Theology of George MacDonald

Theology of George MacDonald PDF Author: John R. de Jong
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 0718895797
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Get Book Here

Book Description
George MacDonald (1824–1905) was writing at a time of Evangelical unease. In a society ravaged by Asiatic cholera, numbed by levels of infant mortality, and fearful of revolution and the toxicity of industry (to name but a few of the many challenges), the ‘gospel’ proclaiming eternal damnation for unbelievers was hardly good news; rather, Christianity was increasingly viewed as the source of bad news and a tool of state oppression. MacDonald agreed: in his view, the church had become a vampire, sucking the blood of her children instead of offering them Eucharistic life. In contrast, like Christ, MacDonald offers us a child. Although at first sight a familiar Romantic incarnation, in MacDonald’s theology ‘the child’ becomes an unlikely icon challenging the vampire’s kingdom and confronting the foundations of much of Western theology. John R. de Jong’s meticulously researched study of MacDonald’s work – especially his ‘realist’ and fantasy novels – in its Victorian context is of more than historical interest. In light of the growth of fundamentalist expressions of Christianity, we are encouraged to consider embracing MacDonald’s radical solution to religious vampirism: becoming children.

Theology of George MacDonald

Theology of George MacDonald PDF Author: John R. de Jong
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 0718895797
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Get Book Here

Book Description
George MacDonald (1824–1905) was writing at a time of Evangelical unease. In a society ravaged by Asiatic cholera, numbed by levels of infant mortality, and fearful of revolution and the toxicity of industry (to name but a few of the many challenges), the ‘gospel’ proclaiming eternal damnation for unbelievers was hardly good news; rather, Christianity was increasingly viewed as the source of bad news and a tool of state oppression. MacDonald agreed: in his view, the church had become a vampire, sucking the blood of her children instead of offering them Eucharistic life. In contrast, like Christ, MacDonald offers us a child. Although at first sight a familiar Romantic incarnation, in MacDonald’s theology ‘the child’ becomes an unlikely icon challenging the vampire’s kingdom and confronting the foundations of much of Western theology. John R. de Jong’s meticulously researched study of MacDonald’s work – especially his ‘realist’ and fantasy novels – in its Victorian context is of more than historical interest. In light of the growth of fundamentalist expressions of Christianity, we are encouraged to consider embracing MacDonald’s radical solution to religious vampirism: becoming children.

Unspoken Sermons

Unspoken Sermons PDF Author: George MacDonald
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sermons, English
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description


Baptized Imagination

Baptized Imagination PDF Author: Kerry Dearborn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317176251
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
The imagination has been called, 'the principal organ for knowing and responding to disclosures of transcendent truth'. This book probes the theological sources of the imagination, which make it a vital tool for knowing and responding to such disclosures. Kerry Dearborn approaches areas of theology and imagination through a focus on the nineteenth century theologian and writer George MacDonald. MacDonald can be seen as an icon whose life and work open a window to the intersection of word, flesh and image. He communicated the gospel through narrative and image-rich forms which honour truth and address the intellectual, imaginative, spiritual, and emotional needs of his readers. MacDonald was also able to speak prophetically in a number of areas of contemporary concern, such as the nature of suffering, aging and death, environmental degradation, moral imagination and gender issues. Dearborn explores influences which shaped him, along with the wisdom he has offeredin the formation of significant Christian writers in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Authors such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, Frederick Buechner and others attribute to MacDonald key paradigm shifts and insights in their own lives. A study of MacDonald does not offer a formulaic approach to theology and the imagination, but the possibility of gleaning from his rich harvest relevant nourishment for our own day. It also provides a context in which to assess potential weaknesses in imaginative approaches to theology.

The Christian Goddess

The Christian Goddess PDF Author: Bonnie Gaarden
Publisher: Government Institutes
ISBN: 1611470099
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Christian Goddess: Archetype and Theology in the Fantasies of George MacDonald, examines this British Victorian writer's employment of female figures to represent Deity. Such symbolism is extremely unusual for a Christian author of this period and anticipates the efforts of many modern theologians to develop an image of God as Mother. Bonnie Gaarden reads the goddess-figures in MacDonald's fantasies as both archetypes of the collective unconscious and as emblems articulating MacDonald's unique Christian theology, which is Trinitarian, Neo-Platonic, mystical and universalist. The goddesses become the central figures around which the author develops her interpretations of MacDonald's adult fantasy-novels, his children's books and some of his fairy tales. These readings discover MacDonald's ideas about God and the nature of good and evil, models of spiritual and psychological development that foreshadow the theories of Carl Jung and Eric Neumann, and acerbic commentary on the values and customs of Victorian society and religion. According to The Christian Goddess, MacDonald's Romantic belief in God's self-revelation in Nature led him to create Nature-mothers (such as the Green Lady in 'The Golden Key' and Lilith's Eve) which evoke both the Great Mother archetype described by Eric Neumann, and the modern neopagan Great Mother as developed in the works of James Frazer, Robert Graves, and Marija Gimutas. MacDonald dramatized his view of evil and its cure in the title character of Lilith, a Terrible Mother archetype historically embodied in the Hindu goddess Kali. MacDonald's notion of the world as Keat's 'vale of Soulmaking,' also elaborated by religious philosopher John Hick, is conveyed by Magic Cauldron archetypes in The Wise Woman, 'The Gray Wolf,' and Lilith. Muse-figures in Phantastes and At the Back of the North Wind express MacDonald's conviction that a 'right imagination' is the voice of God, while Divine Children in The Wise Woman and 'The Golden Key' communicate his belief that 'true childhood' is the Divine nature. The great-grandmother in the Princess books, a personification of the multi-dimensional activity of Divine Wisdom, springs from the Judeo-Christian Sophia and the classical Athena, while Kore figures in The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and Phantastes re-present the transforming descents of Persephone and Christ. This book shows MacDonald's fantasies as a chronological bridge, anchored in the traditions of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, incorporating the teachings of Christian mysticism and theistic Romanticism, and linking to the contemporary concerns in Western society that have given birth to the New Age. The Christian goddess portrayed in these fantasies may strike the reader as a Deity whose time has come.

Discovering the Character of God

Discovering the Character of God PDF Author: George MacDonald
Publisher: Rosetta Books
ISBN: 0795351739
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 411

Get Book Here

Book Description
Devotional selections from the poetry, sermons, and fiction of the great Victorian author George MacDonald. One of the nineteenth-century's greatest thinkers, George MacDonald has inspired generations with his powerful stories and sermons. Now his words of wisdom are available in a series of devotionals compiled and edited by the MacDonald scholar and author of George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller. Discovering the Character of God presents brief, daily readings from MacDonald’s poetry, sermons, and fiction. Each offers deep insight into God’s loving character and the harmony that exists between his mercy and his justice. MacDonald’s imaginative perception of God's presence and handiwork in every facet of life lead the reader on an enriching path of discovery.

Sir Gibbie

Sir Gibbie PDF Author: George MacDonald
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3368430955
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 726

Get Book Here

Book Description
Reproduction of the original.

Phantastes

Phantastes PDF Author: George MacDonald
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
Phantastes : A Faerie Romance for Men and Women by George MacDonald, first published in 1858, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

All Shall be Well

All Shall be Well PDF Author: Gregory MacDonald
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 022790298X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 454

Get Book Here

Book Description
Universalism runs like a slender thread through the history of Christian theology. Over the centuries Christian universalism, in one form or another, has been reinvented time and time again. In this book an international team of scholars explore thediverse universalisms of Christian thinkers from the Origen to Moltmann. In the introduction Gregory MacDonald argues that theologies of universal salvation occupy a space between heresy and dogma. Therefore disagreements about whether all will be saved should not be thought of as debates between the orthodox and heretics but rather as in-house debates between Christians. The studies in this collection aim, in the first instance, to hear, understand, and explain the eschatological claims of a range of Christians from the third to the twenty-first centuries. They also offer some constructive, critical engagement with those claims.

The Princess and the Goblin

The Princess and the Goblin PDF Author: George MacDonald
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book Here

Book Description
A little princess is protected by her friend Curdie from the goblin miners who live beneath the castle. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

George Macdonalds Transformational Theology of the Christian Faith

George Macdonalds Transformational Theology of the Christian Faith PDF Author: Michael Phillips
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781514852149
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 430

Get Book Here

Book Description
A compilation of the complete published sermons of George MacDonald, some complete and presented in both original and edited formats, others condensed to highlight essential themes. The selections are introduced and briefly placed in their theological and historical context by MacDonald scholar and biographer Michael Phillips. This 400 page volume is one of the most thorough and significant presentations of George MacDonald's groundbreaking and transformational theology ever published and is an indispensable aid in understanding the thought of the 19th century Scotsman and his place in Christian theological history.