Book Description

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Church of England was staring down multiple crises at once. The theory of evolution seemed to challenge traditional theologies of creation, modern biblical criticism seemed to put into question the dependability of the New Testament witness, and some accused the Church of being little more than a chaplain to a vaguely religious nationalism. It seemed that, more and more, the circumstances of the time were forcing people to choose between a skeptical atheism, on the one hand, and a credulous embrace of despotic religious authority, on the other. Believing that there was a third way between these two impossible options, Charles Gore turned to the doctrine of the Incarnation equipped with a confidence that all forms of inquiry undertaken in good faith would ultimately lead to the source of all truth, the Word, the very Son of God. In this series of lectures, Gore argues that, when the Word took flesh, he came not to dazzle us with his grasp of scientific truths nor to impose a domineering and totalizing rule over all the cultures of the earth, but instead to reveal a divine compassion so far-reaching that the Son was willing to empty himself of his own omniscience. In this way, Gore demands that kenosis determine our Christological statements, chastening and clarifying them according to the Lord's human experiences of Gethsemane and Golgotha. About the Author Charles Gore (1853-1932) was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Attracted to Anglo-Catholicism from an early age, he went on to study at Oxford and was afterwards appointed as the first principal of Pusey House, where he experienced first-hand how young students were struggling to reconcile contemporary thought with catholic truth. It was also during his time as principal that he founded the Community of the Resurrection. Gore served as the Community's superior until his appointment as Bishop of Worcester in 1902; he was appointed Bishop of Birmingham in 1905 and of Oxford in 1911. After his death in 1932, his ashes were committed to the Community's church at Mirfield. About the Library of Anglican Theology Published by Seminary Street Press, the Library of Anglican Theology seeks to provide newly typeset editions of important works from the Anglican tradition for a wide array of contemporary readers-Christian laypeople, historians of the Church, seminary students, bishops, priests, deacons, catechists, and theologians. The Library will provide a rich foundation on which to build as Anglicans continue to theologically engage with the pressing questions of our time.