Embracing Purpose

Description: In this selection of recent essays, Geoffrey Wainwright continues to probe some perennial questions posed by existence amid the world and before God. Firmly rooted in the classical Christian tradition, he finds illumination in the Scriptures, the history of doctrine, and the liturgical practices of the Church. The recurrent theme is the comprehensive purpose of God for creation, embodied in the Word made flesh, and looking in turn to be grasped by human beings. The focal image is that of Jesus suspended on the cross, reflected in the lines of Charles Wesley: The arms of love that compass me Would all mankind embrace. Endorsements: ""Geoffrey Wainwright is one of the most highly esteemed theologians in the English-speaking theological community. . . . Each chapter contains richly documented endnotes that draw upon his broad reading across ecclesial traditions and languages. . . . Of special value is a twelve-page personal epilogue, a kind of autobiographical account that recalls various stages in his Christian and academic formation."" - Michael A. Fahey, SJ (Theological Studies, March 2009) ""A fascinating and important collection of essays. . . . One could hardly hope for a better guide to the development of ecumenical theology in the twentieth century."" - (Duncan B. Forrester, The Expository Times, March 2009) About the Contributor(s): Geoffrey Wainwright has served for three decades as Professor of Systematic Theology in the Divinity School of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. He devoted his ecumenical interests and energies first to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, notably in connection with ""Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry"" (1982), and then to the Joint Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church, which he chaired on the Methodist side from 1986 to 2011.