The The Vision of God: The Christian Doctrine of the Summum Bonum

A compelling justification for the centrality of worship in Christian life, drawing on the ascetic tradition and with implications for moral theology and ecclesiastical history {\rtf1\fbidis\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Calibri;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Verdana;}}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\ltrpar\sa200\sl276\slmult1\f0\fs22 "It could be argued that Kirk\rquote s \i Vision of God\i0 is the single most significant essay on moral theology written by an Anglican in the twentieth century. . . . It is effectively a prolegomenon to virtue ethics, which, since the advent of Alasdair MacIntyre\rquote s \i After Virtue\i0 , has once again taken pride of place. But Kirk\rquote s argument also directs us towards an integrated vision of theology, where moral, ascetic and doctrinal thought coalesce within one context." Stephen Platten, in \i Theology\i0 , January 2021\par"We have never read any theological work which has a more direct bearing on practical problems of ecclesiastical statesmanship and religious policy." \i Times Literary Supplement\i0 \par"A great book." \i Expository Times\i0 \par\pard\ltrpar\f1\fs17\par}This classic 1931 book, praised by Bishop Stephen Platten in Theology (January 2021) as ''the single most significant essay by an Anglican in the twentieth century'', has now been republished as an affordable paperback.Short Notice by Robin Gill, In Theology, 2023, Volume 126, Issue 4. Based on the 1928 Bampton Lectures, The Vision of God was the first of Kenneth E. Kirk''s three major books on moral theology. Drawing inspiration from the ascetic tradition of Christianity, Kirk advocates the priority of worship in ethical thought. Beginning with the sixth beatitude, he places the visio Dei front and centre throughout, placing himself in a eudaimonistic tradition that ranges from Irenaeus to Aquinas and the Shorter Catechism. Worship, he shows, offers the opportunity to discover and acknowledge something more valuable than the self, and thus contains the key to moral instruction. Although Kirk published an expanded ''complete edition'' of The Vision of God in 1931, he notes in the preface to the shorter text presented here that ''what remains approximates to, though it is not quite identical with, the actual lectures as originally delivered.'' The reader therefore has in their hands the essence of Kirk''s thesis, which continues to prompt debate today.

• | Author: Kenneth E. Kirk
• | Publisher: James Clarke & Co Ltd
• | Publication Date: Apr 27, 2023
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780227179017
• | ISBN-10: 0227179013