Making Anglican Theology Anglican: A Faculty Book Celebration
On Thursday, April 13, at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, CDSP will celebrate the publication of Dr. Scott MacDougall’s new book, The Shape of Anglican Theology: Faith Seeking Wisdom, at an event that can be attended either in person or by livestream.
Dr. MacDougall, associate professor of theology, will discuss the themes and content of his book with the Rev. Ellen K. Wondra, PhD, research professor emerita of theology and ethics at the Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation.
Wondra, formerly a longtime editor in chief of the Anglican Theological Review, is also co-author with Owen Thomas of Introduction to Theology, a classic theological textbook now in its third edition and the only one written specifically for Episcopal seminarians. Wondra is a noted ecumenist who is currently a member of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission.
Dr. Wondra and Professor MacDougall will begin the event with a conversation about the resources that the Anglican theological imagination provides for the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion—both as they are coming into being now and will continue to emerge in the decades ahead. The session will then be open for questions from the in-person and online audiences.
Those wishing to attend the gathering in Berkeley are warmly invited to join us at 7:45 p.m. for dessert and coffee preceding the conversation, which will take place in the Tucson Common Room at CDSP. We will begin promptly at 8 p.m. No RSVP is required.
Those joining online can participate via Zoom at bit.ly/cdsp-sat. A recording of the event will be available afterward.
About the Book
There are numerous works that offer a historical account of Anglican theology or that detail the lives and writings of particular Anglican theologians. Books that focus on the nature and character of Anglican theology itself, however, are hard to find. MacDougall’s volume, enthusiastically endorsed by distinguished Anglican theologians Sarah Coakley, David Ford, Mike Higton, and Kathryn Tanner, fills that gap.
In The Shape of Anglican Theology, he examines what it is that makes Anglican theology Anglican. Beginning with a treatment of the ways in which Anglican theology is and is not distinct from other types of Christian theology, he describes the theological features that mark the general boundaries of Anglican theologizing before turning to consider a set of eight interconnected characteristics that provide Anglican theology with its distinctive profile.
MacDougall argues that, by setting its boundaries as widely as possible and requiring subscription to specific theological propositions as little as possible, Anglican theology is in essence a wisdom theology that seeks to build the capacity for faithful Christian discernment in belief and practice.
