The Transgression of the Integrity of God: Essays and Addresses

Synopsis: In this dark when we all talk at once some of us must learn to whistle. In this comprehensive collection of his work Craig Keens voice emerges as that of a theologian who has indeed learned to whistle. In a day when much of what passes for academic theology is careful to maintain a safe distance from any determinate act of faith or work of praise Keen evinces a single-minded determination to think and to speak to write and to live doxologically. And whether writing or lecturing teaching or conversing Keen understands theology to be nothing less than an invitation to work out ones faith with fear and trembling. Throughout this volume Keen argues that the life death and resurrection of Jesus disrupt all metaphysical attempts to determine the reality of God and suggests instead that theology is to be done liturgically and eucharistically-as the work of a people whose labor is carried out with open hands free from all attempts to grasp and control. Keen discusses doctrinal issues-the Trinity incarnation creation-as well as a number of critical theological concerns-church and culture justice holiness Christian education-in this light. The result is a profound set of reflections on the ways in which the word of the cross simultaneously transgresses our constructions of God and gives us to live transgressively in love. Endorsements: Weve come to expect from Craig Keen that he will make things theological more difficult and complex than we thought they were. Then after inviting us to accompany him in several unfamiliar paths he makes us more trusting of the gospel without insisting that we eschew the complexity or arrive at a presumptuous conclusion. Masterful teacher that he is he proffers only accompaniment in all the richness of that term knowing that each one will find the way only by being found by the Way. This is the method of these essays. What they also reveal is a writer whose humility and deference to Gods grace is palpable holiness. Would that this holy way could spread among theologians. -M. Douglas Meeks Cal Turner Chancellor Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies Vanderbilt Divinity School Talk of self-involving knowledge and performative speech has become so widespread in recent years that I almost hesitate to use it. But in relation to Craig Keens work there is really no alternative. Keens writing is animated by a deep personal desire for an authentically kenotic existence and a longing for the coming of a community of women and men who understand that they cannot live until they die. There is pain and anguish in these essays but there is also well-founded hope. I cannot read them without being reminded very forcibly of the crisis theology of the young Karl Barth. This is a book to be read and savored-and read again. -Bruce McCormack Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology Princeton Theological Seminary Author Biography: Craig Keen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Azusa Pacific University Azusa California. He is the author of the forthcoming After Crucifixion (Cascade Books).