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The Spirit of Early Christian Thought
Seeking the Face of God
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Robert Louis Wilken
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2008
About this book
"[A] magnificently learned, deeply felt and surprisingly pellucid set of essays."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World
"A delight to read. It is written as history ought to be, especially for nonspecialist readers."—Richard A. Kauffman, Christian Century
In this eloquent introduction to early Christian thought, eminent religious historian Robert Louis Wilken examines the tradition that such figures as St. Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and others set in place. These early thinkers constructed a new intellectual and spiritual world, Wilken shows, and they can still be heard as living voices in the modern world.
In chapters on topics including early Christian worship, Christian poetry and the spiritual life, the Trinity, Christ, the Bible, and icons, Wilken shows that the energy and vitality of early Christianity arose from within the life of the Church. While early Christian thinkers drew on the philosophical and rhetorical traditions of the ancient world, it was the versatile vocabulary of the Bible that loosened their tongues and minds and allowed them to construct the world anew, intellectually and spiritually. These thinkers were not seeking to invent a world of ideas, Wilken shows, but rather to win the hearts of men and women and to change their lives.
"A delight to read. It is written as history ought to be, especially for nonspecialist readers."—Richard A. Kauffman, Christian Century
In this eloquent introduction to early Christian thought, eminent religious historian Robert Louis Wilken examines the tradition that such figures as St. Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and others set in place. These early thinkers constructed a new intellectual and spiritual world, Wilken shows, and they can still be heard as living voices in the modern world.
In chapters on topics including early Christian worship, Christian poetry and the spiritual life, the Trinity, Christ, the Bible, and icons, Wilken shows that the energy and vitality of early Christianity arose from within the life of the Church. While early Christian thinkers drew on the philosophical and rhetorical traditions of the ancient world, it was the versatile vocabulary of the Bible that loosened their tongues and minds and allowed them to construct the world anew, intellectually and spiritually. These thinkers were not seeking to invent a world of ideas, Wilken shows, but rather to win the hearts of men and women and to change their lives.
Early Christian thinkers set in place a foundation that has endured. Their writings are an irreplaceable inheritance, and Wilken shows that they can still be heard as living voices within contemporary culture.
Author / Editor information
Robert Louis Wilken is William R. Kenan Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia. His previous books include The Land Called Holy.
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Frontmatter
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Contents
ix -
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Acknowledgments
xi -
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Introduction
xiii -
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Chapter 1 Founded on the Cross of Christ
1 -
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Chapter 2 An Awesome and Unbloody Sacrifice
25 -
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Chapter 3 The Face of God for Now
50 -
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Chapter 4 Seek His Face Always
80 -
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Chapter 5 Not My Will But Thine
110 -
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Chapter 6 The End Given in the Beginning
136 -
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Chapter 7 The Reasonableness of Faith
162 -
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Chapter 8 Happy the People Whose God Is the Lord
186 -
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Chapter 9 The Glorious Deeds of Christ
212 -
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Chapter 10 Making This Thing Other
237 -
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Chapter 11 Likeness to God
262 -
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Chapter 12 The Knowledge of Sensuous Intelligence
291 -
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Epilogue
312 -
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Notes
323 -
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Suggestions for Reading
341 -
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General Index
353 -
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Index of Biblical Citations
361
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 1, 2008
eBook ISBN:
9780300127560
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
398