Towards a Theology of Relationship: Emil Brunner's Truth as Encounter in Light of Relationship Science

We live in an era in which relations are considered to be of the utmost importance in almost every field of science and society. For theology, however, this is nothing new. Having a personal relationship with God is a common Christian expression, and while this notion of relationship with God usually lacks a clear definition and its explication is often deeply flawed, this book argues nevertheless for the centrality of a theology of relationship. By reintroducing Emil Brunner as a relational theologian, based on his seminal work Truth as Encounter, it is boldly proposed that relationship must be the prime leitmotif for the whole of theology. Furthermore, the relationship analogy is investigated in light of contemporary relationship science: is it accurate to speak of a relationship with God? Berra argues that God-human interaction is indeed categorically a relationship and existentially intended to be intimate. Consequently, this relationship needs to be the theological leitmotif leading to a theology of relationship.