The Theology of Robert Jenson

This seminar will introduce students to the thought of Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson, whose work is marked by a peculiar combination of scriptural depth, speculative power, and ecumenical scope. Students will explore Jenson’s major theological and philosophical influences, including his early formation in the school of Bultmann and his decisive encounter with the thought of Karl Barth. Particular attention will be paid to Jenson’s revisionary metaphysics, by which he sought to overcome the “unbaptized god” of Hellenism with the radically temporal God of the gospel. Other topics to be considered are Jenson’s views on the sacraments; his ecumenical engagements, grounded in his “evangelically catholic” understanding of the Reformation; and his late turn toward the figural and allegorical reading of Scripture. The primary text for the course will be Jenson’s two-part Systematic Theology, with occasional forays into his early writings (especially Story and Promise and Visible Words) as well as his commentaries on Ezekiel and the Song of Songs.