SOURCE: A review of Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View, in Christian Century, Vol. 106, No. 9, March 15, 1989, pp. 290-91.

In the following review, Haggerty discusses Küng's retrospective look at Christian theology and the development of his own theology in Theology for the Third Millennium.

We live life forward but understand it backward, Soren Kierkegaard observed. For Hans Küng, professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology at the University of Tübingen and theological thorn in the papacy's side, the observation may apply equally well to theology. In fact, it may help explain why Küng has been at odds with Rome for so long.

In the foreward to [Theology for the Third Millennium], Küng acknowledges that he has never approached theology by doing a detailed analysis of how theology ought to be done. Rather, he says, challenged by ever-changing human experience, he has dealt directly...