Introduction:Process Thought and New Testament Exegesis

Abstract

Thus far few effective contacts have been made between recent process thought and New Testament studies. Work on one side seems little affected by work on the other. Partly responsible for this alienation, which is indicative of the relationship between contemporary theology and biblical studies in general, is the direction that biblical studies took under the leadership of Rudolf Bultmann, for whom empirical and socio-historical concerns were not germane to faith. Equally responsible is the direction that process theology took under the influence of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Harshorne, who saw their task less as the explication of specifically Christian tradition and experience, and more as the elucidation of the general features of reality. Recently a body of literature in Old and New Testament studies that attempt to bridge this gap has been developed. Whatever importance the interaction between biblical studies and process thought may be for biblical scholarship, it is vital for process theology. John B. Cobb, Jr. is Ingraham Professor of Theology at the School of Theology at Claremont, Avery Professor of Religion at the Claremont Graduate School, and Director of the Center for Process Studies. He has published books and articles on various aspects of process theology, including Christ in a Pluralistic Age (The Westminster Press, 1975) and Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition, coauthored with David R. Griffin (The Westminster Press, 1976).