One reason why the legitimacy of theology as an academic discipline is disputed, is the claim that theology presupposes faith. Such a presupposition, it is said, constitutes a danger for the academic nature of theology and, indirectly, its place in the university; in an academic discipline a scholar cannot proceed from a specific consideration which can not be discussed and which one can not give up without placing oneself outside that discipline, i.e., Christian theology. Therefore, while Christian theology is a valid intellectual pursuit for Christians who reflect on the content of their faith, it does not fall within the contours of an academic discipline which is universally accessible. Such is the rationale, and it involves not only Christian but Jewish and Islamic theology as well and in general all reflection on religion and philosophy of life which is undertaken in particular circles and which proceeds from unverifiable assumptions which lack universal endorsement. In this article we are concerned with the objection that theology is not properly academic (‘wissenschaftlich’) because of its unverifiable presupposition that God exists and its being connected to a particular religious community. Theology presupposes faith, it is said, and the point of dispute is whether any academic discipline may have such a presupposition. Three different things may be implied by this objection.

This paper has been the result of teaching and comparing two very different Old Testament texts, both of which are concerned with the relationship between God and the created order. One is Genesis 1, with its priestly concerns for harmony within the created order; the other is the book of Amos, where one encounters a profoundly pessimistic view of the coming disorder throughout the natural world. In making associations between these two texts, one cannot help but ask why the earlier reflections in Amos offer such aradical and developed understandingof God's relationship with creation — quite distinct from the view of God evidenced in the first chapter of Genesis.

John McLeod Campbell was deposed from the ministry of the Church of Scotland in 1831, at the age of thirtyone, following an infamous heresy trial focusing primarily on his preaching the universal extent of the atonement. After twenty-five long years of obscurity, he published The Nature of the Atonement and Its Relation to Remission of Sins and Eternal Life, in 1856, an extensive and eventually well received treatment of the doctrine and one which brought him into some prominence as a theologian. These are the two moments in his life for which Campbell is most remembered. This essay brings attention to a later work, Reminiscences and Reflections, Referring to His Early Ministry in the Parish of Row, 1825–31, begun in 1871 and left unfinished at his death the following year. Though it ostensibly has to do with the time and events leading up to his trial, important connections can be made with his later major writing on the atonement. In particular, Campbell's reflections on the value of the memory of the past are shown in this essay to offer an expanded, explanatory account of what it means for the work of Jesus Christ in the atonement to be reproduced in the Christian believer. According to Campbell, in this way even the past can be redeemed.

From the moment Jesus was hung on the cross, Christians have been compelled to address the fact of evil within God's creation. For the most part we have made the mistake of addressing this reality by logical means. It is not that there are no logical solutions to the apparent contradiction between the fact of evil and an omnipotent and benevolent God. The difficulty is far more fundamental. Logical solutions or answers do not address the fact of sin, evil and suffering in the world. At best, they are innocuous. At worst, they are destructive. For example, a pastor presiding at a funeral may well have an answer or two to the inevitable question raised by the grieving, 'Why did Jack have to die so young?' She might say that the wages of sin are death, and she might even speculate thatjack died young because he was such an accomplished sinner. Moreover, it is at least conceivable that our pastor could be correct in herjudgment!!! Nevertheless, those gathered would be right to be angry if the pastor said such a thing because her answer did not address the issue. Indeed, no answer can. The people gathered do not need answers. They already have biological, psychological and even theological answers. The people longfor presence instead. To be sure, they long for the presence of their departed loved one, but they require the presence of friends, relatives and God. The theodicy issue is addressed by such presence. The theodicy issue does not simply pose a question to be answered. It creates a context in which ministry may happen.

Judeo-Christian theology has always been concerned with the order and rationality of the created universe, believing that this rational order was somehow bestowed upon it by the Creator. However, in the last two decades traditional conceptions of order have been challenged by the scientific discovery that ‘chaos’ permeates the behaviour of natural systems in our cosmos. What is the theologian to make of this ‘discovery’? If theology is to speak to the contemporary mind with its postmodern frame of reference, it must carry out its own inquiry vis-à-vis the work of natural science as it explores the intrinsic intelligibility of the created universe.

Ten years after the Second Vatican Council the novel Die Vision des Papstes: Erzählung was published simultaneously by Catholic and Protestant publishers under the pseudonym ‘Sebastian Knecht’. The author of the work was the former official observer of the Protestant Church of Germany (EKD) to the Council, the Heidelberg professor Edmund Schlink, who retired in 1972. The fact of his authorship was known only by a few friends prior to his death; following the death of her husband Mrs Irmgard Schlink revealed the pseudonym. Thus today, one may first examine the historical reasons why Schlink wrote the book. Further, its theological content makes possible a clearer view of the strengths and problems of the particular way to the unity of the Church Schlink recommends in the story. Finally, the effect of the work raises the question if it was meaningful to suggest a solution to ecumenical problems by means of belles lettres.