Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus is the first full-length book devoted to an overview of the Christology of this fourth-century Father of the Church. Andrew Hofer examines the breadth of Gregory's corpus--orations; letters; and poems (often neglected in doctrinal studies)--to argue that Gregory's writing on Christ can be best understood in tandem with his autobiography.This study begins with an articulation of Gregory's theology of the Word in which words come from the Word who became incarnate. Hofer then offers a close reading of how Gregory writes to or about Christ in the poetry known as "on himself." Within a three-part study of "autobiographical Christology;" Hofer explores the philosophical background of Gregory's rhetoric for what he calls the "mixtures" of Christ and himself. He then elucidates this autobiographical concern in Gregory's famous Ep. 101; a landmark text in the Christological controversies. Thirdly; Hofer considers how Gregory celebrates the mysteries of Christ in the festal orations. Before the book's epilogue; a chapter describes how Gregory wrote of Christ for his pastoral ministry. Throughout the work; Hofer demonstrates the importance in Gregory's writings of the language of blending (such as in the Greek word krasis; rejected by the Council of Chalcedon to describe the Incarnation). This book thus offers a unique perspective on the one known as "the Theologian" in Chalcedon's acts and in subsequent Christian tradition.
#1730945 in Books McLeod Hugh 2010-04-19 2010-03-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x .80 x 9.10l; 1.05 #File Name: 0199582025304 pagesThe Religious Crisis of the 1960s
Review
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Mary K.ok0 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Pretty EnlighteningBy MongooseDogI bought this as a class-required textbook for university. I had a limited knowledge of religious and secular history prior to taking the course; and I learned a lot from this book. The reading can be somewhat dull at times; though.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. well written; well researched; but flawedBy jmartinIt is refreshing that Prof. Mcleod on p. 12 of The Religious Crisis of the 1960s declares that as between the more religious and more secular sides of the crisis; he inclines to the more liberal; 'reforming' side. His bias only leaks out occasionally. It is those who profess neutrality most loudly who are usually the most biased; when they are so convinced that their position is the common sense neutral position; that they think anyone who dares to disagree with them are the eccentric ones. I write from the starboard side; while appreciating the many good points of the more leeward.the basic thesis of the book is that some scholars emphasize the A long-term causes of the religious crisis of the 1960's; while others emphasize the B; more current; proximate causes; and that McLeod diplomatically tries to split the difference. I favor the A explanation; because the long term causes called secularization; modernization processes are also the cause of the B explanation; so in effect we have 2 A explanations. The longer term explanation mostly affected the elite intelligentia; but that ideology trickles down to 'the street.' if we have any doubt about that; think of the small band surrounding Jesus; and how that movement 'conquered' most of the Western world; and Karl Marx scribbling in the British Museum; whose esoteric thoughts again dominated much of the 20th century.McLeod proceeds by a combination of chronological and themed chapters. However; one major beef i had was that he repeatedly asked if the crisis of the '60's constituted the "end of Christendom." Writing from the more religious end of the spectrum; i think it is obvious that Christendom ended centuries ago. Christendom most properly refers to 13th century Christianity and before. That culture exploded with the Protestant Reformation; and was finished off by the enlightenment-inspired french revolution. McLeod refers to the more recent 'Christendom' of the 1940's and '50's; but that was only a blip on the screen of a constant decline in the practice of the Christian faith. Secularism; like termites; had eaten away the ship of Christianity; so it was only a matter of time and circumstance that the ship would founder; though never completely in the eyes of the faith in the Church as founded by Christ.Another problem i had with this book is that; as virtually every book i have ever read on secularism; it is written from without rather from within its subject. That is; it continues the tradition of treating religion as if it is some esoteric bug from Mars; whereas the vast majority of the people of the world are religious; and only the minority in western europe and bi-coastal USA are secularists. Perhaps that is mandatory from the 'scientific' nature of history or sociology. The essence of Christianity is a personal savior/friend relationship with Jesus Christ; not merely the alleged controlling hierarchy; and it is a wonder to me that anyone who has experienced that loving relationship to his/her Creator can give it up so easily due to relatively superficial reasons.All in all; though; this was an enjoyable and informative book; especially for us old-timers who survived the '60's.
