Why Study the Past: The Quest for the Historical Church - Softcover

Rowan Williams

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0232530327 ISBN 13: 9780232530322

Publisher: Darton,Longman & Todd, 2014

Synopsis

The old saying about being condemned to repeat the history we don't know applies to Church history as much as to anything else. But we are often at a a loss to know how to approach it. Much of what passed once for Church history was propagandist; and much of the best now written is brilliantly done but apparently detached from the Church's present needs. We need a theological approach to Church history but not one that is just partisan. In seeking to explore this need, Rowan Williams offers some reflection on how we think about the past in general - a complex issue in today s culture. Emerging from this is a sense of the importance of Church history as something that deepens our present thinking and obliges us to think with more varied and resourceful analogies about our present problems. **Also available as NEW reissues by Rowan Williams from DLT Books: Resurrection; Anglican Identities; The Wound of Knowledge; Open to Judgement**

About this title

Review:

Religious Studies Review
"Typical of Williams's work, the prose is lucid and often beautiful, and he demonstrates his knack for tackling issues which are quite complex, but in a manner which elucidates, clarifies, and leaves the reader with something new to ponder, all without dismantling or glossing over the very complexity he seeks to address."

The Christian Century
"Others would turn such a topic into a bone-dry lecture, but Williams's christological vision is thrilling."

The Living Church
"A refreshing and clear case for the importance of church history in Christian life today."

About the Author:

Rowan Williams was Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, and is now Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He has written 5 books for DLT.

About this edition

• Publisher: Darton,Longman & Todd
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0232530327
• ISBN 13: 9780232530322
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144