Greatest Theologians in our day

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Who are some of the greatest theologians alive on Earth today? Now, the easiest no-brainer to this is of course Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Yet, who else?
 
Amongst the laity, I think Dr. Scott Hahn is in a class by himself. Just my opinion.

All around, Pope Benedict XVI.
 
Pope Benedict XVI and Blessed John Paul II are without a doubt the giants. I don’t care for Scott Hahn at all and really can’t see the fuss that is made over him. I would place him somewhere in the vicinity of Jimmy Akin.
 
Joseph Ratzinger is unparalleled in the last half century IMO.
Mike30 said:
Pope Benedict XVI and Blessed John Paul II are without a doubt the giants. I don’t care for Scott Hahn at all and really can’t see the fuss that is made over him. I would place him somewhere in the vicinity of Jimmy Akin.
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Yeah, more an apologist.
 
Ya… I don’t consider Scott Hahn much of a theologian… I agree with the take that he is more an apologist.
 
I know Romano Guardini is not alive today. My question is,could he be considered a theologian?
 
graciew said:
I know Romano Guardini is not alive today. My question is,could he be considered a theologian?
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Theologians engage in theology. Scott Hahn, Jimmy Akin and many others mentioned are popularizers of the faith but do not write theology per se. I know of no books of theology that they have written. Theologians engage in “theological discourse.” See how Fr. John Behr defines that here and in the following post.
Only when the crucified and risen Christ opens the Scriptures to them, to show how it was necessary for him to have gone to his passion to enter his glory, do the disciples’ hearts began to burn, so that they are prepared to recognize him in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:28-35). Yet once finally recognized, he disappears: “and their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:31). At the very moment that the disciples finally encounter Christ knowingly, he passes out of their sight.
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From the very beginning, therefore, we are left in anticipation of his coming: the one of whom we previously had no comprehension appears and disappears, or rather disappears in his appearance, creating in us a desire for his corning, a trace of his presence. As St Augustine put it, ‘Through him [Christ] you sought us when we were not seeking you, but you sought us that we might begin to seek you.” 'St Augustine Confessions 11.2.4]
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And so, as the Apostle Paul put it, we now “forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead,” responding to “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 3:13-14), knowing that our “citizenship” is not here on earth, but “in heaven,” from which “we await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philemon 3:20-21).
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From the outset, then, Christians have been waiting for the coming of their Lord: not for a “second coming” as something distinct from and other than a “first coming,” but simply for his coming, his parousia, his presence.
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dj
 
Dr. Scott Hahn is a theologian. Read his curriculum vitae: salvationhistory.com/personnel/Dr.%20Scott%20Hahn

He’s has been awarded the Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, Chair of Biblical Theology

He’s the founder and president of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

From 2005 to 2011, he held the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

etc.

Theologian, without a doubt.
 
djeter said:
Theologians engage in theology. Scott Hahn, Jimmy Akin and many others mentioned are popularizers of the faith but do not write theology per se. I know of no books of theology that they have written. Theologians engage in “theological discourse.” See how Fr. John Behr defines that here and in the following post.

dj
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You seem to have an idea that a theologian is someone who is rather exalted.

I don’t know that anyone “writes” theology or comes up with “new” theology. A theologian studies and understands theology that is already there in theScriptures and Sacred Tradition. A theologian who writes or speaks (or teaches) re-phrases theology that’s already there.

Often, a theologian will help laypeople, students, and seekers to understand theology and apply it to everyday life. A theologian does not have to write scholarly and esoteric works to be a good theologian. One of the best Protestant theologians is Pastor Chuck Swindoll, who writes books at a 6th grade reading level–he is so popular because he helps regular Christians understand the deepest theology.

One of the most famous theologians in history is St. Anthony of Padua. Thousands came to hear him speak because he “popularized” theology–he made it so simple that an illiterate person could understand and apply it.

Dr. Hahn has written excellent “simple” theology books, but he has also written plenty of scholarly theological works. I think he’s one of the more brilliant theologians because he is able to write for the laypeople and makes Catholic theology understandable and practical for Americans, especially American Protestants.

Another Catholic who did this was Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

I would add Jeff Cavins to the list of great Catholic theologians. .

And I know plenty of theologians who aren’t famous or “exalted”. My daughter’s best friend in college majored in theology. She taught religion for a year in a high school, and then started having babies (she now has three beautiful children and is hoping for more). She definitely is a theologian because she knows and understand theology.
 
Gotta go with Pope Benedict XVI. He really is above all others for our time period. Definitely the greatest living theologian of our time.
 
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