On Christian Theology

Challenges in Contemporary Theology

by Rowan Williams

This distillation of 20 years of Rowan Williams' pastoral and academic work tackles many of the most searching questions of theology and society at the end of the twentieth century.

* Collects the work of a prominent writer and serving bishop on the history of Christian theology and spirituality.
* Brings together Rowan Williams' theological essays with studies of wider issues from a theological point of view.
* Includes an introduction to his work by Bishop Williams.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Essays

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1999

About the author

Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, is an Anglican bishop, poet, and theologian. He was Archbishop of Canterbury from December 2002-2012, and is now Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and Chancellor of the University of South Wales.

Reviews

[Ben Smitthimedhin]

Reading Williams is like having a second conversion experience (what an evangelical thing to say). Some dense philosophical/theological essays here that deal with a variety of topics including the church’s sacraments, the incarnation, pluralism, the trinity, ontology and how those things fit together.

A recurring theme throughout the essays is Williams’s insistence on the importance of dialogue as a process whereby the Church can rediscover her truth. Williams is often wary of the Church’s proclamation of judgment over the world which prevents further dialogue and mutual understanding—the way forward, he argues, is for the Church to heed the criticisms she receives. To think that the Church is beyond judgment is to resist God’s transformation, for only by being self-critical can the Church truly lead the world by example. Dialogue, then, becomes a tool that God uses to sanctify both the Church and the world.

I admire Williams’s intelligence and the breadth of his research (The footnotes alone led me to various scholars and topics I’ve never even heard of before). Some the essays, especially “Trinity and Ontology,” are completely over my head. More importantly, however, I admire Williams’s willingness to listen to differing voices that seem to clash with one another and to forge a way forward for mutual understanding. Although he is confident in what he believes in, his humility and Christlike patience shine through in the voice of his essays.

[Gabriel]

Simply brilliant. Bring your thinking cap! See page 106 for one of the most poignant reflections on the cross and Jesus' self-gift of love. "Nothing is explained. It is a plain fact on wood. 'We have the news that is no value as the response to everything'..."

[David Goetz]

Sometimes profound, sometimes seemingly willfully obscure. Worth reading, though!

[Nick Spencer]

An archbishop's egg

[Igor]

Hard, but worthwhile to work through.

[Toby]

As with many of Rowan Williams' books, the profundity (and there are many profound passages within) is obscured by a level of thought and communication that simply makes them difficult to grasp. Like a pointillist painter, the detail adds up to something but if you look too closely at the spots you cease grasping the whole. Unfortunately the whole is so often disguised in a thicket of words (to change the metaphor) that the reader is forced back again to the detail.

I did enjoy his introduction, particularly his description of theology as celebratory (praise), communicative (missional) and critical. That the was the most lucid part of the book! From then onwards I made plenty of scribbles, picking out particularly helpful sentences and paragraphs, but felt it slipping away from me. By the time we reached Trinity and Ontology I was lost.

He is so clever and has so many important things to say I just wish that he could communicate better and I could understand more.

[Thomas]

Rowan Williams is one of the most lauded theologians of our generation. This collection of essays and orations point to a well-read, deeply thoughtful mind. Most of these essays have something of a moral tone and, as such, there is a humility and a gentle rebuke that emanates through these pages. Clearly, Williams is somehow who has deep compassion for human beings and for the world. While I do not agree with everything he says, it is a great entryway into the thinking of Rowan Williams.