Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-309) and index.

The issue at stake : church--doctrine--theology. The eclipse of the church as public--loss of doctrine--the crisis in theology ; The outline of the argument ; Considerations of heuristics : pathos and poiesis, praxis and practice -- The pathos of theology and the implied question of church and church doctrine. The praxis of faith as the pathos of theology : George Lindbeck ; The gospel as the pathos of theology : Oswald Bayer -- The church's rooting in the Spirit : the core practices and the doctrina evangelii. Church doctrine as the pathos of theology : the Peterson-Barth controversy ; The pathos of faith : Holy Spirit--church--theology -- Theology as church practice. The pathos of theology as church practice : participation in God's freedom and truth ; The church as public, and theology as the practice inherent to its telos ; The actualization of the pathos of theology as church practice.

"How do Christian beliefs and practices interrelate? What is the nature and task of theology? These questions have reemerged in the contemporary discussion with new vigor. In Suffering Divine Things, Reinhard Hutter explores the link between Christian theory and action, rigorously arguing for a renewed understanding of theology as a distinct church practice."--BOOK JACKET.