Where to find a Postmodern Theologian?

We all have our theological heroes. Coming into Moore College I was faced with what I thought was a terrible prospect - reading the entirety of Calvin's Institutes! However, once I got started, I found it a most inspiring read, not nearly as incomprehensible as I had feared. So Calvin reigns pretty high on my Heroes list. You will probably have your own list, probably containing one or two people who have not yet 'fallen asleep'.

If I were to ask you to imagine a leading theologian what sort of image would come to mind? Probably, if I haven't misjudged you, some ageing male (preferably German), short stubbly beard, tweed jacket, degrees from all the top universities, working in a top university, thinking great thoughts about God and publishing lengthy books with lots of small print at regular intervals. Up until recently you would have been right...

But all this presupposes a Modern epistemology - 'the truth is out there', etc. But, as we are being reminded, we have moved into the Postmodern age. The search for the truth is so, like, five minutes ago. What can some old white guy meaningfully tell me about God? What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? What does the Acadamy have to do with the Church? It's on the street, Man. That's where it's all happening. It's time to throw off the old paradigms and pick up a Postmodern voice to take us into the new century.

Problem: the first great Postmodern theologian hasn't shown up yet.

So far we have had a lot of yakking about it. Kevin Vanhoozer's edited Cambridge Companion is worth looking at and contains some basic principles but doesn't really 'do' it. John Millbank and others associated with the Radical Orthodoxy talk the talk but it's still a Modernist framework. We're all waiting around for the new Schleiermacher, the new Barth, the new Jimi Hendrix to step up and knock those old Oxbridge-trained nuts out of their trees!

But where do we find such a beast? This is the problem - you can't tell. They'll just spring up one morning, like a psilocybe cubensis on your front lawn, and all your perceptions will be altered (joke!). Will it be through blogs, podcasts, sacramental liturgy? We could probably learn a lot from the popularity of The Shack in the last few years, a work that made some bold theological statements communicated through narrative. Is this the form our Postmodern leaders will take? Only time will tell...