Uniting Ricoeur, Barth, and Julian in One Christology

In Kendall Walser Cox’s Prodigal Christ: A Parabolic Theology, Cox seamlessly weaves together the parable of the prodigal son with the theology of Karl Barth and Julian of Norwich to form a fully effective christology, positing Jesus as the ultimate prodigal son. Through her unique understanding of parable as a theological genre, Cox employs Barth’s Church Dogmatics and Julian’s Revelations of Divine Love to argue for the value of parabolic narratives in systematic theology. Drawing from Julian’s insight of divine motherhood, and likewise Barth’s insight on God’s humanity, Cox also uses Paul Ricoeur’s notions of metaphorical narrative and intertextuality to retell the christologically demonstrative story of the prodigal son’s return to comfort and love. Ultimately, it becomes a story of the Trinity.

Kendall Walser Cox is the Director of Academic Affairs for the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. She previously taught ethics and theology at the University of Virginia and was a Fellow at UVA’s Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“With this book Kendall Cox achieves the near impossible, casting new light on both Julian of Norwich and Karl Barth and doing so with an elegance and depth of reading that does honor to both, and to the text of scripture which enfolds them.”

-Janet Soskice, William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School

“Many lament the division between biblical studies and systematic theology. This learned and original book does something about it. With keen literary and theological analysis, Cox’s creative pairing of Julian of Norwich and Karl Barth reimagines narrative theology as parabolic. Prodigal Christ is well worth reading, and not only by those interested in these figures or parable studies.”

– Eric Gregory, Professor of Religion at Princeton University

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Engaging Powerfully

In Amy Sherman’s timely work Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society, she highlights the importance of meaningful civic and cultural engagement as directed by the Bible. The ultimate state of Shalom to be pursued (otherwise known as Biblical flourishing), according to Sherman, appears in six parts of civic life: the good, beautiful, true, just, prosperous, and sustainable.

Using examples of faith communities that have answered the call to Shalom, as well as including Biblical grounding for her interpretation of flourishing, Sherman offers a guide for communities seeking to live out God’s intentions for engaged and purposeful citizenship. As the author of other books on thoughtful faith engagement, including Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good and Restorers of Hope: Reaching the Poor in Your Community with Church-Based Ministries that Work, and as a person deeply committed to community outreach in the city of Charlottesville, Sherman employs her skills and experience beautifully in Agents of Flourishing.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“When history looks back on the church in America at the start of the twenty-first century, it won’t be a pretty sight. Division, scandals, unbelief, materialism, individualism, theological drift . . . the list goes on and on. We’ve simply lost our way. Fortunately, this latest work by Dr. Amy Sherman provides a road map to help us get back on track. Amy rightly focuses our attention on the central message of Jesus―the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43)―and provides readers with helpful prompts to improvise this story in their cities and neighborhoods. Miraculously, we are to do this―not by exercising worldly power but from a posture of humility, grace, and sacrificial love. This is the way of King Jesus, and it needs to be the way of the church once again.”

– Brian Fikkert, president and founder of the Chalmers Center

“In an age of political division and a shrinking Western church, Amy Sherman gives pastors, scholars, and students a comprehensive vision for equipping the saints to work toward the healing of our cities. Sherman bridges the gap from Scripture to praxis and gives readers both theological frameworks and practical examples of how our work and churches once again show our culture what the gospel looks like in the ordinary, everyday movements in our lives. I highly recommend Agents of Flourishing for anyone longing to see a reintegration of faith and work, private and public, church and city.”

– Jeff Haanen, founder and CEO of the Denver Institute for Faith & Work

“Agents of Flourishing is a timely book loaded with expert guidance and amazingly practical insights for local churches (agents of God’s inbreaking kingdom) seeking the flourishing of their communities. It presents captivating examples of local churches’ engagement with six community endowments―the good (ethics), the true (knowledge), the beautiful (creativity), the just and well-ordered (political), the prosperous (economic), and the sustainable (natural environment)―as congregants carry out their priestly work of restoring shalom: rightness of relationships with God, self, others, and creation.”

– JoAnn Flett, executive director of the Center for Faithful Business at Seattle Pacific University

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Bringing Childhood Back Home

In The Child’s Song: The Religious Abuse of Children, Donald Capps discusses the impact of legalistic, bible-bludgeoning parenting and the urgency of its injustice toward the children involved; children who will eventually grow into anxious adults. Capps begins his book by reflecting on the life and works of Swiss Psychologist Alice Miller, and then moves into discussing the abuse suffered by Saint Augustine as an example of religious trauma, as well as the “vicious cycle” of abuse that follows. From here, Capps discusses various religious sources of trauma and the long-term consequences of trauma, instilled by religious authorities who think that religion justifies abuse. Capps later will go on to discuss the parent-child relationships between Abraham and Isaac and God the Father and Jesus Christ. 

As a resolution to his exposé, Capps employs the Biblical image of the Garden drawing upon, as described on the back cover, “the same biblical tradition that has contributed to the physical and emotional abuse of children to envision and initiate the healing process.” Explosive and honest, The Child’s Song offers an alternative look at the child’s will: one to be cherished and protected, not broken by fundamentalist teachings.

Donald Capps is a professor of Pastoral Theology at Princeton. He is the author of dozens of books, including At Home in the World: A Study in Psychoanalysis, Religion, and Art, Jesus: A Psychological Biography, and A Time to Laugh: The Religion of Humor. This book was used as a topic of discussion during PLT Director Charles Marsh’s class “Anxiety: Religious and Theological Perspectives” this Fall.

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Abrahamic Existentialism for the Everyday Scholar

Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard’s landmark work, is made accessible and concise to the modern scholar in Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling: A Reader’s Guide by Clare Carlisle. Kierkegaard, who sought to understand Abraham’s experience when God called him to sacrifice his son, discusses the “absurdity” of religious life in Fear and Trembling. Carlisle brings together the philosophical specificities and historical conditions of Kierkegaard’s work to present an informed commentary on Kierkegaard’s reconciliation of religious faith and ethical living. 

Carlisle places Fear and Trembling in the context of greater Christian philosophical thought, offering a holistic and thorough study of the work along with its position in the prevailing philosophies of Kierkegaard’s and our own time. She begins by discussing Kierkegaard’s influences in writing Fear and Trembling, particularly Hegelian Philosophy, the quickly evolving ‘philosophical enlightenment’ of his time, and even his tumultuous relationship with fiance Regine Olsen. Carlisle then enters into her second section, Reading the Text, where she clarifies Kierkegaard’s metaphors and terminology, walking the reader step-by-step through his argument regarding Abraham’s ethics. Finally, she concludes her book by divulging the lasting cultural impacts of Kierkegaard’s work in a section titled Reception and Influence. 

Clare Carlisle, Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, London, recently joined PLT Director Charles Marsh’s class, Anxiety: Religious and Theological Perspectives, to discuss Kierkegaard’s life and anxiety. Her lecture will be posted on the PLT website shortly ]for those interested in hearing her speak.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“Clare Carlisle’s patient and probing orchestration of the many levels and the smallest details of this thrillingly complex text promises to be as illuminating for Kierkegaard scholars as it is useful for those approaching it for the first time.”

— Stephen Mulhall, of University of Oxford, UK, and author of The Ascetic Ideal: Genealogies of Life-Denial in Religion, Morality, Art, Science, and Philosophy

For more information on the publication, click here.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. To sign up for the Lived Theology newsletter, click here.