Description
Book SynopsisEvery age needs to examine and propose its ways of living ethically. Another Kind of Normal: Ethical Life II constructs a mode of such living according to the Christian tradition, based upon an interpretation of Christ''s coming and the relationship of that incarnation to God as the Creator of all things. In the second of four volumes, Graham Ward explores an Augustinian vision of consonance between divine rhythm and the rhythmic orders of creation. On the basis of what Augustine calls the ''interval'', it proposes Christ is encountered as riddle, scandal, and paradox. It provides an account of creation as a Trinitarian event that calls for a rethinking of what are the key teachings in Christianity with respect to an understanding of creation as a divine benediction and a theatre for transformation and healing. Ward argues through Scriptural exegesis, for the omnidirectionality of time as graced, rejecting a conception of linear temporality and theologies indebted to that conception. Throughout, participation in God, through our hiddenness in Christ develops an account of the complex relationship between divine and human creativity, appealing to music, painting, poetry, drama, film, architecture, and novels.
Trade ReviewFor anyone interested in learning how systematic theology should be done in the 21st century: read and learn well from this volume. Allow Ward to teach you theological courage; strategies for lively engagement with the arts; and committed, faithful omnivorousness. I can hardly wait to read the next two instalments of Ethical Life. * Peter Joseph Fritz, The Heythrop Journal *
This engaging, brilliant, wide-ranging work of Christian systematic theology comes at a time when the field of Christian theology is becoming more skeptical of such works. Those with advanced training in theology will find this work edifying. * Choice *
Table of ContentsIntroit: Consonance Christology 1: The Haunting of Christ: Christology and Affect 2: Time, Grace, and Mythic Sensibility 3: Christ as Riddle 4: Christ as Scandal 5: Christ as Paradox: 'Nature' in Inverted Commas Creation 6: Creation as Triune Joy 7: Complating Nothing 8: Ecce Homo: Who We Are 9: Sighs for Eden 10: Exile and Alienation Extroit: Complex Ecologies
