Overview
Two renowned theologians open up the reality of God's glory in this book, offering readers a dynamic foundation for glorifying God in the twenty-first century.
Drawing from Christian spirituality, liturgy, poetry, hymns, iconography, seminal "glory" texts in the Bible, the Nicene Creed, and theologians throughout the ages who caught sight of the glory of God in diverse ways, this book explores the immensely rich and generative soteriological theme of glorification. It shows students how to integrate theology into the life of faith and demonstrates how the practices of Christian worship influence theological thinking. Metaphors, descriptions, evocations, concepts, narratives, and more highlight the amazing, abundant reality of glorification.
This is the first book in the Soteriology and Doxology series. These introductory textbooks cover key topics in soteriology, providing substantive treatments of doctrine while pointing to the setting of theology in doxology. Series editors are Kent Eilers and Kyle C. Strobel.
Drawing from Christian spirituality, liturgy, poetry, hymns, iconography, seminal "glory" texts in the Bible, the Nicene Creed, and theologians throughout the ages who caught sight of the glory of God in diverse ways, this book explores the immensely rich and generative soteriological theme of glorification. It shows students how to integrate theology into the life of faith and demonstrates how the practices of Christian worship influence theological thinking. Metaphors, descriptions, evocations, concepts, narratives, and more highlight the amazing, abundant reality of glorification.
This is the first book in the Soteriology and Doxology series. These introductory textbooks cover key topics in soteriology, providing substantive treatments of doctrine while pointing to the setting of theology in doxology. Series editors are Kent Eilers and Kyle C. Strobel.
Table of Contents
Series Preface
Introduction
Doxological Prelude: The Nicene Creed
1. The Nicene Creed
Doxological Interlude: John 17
2. Scripture
Doxological Interlude: Ephesians 3:14-21
3. The Church Fully Alive
Doxological Interlude: Psalm 145
4. The Christian Life and Glorification
Doxological Postlude: Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph, 1962 (Graham Sutherland)
Indexes
Introduction
Doxological Prelude: The Nicene Creed
1. The Nicene Creed
Doxological Interlude: John 17
2. Scripture
Doxological Interlude: Ephesians 3:14-21
3. The Church Fully Alive
Doxological Interlude: Psalm 145
4. The Christian Life and Glorification
Doxological Postlude: Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph, 1962 (Graham Sutherland)
Indexes
Endorsements
“Ash and David’s book is of immense depth and pellucid clarity and is strong encouragement for the daily life of churches and of their members. It turns all into doxology: creation, reading the Bible, saying the creed, and celebrating glory together. It is a joy-filled, smiling, delightful counterweight to cynical individualism and triumphalist and selfish isolation. In God’s glory, the authors remind us, we are ‘fully alive’—in new relationship with the Lord, drawn together in community, and able to live out our calling in our lives.”
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
“This is the kind of book that makes one want to be a theologian—in all the varied ways we might realize that vocation to love God with our minds—because it is clearly such a joy-filled thing to do. Cocksworth and Ford eschew triumphalism but not exuberance as they invite fresh, courageous encounters with the endless surprise of God’s glory in the face of every temptation to despair.”
Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School
“Glory is a theological theme that is everywhere in Scripture and fundamental to the Nicene Creed, equally central to God’s nature, the work of the church, and the life of the Christian. And yet it has proven strangely difficult to write about in traditional theological idioms. Cocksworth and Ford have succeeded in writing the definitive modern book on God’s glory by treating it as so much more than a mere theological topic. As they so persuasively show, a true theology of glory is one that stirs the reader in heart, mind, and spirit and overflows into contemplation and praise.”
Simeon Zahl, professor of Christian theology, University of Cambridge
“Glorification and the Life of Faith achieves much more than a contemporary theology of glory, although it does this with profound care and with sensitivity to a world that is struggling to emerge from a global pandemic. Cocksworth and Ford invite readers to consider God’s glory in unexpected ways and in everyday encounters, such as the human smile. This book provides much-needed encouragement for the church, offering hope for these times.”
Gabrielle Thomas, assistant professor of early Christianity and Anglican studies, Emory University
“A deeply rich and spiritual book full of wisdom and insight, Glorification and the Life of Faith offers both church and academy a gift in its wonderful desire not to prize apart speech about God, creation, the church, and the life of the believer. This book is a must for any pastor or theologian.”
Tom Greggs, FRSE, Marischal Chair of Divinity, University of Aberdeen
“From the glory of God to the glory of an everyday smile—this book draws the reader into renewed praise, more prayerful theology, greater ecumenism, and deeper appreciation of how fundamental glorification is to Scripture, creed, and the Christian life. So it’s well worth taking the time to read, learn, and inwardly digest.”
Frances Young, formerly Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham
“This short book takes a deep and wide view of the landscape of God’s glory—from the mystery and wonder of the divine life as Trinity, to the glory hidden yet revealed in Jesus, to finding glory in prayer, the simple tasks of life, or the joy of a smile. It is a book worth pondering slowly and carefully as it unfolds a world of glory beyond our imagining.”
Bishop Graham Tomlin, director, Centre for Cultural Witness, Lambeth Palace
“After centuries of neglect, theology has turned to God’s glory as a central and crucial aspect of its dogmatic task. This renaissance is reflected and extended in Glorification and the Life of Faith. This book is written to be relished, reflecting its own core recommendation of doxological reading; its promise is fully realized when it attracts the reader to the contemplation of God and God’s glory, becoming more fully alive to God, others, and oneself in the process.”
Jason A. Fout, associate professor of Anglican theology, Bexley Seabury Seminary
“This book is a blessing, bringing ‘respairing joy’ and a smile to anyone who takes the time to read, reflect, and pray through its insights. Cocksworth and Ford offer a reenchantment of creation, church, and our own lives of faith through their powerful evocation of God’s glory. In a time when technique, urgency, injustice, and scarcity mindsets threaten us with despair, their beautiful description of glorification and the life of faith calls us to overflowing abundance in praise of God.”
L. Gregory Jones, president, Belmont University
Authors
Ashley Cocksworth
Ashley Cocksworth (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior lecturer in theology and practice at the University of Roehampton, England. His books include Karl Barth on Prayer and Prayer: A Guide for the Perplexed.
David F. Ford
David F. Ford (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Cambridge, England, and a Fellow of Selwyn College. His publications include Meaning and Truth in 2 Corinthians (with Frances Young), Self and Salvation: Being Transformed, Christian Wisdom: Desiring God and Learning in Love, and The Shape of Living. Ford is one of the founders of Scriptural Reasoning and has been extensively involved in generating new modes of engagement for interfaith relations.