What is behind the decline of Protestant theology that began in the sixties? By way of an example, I recently posted this review on Goodreads:
Ronald Gregor Smith (
The Doctrine of God, 1970) struggles with his faith. He thinks that the traditional doctrine of God has reached a dead end. He rejects supernaturalistic theism as a “primitive mythology” that could “be cultivated in private by a dwindling company of romantics and introverts” (p. 79). Smith can no longer believe in God as a self-subsistent being residing in an otherworldly realm. Rather, God exists in the way he makes himself present in history: “It is only within the dynamism of history as the place and the time of irreversible personal decisions that the Word is truly heard…” (p. 37). Thus, “we are offered the reality of a life which is taken out of the old, apparently endless, search for a reality beyond this temporal world. The magic of Plato is exorcised” (p. 43). He even depreciates the bible:
[T]he normative historical power is not and cannot be any traditional documents, not even the Bible, but is solely the person of Christ. Therefore, it is a methodological error of the first order to suppose that Christianity is based upon a book, and that a true theology is one which discovers what the Bible says and then re-asserts this in a ‘modern’ fashion — but all the same, basically just repeats what the Bible says. (p. 72)
For Smith, ‘God as Being’ is not a satisfactory category for Christian theology. The reality of God is historical rather than metaphysical. Christianity is not the record of a miraculous epiphany, but is about man’s historical experience (p. 114). I question: what remains of faith, then, if we remove the essential objects of faith, namely the bible and the heavenly realm? Smith’s answer is that we shall have a faith that is rooted in history, not the least in kerygmatic history. It seems that there is not much religiosity left in Smith’s Christianity. He says that “spirit” is only “the total reality of our humanity” (p. 130) and “the Christian faith does not really propose more than a way for us to walk” (p. 142).
We have to remain content with the little that remains of God: “In every historical encounter there is a residue or an overplus of mystery” (p. 177). So, God is not totally dead — there is a little residue left. The central tenets of Smith’s theology are a “thorough historicity of God” and a continual “self-realization of God in history” (p. 181). But he doesn’t explain how a God that lacks transcendent being can manifest in history. Despite his materialistic and rationalistic worldview, Smith tries to cling to the Christian faith by formulating a minimalistic version that builds on a God that is immanent in history. It is not an unintelligent book; but it is a depressing reading experience. Smith lived in a grey and uninspiring world. He died while writing this book, from boredom, I guess.
I know that Catholic theologians do a lot of bad theology, but do Protestant theologians still think this way? I have delved into this matter and have found that the modern sickness of theology is connected with the “immanentization of the eschaton” (Eric Voegelin). It has contributed to secularization and the rise of materialist ideology. I found that one of the main culprits behind this development is Martin Luther himself. Lutheran theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg followed through and produced a thoroughly immanentistic theology, very similar to Smith's. To get a better grasp on this tragic development, read my short paper. I suggest a new interpretation of the Wisdom of God and argue that the immanentization of Christian religion has stifled the spirit of the feminine and contributed to secularization:
Some remarks on Wolfhart Pannenberg’s theology, the immanentization of the eschaton and the misinterpretation of the kingdom of God.
The decline of Protestant theology that began in the 1960s, as exemplified by Ronald Gregor Smith's theological struggles, reveals a shift away from transcendent, supernatural conceptions of God toward a more immanent and historically grounded view. However, while it may be tempting to criticize this move as a form of theological reductionism, it is important to recognize that Smith's work, and the broader trend he represents, is not so much an abandonment of faith but an attempt to make Christian theology more relevant to contemporary concerns.
Smith's rejection of "supernaturalistic theism" as "primitive mythology" reflects an intellectual response to the modern challenges of materialism, secularism, and historical criticism. His emphasis on the "dynamism of history" as the locus of God's presence speaks to a broader theological trend that seeks to reframe the relationship between the divine and the world in a way that resonates with modern understandings of history and experience. In this view, the transcendence of God is not rejected but rather reinterpreted: God is seen not as an otherworldly being in a distant realm, but as present within the fabric of history itself, in the lived experiences of individuals and communities.
While the critique of Smith's theology may focus on the apparent loss of the heavenly realm and the centrality of Scripture, it overlooks the fact that Smith, like many modern theologians, is engaged in a re-imagining of the Christian faith in a way that challenges the traditional bifurcation between the sacred and the secular. For Smith, the person of Christ becomes the central norm, not because it is a rejection of Scripture, but because Christ is understood as the historical revelation of God's presence, not confined to texts but made manifest in the events of human life.
The notion that faith, if not anchored in a metaphysical or supernatural God, lacks substance or religiosity is a misunderstanding of the scope of Smith's theological project. He is not denying the mystery of God or the need for a form of worship; he is suggesting that our understanding of the divine must evolve to meet the realities of a modern, secular world. His theology challenges believers to find the sacred in the concrete, historical moments of life, rather than retreating to a purely metaphysical or otherworldly conception of God.
As for the argument that this shift contributes to secularization, the critique overlooks the fact that the immanentization of the eschaton — the belief that the divine can be found within history rather than in an apocalyptic future — does not necessarily lead to secularism, but can instead provide a framework for finding meaning in the present. In fact, by emphasizing the presence of the divine in human history and experience, this view may offer a deeper connection to the world, rather than pushing people away from it. The secularization critique assumes that belief in a transcendent God is the only way to preserve religiosity, but it overlooks the possibility that a more immanent theology might be a way of affirming the sacredness of human existence in a secular age.
Regarding the claim that the immanentization of Christianity has stifled the "spirit of the feminine" and contributed to secularization, this is a more complex issue. The decline of transcendent theologies has often been linked to a reduction in the mystical and embodied aspects of religious experience, which could arguably suppress a fuller expression of the feminine. However, the problem lies not so much in the shift toward immanence itself, but in how that shift is carried out. A truly robust, immanent theology would recognize the feminine aspect of divine revelation as essential, rather than reducing the divine to a mere reflection of historical events or rational categories. Smith's theology, while minimalist, does not necessarily preclude such an interpretation but might instead benefit from further development in this direction.
Finally, while the immanentization of theology can be seen as a response to modern challenges, it is not inherently a betrayal of Christian orthodoxy. In fact, by reevaluating the metaphysical categories of traditional theology, it offers an opportunity for a more profound and nuanced understanding of the divine that can meet the existential needs of modern believers. The real issue is not that Protestant theology has lost its way, but that it needs to continue evolving in ways that integrate both transcendence and immanence, mystery and history, the sacred and the secular.
