The Theological Imagination: Constructing the Concept of God.

Philadelphia, PA The Westminster Press, 1981. Paperback First Edition Thus (1981); First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence.  First Edition Thus (1981); First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. Very Good+ to Near Fine in Wraps: shows a small, rather faint scuffed area in the middle of the rear panel and a very faint crease nearby; the faintest toning to the white background field of the wrapper covers; a former owner's name at the front endpaper; else flawless; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. A handsome, very nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing a couple of cosmetic imperfections. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Very close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8 x 5.25 x 1 inches). 309 pages. Notes. Index. Language: English. Weight: 13 ounces. Paperback. Gordon D. Kaufman (1925 – 2011) was an American theologian and the Mallinckrodt Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, where he taught for over three decades beginning in 1963. Kaufman was an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church for 50 years. For Kaufman, the only "available referent" for the word God is the construct we hold in our minds, a construct that has developed over the centuries. It remains "a transcendent unknown". Thus, Kaufman thinks of God as "ultimate mystery". He refuses to speculate as to whether there is an "extra-human reality" called God. His then is a "theology within the limits of reason alone", holding with Kant the imaginative construction of basic concepts of religious ideas. Kaufman can be said to have developed a "generic theology" for postmodern Christians of "an utterly transcendent God". The "ultimate mystery" called "God" serves as a living symbol in our culture. For many people, it functions as the primary point for "orientation and devotion." Being oriented on the "ultimate mystery in things" is an awareness of one's "bafflement of mind" over the mystery "that there is something and not nothing." When the mystery is thought of as God, it evokes trust and confidence.