Dr Philip Ziegler

Dr Philip Ziegler The University of Aberdeen School of Divinity, History & Philosophy Senior Lecturer work +44 (0)1224 272378 pref p.ziegler@abdn.ac.uk pref Office: KCG 18 (King's College) Telephone: (01224) 272 378 Postal Address: School of Divinity History and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UB, United Kingdom

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Biography

I earned a doctorate from the University of Toronto / Victoria Unviersity, studying systematic and historical theology, ecumenics and the philosophy of religion at several member colleges of the Toronto School of Theology. During 2000-01 I was a Junior Fellow of Massey College in the University of Toronto . After holding a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Religion, I taught for several years at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Canada as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology. I joined the University of Aberdeen in January 2006.

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Current Research

My chief research interests include developments in contemporary Christian dogmatics with particular interest in trends within 'post-liberal' theology; Christology; the doctrines of justification, election and revelation; the theological bases of Christian ethics and politics; the significance of Pauline apocalyptic for Christian theology; the history of modern Protestant theology generally, and within it particularly the theologies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth and Søren Kierkegaard.  The theological critique of religion remains an abiding interest of mine.

I am the co-ordinator of an interdisciplinary research project involving colleagues from theology, theological ethics, philosophy and law exploring the vexed question of the sources and nature of 'Normativity' in our respective fields of study and their substantive overlaps.  This project, supported by the College of Arts and Social Sciences, will offer generous support of up to 8 PhD Studentships over the course of coming years, with the first 4 awards available from 2013/14.  Please follow these links to learn more about the the project, whose full title is 'Normativity: Nature, Narrative and Nihilism';, and the PhD Studentships.

At present I am on research leave preparing the Readers Guide to Bonhoeffer's Ethics for T&T Clark/Continuum and a book length study of the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer under the title, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian of the Word of God to appear in the Great Theologians series from Ashgate. Recent articles and public lectures on Bonhoeffer's theology indicate the direction of these larger studies. 

Among recent paper presentations are the following:

• The annual Wheaton Theology Conference, 'Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture', April 12-13, 2012. (link to audio and video here)
• The Princeton Theological Seminary Conference, 'Creation, Conflict and Cosmos: Romans 5-8', May 2-5, 2012. (link to audio and video here)
• 'Witness to Christ’s Dominion as the Political Service of the Christian Community,' XI. International Bonhoeffer Congress, Sigtuna, Sweden, 27 June - 1 July, 2012.
• 'Discipleship' to the working group on 'Explorations in Theology and Apocalyptic', AAR/SBL in Chicago in November 2012.

Following on from other recent work, I continue my research into the scope of the doctrines of the Lordship of Christ and Christ's Royal Office as they bear critically upon theological ethics and political theology, especially in view of recent renewed interest in natural law within Reformed theology.  In the longer term, I look to pursue larger scale historical and systematic studies of the doctrines of grace, i.e., election and justification, and their significance for theological anthropology, ethics and political theology, particularly in the Protestant tradition.

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Collaborations

I am one of the organisers of a working group, 'Explorations in Theology and Apocalyptic' which co-ordinates inquiry and research into the contemporary relevance of New Testament apocalyptic modes of discourse for the work of Christian dogmatics and ethics.   Others involved in co-ordinating the work of this group at the present time include Dr. Nate Kerr (Trevecca University, USA) and Dr. Douglas Harink (The King's University College, Edmonton, Canada). 

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Selected Publications

 Books

• Doing Theology When God is Forgotten: The Theological Achievement of Wolf Krötke (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2006). 

 Edited Works

• The Doctrine of Providence, edited by Philip G. Ziegler and Francesca Murphy (London: T&T Clark/Continuum), 2009. 
• Explorations in Christian Theology and Ethics: Essays in Conversation with Paul L. Lehmann, edited by Philip G. Ziegler and Michelle J. Bartel (Aldershot: Ashgate), 2009.
• George P. Schner, Essays Catholic and Critical, edited by Philip G. Ziegler and Mark Husbands. (Aldershot: Ashgate Press, 2003).

 Essays and Articles

• 'Witness to Christ's Dominion: the political service of the Church', Theology, in press.
• 'Discipleship', in Sanctified by Grace: A Theology of the Christian Life, edited by Kent Eilers and Kyle Strobel (London: T&T Clark/ Continuum, forthcoming 2013), in press.
• 'Love is a Sovereign Thing: The Witness of Romans 8:31-39 and the Royal Office of Jesus Christ', in  Apocalyptic Paul:  Cosmos and Anthropos in Romans 5-8, edited by B. Gaventa (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2013, in press).
• ‘Dietrich Bonhoeffer—Theologian of the Word of God’, in Bonhoeffer, Christ and Culture, edited by K. Johnson & T. Larsen (Downers Grove, IN: IVP Academic, in press for publication April 2013).
• 'Christ For Us Today: Promeity in the Christologies of Bonhoeffer and Kierkegaard’, International Journal of Systematic Theology, 15:1 (2013), pp. 25-41. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2400.2012.00656.x
• '"Christ Must Reign": Ernst Kaesemann and Soteriology in an Apocalyptic Key', Apocalyptic and the Future of Theology, edited by D. Harink and J. Davis (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2012), pp. 202-220
• ‘Christ's Lordship and Politics: Visser 't Hooft and Bonhoeffer', in Bonhoeffer, Religion and Politics, International Bonhoeffer Interpretations 4, Hrsg. von C. Tietz and J. Zimmerman (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2012), pp. 55-80.      ‘Eschatological Dogmatics: To What End?’, in Eschatologie-Eschatology, hrsg. von H.-J. Eckstein et. al., WUNT (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), pp. 348-359.
• ‘The Fate of Natural Law at the Turning of the Ages’, Theology Today (67:4) January 2011, pp. 419-429. doi:10.1177/004057361106700404
• ‘Review Essay—Christopher Morse, The Difference Heaven Makes (Continuum, 2010)’ Word & World 31:1 (Jan 2011), pp. 75-83.
• '"Not to Abolish, but to Fulfil"—The Person of the Preacher and the Claim of the Sermon,' Studies in Christian Ethics 22:3 (2009), 275-289. doi:10.1177/0953946809106233
• 'Secularity and Eschatology in Bonhoeffer's Late Work,' in Dietrich Bonhoeffers Theologie heute Ein Weg zwischen Fundamentalismus und Säkularismus?, edited by J. De Gruchy, S. Plant and C. Tietz (Guetersloh: Guetersloher Verlaghaus, 2009), pp. 124-138.
• 'The Uses of Providence in Public Theology,' in The Doctrine of Providence, edited by Philip G. Ziegler and Francesca Murphy (London: T&T Clark/Continuum, 2009), 307-325.
• 'Creation, Redemption and Law—Toward a Protestant Perspective on the Question of Human Law' in Explorations in Christian Theology and Ethics: Essays in Conversation with Paul L. Lehmann, eds. P. Ziegler and M. Bartel (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 63-78.
• '‘Voices in the Night’—Human Solidarity and Eschatological Hope,' in Who Am I? Bonhoeffer's Theology Through His Poetry, ed. B. Wannenwetsch (London: T&T Clark/Continuum, 2009), p. 115-146.
• 'Taken Out of Context–Freedom and Concreteness in the Theology of Wolf Krötke,' Communio Viatorum, I/2008, pp. 74-92.
• 'Stumbling Upon Peter? The Question of the Church in Ecumenical Dialogue,' in Ecumenism Today, ed. F.A. Murphy, C. Asprey and E.E. Puosi (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), pp. 17-28.
• 'Dietrich Bonhoeffer—An Ethics of God's Apocalypse?' Modern Theology 23:4 (October 2007), pp. 579-594. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0025.2007.00410.x
• 'Barth's Criticisms of Kierkegaard—A Striking Out at Phantoms?' International Journal of Systematic Theology 9:4 (October 2007), pp. 434-451. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2400.2007.00266.x
• 'A Christian Context for Conscience? Reading Kierkegaard's Works of Love Beyond Hegel's Critique of Conscience', European Journal of Theology 15:1 (2007), pp. 25-36.
• ''To Honour God's "Good Violence"—Some Notes and Queries Relating to Hans Boersma's Violence, Hospitality and the Cross,' Canadian Evangelical Review 30-31 (Fall 2005-Spring 2006), pp. 106-113.
• 'Christian Theology and Democratic Politics in Conversation with Jeffrey Stout,' Theology Today 63:2 (July 2006), pp. 227-234. doi:10.1177/004057360606300210
• 'Justification and Justice-The Promising Problematique of Protestant Ethics in the Work of Paul L. Lehmann,' Berliner Theologische Zeitschift , 2004/1, pp. 140-153.  Also published in , Justification: What’s at Stake in the Current Debates, eds. M. Husbands and D. Treier (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), pp. 118-133.
• 'God and Some Recent Public Theologies,' International Journal of Systematic Theology, 4:2 (2002), pp. 137-155. doi:10.1111/1463-1652.00077
• 'Doing Conscience Over: The Reformulation of the Doctrine of Conscience in Karl Barth and Paul Lehmann,' Toronto Journal of Theology 14:2 (1998), pp. 213-238.

 Translations

• Wolf Krötke, Sin and Nothingness in the Theology of Karl Barth. Edited and translated by P.G. Ziegler and C.-M. Bammel. Studies in Reformed Theology and History , New Series 10, 2005.  The full text of this work is freely available online here.
• Eberhard Jüngel, 'Theses On the Relation of the Essence, Existence and Attributes of God,' Toronto Journal of Theology. 17:1 (2001), pp. 55-74.

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Teaching Responsibilities

I teach on and/or co-ordinate the following courses:

• Basic Christian Doctrine (DR1537)
• Beginnings and Ends of Creation (DR3084/3584)
• Scottish Theology (DR4041)
• Modern Christian Thought (DR4065/4565)
• God, Christ, Salvation (DR4055/4555)
• The Bible and Theology (DR5555)
• Systematic Theology Since the Enlightenment (DR 5083/5583)
• Trinity and Christology (DR 5084/5584)

Before going on research leave in 2012/13 I was Programme Co-ordinator for the M.Th. in Systematic Theology, and also have convened the Postgraduate and Faculty Seminar in Philosophy of Religion

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Administrative Responsibilities

I served as Head of the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy from 2009-2012.

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Membership in Scholarly Societies

I am a member of the following scholarly societies:

• Society for the Study of Theology
• Memember of the Exectutive Committee (2012-15)
• American Academy of Religion
• Steering Committee, Bonhoeffer, Theology and Social Analysis Group
• Steering Committee, Explorations in Theology and Apocalyptic (Additional Meeting)
• Karl Barth Society of North America
• General Secretary
• International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society
• Society for the Study of Christian Ethics

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