Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy (AAR Reading Religion Book Review)
Matthew Beal, doctoral student in Practical Theology at BUSTH, recently reviewed Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, edited by Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, and Sarah Azaransky. Please see the beginning of Beal’s review below and visit the Reading Religion website for the full review.
Reading Religion (RR) is an open book review website published by the American Academy of Religion (AAR). The site provides up-to-date coverage of scholarly publishing in religious studies, reviewed by scholars with special interest and/or expertise in the relevant subfields.
Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, edited by Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, and Sarah Azaransky
Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy is the fruit of a two-year collaboration of the Project on Lived Theology [PLT], exploring issues related to two governing questions: the first asks “how might theologians engage the lived experience of Christian persons and communities with the same care and precision given to reading and interpreting texts?” and the second asks, “How might storied accounts of life with God inform the methodology, style, and teaching of Christian theology, and in turn illuminate a new model for bridging the widely lamented and discussed division between the academy and the congregations?” (vii). Charles Marsh’s Introduction then orients the reader to the idea of “lived theology.” It is a path of inquiry that addresses the disconnect between the academic study of theology and the ambiguous and chaotic world of lived experience—the theory-practice gap. Lived theology views practices as communicative, meaning that they permit discernment of theological truth concerning God’s presence and activity (6-7). Follow this link to read more of Beal’s review of Lived Theology.