Harvey’s Cox’s third chapter in The Future of Faith transitions from the sense of mystery he noted in chapter two to the life of faith, showing a trajectory toward his later discussions of how one might live the life of faith in the future. He realizes that “Living with the mystery is something we all have in common. But how we live with it differs” (37). He describes the fact that different faith traditions have different ways of expressing this life of faith, and then cites his own Judeo-Christian tradition as focused around stories and rituals

Is it only the Religious Right that can use the new communication technologies successfully?

Harvey Cox, emeritus professor of religion at Harvard and author of The Secular City, has recently released his latest book, The Future of Faith. I'll be blogging on this book along with several others as part of the Transforming Theology project.

  Harvey Cox and Philip Clayton get together for a conversation about faith and theology for the future church.  Harvey's newest book

Transforming Christian Theology: For Church and Society, edited by Philip Clayton, will be available soon. This compact volume offers a way for Christians to reflect deeply on how best to conceive Christian identity, commitment, and discipleship in today's challenged, globalized, pluralistic scene.

What are theologians' favorite movies? Well Ryan and I asked them at the first Transforming Theology conference. Enjoy and check Ryan's blog for more to come.

"The first conversation we had as a group was whether our discussions could be videotaped for a web podcast. Although there was much discussion, the general sense was that if the camera were on, some folks would not be able to share what they really thought, but rather would speak in an official capacity. I looked across the room and caught the eye of Phyllis Tickle...and realized I was not the only person surprised and discouraged by this conclusion." Read the rest Copeland's reflections.

Philip Clayton offers his reflections on the recent summit. "Some experts predict," writes Clayton, "that as many as two-thirds of the mainline congregations that exist today will close their doors over the coming two decades. Why? What in the American situation has changed so radically that once prosperous churches and denominations would now be struggling in this way? Of the many causes, nine in particular strike me as especially important..." Click here to read the full article.

Barry Taylor and Ryan Parker were both at the last Transforming Theology conference. Here's some video clips from a conversation they had on film and culture.