T&T Clark A Theology of Love

This book explores the different dimensions of Christian love. It argues that all expressions of love are wrestling with the challenge of otherness and hence with the experience of transcendence. The development of Christian concepts of love is discussed with particular reference to the different horizons and the variety of approaches to love in the Bible, Augustine, medieval theology, Protestant agape-theology, Catholic approaches to desire, and contemporary philosophy and sociology. The discussion of the rich and often problematic heritage of expressions of personal, communal and religious love enables this study to develop a critical and constructive theology of Christian love for our time. This book demonstrates the diversity in the Christian tradition of love and thus offers a critical perspective on previous and present impositions of homogenous concepts of love. The book invites the reader to an in-depth examination of the potential of Christian love and its particular institutions for the development of personal and communal forms of Christian discipleship. The traditional separation between agape love and eroticism is overcome in favour of an integrated model of love that acknowledges both God's gift of love and the potential of every woman, man and child to contribute to the transformative praxis of love in church and society. Review ... this text is recommended for its style, substance, and ability to make people re-examine how it is that they approach such an important topic within religion as what it means to participate in the act of love.Reviews in Religion & Theology[Jeanrond's] prose brings his subject matter to life. He displays intimate familiarity with his topic, seamlessly weaving his chosen thinkers into his discussion, and he consistently references his focal points without being repetitive or pedantic. This text would be a welcome addition to any university library. Because the work assumes some familiarity with the Christian theological tradition, it is best suited for use with advanced undergraduate or graduate students.INTAMS review - Journal for the Study of Marriage & SpiritualityFrom the Bible to Pope Benedict XVI, and drawing from literatures in half a dozen languages, Werner Jeanrond tracks the development of Christian thinking about love, its varieties and its controversies. This is far more than mere history, however, since through it runs a salutary, ecumenical argument for transcending the Lutheran dichotomy between divine agape and human eros, so as to recover the creative calling and potential of human love. Nor is it just about ideas, but also about the institutions--family, marriage, friendship, church--which can cultivate the praxis of love in a culture whose individualism has kicked away so many social supports. "A Theology of Love" is a broad education, characteristically generous in spirit, rich in substance, and refreshingly uncluttered in style.The Furrow About the Author Werner G. Jeanrond is Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow, UK. He has previously taught systematic theology at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Lund University, Sweden. His books and articles in theology and hermeneutics have been translated into many languages.