Foundations in practical theology: A critical appraisal of contemporary contributions

Practical theology is an emerging discipline with divergent understandings of what practical theology is and a plethora of theological methods on offer. Indicative of the nascent state of the discipline is the lack of an agreed-upon name. At times the prefixes “pastoral” and “practical” are used interchangeably; at other times the prefixes are sharply differentiated. Underpinning the current thesis is the belief that for practical theology to be taken seriously it needs to have a clear definition, and to know the manner whereby it relates to other theological disciplines and to the human sciences. Current writing on what is practical theology reflects a celebration of diversity. Systematic approaches to practical theology are simply noted as instances of many possible contradictory or complementary approaches. Informed by the work of Bernard Lonergan, the thesis conducts, through a dialectical process, the critical appraisal of three contemporary contributions to practical theology: A Fundamental Practical Theology, by Don Browning; Practical Theology: On Earth as It Is in Heaven, by Terry Veling; and Saving Work: Feminist Practices of Theological Education, by Rebecca Chopp. According to Lonergan: The dialectic process is the actual elimination of the contradiction. For it is a natural tendency of reason to get rid of contradictions. If the contradiction in question is only implicit, it is fast made explicit; then one side of the contradiction can be clearly affirmed and the other denied. Where reason is somewhat tardy, or the matter itself rather difficult, the process is gradual: one by one, different elements of the contradiction are made explicit, until eventually the whole contradiction is eliminated. 1 Don S. Browning, A Fundamental Practical Theology: Descriptive and Strategic Proposals (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1991). 2 Terry A. Veling, Practical Theology: On Earth as It Is in Heaven (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2005). 3 Rebecca S. Chopp, Saving Work: Feminist Practices of Theological Education (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1995). 4 Bernard J. F. Lonergan, The Way to Nicea: The Dialectical Development of Trinitarian Theology, trans., Conn O'Donovan (London: DLT, 1976), 49.