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To believe in God is not to believe everything. To trust everything without awareness of what is untrustworthy is not genuine faith in God. In a biblical understanding of faith in God, then, what is the role of the call not to believe every spirit? What disbeliefs does faithfulness require? Are there some things that Christian faith refuses to believe? If so, how do we come to recognize what they are? "The presence of faithful disbelief in the church," Professor Morse suggests, "gives the church''s teaching and practice its timeliness in every cultural situation." Part One of his book therefore explores the notion of Christian faith as disbelief and how the task of "testing the spirits" develops and comes to be understood within Christianity as a theological discipline called dogmatics. Part two focuses on uncovering disbeliefs of the Christian faith concerning the Word of God, the being of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, creation, salvation, humanity, the church, and the life to come. Here, then, is a fresh and timely dogmatic text that will take its place as a standard work on Christian teachings. "Professor Morse''s meticulous scholarship in this book convinces Christians to examine not only what they believe but also to give attention to what they are called to disbelieve. In today''s world of turmoil, distrust, and violence, Morse''s work challenges Christians to reflect seriously on what they are to believe and what they are to do." -Delores S. Williams, Union Seminary, NY Christopher Morse holds the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair in Theology and Ethics at Union Seminary, New York, and is the author of The Logic of Promise in Moltmann''s Theology.>
List of contents
Preface
Part I: Christian Faith as DisbeliefChapter 1: The Call to Faithful Disbelief
Chapter 2: Theology as the Task of Faithful Disbelief
Chapter 3: Testing the Spirits Today
Chapter 4: Tests of Doctrinal Faithfulness
Part 2: Disbeliefs of the Christian FaithChapter 5: Exploring Doctrines: Preamble to Part 2
Chapter 6: The Word of God
Chapter 7: The Being of God
Chapter 8: Jesus Christ
Chapter 9: The Holy Spirit
Chapter 10: Creation
Chapter 11: Salvation
Chapter 12: Humanity
Chapter 13: The Church
Chapter 14: The Life to Come
Notes
Index of Scriptural References
Index of Names
Index of Subjects
About the author
Christopher Morse holds the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair in Theology and Ethics at Union Seminary, New York, and is the author of The Logic of Promise in Moltmann's Theology.
