Favorite living Christian thinkers

[Kingpoleon]

Feel free to suggest others - I’d like to have 3-9 more. For me, I think I would say Wolterstorff, Maddox, Swinburne, Plantinga, McGrath, and Tutu.

[Kingpoleon]

Hans Küng died just a week or two ago.

I don't really have any favorite living theologians; I don't think we're living in a very theological age. I read a wonderful book on Mary a while back by an Anglican figure named Sarah Jane Boss but I'm not sure what else she's written.

Of these options, I voted for Hart, Hauerwas, and Tutu.

Lots of old thinkers here - Polkinghorne died just last month, I believe. Wasn’t Küng one of those semi-heretical Catholic thinkers?

Huh. I think Swinburne, Plantinga, Ward, and Wolterstorff have sort of brought theology up again. Hall, fascinatingly enough, was mentored by Tillich, Niebuhr, and Barth. That’s pretty impressive from my view.

[Kingpoleon]

The only options I see in the poll I have even heard about are Alistair MacIntyre, Tim Keller, Desmond Tutu and Russell Moore.
I guess Desmond Tutu among them?

My actual answer is probably Pope Francis, Robert Barron, James Martin, Nathan and Scott.

Keller is one of a handful of decidedly conservative thinkers who I have serious respect for - his nuanced approach is admirable, not just respectable. Moore, I think, is just respectable.

I’ve never been a big fan of James Martin - he still refuses to say whether or not he really does disagree with the Vatican about LGBT issues.

[Kingpoleon]

Desmond Tutu of course. MacIntyre is a giant in 20th century ethics. NT Wright does some decent Biblical criticism even if somewhat apologetic for my taste. Swinburne is the philosopher who from my limited reading seems be the most fruitful theist interlocutor for atheists: the only other two names on that list who I know are Plantinga and William Lane Craig, and I've never been nearly as impressed by either of those two intellectually.

Oh I know of David Bentley Hart but can't say I've read him. Seems like a nice enough guy from what I know by osmosis tho.

If you think Swinburne’s rather impressive, you should definitely check out Wolterstorff. Now, as for Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God has always surprised me. “Some stories are so odd that they may just have happened. This may be one of them, but in historical terms there is no way of finding out.” And when Licona discounted it, he eventually recanted under fire. This is insane heresy hunting, led by Inquisitor Albert Mohler.

If you’re looking for someone a bit more courageous, I was decidedly impressed by Dale Allison’s new book for dismissing Matthew’s Zombies.

[Kingpoleon]

To be honest I haven't paid a ton of attention to Bishop Barron. I've watched a few videos of his but it's not a major part of my thinking. But then again most of the people on this list aren't really either.

As of Muad'dib's suggestion, yeah I would say Ed Feser has been more influential to me. Not so much due to American political fights (I already agreed with him for the most part on those anyway) but that he has bothered to give defenses of Scholastic metaphysics. After reading him, I tend to see most Catholic philosophical-minded thinkers sort of meh if they don't make some metaphysical grounding for their arguments. Of course theology is somewhat separate from philosophy.

I lost any remaining sympathy to Feser & Metanaxus after their election responses, particularly Feser’s implication that Richard Nixon certainly didn’t cheat at all in 1960.