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Dr. Marion S. Grau
Associate Professor of Theology

Double M.A. equiv., Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen
Ph.D., Drew University

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Download Marion's Curriculum Vitae (PDF, 93kb)

"What might the task of theology be today? Our challenge will be to negotiate the wisdom and the follies of our histories in our present space and time as we develop well-grounded, yet flexible and relevant theologies. Moving both within and beyond the orthodoxies of the past, these theologies are incarnate and articulate diverse contexts. They embody a witness of faith, hope and justice in church contexts on and beyond the Pacific Rim on the edge of a new millennium."

Tentative Course Descriptions for 2009-2011

Constructive Theology I and II   These core theological classes lay the groundwork for the integration of theology, ethics, and spirituality by establishing a resolute grounding in the classical systematic theological loci. Students will be aided in thinking theologically about God’s action in the created world, the status of humanity and other beings and how humans have perceived, encountered and interpreted God throughout time and place. The encounter with many forms of theological thinking up to the present informs robust and adaptable theologies that are deeply incarnate and integrate thought and practice, scripture, tradition, reason and experience. This will inform teaching, proclamation, and worship for how we live in social, political, ecclesial structures.

Theological Methodology  How do we talk about God, the divine, the sacred, and how can such a discourse remain responsive to the signs of the times as well as responsible to how it forms and impacts communities? We will read a variety of texts on the method of doing theology, the role played by biblical texts, philosophy, historical theories, cultural studies, anthropology, etc. in the articulation of theology.

Soteriology  We will examine a variety of traditional metaphors for salvation, redemption, healing and their contemporary renderings and reconstructions. What do we mean when we talk about saving, being saved, God’s salvific power becoming manifest in time and place? Texts come from patristic times, by way of medieval revisions to modern and feminist critiques and reengagements of the rich methaphors we have inherited.

Selected Publications

"Boniface: Apostle to the Germans," in: Empire and the Christian Tradition, Kwok, Pui-Lan, Joerg, Rieger and Don Compier, eds. Fortress Press, 2007.

"Caribou and Carbon Colonialism: Notes on a Theology of Arctic Place," in: Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth, Laurel Kerns and Catherine Keller, eds. Fordham University Press, 2007.

Interpreting the Postmodern: Responses to Radical Orthodoxy, co-edited with Rosemary Radford Ruether, T&T Clark International/Continuum, 2006.

Of Divine Economy: Refinancing Redemption, T&T Clark International/Continuum, 2004.

“Divine Commerce: A Post-Colonial Christology for Times of Neo-Colonial Empire,” in Postcolonial Theologies: Divinity and Empire, Keller, Nausner, and Rivera, eds., Chalice Press, 2004.

“Business as Un-Usual: Reconstructing Divine Economy,” in Strike Terror No More: Theology, Ethics, and the New War, Jon Berquist, ed., Chalice Press, 2002.

“Erasing Economy: Derrida and the Construction of Divine Economies,” in Crosscurrents, Fall 2002, 360-370.