Contingency refers to an event that may be happening in future, but also may not happen. The concept plays has a long history dating from Aristotle who defined contingency as that which is possible but not necessary. The concept of contingency and related concepts as free will, the rejection of essentialisation and priority of the possible put a major challenge to theology in the 21st century. The book addresses this challenge from the perspective of practical theology. In doing so, it connects to the general debate in theology on naming God, hermeneutics, human agency and methodology.
Prof Christiaan A. M. Hermans holds the chair in Pastoral theology at Radboud university Nijmegen and the chair in Empirical study of religion. He is an extraordinary professor in practical theology and missiology at the University of the Free State (South Africa).
Prof Kobus (W. J.) Schoeman is professor of practical theology at the University of the Free State (South Africa).