About this Book

"This book is an attempt to address . . . the relationship between the contemporary 'crisis' of Western culture and the future of Christian theology - from the vantage-point of pastoral/practical theology. In an age of uncertainty, the authority and status of the sources and norms of Christian pastoral care and social action can no longer be taken for granted. The traditional models of human nature, value and community drawn from Scripture and tradition appear anachronistic, especially in the light of postmodern insights into identity, power and knowledge. The purpose of this book is therefore to reconstruct the values by which Christian practice may be guided in a pluralist and fragmented society, and to identify a model of pastoral theology for a postmodern age. Can a reconstructed pastoral theology regulate the relationship between theory and practice and construct a relevant but authentic practical wisdom? It is possible to maintain the boundaries of coherent community with binding truth-claims whilst remaining open to the horizons of diversity and provisionality?"--Pages 2-3.