Thinking Theologically: Foundations for Learning

We are constantly engaged in processing data and sensory inputs all around us, even when we are not conscious of the many neural pathways our minds are traveling. So taking a step back to ponder the dimensions and practices of a particular way of thinking is a challenge. Even more important, however, is cultivating the habits of mind necessary in a life of ministry. This book, therefore, will grapple with the particular ways that the theological disciplines invite students to think but also the ways in which thinking theologically shapes a students sense of self and his or her role in a wider community of belief and thought. Thinking theologically is not just a cerebral matter; thinking theologically invokes an embodied set of practices and values that shape individuals and communities alike. Thinking theologically demands both intellect and emotion, logic and compassion, mind and body. In fact, this bookas part of the Foundations for Learning serieswill contend that these binaries are actually integrated wholes, not mutually exclusive options.

Eric D. Barreto is associate professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was ordained by Peachtree Baptist Church (CBF) in 2006. He is the author of Ethnic Negotiations: The Function of Race and Ethnicity in Acts 16 (2010) and co-author of New Proclamation, Series C, Easter through Christ the King, 2013 (Fortress, 2012) as well as a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, WorkingPreacher.org, and EntertheBible.org.