Review
Global
Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church
Edited by William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti
Kärkkäinen
Reviewed By Rev. William W. Ki, D. Min.
Published in Global Missiology, Review & Preview,
April 2009,
I believe in gaining access to more
tools and resources for the servant leaders of the global church. Considering the
subtitle, the Global Dictionary of
Theology seems to be a welcomed addition to one��s library.
William A. Dyrness is a professor of
theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and was formerly a
missionary to
This five-year project is a
compilation of 250 articles from over 100 international contributors. Extensive cross-references and bibliography can
be found at the end of each article. The volume concludes with indexes
categorized by Scripture, persons, subjects,
and articles.
According
to the editors, this dictionary is ��to provide a general overview of
theological reflection and practice throughout the world,�� with seminary professors and students, missionaries, pastors, and lay
church leaders comprising its target audience. The stated working framework is ��evangelical
and ecumenical,�� but it does not suggest ��a single methodology or particular
theological slant.�� Features of the book are threefold. (1) There is no entry of individual theologians.
(2) Instead of having many shorter entries, they reserved the space for longer
entries, many of which are parallel to journal articles. (3) The longer entries
are usually coauthored by two or more theologians from various locations and
traditions.
A common but significant editorial problem
in dictionaries of theology is the balance between breadth and depth. The selection
and length of articles reflect editorial intent. While this book seems to favor
depth over breadth, the average article is no more than four pages.
As expected of a dictionary of
theology, it contains traditional topics like, ��revelation and Scripture��, ��doctrine of God,�� ��justification,�� ��theodicy,��
and ��eschatology.�� Sub-divisions within
major topics such as African Theology and
Latin American Theology are given
their own entries. The longest article, topping 20 pages, is ��Christology.�� ��Trinity�� occupies 14
pages and ��theology of missions,�� 13. ��Ecclesiology,��
��salvation,�� ��Hinduism,�� ��poverty,�� ��pneumatology,�� ��sin,��
��social ethics,�� and ��theological method��
each takes up at least 10 pages.
There are atypical theological articles
as well, including ��theology of the city,��
��Anabaptist theology,�� ��black theology,�� ��narrative theology,�� ��postcolonial theology,��
��postliberal theology,�� ��Caribbean theology,�� and
��mujerista theology.��
Other unusual entries include ��land,�� ��space,��
��time,�� ��discipleship,�� ��face,�� ��shame,�� ��animal rights,�� ��green theology,�� and ��preferential option for the poor.��
Theology can essentially be studied
from three perspectives: theme, time and space. Theme falls under the realm of
systematic and biblical theology. Historical theology traces the development of
theology through time. The spatial aspect is the variation of theology in
geographical locations. The emphases of Global
Dictionary of Theology are local theologies and social issues of the
contemporary world.
I find it strange to see entries of two
books: ��The Divine Comedy�� and ��Imitation of Christ,�� as well as an article
for ��Our Lady of Guadalupe.�� Among
the extensive subjects of theology, these relatively small entries appear out
of place. Similarly, Ordo Salutis (Order
of Salvation) was, for some reason, chosen to be a separate entry, among
numerous sub-topics of soteriology.
The
editors state that ��Christianity is moving from the Global North (Europe and
North America) to the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America)�� (p. ix).
Conspicuously confusing in this broad description is
Clark Pinnock
wrote a one-page article on ��Open Theism.��
I was disappointed at the lack of a counterpoint to complement the discussion
of such a contemporary and crucial subject.
In terms of the challenges and limitations of the project,
the editors said,
A
further challenge that was in some ways surprising was the number of scholars
from the Global South who tended to do theology in the manner of their Northern
teachers. Occasionally, entries drafted by theologians from Asia, Africa and
Latin America did not differ significantly from entries that would have been
written by their European or North American counterparts (p. xi).
The editors attribute this limitation to the ��long history of
Euro-American theological traditions and the unequal distribution of resources
in publications and theological education.��
However, I would challenge such
presuppositions. It is quite plausible that for certain theological topics,
there are few variations among all theologians, regardless of their location. May
be theology around the world do not differ that much after all!
Global Dictionary of Theology takes bold and successful efforts, assuming the risk of publishing
authors who are ��newly minted PhDs and younger scholars in the beginning stages
of their career. The multiple-author approach in many articles and their
conversational dialogs are refreshingly effective.
The
One drawback of GDT may be that it
attempts and assumes too much. Treatment of systematic and historical
theologies is insufficient, giving way to contemporary and global theology
issues. As mentioned above, the emphases and praxes of theology differ
geographically, but the core doctrines do not. One can find the universal
truths in the traditional theological themes in this dictionary. If stripped of
everything but the local theologies and current social issues, GDT could be titled
Global Dialog of Theology.
The GDT would best be supplemented with
other similar references: New Dictionary
of Theology (Sinclair B. Ferguson, David F. Wright and J. I. Packer, eds.),
and Dictionary of Mission Theology:
Evangelical Foundations (John Corrie, ed.), both of which are also
published by InterVarsity, and Walter Ewell��s
time-tested Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology, published by Baker.