Book Review: "Incarnational Humanism" by Jens Zimmermann

Incarnational Humanism

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3903

A Philosophy of Culture for the Church in the World

Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology

By Jens Zimmermann

INTRODUCTION

Having left its Christian roots behind, the West faces a moral, spiritual and intellectual crisis. It has little left to maintain its legacy of reason, freedom, human dignity and democracy. Far from capitulating, Jens Zimmermann believes the church has an opportunity to speak a surprising word into this postmodern situation grounded in the Incarnation itself that is proclaimed in Christian preaching and eucharistic celebration.

To do so requires that we retrieve an ancient Christian humanism for our time. Only this will acknowledge and answer the general demand for a common humanity beyond religious, denominational and secular divides. Incarnational Humanism thus points the way forward by pointing backward. Rather than resorting to theological novelty, Zimmermann draws on the rich resources found in Scripture and in its theological interpreters ranging from Irenaeus and Augustine to de Lubac and Bonhoeffer.

Zimmermann masterfully draws his comprehensive study together by proposing a distinctly evangelical philosophy of culture. That philosophy grasps the link between the new humanity inaugurated by Christ and all of humanity. In this way he holds up a picture of the public ministry of the church as a witness to the world's reconciliation to God.

Proposes a distinctly evangelical Christian philosophy of culture

Builds on centuries of Christian reflection on the nature of humanity and human culture

Engages Irenaeus, Augustine, Henri de Lubac and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Responds to current postmodern concerns and the challenge of pluralism

Provides a vision of common humanity from an orthodox Christian perspective

Contributes to contemporary discussions on the purpose of education and educational institutions

CONTENTS

Preface

1. Without Roots: The Current Malaise of Western Culture
The West's Cultural Heritage: Christianity or Enlightenment?
The Exhaustion of Secularism
The Return of Religion

2. The Beginnings of Incarnational Humanism
Greco-Roman Antecedents
Patristic Humanism
Christology and the Incarnation
The Imago Dei
The Heart of Patristic Humanism: Deification
The Correlation of Reason and Faith
The Fruits of Reason: Education as Transformative Participation in the Divine Word
The Foundation of a Common Humanity
Eucharistic Humanism and Human Solidarity
Conclusion

3. The Further Development of Christian Humanism
Medieval Humanism
Conclusion
Renaissance Humanism
Introduction
The Retrieval of Patristic Theology
The Incarnation and the Imago Dei
Humanistic Education
The Importance of the Incarnation
Christian Humanism after the Renaissance
Conclusion

4. The Rise of Anti-Humanism
The Beginning of the End: The Unity of Mind and Being in Kant and Hegel
Nietzsche's Anti-Platonism and the Birth of Anti-Humanism
Nietzsche's Anti-Humanism Heirs: Michel Foucault and Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger: From Anti-Humanism to Hyper-Humanism
Conclusion

5. Still No Incarnation: From Anti-Humanism to the Postmodern God
Levinas's Humanism of the Other
The Disincarnate God of Continental Philosophy
Gianni Vattimo: Incarnation Without Transcendence
Weak Thought or Weak Theology? Vattimo's Heideggerian Christianity
Problems With Vattimo's Incarnational Ontology
Conclusion

6. Incarnational Humanism as Cultural Philosophy
God's Presence in the World: Sacred and Secular
God's Presence in the Church
The Heart of the Church: The Eucharist
The Sacrament of the Word
Eucharistic Humanism: The Link Between Church and World

Conclusion

Bibliography

Name Index

Subject Index

Scripture Index