Ritualizing nature : renewing Christian liturgy in a time of crisis / H. Paul Santmire.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Santmire, H. Paul.

Series:

Theology and the sciences

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liturgics.

Nature--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Nature.

Physical Description:

xvi, 311 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : Fortress Press, [2008]

Summary:

Is the Christian faith ecologically bankrupt? H. Paul Santmire has responded forcefully to that frequently voiced critical question. He has maintained that, notwithstanding ambiguities, a single Christian tradition of long standing has something profoundly promising to say about nature and human life in nature. Now, in Ritualizing Nature, he shows how that rich tradition is itself deeply rooted in Christianity's own historic ritual practices. He then argues that those practices, when they are rightly interpreted, powerfully shape theological "habits" or ways for Christians to engage nature, signaled by the words wonder, service, and partnership.

Ritualizing Nature will claim the attention of inquiring environmentalists and professional theologians, students of theology and clergy, and also thoughtful laity and serious seekers, who are eager to understand more fully-or perhaps for the first time-how the ecological promise of the Christian faith is enlivened and sustained by its ritual practices.

Contents:

Prologue: Come Walk with Me xi

Part 1 Nature, Liturgy, and Theology

1 The Making of a Theme: Ritualizing Nature 3

2 Counterculture, Simplicity, Ecstasy: Liturgy at First Glance 34

3 The Cognitive Dissonance: Liturgy and Nature 57

Part 2 The Liturgical Assembly

4 The Heart of the Matter: The Liturgical Assembly 79

5 The Ambiguities of the Gothic Vision: The Theology of Ascent 92

6 A Revolutionary Vision of Divine Immanence: The Theology of Descent 106

7 Baptism, Proclamation, Offertory: Framed by the Theology of Descent 132

8 Eucharist and Sending: Framed by the Theology of Descent 154

9 The Habits of Awe and Serving: Our Walk with Nature Ritualized 182

10 The Habit of Partnering: Our Walk with Nature Ritualized 216

Epilogue: "Come and See" 245

Appendix On the Ambiguities of "Stewardship" 251.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-304) and index.

ISBN:

9780800662943

0800662946

OCLC:

213079802