Scripture, Metaphysics, and Poetry: Austin Farrer's The Glass of Vision With Critical Commentary

Ashgate Studies in Theology, Imagination and the Arts

by Robert MacSwain (Editor)

This book offers a critical edition of arguably the greatest work of English theology in the 20th century: Austin Farrer's Bampton Lectures published as The Glass of Vision in 1948. Farrer was an interdisciplinary genius who made original contributions to philosophy, theology, and biblical studies, as well as to our understanding of the role of imagination in human thought and Christian doctrine. According to Farrer, the three primary themes of these lectures are 'scripture, metaphysics, and poetry,' individually and in relation to each other. The lectures defend his famous theory of divine revelation through images rather than propositions or events, a provocative account of the place of metaphysical reasoning in theology, and a literary approach to the Biblical text that was decades ahead of its time and is still controversial. The Glass of Vision has generated a rich and interesting interdisciplinary conversation that has lasted for decades, starting with commentators such as Helen Gardner and Frank Kermode. In addition to Farrer's full text, this critical edition also contains an introduction to the significance and context of Farrer's thought, and a selection of thirty-years' worth of commentary by leading British and European theologians and literary scholars: David Brown, Ingolf Dalferth, Hans Haugh, Douglas Hedley, David Jasper, and Gerard Loughlin. Of interest to literary and biblical scholars, theologians, and philosophers, this book holds particular value for those exploring the nature of imagination in contemporary thought and scholarship.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition is useful as it contains Farrer's original text, plus several essays offering commentary on Farrer's work. Most of it went over my head and I am not familiar with the scholars, but if you pause and consider some of the passages, there's fascinating things going on in here. There are several connections between Farrer's ideas here and some of C. S. Lewis's essays, particularly in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics.

[Joseph Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transformational work if you don't mind 10-15 read throughs of every paragraph.