Dynamics of Theology

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Dynamics Of Theology by Roger Haight (Jesuit priest and professor of historical and systematic theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a careful, rigorous, scholarly introduction to the mental and spiritual discipline of theology. Chapters discuss the topics of Faith, Revelation, Scripture, Religious Symbols, and Method as related to theology in extensive technical and logical detail. Dynamics Of Theology is a solid core reference for anyone with an interest in seriously studying its subject matter. Also very highly recommended is Professor Haight's previous book Jesus Symbol Of God, which received the Catholic Book Award (First Place, Theology).

I am not a theologian, so I was skeptical that I could get much if anything out of this book. Never heard of Roger Haight, and still don't know anything about him. I took a shot here and there, and amazingly it spoke volumes to me. It invites me to experience God. "Revelation" is no longer a code word of what I must recite blindly to be a union member, but starts to "reveal" something tangible and essential to my life now.Of course there are places I don't understand, and places I question, but it's an enjoyable and hopefully fruitful struggle.Well, don't trust my review--I have not read the whole book yet. I could not find it in any online or brick bookstore. So I rely on handouts from friends. From the appearance of reviews here, people either love it or hate it, so you may want to review it for yourself if you are fortunate enough to get a copy.

This book was my introduction to intelligible Catholic theology, and it remains a foundational text for me (and others) in so many ways. Haight's method is exhaustive, and yes, frustrating if you're looking for quick conclusions or an easy, homiletic read. It's clear that the author cares too deeply about his topic to bypass an exhaustive scholarly method. I've opened this book so many times over the past ten years, my copy is now held together by tape, chewing gum, staples, anything that will keep it in one piece. Each time I return to it I find another gem hidden in the structure Haight carefully articulates. That he speaks to the postmodern mind is true, and I believe, no insult. Fr. Haight desperately desires the symbols of Christian faith to ignite the postmodern imagination. He recovers the "logic," "point," "structure", or deepest meaning within the symbols of Catholic tradition and strives to recast them in intelligible language. All toward the awakening of Christian spirituality and practice. Thank you, Fr. Haight, for cutting no corners, and so honoring predecessors like Rahner, Tillich, Aquinas.An excellent primer for graduate students of theology.

Unlike the reviewer above, I "got it". This is an excellent book on modern, or better yet, postmodern theology.It deals with the fundamentals of theology: Faith, Revelation, Scripture, Religious Symbolism and Theological Method.Haight brings out the faults of the older theological traditions and leads us in the way in which present day theology must go if it is to be of any value.