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Theopoetic
Theology and the Religious Imagination
Foreword by Peter S. Hawkins
Series: Amos Wilder Library
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
112 Pages, 5.00 x 8.00 x 0.25 in
- Paperback
- 9781625645050
- Published: December 2013
$20.00 / £18.00 / AU$25.00
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In today's crucible of myths, theology has a special problem. Ancient scenarios provided by Scripture are especially vulnerable to the modern outlook.
Amos Wilder, a distinguished scholar and critic, here relates the Christian faith, in depth, to the changes in modern man's sense of reality, and to the powerful new forms of spirituality that reflect these changes. The focus is upon the deeper dynamics of the religious situation--that is, upon its myths and dreams, symbols and arts--rather than upon its doctrines and social forms.
A total vision requires a mythopoetic and not only isolated visions and epiphanies. The testimony of contemporary poets and believers demonstrates that world-old myths and sagas can still have living power. As Wilder writes, "Before the message, the vision; before the sermon, the hymn; before the prose, the poem. The discursive categories of theology as well as the traditional images of sermon and prayer require a theopoetic."
Amos N. Wilder (1895-1993), New Testament scholar, poet, literary critic, and clergyman, received all earned degrees from Yale. His teaching career included posts at Andover Newton Theological School, Chicago Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago, and Harvard Divinity School. Special honors included the Golden Rose of the New England Poetry Club (1943) and the Bross Prize (1952). Wilder also received the Croix de guerre for service in World War I. He was the brother of playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder.
"A man of letters in the best sense of the term, Amos Wilder was an important scholar of the New Testament, a foundational figure in the study of the Bible through the techniques of literary criticism, a poet and a sensitive critic of Modernist literature. All of his books are valuable for anyone interested in the intellectual history of the twentieth century, and in their own right for their thoughtful analysis of significant religious and literary issues."
--Christopher J. Wheatley, The Catholic University of America