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In
The Theology of Robert Barron, Matthew Levering explores the key themes and sources of Bishop Robert Barron's theological vision, tracing the development of his thought from his years as a student in the 1970s and 80s to the present. Levering surveys Barron's theology by studying his critical engagements with a cast of thinkers from his formative period, including Andrew Greeley, Michel Corbin, Raymond Brown, Edward Schillebeeckx, John P. Meier, George Lindbeck, Alasdair MacIntyre, Stanley Hauerwas, and Richard Rohr. Levering shows how Barron appropriated, elaborated, and critiqued the thought of these interlocutors to develop a powerful and nuanced theology of his own. At the center of Barron's theological vision is the non-competitive Creator God, who radically transcends the order of finite beings while sustaining all things by his power and presence. Because God does not "compete" ontologically with his creatures, he is able to come so near as to become one of us without ceasing to be himself. We encounter Christ as the central character of the drama that unfolds in Sacred Scripture. Barron emphasizes that Christianity is an embodied, communal way of being. To become a Christian is to enter into a distinctive cultural milieu, venerate its saints, adopt its sensibility, and embrace its practices. Levering shows how Barron integrates these speculative, moral, and spiritual dimensions into a theological picture that, although deeply and distinctly Catholic, is also oriented to the world outside the Church and to evangelism.
About the author
Dr. Matthew Levering holds the James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at Mundelein Seminary. He is the author or editor of over fifty books, including T
he Wisdom of the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Pressing Questions about Catholicism, coauthored with Michael Dauphinais. He is the co-editor of two quarterly journals,
Nova et Vetera and
The International Journal of Systematic Theology, and formerly served as president of the Academy of Catholic Theology.
