his life an Anglican, not a Lutheran) but my main response after reading this book was one of gratitude. Thiselton has written a book I shall return to over and over again for information, stimulation, and careful, balanced conclusions on both theologians and on issues in theology.