Experience and Language of Grace

by Roger Haight

Experience and Language of Grace attempts to lay a theological groundwork for the understanding of Christian life through a new approach to the idea of grace. A theology of grace deals with the most basic question of how God interacts with human subjects and hence with the world. The opening chapter offers a simple statement of the theological enterprise involved in retrieving the theological symbols from our Christian past and reinterpreting them in the light of our common understanding of God and human existence today. Then in a series of historical interpretations it explores the presuppositions, questions, and responses in the classic statements of a few important Western theologians. Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Trent, and Rahner all come under examination. The final chapters of the book isolate certain common themes that are consistently present in the traditional language of grace and reinterpret these in terms of the concept of liberation. Thus the author lays the foundation for a theology of liberation within a theology of grace. In doing so, he recasts the theology of grace into a social context and provides the basis both for a new language of grace and for a spirituality of participation in history and social change. †

Genres: Theology, Religion

186 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1979

About the author

Roger Haight was an American Jesuit theologian and president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. His experiences with censorship led to widespread debate over how to handle controversial ideas in the Catholic church today.

Reviews

[Carlos Miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Lent reading 2021 #4)

The author implies in the beginning that this is an introductory book; something that can be read without previous knowledge. However, many of the topics he mentions he doesn't take the time to explain. Historical context is quite omitted and it makes the read quite dry and incomprehensible at times. There were some good comments here and there, but it bored me to death in many of its pages.

[Daune Robinson Calovini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace. How do you describe it? Have you experienced it? Roger Haight has compiled this series of essays on various aspects of grace, including the history of its place in Catholic Theology. As with any compilation, some of the essays are better than others, but overall, if you want to learn more about this very abstract element of faith, this is a great place to start.

[Tim Rooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most impenetrable books I've ever read. Its stated intention, to make clear a new language of grace and provide a practical understanding is marred by its technical jargon and dense analysis that fails to contextualize or adequately provide background for its references. That said there is some thought provoking analysis at times if you can muddle through its esoteric language.