Under the Gaze of the Bible - (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy) by Jean-Louis Chretien (Paperback)

About the Book

How does one most profitably read the Bible? The answer, according to Chrétien, must include allowing the Bible to read us. With the help of the great patristic writings as well as Protestant theologians and using his own poet's sensibility, he creatively explores such scriptural doctrines as joy, hope, and witness/testimony.

Book Synopsis

Chretien's essays on reading sacred scripture are enriched by his immersion in the classics of ancient philosophy and theology, as well as his poetic sensibility. He is as likely to quote Claudel as Aquinas or Origen. His intimate acquaintance with Patristic writings combines with a sympathetic understanding of such Protestant sources as Luther, Calvin, and Barth to yield an admirably ecumenical perspective.

The book's title refers to James 1:23-24, which portrays the Word of God as a mirror into which one gazes. The concomitant notion of not only examining the text but also being examined by the Word is a fruitful one for learning how to be more fully nourished by one's study of the Bible.

Review Quotes

"In Under the Gaze of the Bible, Chrétien opens up the depth and warming brilliance of the Word by finding how to appropriately address oneself to the Bible as a listener and doer of the Word, such as he has learned from Origen, Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Kierkegaard Barth, von Balthsar, and others. He shows us how to engage the Divine Word, mind and heart, so as to understand and live Christian wisdom, joy, hope, and witness as have the great Christian masters. In the span of eight well-crafted chapters, Chrétien takes the reader on a journey through some key texts and themes of the Bible and draws upon some of the great thinkers of the Christian tradition. I enthusiastically recommend this book for its illuminating reading of the Word, for the wisdom it proffers, and for its surprising and delightful understanding of just what 'reading the Word' can and must entail."-----John P. Hittinger, University of St. Thomas

Chrétien's meditations, especially the more popular essays, such as those on joy and hope, can thus be read with profit by readers unschooled in or uninterested in academic philosophy.---William J. Collinge, --Horizons

About the Author

Jean-Louis Chrétien was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris-IV, Sorbonne. His books in English translation include The Unforgettable and the Unhoped For, The Call and the Response, and Hand to Hand: Listening to the Work of Art (all Fordham).

John Marson Dunaway is Professor of French and Interdisciplinary Studies at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.