Hinlicky dedicates one of his three new books to RC

The Rev. Dr. Paul Hinlicky, Tise Professor in Lutheran Studies, releases in June "Divine Simplicity: Christ the Crisis of Metaphysics." A follow up to his 2015 systematic theology, "Beloved Community: Critical Dogmatics after Christendom," the upcoming volume expands upon his Trinitarian criticism of classical "perfect being theism" that was sketched out in the earlier work.

Hinlicky also is releasing an unrelated book, "Between Humanist Philosophy and Apocalyptic Theology: The Twentieth Century Sojourn of Samuel Stefan Osusky." In this volume, he traces the intellectual and theological journey of Osusky, a 20th-century Slovak Lutheran bishop whom Hinlicky said "passed through imperialism, democracy, fascism and communism in his lifetime." Hinlicky has a keen interest in the Slovak Republic, to which he has ancestral ties and where he spent six years teaching.

Hinlicky is now turning his attention to a new project-co-editing the "Oxford Research Encyclopedia on Religion: Martin Luther." Hinlicky said that the work "is intended for the highest level readers with the purpose of shaping the future lines of scholarly research." Its 2017 release date will coincide with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Hinlicky has additional activities planned to mark the anniversary, both here and abroad. He will be traveling to Wittenberg, Germany, to lead a seminar for the International Congress of Luther Research, and he is coordinating a full schedule of related academic and cultural observances on campus.

Though Hinlicky's interests lead him far afield, he expressed his affection for his College home in the dedication to "Divine Simplicity." The inscription reads:

"This book is dedicated to my academic home for the longest and happiest
period of my seesaw career in scholarship: Roanoke College of Salem, Virginia.
It is one of the increasingly rare institutions of higher learning that sustains
commitment to the liberal arts; that acknowledges and honors its relationship
to the Christian tradition while welcoming people of all faiths and no faith;
and that supports scholarship as well as excellence in teaching. Excellence in
scholarship cannot be readily quantified in a cost-benefit analysis according
to the economy of the quid pro quo; nor can it accommodate the creeping
commoditization of all things that will be, if it is not already, the ruin of the
humanities if not also of our humanity. Excellence in scholarship is and will
ever be a sacrificial act of resistance whose reward is in heaven. But here on
earth I happily sing my thanks to ‘dear old Roanoke.'"

Baker Academic is the publisher of "Divine Simplicity;" Bloomsbury-T&T Clark is publishing "Between Humanist Philosophy and Apocalyptic Theology," and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company published "Beloved Community" in 2015.