Liberal theologian, mentor Gordon Kaufman dies at 86
A member of the Harvard Divinity School faculty for more than three decades, Gordon Kaufman, who died July 22 at 86, had a profound influence on rethinking theology in naturalistic terms, arguing for a vision of God as the "profound mystery of creativity," according to his colleagues. He died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
A prolific author and essayist, Kaufman was admired especially for his 1993 book In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology. In a review for the Century, William C. Placher called it "his best book, tying together a lifetime of theological reflection. . . . An admirable model of how to be a theologian."
Another reviewer, Alan Race, in the Times Literary Supplement, noted Kaufman's "refreshing candor" in confronting traditional systematic thinking. Kaufman's invitation to build a theology from many voices and perspectives "rescues the theological task from the defensive postures it has adopted ever since the rise of the critical method."
