True theodicy is partly a theoretical corrective to evangelistic impatience: discounting the distortions arising from over-eager salesmanship. And partly it is a work of poetic intensification, dedicated to faith's necessary struggle against resentment. This book contains a systematic survey of the classic theoretical-corrective theodicy tradition initiated, in the early Seventeenth Century, by Jakob Boehme. Two centuries later, Boehme's lyrical thought is translated into rigorous philosophical terms by Schelling; and is, then, further, set in context by Hegel's doctrine of providence at work in world history. The old 'God' of mere evangelistic impatience is, as Hegel sees things, 'dead'. And so theodicy is liberated, to play its proper role: illustrated here with particular reference to the book of Job, the post-Holocaust poetry of Nelly Sachs, and the thought of Simone Weil. A boldly polemical study, this book is a bid to re-ignite debate on the whole topic of theodicy. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies, theology and philosophy.

The thought of G. W. F. Hegel (1770--1831) haunts the world of theology. Constantly misunderstood, and often maliciously misrepresented, Hegel nevertheless will not go away. Perhaps no other thinker in Christian tradition has more radically sought to think through the requirements of perfect open-mindedness, identified as the very essence of the truly sacred. This book is not simply an interpretation of Hegel. Rather, it belongs to an attempt, so far as possible, to re-do for today something comparable to what Hegel did for his day. Divine revelation is on-going: never before has any generation been as well positioned as we are now, potentially to comprehend the deepest truth of the gospel. So Hegel argued, of his own day. And so this book also argues, of today. It is an attempt to indicate, in Trinitarian form, the most fundamentally significant ways in which that is the case. Thus, it opens towards a systematic understanding of the history of Christian truth, essentially as an ever-expanding medium for the authentic divine spirit of openness.

In a culture where institutional religion is in decline there is a pressing need for new theological strategies. Andrew Shanks argues for a fresh 'theological poetics', providing an eloquent first step towards meeting these needs and an alternative strategy for reconciling Christian theology with poetic truth.

In a culture where institutional religion is in decline there is a pressing need for new theological strategies. Andrew Shanks argues for a fresh 'theological poetics', providing an eloquent first step towards meeting these needs and an alternative strategy for reconciling Christian theology with poetic truth.

For the past four hundred years, theological debate has been dominated by a fundamental divide: between the liberals, with strong loyalties to the secularity of the secular state and university on the one hand, and the neo-orthodox, insisting on the absolute priority of a proper loyalty to the church community itself, on the other. God and Modernity strikes off in a fundamentally new directionAndrew Shanks boldly calls for a new and better way to do theology.
Shanks argues that God is most present in a culture where public debate over ethical issues flourishes best. Social movements such as feminist movements, peace movements, and green movements have emerged to challenge both Church and State. These new movements are no longer confined to a particular confessional religious identity and are independent of state sponsorship. These social movements already made an individual impact on theology. What would a theology look like, systematically trying to reconcile older divisions in the theological debate with a new loyalty to such movements common ethos?
Anyone wishing to gain a refreshing insight into a new way of understanding theology and politics will welcome this ground-breaking book.

The thought of G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) haunts the world of theology. Constantly misunderstood, and often maliciously misrepresented, Hegel nevertheless will not go away. Perhaps no other thinker in Christian tradition has more radically sought to think through the requirements of perfect open-mindedness, identified as the very essence of the truly sacred. This book is not simply an interpretation of Hegel. Rather, it belongs to an attempt, so far as possible, to re-do for today something comparable to what Hegel did for his day. Divine revelation is on-going: never before has any generation been as well positioned as we are now, potentially to comprehend the deepest truth of the gospel. So Hegel argued, of his own day. And so this book also argues, of today. It is an attempt to indicate, in Trinitarian form, the most fundamentally significant ways in which that is the case. Thus, it opens towards a systematic understanding of the history of Christian truth, essentially as an ever-expanding medium for the authentic divine spirit of openness.

How, if at all, is religious faith 'true'? The starting point for this book is that traditional Christian theology overvalues the importance of 'correctness'. What really counts far more is 'Honesty'. Not just sincerity or frankness, but Honesty in the sense of a sheer openness to the other. A set of skills, Andrew Shanks argues, which the church has very much still to learn. True faith in God is faith in Honesty. But theological Honesty has three faces. It stands equally opposed to banality, manipulation, the mere disowning of history. This book thus presents a whole new approach to the doctrine of the Trinity. A fresh stimulus to theological debate at academic, student and more popular levels.

The term 'inter-faith' is a recent innovation in English that has gained significant traction in the discussion of religious diversity. This volume argues that the concept of faiths in the plural is deeply problematic for Christian theology and proposes a Hegelian alternative to the conventional bureaucratic notion of inter-faith dialogue. Hegel pioneered the systematic study of comparative religion. In line with Hegelian principle, Andrew Shanks identifies faith as an inflection of the will towards perfect truth-as-openness. In relation to other religious traditions, this must involve the practice of a maximum xenophilia, or love for the unfamiliar, understood as a core Christian virtue. Shanks's neo-Hegelian theory recognises the potential for God's work in all religious traditions, which may be seen as divine experiments with human nature. This timely book discusses a wide range of interreligious encounters and will be an essential resource for studies in comparative theology and philosophy of religion.

This study begins with an examination of Milan Kundera's concept of 'kitsch', which is defined and investigated in his novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The author here describes this concept as 'the cliche which bonds the crowd together - the means by which the thought control of the hierarchy or peer group is dressed up, internalised, and rendered seductive'. Dr Shanks relates kitsch and its dangers to the thought of Hegel, whom he regards as a religious reformer wrestling with the issue at the deepest level. What, he asks, is required to rescue the Christian gospel from its pervasive corruption, which takes the form either of ecclesiastical authoritarianism, or else a privatized, 'atomistic' spirituality? The author shows Hegel's answer to be twofold. It involves, on the one hand, a decisive theological re-evaluation of the secular political realm; and on the other, a philosophical clarification of the inner truth of the Incarnation - a strictly 'inclusive' christology. This book sets out to show the centrality of such a practical concern to Hegel's systematic theoretical enterprise as a whole.

This study attempts to grasp the continuing contemporary relevance of Hegel's political theology, which the author interprets as a uniquely radical critique of every sort of religious authoritarianism. By relating Milan Kundera's concept of "kitsch" to Hegel's thought, Dr. Shanks shows that Hegel's philosophy has important implications, and that it is still able to serve as a resource and an inspiration in modern times, an age in which "kitsch" is pervasive and damaging.

True theodicy is partly a theoretical corrective to evangelistic impatience: discounting the distortions arising from over-eager salesmanship. And partly it is a work of poetic intensification, dedicated to faith's necessary struggle against resentment. This book contains a systematic survey of the classic theoretical-corrective theodicy tradition initiated, in the early Seventeenth Century, by Jakob Boehme. Two centuries later, Boehme's lyrical thought is translated into rigorous philosophical terms by Schelling; and is, then, further, set in context by Hegel's doctrine of providence at work in world history. The old 'God' of mere evangelistic impatience is, as Hegel sees things, 'dead'. And so theodicy is liberated, to play its proper role: illustrated here with particular reference to the book of Job, the post-Holocaust poetry of Nelly Sachs, and the thought of Simone Weil. A boldly polemical study, this book is a bid to re-ignite debate on the whole topic of theodicy. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies, theology and philosophy.

In Anglicanism Reimagined Andrew Shanks challenges all who are tempted to erect boundaries around their faith. Far more important than dogma and metaphysics, he argues, is the need to be open to all, and to engage with people who hold views at odds with our own. He shows how a commitment to this ideal can create fresh energy and new ways forward for the Church.

The Jewish poet Nelly Sachs (1891–1970) writes in direct response to the Holocaust. She is uniquely a 'prophetic' poet, one of the greatest of that species in twentieth century. Her first book appeared in the immediate wake of the Second World War, in 1946. Since that time, Hans Magnus Enzensberger declared, 'she has been writing fundamentally a single book'. That book is represented in this volume which reveals her whole progression rendered into English. Unlike earlier translators, Andrew Shanks calls his versions 'translations/imitations', moving away from the doggedly literal to render more faithfully the sense and intention of the originals. Sachs escaped Berlin in May 1940. She found refuge in Sweden. Her major work is an evolving response to the trauma of the Holocaust. In 1966 she received the Nobel Prize for Literature. This book includes all the lyric poetry Sachs published in her lifetime and adds the posthumous collection Teile dich Nacht, an introductory essay, and notes. Her poetry begins as a monumental lament for the victims of the Holocaust. Other themes develop: biblical, Kabbalist and religious allusions, personal bereavement, mental breakdown. And there are reflections on poetic vocation in the darkness of recent history.

Gillian Rose (1947-95) was arguably the most original and significant recent philosopher of the Continental tradition in the English-speaking world. Originally from a secular Jewish background, her thought evolved towards deeper sympathy for both Jewish and Christian religious tradition. And she chose to be baptized on her deathbed. Struck down by cancer in the prime of her career, she is known for her lyrical memoir Love's Work, written during her final illness. But she was also a notable critic of prevalent philosophic and theological fashions: postmodernism, 'Holocaust piety', Radical Orthodoxy. This is the first systematic study of Rose's profound, often difficult, but always thought-provoking work as a whole. Starting from her baptism, it is an attempt to interpret that final commitment of faith in the light of her earlier thought. Above all: her testimony to the demands of the 'broken middle', where thinking is most pulled apart but also most alive. Andrew Shanks is the Canon Theologian of Manchester Cathedral.Amongst his previous works are Faith in Honesty (2005) and The Other Calling (2007). 'This book offers its readers something that is urgently needed, a clear, lively and readable 'way in' to the difficult, but fascinating writings of Gillian Rose, one of the most dauntingly original and significant social critics and thinkers of our time. Her seemingly unaccountable and yet, at a deeper level, profoundly consistent spiritual and intellectual journey now appears to be of the greatest importance to all of us.' The Rt Revd Simon Barrington-Ward, former Bishop of Coventry 'Gillian Rose admired 'Miss Marple' amongst a multitude of thinkers from an astonishing range of sources. Her own truly formidable intelligence displayed itself in writings which Andrew Shanks splendidly makes it possible for us to 'read'. He is rightly concerned with her passion for sustaining long-term institutions for those of profoundly different mind, more or less free of delusions of innocence, and capable of negotiating unspeakable memories. The very intensity of her thinking brought her to 'hope out of hell', to Christian faith, and to baptism on her death bed from cancer in mid-career. Andrew Shanks shows us why we should take her very seriously indeed.' Ann Loades, CBE, Professorial Fellow St Chad's College, and Professor Emerita of Divinity, University of Durham,

Hegel is a thinker who haunts modern Christian theology. Although forever being refuted and rejected, he is also forever resurgent as an influence. Andrew Shanks diagnoses that rejection, very largely, as a defensive reaction against the sheer, troubling, prophetic open-mindedness of his thought.

Hegel is a thinker who haunts modern Christian theology. Although forever being refuted and rejected, he is also forever resurgent as an influence. Here Andrew Shanks diagnoses that rejection, very largely, as a defensive reaction against the sheer, troubling, prophetic open-mindedness of his thought. No doubt there is some justice to the charge that Hegel is religiously one-sided; in particular, as this criticism has been developed by Kierkegaard and, more recently, William Desmond. Against Desmond, however, Shanks argues that the critique itself is no less one-sided. The argument focuses especially on the dialectic of the Unhappy Consciousness in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, seeking to open up its relationship to recent developments in neuropsychology. Key Hegelian terms are also retranslated, in a bid to minimise the off-putting awkwardness of Hegel's jargon. What is at issue here is, surely, the most explosive element in Hegel's thought as a whole. And this is discussed not just as an item of intellectual history, but, rather, very much as a still-living option.