Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.

From the publisher:

Kärkkäinen’s Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World is a five-volume project that aims to develop a new approach to and method of doing Christian theology in our pluralistic world at the beginning of the third millennium. Topics such as diversity, inclusivity, violence, power, cultural hybridity, and justice are part of the constructive theological discussion along with classical topics such as the messianic consciousness, incarnation, atonement, and the person of Christ.

With the metaphor of hospitality serving as the framework for his discussion, Kärkkäinen engages Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism in sympathetic and critical mutual dialogue while remaining robustly Christian in his convictions. Never before has a full-scale doctrinal theology been attempted in such a wide and deep dialogical mode.

From the Winter 2016 issue
Volume 1: Christ and Reconciliation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christ and Reconciliation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World series, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013), 467 pages, ISBN 9780802868534.

From the Winter 2018 issue
Volume 2: Trinity and Revelation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Trinity and Revelation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 486 pages, ISBN 9780802868541.

From the Fall 2018 issue
Volume 3: Creation and Humanity
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Creation and Humanity, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 3 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015), pages x+554.

From the Spring 2020 issue
Volume 4: Spirit and Salvation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Spirit and Salvation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2016), xi+498 pages, ISBN 9780802868565.

From the Summer 2020 issue
Volume 5: Hope and Community
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Hope and Community, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Press, 2017), x+574 pages with indices.

As a constructive theologian, Kärkkäinen works to create a coherent explanation of religious belief (in this case, Christian) by honest engagement with a variety of voices, including Christian (i.e. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, third-world, feminist, Evangelical etc.), non-Christian (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist), and scientific. In this sense, Kärkkäinen’s work is non-foundational and non-dogmatic. He says, citing Pannenberg’s Systematic Theology that, “…theology, must check the “correspondence” of its statements with both inner and external statements.” (p.3.) This text is Kärkkäinen’s third of five installments in the development of that coherent theology.

The book divides into two main parts. Part 1 discusses creation and Part 2 covers humanity. Discussion of angelic beings, demonic and sacred are not addressed in this volume. Kärkkäinen, like many Christians, believes that the historic Christian view of Creation requires reappraisal both to correct the Church’s reliance on dualism (body/spirit; secular/sacred; p.9), and to respond to the pending environmental collapse and the findings of science (p.10). After orienting the reader to his approach, Kärkkäinen discusses how science and theology should relate. In his usual way, Kärkkäinen engages the subject by explaining how various religious faiths relate to scientific inquiry. As mentioned in my reviews of earlier volumes, Kärkkäinen faithfully describes various belief systems and avoids caricatures or straw men. Readers will frequently find his rubrics to be helpful in articulating and categorizing various viewpoints. For instance, his review of the different types of scientific naturalism in Chapter 2 and perspectives on nature in Chapter 3 are particularly instructive. While this reviewer believes that Kärkkäinen can be too generous with his interlocutors, readers can be assured that when he does criticize a viewpoint, his criticisms will be well founded.

Second, the author appears to accept the truth of evolution as a given. Therefore, he is obligated to spend a great deal of ink exploring ways to harmonize creation (theology) and evolution (science). This reviewer appreciated Kärkkäinen’s commitment to a divine purpose and action in creation as well as his thoughts on understanding divine action without falling into determinism (Chapters 6-7). On the downside, Kärkkäinen’s readiness to modify classical beliefs, such as God’s timelessness (pp.129ff), is troubling and indicates an excessive willingness to be swayed by contemporary winds.

In Part 2, Humanity, Kärkkäinen’s acceptance of evolutionary theory means that he must find a way to discuss humanity’s beginning, transmission of sin, and nature that accords with Scripture and science. He holds to a dynamic understanding of the “image of God” by emphasizing its social and communal nature, while not denying essentialist ideas.