Essay / Theology

The Task of Dogmatics: LATC17 Call for Papers

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We are nearing the close of the Call for Papers period for the 2017 Los Angeles Theology Conference. The conference topic is “The Task of Dogmatics,” and we are looking for nine papers to add to the scheduled plenary presentations. A great LATC paper is a brief, constructive theological argument. We want papers that rise above mere historical analysis or description, and offer serious proposals for how this doctrine (in this case, doctrine itself) ought to be handled. While we welcome philosophers, historians, biblical studies scholars, and others, the papers need to be constructive systematic theological cases.

The suite of papers we harvest from this call for papers every year is one of my favorite things about the annual conference. It usually includes a great mix of established names, younger scholars, and diversity of backgrounds. A selection of these papers will be published by Zondervan later in the year, along with the plenary addresses in a volume bearing the conference title. Women are, shall we say, under-represented in systematic theology and also at LATC, so we hope to see applications from women theologians.

As you’ll see at the LATC home page, this 2017 conference on The Task of Dogmatics was supposed to include a plenary address by Professor John Webster. We are still reeling from his death in May 2016, and will feel the loss especially acutely as we gather on an occasion when we had looked forward to hearing from him in person. The 2017 conference will be dedicated to John, as will the subsequent book. In light of this, papers on Webster’s characteristic theological themes are welcome.

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