Taking Hold of the Real

by Barry Harvey

Overview

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in one of his last prison letters that he had ""come to know and understand more and more the profound this-worldliness of Christianity."" In Taking Hold of the Real, Barry Harvey engages in constructive conversation with Bonhoeffer, contending that the ""shallow and banal this-worldliness"" of modern society is ordered to a significant degree around the social technologies of religion, culture, and race. These mechanisms displace human beings from their traditional connections with particular locales, and relocate them in their ""proper places"" as determined by the nation-state and capitalist markets. Christians are called to participate in the profound this-worldliness that breaks into the world in the apocalyptic action of Jesus Christ, a form of life that requires discipline and an understanding of death and resurrection. The church is a sacrament of this new humanity, performing for all to hear the polyphony of life that was prefigured in the Old Testament and now is realized in Christ. Unable to find a faithful form of this-worldliness in wartime Germany, Bonhoeffer joined the conspiracy against Hitler, a decision aptly contrasted with a small French church that, prepared by its life together over many generations, saved thousands of Jewish lives. ""More than just another exposition of Bonhoeffer's thought or examination of his life, this book is a creative appropriation of Bonhoeffer for our times. Harvey uses his sensitive and thorough understanding of Bonhoeffer to show the irony of modernity's claim to have reached maturity, and to guide Christians toward the kind of worldliness necessary to deal with the worldliness of a secular age. This book is a fascinating read."" --William T. Cavanaugh, Director, Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University ""Harvey's fine study offers a mature and highly responsible interpretation of the central elements of Bonhoeffer's theology in creative conservation with leading theologians and theorists of our day . . . Here is a work from which we can learn what ought never to have been forgotten: that following where Christ leads drives Christians ever more profoundly into the realities of the world for its sake."" --Philip G. Ziegler, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, King's College, University of Aberdeen ""In this elegantly written book, Harvey indeed shows us why Bonhoeffer's theology remains pivotal for our own time, but he does much more. By establishing the participatory and sacramental nature of Bonhoeffer's theology, Harvey succeeds in showing how still-debated notions like 'this-worldliness' and 'religionless Christianity' arise from Bonhoeffer's overall eschatological framework. Everyone interested in Bonhoeffer, including experts, needs to read this book!"" --Jens Zimmermann, Professor in the Humanities and Canada Research Chair for Religion, Culture and Interpretation Barry Harvey is Professor of Theology in the Honors College and the Graduate Program in Religion at Baylor University. His other books include Politics of the Theological, Another City, and Can These Bones Live? He has served on the Board of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section, and the Editorial Board of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625648440
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	10/23/2015
Pages:	358
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Barry Harvey is Professor of Theology in the Honors College and the Graduate Program in Religion at Baylor University. His other books include Politics of the Theological, Another City, and Can These Bones Live? He has served on the Board of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section, and the Editorial Board of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

List of Abbreviations xii

Introduction: The Great Wager 1

1 A Sacramental This-Worldliness 19

2 The Ironic Myth of a World Come of Age 58

3 The Future of a Technological Illusion 88

4 The End(s) of "Religion" 124

5 Culture, or Accounting for the Merely Different 154

6 A Social Economy of Whiteness 178

7 Reading the New in Light of the Old 209

8 Polyphonic Worldliness 234

9 A Tale of Two Pastors 269

Bibliography 303

Scripture Index 321

Index of Names and Subjects 323

Index of Greek Terms 342

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"More than just another exposition of Bonhoeffer's thought or examination of his life, this book is a creative appropriation of Bonhoeffer for our times. Harvey uses his sensitive and thorough understanding of Bonhoeffer to show the irony of modernity's claim to have reached maturity, and to guide Christians toward the kind of worldliness necessary to deal with the worldliness of a secular age. This book is a fascinating read."
—William T. Cavanaugh, Director, Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University

"Harvey's fine study offers a mature and highly responsible interpretation of the central elements of Bonhoeffer's theology in creative conservation with leading theologians and theorists of our day . . . Here is a work from which we can learn what ought never to have been forgotten: that following where Christ leads drives Christians ever more profoundly into the realities of the world for its sake."
—Philip G. Ziegler, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, King's College, University of Aberdeen

"In this elegantly written book, Harvey indeed shows us why Bonhoeffer's theology remains pivotal for our own time, but he does much more. By establishing the participatory and sacramental nature of Bonhoeffer's theology, Harvey succeeds in showing how still-debated notions like 'this-worldliness' and 'religionless Christianity' arise from Bonhoeffer's overall eschatological framework. Everyone interested in Bonhoeffer, including experts, needs to read this book!"
—Jens Zimmermann, Professor in the Humanities and Canada Research Chair for Religion, Culture and Interpretation

Editorial Reviews

"More than just another exposition of Bonhoeffer's thought or examination of his life, this book is a creative appropriation of Bonhoeffer for our times. Harvey uses his sensitive and thorough understanding of Bonhoeffer to show the irony of modernity's claim to have reached maturity, and to guide Christians toward the kind of worldliness necessary to deal with the worldliness of a secular age. This book is a fascinating read."
—William T. Cavanaugh, Director, Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University

"Harvey's fine study offers a mature and highly responsible interpretation of the central elements of Bonhoeffer's theology in creative conservation with leading theologians and theorists of our day . . . Here is a work from which we can learn what ought never to have been forgotten: that following where Christ leads drives Christians ever more profoundly into the realities of the world for its sake."
—Philip G. Ziegler, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, King's College, University of Aberdeen

"In this elegantly written book, Harvey indeed shows us why Bonhoeffer's theology remains pivotal for our own time, but he does much more. By establishing the participatory and sacramental nature of Bonhoeffer's theology, Harvey succeeds in showing how still-debated notions like 'this-worldliness' and 'religionless Christianity' arise from Bonhoeffer's overall eschatological framework. Everyone interested in Bonhoeffer, including experts, needs to read this book!"
—Jens Zimmermann, Professor in the Humanities and Canada Research Chair for Religion, Culture and Interpretation

From the Publisher