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On the evangelical side I enjoyed the articles by McGrath (doctrinal truth), Freeman (spiritual exegesis), and Knight (religious affections with emphasis on Edwards and Wesley). With respect to the postliberals I found the following aspects interesting. Hensley explains that Lindbeck can be read as a metaphysical realist and also makes clear his nuanced view of truth. Kenneson argues that postliberalism is not fideistic or relativistic but has the means for rational testing and change through ad hoc apologetics. Hunsinger explains Hans Frei's ad hoc minimalism in regards to Jesus' historicity in the Gospels. Finally, Lindbeck urges a return to classical hermeneutics with a priority on practice and uses the doctrine of the atonement as an example. Despite the recurrence of discussions on foundationalism, this book is very informative and entertaining. I find it telling that at the end Lindbeck states that if the postliberal research plan has any hope of surviving that it will probably do so under the guidance of Evangelicals.
Postliberals reject inerrancy, a correspondence theory of truth, and the concept of propositional revelation. Largely dependent upon the writings of Karl Barth, its founders (Frei and Lindbeck) stress the narrative quality of the Biblical account and (borrowing from Wittgenstein) describe the church as a language game where doctrines function as grammatical rules.
Because of their dependence on the cultural-linguistic model of theology, they tend to be anti-realist in their metaphysics. The Bible is a narrative that serves as a way to organize, relate to, and explain an otherwise inchoate reality.
Postliberals are antifoundationalist and therefore see systematic apologetics as a misguided task. They prefer an 'ad hoc' apologetic, not bound by an adherence to method, but engaging in a dialogue with the unbeliever. They stress the internal coherence of the Biblical narrative, and the need for theology to be done within the believing community.
The essays are uneven in quality, frustratingly repetitious at times, but generally well-written and helpful. The best of the bunch are Hensley on Postliberalism and Antirealism, Clapp on Evangelicalism and Foundationalism, and Kenneson on Postliberal Theology and the Possibility of Change.
Some of the postliberals who contribute essays display their appalling ignorance of evangelicalism. For example, George Hunsinger criticizes Carl Henry for depending too heavily on historiography for verification of the Bible, a charge that anyone who has read even one of Henry's apologetic works must find astonishingly mistaken.
Gregory Clark, in a piece on worldviews, accuses evangelicals of relying too heavily on philosophy and of treating conversion as a simple paradigm shift. He apparently doesn't realize that the concept of worldview, as evangelicals use it, is roughly equivalent to the postliberal notion of cultural-linguistic framework. Evangelicals don't portray a worldview change as a conversion, but as a result of conversion.
The misunderstanding is not limited to the postlibs, though. David Clark displays his failure to grasp the nature of postfoundationalism in his essay entitled "Relativism, Fideism, and the Promise of Postliberalism."
He wants to reject the classical foundationalist view that knowledge must be founded upon self-evident or incorrigible beliefs, but at the same time to hold that there is a rational way to determine the truth of an ultimate verificational criterion. The 'modest foundationalism' he champions is a foundationalism in name only. I think it is only fideism that has not yet become self-conscious.
Overall, though, The Nature of Confession contains many thought-provoking articles and serves its readers well in identifying the similarities and differences between evangelicals and postliberalism.
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As is often the case with this series, the book suffers from poor editing. All of the essays are worth reading, but they generally don't deal with the alleged topic of the book. For example, Prof. Hick tells us that he believes in universal salvation and that he has written a book arguing for this position, but he doesn't give his reasons in the essay. Prof. McGrath touches on the issue, but not in any great detail. Prof. Pinnock deals with the topic in a limited manner. It is only Profs. Geivett & Philips who actually go into the question in some detail. They provide an exegesis of Acts 4:12 and some other passages. However, none of the other contributors responds with any detailed exegesis. What is often seen as the key passage concerning the salvation of non-believers -- Romans 2 -- is only mentioned in passing. So, this book is really a discussion of religious pluralism, not salvation.
In spite of my criticism, I think this book is helpful to anyone who wants a background on the general issue of religious pluralism. If you are looking for a discussion of evangelical views of the salvation of non-believers, then this isn't the place to look.
Without a good understanding of the meaning of salvation, it is hard to be confident about who it may or may not apply to. However, the WHO question seems to be of more concern than the WHAT, WHY and HOW questions to most people interested in questions of salvation.