The Changing Face of God

by Frederick W. Schmidt Jr. (Editor), Karen Armstrong (Contributor), Marcus J. Borg (Contributor)

"Does the face of God change? Years ago I would have said, 'No.' Countless hymns, passage of Scripture and confessions of faith assert or imply the changelessness of God. To take issue with traditions that are centuries, if not millennia old, seemed to be daunting and misguided....But when the great professions of confidence in God harden into philosophical propositions, one is bound to ask: What difference would it make to say that God has only one face? Even if true in some sense, the fact of the matter is that features each of us would count as necessary and changeless would be a matter of considerable debate." - From the Introduction

In 1998/99 five scholars presented lectures at Washington National Cathedral about our images of God and what difference they make. This book, and its companion videos, will allow parish study groups and individuals to consider and discuss the viewpoints of Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, Jack Miles, James Cone, and Andrew Sung Park.

Genres: Theology, Spirituality, Religion

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[Corey Hampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it’s a good book. It’s definitely a ‘taster’ of different ways of reflecting on contemporary understandings of God from five diverse theologians (though, in the end, they’re really pretty similar).

It would be useful for a book study for a small group, and it comes with study questions.

If you’re familiar with contemporary theology, then you won’t learn anything new here. But if you want an introduction to recommend others, it might be worth reading with a friend.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A broad and sweeping introduction to several new(ish) trends in theology. The greatest strength of this brief format is that it highlights salient points for consideration, rather than inundating the reader with information that might blind him or her to the kernel of insight.