Charles Taylor and Anglican Theology: Aesthetic Ecclesiology

by J. A. Franklin

Overview

This book considers the work of Charles Taylor from a theological perspective, specifically relating to the topic of ecclesiology. It argues that Taylor and related thinkers such as John Milbank and Rowan Williams point towards an “Aesthetic Ecclesiology,” an ecclesiology that values highly and utilizes the aesthetic in its self-understanding and practice.

Jamie Franklin argues that Taylor’s work provides an account of the breakdown in Modernity of the conceptual relationship of the immanent and the transcendent, and that the work of John Milbank and radical orthodoxy give a complementary account of the secular from a more metaphysical angle. Franklin also incorporates the work of Rowan Williams, which provides us a way of thinking about the Church that is rooted in a material and historical legacy.

The central argument is that the reconnection of the transcendent and the immanent coheres with an understanding of the Church that incorporates the material realityof the sacraments, the importance of artistic beauty and craftsmanship, and the Church’s status as historical, global, and eschatological. Secondly, the aesthetic provides the Church with a powerful apologetic: beauty cannot be reduced to the presuppositions of secular materialism, and so must be accounted for by recourse to transcendent categories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030821067
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	09/21/2021
Series:	Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	550 KB

About the Author

J. A. Franklin is a priest in the Church of England. He trained for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon, and holds a master’s degree in theology and biblical studies from King’s College London and a doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Oxford, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: An Aesthetic Ecclesiology.- 2. Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age (1): Genealogy of the Secular.- 3. Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age (2): Phenomenology of Modernity.- 4. John Milbank (1): A Deeper Critique of the Secular.- 5. John Milbank (2): A Participatory Ecclesiology.- 6. Rowan Williams: Ecclesiology and Epiphany.- 7. Conclusion: Summary and Future Directions.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Although the title of this work is accurate, it is misleading. Far from being a narrow exploration of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age and two creative and formidable Anglican theologians, John Milbank and Rowan Williams, Aesthetic Ecclesiology brings a fresh and wide-ranging approach which will also be of ecumenical interest. All would certainly agree with Michael Ramsey that the Church does not simply have a message, but the Church is the message. For this reason, we so urgently need the thoughtful, critical, and creative theology we find in this work that the Church may become the home of humanity and the place in which God’s Glory dwells in healing, grace, beauty, and holiness for all creation."
—James Hanvey SJ Master (emeritus) Campion Hall, Oxford. Visiting Professor, Gregorian University, Rome