Wolfhart Pannenberg's understanding of "public," based on his view of revelation as history, is that everything is potentially a theology. Of course, a public theology of everything is impossible; therefore, Jae Yang develops a Pannenbergian public theology by correlating Pannenberg's theological methods (postfoundational, eschatological, and trinitarian) with the aims and methods of public theology, and second, with Pannenberg's views on various spheres, arguing that Pannenberg's public theology engages not just the academic world, but also the political, economic, familial, religious, and cultural ones. This book argues that Pannenberg is a public theologian because the public purpose of his theology is not to coerce or inject a Christian agenda onto the public (political theology), challenge and subvert unjust structures (liberation theology), or substitute overtly Christian religion with a publicly palatable secular and vaguely religious one (civil religion), but to cooperate and dialogue with the established order under the presumption of a "Christianity outside the church."
Jae Yang is Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Calvin University.
Christianity Outside the Church convincingly argues that Pannenberg's theology is a form of public theology. Approaching public theology from an Asian-American perspective while incorporating critiques of Whiteness and male privilege, Yang seamlessly combines academic rigor and conversational style. This book is a refreshing reading experience and a welcome addition to public theology scholarship. --Esther McIntosh, York St John University The genius and surplus of this tightly argued and lucid discussion is twofold. First, Dr. Yang helps us count the giant German theologian Pannenberg among the leading public theologians in the company of the American Stackhouse and many others. Second, the author buttresses his argument by critiquing and correcting the theological vision of these two White male theologians with the insights from various Asian-American perspectives. This monograph makes a unique contribution to the current enthusiastic embrace of the public sphere by theologians of various persuasions. It is recommended for both the specialists and the students. --Veli-Matti Kaerkkaeinen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary and Docent of Ecumenics, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Theology This book is a significant contribution to the discussion of the formation of public theology, demonstrated through critical and thorough examination of Pannenberg's public theology framed as trinitarian, postfoundational, and eschatological, in conversation with Max Stackhouse. The author's critique of contemporary public theology is particularly helpful: the heavy reliance on the Habermasian approach to the concept of the public sphere, the over-optimistic understanding of society by many public theologians, and the lack of feminist and non-Western theological perspectives. While public theology has been reshaping traditional theology and motivating engagement in the public sphere, it is also in need of strengthening its discourse by interaction with biblical and systematic theology, and this work is just doing that. This book is an important resource for those who wish to go deeper into systematic theology in general and public theology in particular. --Sebastian Kim, Fuller Theological Seminary
