Principles of Christian Theology, Second Edition
John MacQuarrie
Paperback, 544 pages
SCM Press, 2003
A very readable existentialist, panenthieistic theology. MacQuarrie discusses as lucidly as anyone the concepts of authentic existence, being, transcendence, and the rest of the language of existentialism and dialectical theology. The author’s thinking draws evenly from tradition and continental philosophy, particularly Heidegger. In the first part of the book, really a prolegomena to a systematic theology, he charts a middle way between Bultmann and Barth, interacting with Tillich, Buber, Pannenberg, Niebuhr, and other theologians. The last two parts are a systematic discussion of classic doctrines read symbolically and existentially.
Though revised in 1977, Principles of Christian Theology is still dated and limited to a particular phase of theological discourse. MacQuarrie seems haunted by the specter of positivism, though that tension has long receded to background noise. He is given to considering Freud and Marx over the insights of cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy of mind. He engages in philosophical theology while devaluing analytical philosophy and natural theology, a conceding of ground quite typical of his contemporaries.
