Communion, Covenant, and Creativity - Haymes, Brian

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Résumé :
This book is a follow-up to a previous volume by the same three authors, Baptists and the Communion of Saints: A Theology of Covenanted Disciples, though it does not require familiarity with the first study. The present book offers new perspectives on belief in the communion of saints by interpreting it through the idea of covenant, with its two dimensions of relations with God and with each other. Giving attention to the creative arts of painting, music, poetry, and story writing, the authors explore indications of a hidden communion of saints through embodiment, memory, and connectivity. Included are studies of the work of visual artists Paul Nash and Mark Rothko; musicians John Tavener, Elgar, and Brahms; and writers Thomas Hardy, T. S. Eliot, and James Joyce. Theological reflection on these hints of communion offers a vision of an ongoing communion of prayer with the saints, alive and dead, which does not depend on a dualistic idea of a disembodied soul existing after death but which affirms the Christian tradition of the resurrection of the body. Communion, covenant, and creativity are thus linked to develop a Christian aesthetics based on a mutual indwelling between the triune God and the world.

Biographie:
Paul S. Fiddes is Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford and Principal Emeritus of Regent's Park College, Oxford. Brian Haymes was formerly Principal of Bristol Baptist College. Richard L. Kidd was formerly Principal of Northern Baptist College, Manchester.

Sommaire:
Brian Haymes (1940-2024) was a distinguished Baptist minister, theologian, and writer, whose ministry and scholarship left a lasting impact on Baptist life in Britain. He served as Principal of both Northern Baptist College and Bristol Baptist College, and later as Minister of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in London. Renowned for his depth of theological insight and pastoral sensitivity, Brian was a leading voice in conversations around Baptist identity, theological education, and the vocation of ministry. He authored and co-authored several significant books, and contributed extensively to the renewal of Baptist ecclesiology and theology in the UK. Brian also served as President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Deeply committed to the life of the local church, to ecumenical engagement, and to the ongoing theological task, his legacy continues to inspire ministers, scholars, and congregations alike....