Resurrection and Discipleship – the Theology of Thorwald Lorenzen

 
Resurr41 Stuart has just bought a book. Another book. I'm guilty of envy. I've borrowed it clutchingly. Stuart burst or robbed a bank to buy it – as you have to if a book is both brilliant and scarce. Why hasn't Smyth and Helwys republished this slim masterpiece of applied theology and saved the rest of us from enying the possessions of someone else who hands over their wodge of cash smilingly and think the deal is still a bargain? I've been allowed to borrow it on the secure assumption that my envy will remain a sin of disposition and won't graduate to the sin of misappropriation.

Resurrection, Discipleship Justice. Affirming the Resurrection of Jesus Today, by the Baptist theologian Thorwald Lorenzen, argues that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are relational events aimed at the establishing of justice. So resurrection is relational; but (my phrase, not Lorenzen's), Christian relationship is also resurrectional. In other words the resurrection defines discipleship and community. To be a new creation in Christ is to be radically resurrected so that as the blurb says, "resurrection faith has to be understood in terms of intentional and serious Christian discipleship."

Here are two brief quotations taken at random cos I haven't read the book – yet. I am about to hand over a wodge of cash smilingly when I click the add to your basket button. When it comes it will feature here for a week – at least. And maybe Stuart will guest post as well….please?

"The Holy Spirit is relationship par excellence. The Holy Spirit brings together what belongs together. The Holy Spirit makes what happens between people interesting."

"The Kingdom of God is celebrated when love becomes an event."

Pages 54 and 74 

 

Comments

4 responses to “Resurrection and Discipleship – the Theology of Thorwald Lorenzen”

  1. Radical Believer avatar

    Why is this so expensive in the UK? It’s only $38.00 in the US – and there’d be no import duties.

  2. Radical Believer avatar

    Why is this so expensive in the UK? It’s only $38.00 in the US – and there’d be no import duties.

  3. Graeme Clark avatar
    Graeme Clark

    As a student of Lorenzen in the 1970’s I loved the way he used the word concrete (which he did with great frequency) as here in another quote from said book:
    ‘Not individual piety or doctrinal orthodoxy but the concrete following of Jesus in our everyday life is the most eloquent response to the resurrection of Jesus Christ’ (p. 158).

  4. Graeme Clark avatar
    Graeme Clark

    As a student of Lorenzen in the 1970’s I loved the way he used the word concrete (which he did with great frequency) as here in another quote from said book:
    ‘Not individual piety or doctrinal orthodoxy but the concrete following of Jesus in our everyday life is the most eloquent response to the resurrection of Jesus Christ’ (p. 158).

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