Tanner, Kathryn 1957- (Kathryn E. Tanner)

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Tanner, Kathryn 1957- (Kathryn E. Tanner)

PERSONAL:

Born March 29, 1957. Education: Yale University, M.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Chicago, Divinity School, 1025 E. 58th St., Chicago, IL 60637; fax: 773-702-6048. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Academic and theologian. University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, IL, Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology.

WRITINGS:

God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny or Empowerment, Blackwell (New York, NY), 1988.

The Politics of God: Christian Theologies and Social Justice, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1992.

Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1997.

(Editor, with Delwin Brown and Sheila Greeve Davaney) Converging on Culture: Theologians in Dialogue with Cultural Analysis and Criticism, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2001.

Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

(Editor) Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

Economy of Grace, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2005.

(Editor, with John Webster and Iain Torrance) The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kathryn Tanner is an academic and theologian. Born on March 29, 1957, she went on to earn both a master of arts degree and a Ph.D. from Yale University. Tanner began working at the University of Chicago's Divinity School, eventually becoming the Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology. She published her first book, God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny or Empowerment, in 1988.

Tanner published The Politics of God: Christian Theologies and Social Justice in 1992. The account argues that social criticism and social justice can be rationalized by the traditional Christian belief in human sinfulness and God's creation and transcendence.

Thomas G. Poole, reviewing the book in the Christian Century, wrote that "The Politics of God is a superb melding of philosophy and theology. We live in an age characterized by a seemingly unlimited number of publications, many of which should never see the light of day. Tanner's work is a notable exception—a substantively dense book that challenges the mind and encourages the spirit." David W. Haddorff, reviewing the book in Theological Studies, noted that in her discussions on transcendence, sinfulness, and social ethics, Tanner "leaves unanswered the question: How do we know this ethic without special revelation? Something of this doctrinal relationship needs to be explored further." Duncan B. Forrester, writing in the Journal of Theological Studies, commented that Tanner "shows convincingly that within the Christian doctrinal tradition there are rich and authentic resources for a radical stance in the public realm."

In 1997 she published Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology. This was followed in 2001 by Converging on Culture: Theologians in Dialogue with Cultural Analysis and Criticism, a book she edited with Delwin Brown and Sheila Greeve Davaney.

Tanner also published Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology that same year. The book offers a full systematic theology outline that emphasizes God's transcendence and God's love as the force behind creation. William C. Placher, writing in the Christian Century, commented that "this book is not an easy introduction to Tanner's views for theological beginners. Its brevity sometimes requires exceedingly compressed argument on complex issues. The good news hinted at in all the detail is how much of the larger book or books she means to write must already be in Tanner's head. That larger work seems likely to be one of the major theological statements of Tanner's generation; my appetite is certainly whetted."

Tanner edited Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape in 2004. In 2005 she published Economy of Grace. The book provides a "nonreductive, comparative method" that compares and aligns theology and economics to create a Christian view of economics. After establishing the particulars of a Christian theory of economics, she compares it with modern capitalism in order to propose Christian-minded changes to the system. Michael Barram, reviewing the book in Interpretation, found that the issues discussed in the book are both "important and pressing." Barram summarized: "It would be a shame if Tanner's work were not to receive the widespread attention it deserves." Amy Plantinga Pauw, reviewing the book in the Christian Century, called the account "thought-provoking." In 2007 Tanner edited The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology with John Webster and Iain Torrance.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, February 1, 2002, R.W. Rousseau, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology, p. 1064.

Christian Century, October 13, 1993, Thomas G. Poole, review of The Politics of God: Christian Theologies and Social Justice, p. 989; January 30, 2002, William C. Placher, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 41; May 30, 2006, Amy Plantinga Pauw, review of Economy of Grace, p. 25.

Interpretation, January 1, 2002, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 124; April 1, 2005, review of Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape, p. 224; July 1, 2006, Michael Barram, review of Economy of Grace, p. 363.

Journal of Religion, January 1, 1995, William Schweiker, review of The Politics of God, p. 147; October 1, 2002, Bruce D. Marshall, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 653; January 1, 2004, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, review of Converging on Culture: Theologians in Dialogue with Cultural Analysis and Criticism, p. 119.

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, September 1, 2006, Julie A. Nelson, review of Economy of Grace, p. 782.

Journal of Theological Studies, April 1, 1989, Maurice Wiles, review of God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny or Empowerment, p. 322; October 1, 1994, Duncan B. Forrester, review of The Politics of God, p. 809; October 1, 1999, Maurice Wiles, review of Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology, p. 830; October 1, 2002, Maurice Wiles, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 789.

Library Journal, February 1, 1993, Carolyn Craft, review of The Politics of God, p. 88.

Modern Theology, October 1, 1999, Reinhard Hutter, review of Theories of Culture, p. 499; January 1, 2003, Nancy A. Dallavalle, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 145; January 1, 2005, "The Obligation to Give: A Reply to Tanner," p. 119.

Religious Studies, December 1, 1990, David F. Ford, review of God and Creation in Christian Theology, p. 550.

Scottish Journal of Theology, March 22, 2001, Michael Kinkins, review of Theories of Culture, p. 253.

Theological Studies, March 1, 1990, John E. Thiel, review of God and Creation in Christian Theology, p. 140; December 1, 1993, David W. Haddorff, review of The Politics of God, p. 783.

Theology, September 1, 2002, Ralph Norman, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity.

Theology Today, April 1, 1990, Joseph M. Incandela, review of God and Creation in Christian Theology, p. 66; October 1, 1993, Edward M. Huenemann, review of The Politics of God, p. 495; July 1, 2002, Sarah Heaner Lancaster, review of Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity, p. 334; April 1, 2007, Steffen Losel, review of Economy of Grace, p. 102.

Times Literary Supplement, December 23, 2005, John Kennedy, review of Economy of Grace, p. 41.