History and Methodological Principles of Constructive Theology

This paper discusses the history and methodological principles of constructive theology. The first part provides a historical overview of the development of constructive theology, while the second demonstrates the main methodological principles of this theological strategy and comprehension of them from an Orthodox perspective. The first part includes a description of the precursors of mature constructive theology. It also analyzes the key methodological approaches of its most prominent representatives, such as G. Kaufman, E. Farley, D. Tracy, S. McFague, and K. Keller. The second part describes the methodological principles of the constructive approach. These principles include the self-reflexive nature of theological thinking, interdisciplinarity, contextuality, and the acceptance of methodological pluralism. Constructive theology asserts that theological knowledge is a product of the creative work of the imagination, always contingent, and dependent on a specific context. Thus, constructive theology abandons attempts to find the core of the Christian kerygma. This raises certain questions for Orthodox theology. Therefore, in the second part of the article, the author attempts to propose a way to engage with the methodological approach of constructive theology from an Orthodox perspective. This is done through an appeal to terms such as recursivity and contingency, borrowed from the philosophical work of Yu Hui.