Synopses & Reviews
WhileChristian theologians and ethicists have long argued for the supreme value ofhumility, many contemporary thinkers have raised serious concerns that anemphasis on humility can halt intellectual reflection and dialogue and preventopposition to the status quo, setting the stage for the perpetuation of unjustpower relations. This book articulates early Christian discussions of thesubject, offering a theological account of humility designed to addresscontemporary concerns. In light of various recent developments, feminist, liberationist, andpostmodern theologians have offered both critiques of and calls to humility, sothat its moral status is now more contentious than ever. Early Christiansources and discussions of the issue since the eighteenth century have almostuniversally discounted the ways in which human morality is permeable, superableand open to modification, because of the working of divine grace. This thesis exploresprimarily the renewed vision of intellectualhumility, but also suggests the significance of the argument for amelioratingcontemporary concerns about humility's adverse effects.
Synopsis
While Christian theologians and ethicists have long argued for the supreme value of humility, many contemporary thinkers have raised serious concerns that an emphasis on humility can halt intellectual reflection and dialogue and prevent opposition to the status quo, setting the stage for the perpetuation of unjust power relations. This book articulates early Christian discussions of the subject, offering a theological account of humility designed to address contemporary concerns.In light of various recent developments, feminist, liberationist, and postmodern theologians have offered both critiques of and calls to humility, so that its moral status is now more contentious than ever. Early Christian sources and discussions of the issue since the eighteenth century have almost universally discounted the ways in which human morality is permeable, superable and open to modification, because of the working of divine grace. This thesis explores primarily the renewed vision of intellectual
humility, but also suggests the significance of the argument for ameliorating contemporary concerns about humility's adverse effects.
Synopsis
This book brings a variety of theological resources to bear on the now widespread effort to put humility in its proper place. In recent years, an assortment of thinkers have offered competing evaluations of humility, so that its moral status is now more contentious than ever. Like all accounts of humility, the one advanced in this study has to do with the proper handling of human limits.
What early Christian resources offer, and what discussions of the issue since the eighteenth century have often overlooked, is an account of the ways in which human limits are permeable, superable and open to modification because of the working of divine grace. This notion is especially relevant for a renewed vision of intellectual humility-the primary aim of the project-but the study will also suggest the significance of the argument for ameliorating contemporary concerns about humility's generally adverse effects.
About the Author
Stephen
Pardue is Assistant Professor of Theology at the Asia Graduate School of
Theology (Manila). He has published articles in Scottish Journal of Theology, International
Journal of Systematic Theology, and Journal
of Theological Interpretation.
Table of Contents
1. TheTheological Value of the "Forgotten" Virtue/ 2. In the Form of a Servant:Humility in Canonical Context/ 3. Humility and Acquaintance with God: Gregoryof Nyssa and Early Christian Tradition/ 4. Kenosis and Its Discontents: Towardan Augustinian Account of Divine Humility/ 5. Christ and Curiositas: Intellectual Humility and the Transformation of HumanLimits