Synopses & Reviews
In his latest book Colin Gunton -- one the foremost systematic theologians writing today -- addresses the complex question of God's attributes: or the defining characteristics of the deity. As Gunton makes clear, after nearly two thousand years of discussion there seems to be little clarity about how the identity of God as Father, son and Holy Spirit relates to the kids of things that have been, and are, said of the kind of being that God is. Theologians often seem to have been content with a list of intelligible, but often abstract terms, as to the contents of our idea of God.' And for Gunton, the doctrine of the divine attributes seems often to have been approached using the wrong method developing the wrong content; and even, when that has no been the case, treating things in the wrong order. As the author shows, this has much to do with what has become a tangles web of the relations between Greek and Hebrew discussions and characterizations of the topic. In this book he attempts to disentangle these threads as individually and carefully as possible. Successive chapters on the problems of the tangles web'; the nature of theological language; and the difference that the Trinity might make to the discussion succeed in developing one of the most coherent and intellectually stimulating pictures of the divine attributes to have been published in recent times. The author's many admirers will find this book mandatory reading, as will all serious students and teachers of systematic theology and Christian doctrine.
Synopsis
A stimulating new portrait of God. After two thousand years of discussion there seems to be little clarity about what God is. In Act and Being one of today's foremost Christian theologians explores the defining characteristics of deity. Bringing a unique combination of theology and philosophy to bear on this central question in Christian thought. Colin Gunton examines past attempts to unpack the nature of God and offers a new, intellectually stimulating portrait of the divine being. In the course of the book Gunton discusses the adequacy of theological language, compares the Greek and Hebrew views of divinity, and shows the difference that the concept of Trinity makes to our understanding of the divine attributes. The result is the most complete and coherent picture of God to be published in recent times. Scholarly yet accessible, Act and Being makes a major contribution to modern Christian thought.
Synopsis
After two thousand years of theological discussion there seems to be little clarity about the kind of being that God is. "Act and Being" -- Colin Gunton's last book before his untimely death in spring 2003 -- explores this topic with brilliance, offering a fresh, meaningful understanding of the defining characteristics of the deity. In discussing the attributes of God, Gunton brings a unique combination of theology and philosophy to bear on this central topic of Christian thought. He first reviews past attempts to unpack the nature of God, showing how most fail as cogent, relevant teaching. He then outlines the facets of a new, intellectually stimulating, profoundly biblical portrait of the divine being. In the course of his book Gunton also discusses the adequacy of theological language, compares the Greek and Hebrew views of divinity, and shows the difference that the Trinity makes to our understanding of the divine attributes.