Communicating the Faith Indirectly: Selected Sermons, Addresses, and Prayers

ISBN-13: 9780227174111 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 198 str.

Paul L Holmer

Opis

In his teaching and his writing, Paul L. Holmer (1916-2004) not only made important contributions to recent theology, but was also much in demand as a public speaker and preacher. He was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota (1946-1960) and Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale Divinity School (1960-1987). In 2005, following his death, his family donated his papers to the Yale Divinity School Library. In this, the third volume of The Paul L. Holmer Papers: 'Communicating the Faith Indirectly', the reader will see his deep concern with the problems and possibilities of the sermon, liturgy, ministry, and spirituality. Inspired by Soren Kierkegaard's reflections on "indirect communication," and by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Holmer not only reveals his strenuous reflection on the sermon, but also gives concrete examples of his own efforts to communicate, enabling his hearers and readers to "make sense" of their lives. In the first part of this volume, Holmer reflects upon Kierkegaard's "indirect communication," a communication not of knowledge but of human capacity. In other pieces the theologian turns to liturgy, ministry, and spirituality. In the second part of this volume, the reader sees his own challenging, uncompromising practice of religious communication, in a selection of his sermons, addresses, and prayers. For anyone concerned with sermons, liturgy, spirituality, and the challenges of ministry, Holmer's essays and addresses will prove indispensable. This is the third volume of The Paul L. Holmer Papers, which includes also volume 1, 'On Kierkegaard and the Truth', and volume 2, 'Thinking the Faith with Passion: Selected Essays'. David J. Gouwens is Professor of Theology at Brite Divinity School. He is the author of 'Kierkegaard's Dialectic of the Imagination' (1989) and 'Kierkegaard as Religious Thinker' (1996). Lee C. Barrett III is Stager Professor of Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of 'The Heidelberg Catechism' (2007), 'Foundations of Modern Theology: Kierkegaard' (2009), and co-editor of 'Kierkegaard and the Bible' (2010). 'This volume is such a gift to those of us who loved Paul Holmer and were shaped by his thought. It is a thrill to hear his distinctive voice again in these pages. This book may be even more a gift to those who have never read or heard Holmer. Now you will get to see what all the fuss is about. Be forewarned, however: do not open this book casually. You might be forever changed as well.' Martin B. Copenhaver, Wellesley Congregational Church. 'Holmer is both philosopher and theologian, providing sage advice for anyone who loves the church. The sermons, most of which are appropriately based on some letter of St. Paul, advise the church on a variety of pitfalls on the path of the Christian life, urging steadfastness against worldliness, reminding us of the power of the consciousness of immortality, and making clear the place of thought in the Christian life.' Ronald E. Hustwit, College of Wooster."