What do you think?
Rate this book
THEOLOGY IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Creation, Grace, And Redemption
The book provides a solid introduction to the themes of creation, grace, and redemption, integrating classical and modern theological resources with perspectives from science, cultural studies, and interaith dialogue.
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2007
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 20, 2024
In the Preface to his book Creation, Grace, and Redemption (2007), Neil Ormerod writes: "Creation, sin and grace, redemption, life after death, these are the great questions to which the Christian tradition responds and with which Christian theology struggles. This present book represents my attempt to articulate a response of the Christian tradition and to bring issues into sharp relief for a contemporary reader" (xi).
This is a relatively compact book (215 pages), especially for theologians, but one rich in substance. It covers a wide range of theological topics, including creation, evil, original sin, grace, the Church, eschatology, and more. All these subjects fall under the themes of "Creation, Grace, and Redemption," as the title suggests, and are presented with remarkable clarity. In my view, Ormerod succeeds in explaining complex issues, such as original sin or the relationship between the natural and the supernatural, in a manner that avoids unnecessary complication while also steering clear of oversimplification, thereby preserving nuance.
Moreover, Ormerod skillfully draws on the richness of the Christian theological tradition and brings it out of its echo chamber. He demonstrates a keen awareness of the contemporary context and engages Christian themes in dialogue with modernity. As the quotation above indicates, he pays attention to the "contemporary reader." This engagement becomes concrete through his consideration of evolutionary science, modern psychology, current philosophical questions, as well as concerns arising from feminism and liberation theology. Ormerod respects diverse schools of thought and approaches while remaining critically discerning, refusing to uncritically accept all modern ideas.
Although Ormerod articulates the Christian tradition broadly, his Catholic perspective is evident. For instance, Thomas Aquinas is referenced far more frequently than figures such as John Calvin. Nonetheless, the book is accessible and valuable to a wide theological audience, including those outside the Catholic tradition. Ormerod’s descriptions offer a solid understanding of the Christian (and particularly Catholic) tradition, while also presenting intriguing personal insights, such as his view of original sin as “a statement about the universal victimhood of humankind.”
At times, I found myself wishing for more extensive elaboration on certain topics, such as original sin. Ormerod’s conciseness, necessitated by the book’s brevity, means that while readers encounter many fascinating ideas, they may occasionally feel they have not read quite enough. Fortunately, the "Questions for Reflection" provide helpful prompts for further thought, and the "Suggestions for Further Reading" point to additional resources for deeper exploration. This book comes highly recommended for anyone interested in theology and seeking to explore a wide variety of theological topics related to 'creation, grace, and redemption.'
This is a relatively compact book (215 pages), especially for theologians, but one rich in substance. It covers a wide range of theological topics, including creation, evil, original sin, grace, the Church, eschatology, and more. All these subjects fall under the themes of "Creation, Grace, and Redemption," as the title suggests, and are presented with remarkable clarity. In my view, Ormerod succeeds in explaining complex issues, such as original sin or the relationship between the natural and the supernatural, in a manner that avoids unnecessary complication while also steering clear of oversimplification, thereby preserving nuance.
Moreover, Ormerod skillfully draws on the richness of the Christian theological tradition and brings it out of its echo chamber. He demonstrates a keen awareness of the contemporary context and engages Christian themes in dialogue with modernity. As the quotation above indicates, he pays attention to the "contemporary reader." This engagement becomes concrete through his consideration of evolutionary science, modern psychology, current philosophical questions, as well as concerns arising from feminism and liberation theology. Ormerod respects diverse schools of thought and approaches while remaining critically discerning, refusing to uncritically accept all modern ideas.
Although Ormerod articulates the Christian tradition broadly, his Catholic perspective is evident. For instance, Thomas Aquinas is referenced far more frequently than figures such as John Calvin. Nonetheless, the book is accessible and valuable to a wide theological audience, including those outside the Catholic tradition. Ormerod’s descriptions offer a solid understanding of the Christian (and particularly Catholic) tradition, while also presenting intriguing personal insights, such as his view of original sin as “a statement about the universal victimhood of humankind.”
At times, I found myself wishing for more extensive elaboration on certain topics, such as original sin. Ormerod’s conciseness, necessitated by the book’s brevity, means that while readers encounter many fascinating ideas, they may occasionally feel they have not read quite enough. Fortunately, the "Questions for Reflection" provide helpful prompts for further thought, and the "Suggestions for Further Reading" point to additional resources for deeper exploration. This book comes highly recommended for anyone interested in theology and seeking to explore a wide variety of theological topics related to 'creation, grace, and redemption.'
May 31, 2011
Given the subject matter and the assumption that the reader is Christian or is looking for a closer understanding of Christianity, this book does a really good job at cleaning up the mess religion has made and has the turned mythology, philosophy, and theology of the bible into concepts that make sense. I would recommend this book for people looking for a logical explanation of their faith. That said, it was not a fun read. It is dense and repetitive and will probably be useless to anyone uninterested in the subject matter.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews