Teachers and the New Theology

""If God is dead, what's the good of keeping R.E. on the timetable?"" ""Sir, have you read this book about secular Christianity--worship and prayer are finished, aren't they?"" ""Don't you think it would be better for our children to be taught morals instead of religion? After all, religious people don't seem to know what they believe nowadays, and we don't bother with religion at home, so why should children be forced into it at school?"" Many people will recognize their own bewilderment in these questions. In this confusing world of new theology, teachers, parents, and scholars seem equally baffled. The old guidelines have been rubbed out, but no new ones seem to replace them. The book tackles these problems from the point of view of a theologian who himself is deeply immersed in these issues, and is looking for new light on these old questions which religion has always dealt with, and which are as vital today as ever. Its aim is to explain what the new theologians are saying, and to show that beyond the initial skepticism about the old ideas there is the beginning of a new and hopeful attitude to religion, which can be of the utmost value to contemporary life.