"Exercises in New Creationis ... a worthy companion to all of the philosophical commentary on Pauline thought that has appeared over the past few decades, and one that very much gets to the heart of the theological importance of these otherwise philosophical endeavors." (Colby Dickinson,Reading Religion, readingreligion.org, May 21, 2019)
Chapter 1 Introduction: Care of the Self, City, and Creation
PART ONE: The Wisdom of the Cross
Chapter 2 Reading Paul in Radical, Late Ancient, and Prophetic Perspective
Chapter 3 Wisdom: Paul’s Exercises of Care for a Commercialized Corinth
Chapter 4 The Cross: The Slow Violence of Gentlemen and the Wisdom of Self-Giving Love
Chapter 5 Exercises: Paul’s Practices of Reading and Writing for Social Transformation
Chapter 6 New Creation: Pauline Social Experiments for Love and Justice
PART TWO: The Wisdom of Crossings
Chapter 7 Pauline Resonances in Luther, Derrida, and Kierkegaard
Chapter 8 The Writing of Creatures: The Environmentality of Confessions in Derrida and Augustine
Chapter 9 The Caregiver of Copenhagen: Kierkegaard's Re-Education of the Age of Information
Chapter 10 Caring for Creatures: Kierkegaard's Exercises for a Simple Way of Life
Chapter 11 Conclusion: Reading and Writing for Sustainability
T. Wilson Dickinson teaches theology and is Director of the Doctor of Ministry and Continuing Education Programs at Lexington Theological Seminary, USA.
This book unfolds a vision for philosophical theology centered on the practices of the care of the self, the city, and creation. Rooted in Paul’s articulation of the wisdom of the cross, and in conversation with ecological, radical, and political theologies; continental philosophy; and political ecology, it addresses the challenge of injustice and ecological catastrophe. Part one reads 1 Corinthians as an exercise in reading and writing that shapes and changes relationships and capabilities. Part two follows this alternative path for theology through Derrida and Kierkegaard, and neglected trajectories in Origen, Augustine, and Luther. Along the way, reading and writing are explored as exercises that transform selves, communities, and even habitats. They are creaturely acts that can scandalize the dominant orders of consumption and competition for the ends of love and justice. This is a philosophical theology engaged with political ecology, exercises that help cultivate new creation.