Description
Book SynopsisAn important study of the varieties of liminality - the ambiguity of identity or status at a point of transition - that illuminates our understanding of the liminal aspects of pastoral leadership.
Trade Review"Liminal Reality is insightful and thought-provoking. It helps us to deepen our understanding of the many liminal realities in our lives, and to think how such spaces can lead us to heal and transform ourselves and our world. I highly recommend it." -Gabriella Lettini, Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Professor of Theological Ethics, Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, CA "In recent years, and for very good reasons, the concept of liminality has come to the fore in the wider social sciences. Scholars are today revitalising the original insights of Arnold van Gennep concerning the centrality of rites of passage toward a deeper understanding of both continuity and change. Equipped with liminality, this book takes the reader on a voyage into the heart of theology, and into the human search for meaning. It is worth a read for scholars and non-scholars alike." -Bjørn Thomassen, Associate Professor, Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University, Denmark, Author of Liminality and the Modern (2014) "This text models how the pursuit of knowledge may be explored and enhanced as the history of scholarship intersects with present human narratives. Academics and pastors alike will find this study a definitive source for the depth issues surrounding liminality. It opens up new vistas as it discloses everything that pastoral epistemology can be." -Dr Peggy Way, Emeritus Professor of Pastoral Theology, Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri "both those working in ministry and students of ritual will enjoy the variety of topics covered in relation to liminality as well as Carsons many stimulating discussions" Armand Leon van Ommen, Theological Book Review vol.28 no.1, pp.35-6
Table of ContentsForeword Preface Foreword to the Revised Edition Acknowledgments Introduction Part I Chapter 1. Anthropology and the Rites of Passage Chapter 2. Life, Death and Rebirth Chapter 3. On Being There All the Time Chapter 4. The Inside of the Outside Chapter 5. In Our Stars or in Our Genes Chapter 6. Continuity and Context Chapter 7. Present Day Passage Chapter 8. More Than Madness Part II Introduction to Part II Chapter 9. The Liminal Locale of Hospitalization Chapter 10. Higher Education as Liminal Domain Chapter 11. In Season and Out of Season Chapter 12. Liturgy Betwixt and Between Chapter 13. Caring Through the Passage Chapter 14. The Transforming Tribe Chapter 15. Epilogue: The Minister as Liminal Being Appendices Appendix 1. Biblical References in which the Number Forty Serves as Symbol of Liminal Reality Appendix 2. The Rites of Passage Model Appendix 3. The Cyclical Rites of Passage Model Appendix 4. Congregational Resources for Initiation, Ritual and Rites of Passage Appendix 5. Scriptural Resources Bibliography Index
