The Edge of Words: God and the Habits of Language

by Rowan Williams

Overview

The Edge of Words is Rowan Williams' first book since standing down as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Invited to give the prestigious 2014 Gifford Lectures, Dr Williams has produced a scholarly but eminently accessible account of the possibilities of speaking about God – taking as his point of departure the project of natural theology.

Dr Williams enters into dialogue with thinkers as diverse as Augustine and Simone Weil and authors such as Joyce, Hardy, Burgess and Hoban in what is a compelling essay about the possibility of language about God.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472910448
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	09/25/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	622 KB

About the Author

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has held prestigious chairs at both Oxford and at Cambridge University. He has published a number of important and influential books including The Wound of Knowledge, Lost Icons and Faith in the Public Square, his last book as Archbishop.
Rowan Williams is a former Archbishop of Canterbury and was until 2020 Master of Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of many books, including Looking East in Winter, Holy Living, and The Edge of Words, published by Bloomsbury Continuum. He lives in Cardiff and continues to broadcast, preach and lecture internationally. In 2022, he gave the second of the BBC's centenary Reith Lectures.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction
1 A Future for 'Natural Theology'
2 Can We Say What We Like? Language, Freedom and Determinism
3 Speech and Time: the Unfinishable Business of Language
4 Intelligent Bodies: Language as Material Practice
5 Excessive Speech: Language in Extreme Situations
6 Saying the Unsayable: Where Silence Happens

Appendix: On Representation
Index

Editorial Reviews

This is not a long book but it is a profound one. Many readers will find it worthwhile reading each chapter at least twice. The Edge of Words is a book that will influence both the way theologians understand language and their approach to theology” —Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper

From the Publisher