Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 69:1 (Spring 2007)
Article: Theological Vs. Methodological Post Conservatism: Stanley Grenz And Kevin Vanhoozer As Test Cases
Author: Everett Berry

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WTJ 69:1 (Spring 2007) p. 105

Theological Vs. Methodological Post Conservatism: Stanley Grenz And Kevin Vanhoozer As Test Cases

Everett Berry

Everett Berry is Assistant Professor of Theology at The Criswell College in Dallas, Texas.

I. Introduction

Roger Olson has observed rightly that the current post conservative ethos within evangelical thought is by no means monolithic.1 However, his related observation that all of its various expressions appear to move along a trajectory away from fundamentalism and even conservatism remains to be seen.2 While all who adopt the post conservative label have the mutual goal of formulating a theological methodology that responds to the critiques of postmodernity, not all contributors are necessarily doing so at the expense of doctrinal tenets that historically have been intrinsic to post-fundamentalist evangelicalism.

This being the case, at the moment there appears to be an evolving distinction between at least two kinds of post conservative thought, namely theological and methodological. The former approach is marked by attempts to redefine Christian theology in ways that explicitly entail the jettisoning of certain evangelical convictions, while the latter primarily focuses on reformulating several of the previous constructs in which particular evangelical beliefs have been expressed. The question that arises is how this distinction can be seen and supported. One effective way is to compare how various evangelicals use the post-conservative platform in their theological argumentation, and notice the similarities as well as the contrasts.

Two theologians in particular who serve this task well are the late Stanley J. Grenz, former professor of theology and ethics at Carey and Regent Colleges in Vancouver, and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.3 On the one hand, Grenz believed that the edifice of conservative evangelical theology was in jeopardy because many of its doctrinal constructs were encumbered with

WTJ 69:1 (Spring 2007) p. 106

modernistic versions of rationalism and metaphysics, which have been deemed untenable by postmodern thought. On the other hand, Vanhoozer’s present contention is not that conservative evangelical beliefs themselves are the theological infants of modernistic outlooks. Rather, it is certain approaches that have been used to explicate them that reveal relational roots to modernity.

Notice then that regardless of the accuracy of the accusations pertain...

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