Revitalizing Theological Epistemology: Holistic Evangelical Approaches to the Knowledge of God. By STEVEN B. SHERMAN.

Abstract

Increasing engagement with the wider range of ideas in the academic arena has been a noticeable trend among evangelical theologians. This is nothing new and has taken place across the range of academic disciplines for most of the latter half of the twentieth century, although it seems to have taken particularly evident shape in the area of epistemology. In this work, Steven B. Sherman, currently part of Regent University’s Religion and Philosophy teaching faculty, offers a helpful overview of a recent trend in evangelical theological epistemology. The book begins by defining post-conservative evangelical theology with its key features (pp. 10–13) and proponents, who include the usual suspects (Olson, Pinnock, Grenz, Franke, etc.), along with quite a few others (p. 14) who may or may not like the label themselves. Chapter 2 gives attention to ‘postconservative pioneer’ Clark Pinnock, providing a fascinating sketch of the developments of his doctrines of Scripture, Christology, and Pneumatology, showing how these bear on his epistemology. The remaining half of the chapter then focuses on his supposed theological successors and their epistemological emphases, beginning to highlight those who have shown disdain for a kind of Cartesian indubitable certainty that they noticed as part of their earlier evangelical heritage.