Аннотация

Аннотация

The aim of this book is to promote more serious theological discussion in the Church, especially in the mainline Protestant churches and the Episcopal Church, on the issue of homosexuality. George Hobson provides a theological perspective informed by biblical insights, on the one hand, and by analysis of the development and significance of the all-encompassing reality of science-technology, on the other. The question of technology is the determinant issue in the lives of modern men and women, for whom virtually every aspect of daily existence is controlled and oriented by technological imperatives. The central argument of the book is that reflection on the sexual revolution of our day, including the issue of homosexuality, cannot be carried forward effectively without consideration of this context of technology. A constructivist ideology, rooted in our technological power, underlies the fashionable notion that sexual behavior, even gender identity, is entirely culturally determined. Hobson opposes this notion on theological grounds and argues that the liberal disposition in the Protestant churches prevents them from seeing how the authentic Christian gospel is being subverted by this constructivism and the technologically driven quest for total control over every feature of reality that it represents.

Аннотация

The twenty-seven poems in this collection were written over a period of many years. They vary greatly in style and length. The poems in the first two sections are lyrical. Natural beauty evokes wonder and tugs at memory. Creatures dance and sing. There is joy. The last poem in Part II, «The Generations,» shifts tone abruptly. There is conflict and loss. In the end, with the dolphins, beauty renews hope. «The Generations» is a bridge to the complex narrative poems and dramatic lyrics in Part III. Here the tragic is displayed, but also the divine power that redeems it. Part IV plunges into our modern abyss. The poems are an anguished cry from the heart of the fog enveloping our civilization. The long poem, «The Fog,» evokes the plight of lost and lonely individuals tending their private campfires in the night of the world, cut off from transcendence and marooned in the abstract unreality of the digital universe. Part V carries forward this momentum, referencing the genocidal violence of our age, but then moves from darkness and horror up into the light of revelation and peace.

Аннотация

The question «What is human nature?» is in vogue today. Like everything else, this concept is being deconstructed in the context of the reigning ideology of individualistic materialism. Is there a fixed human nature, or is this simply a manipulatable social construct with no objective reference? This book says: «Yes, there is: the imago Dei: man/woman created in the image of God.» Hobson argues that this text from Genesis 1:26-28 is a God-given anthropological revelation that establishes the relational bond of human beings with their Creator and also with his creation, for which the imago equips us to be responsible stewards. Many of Hobson's essays were delivered as talks in parishes. They explore from multiple angles the import of the imago Dei for theological and sacramental reflection, apologetics, aesthetics, art, and, at a hands-on practical level, for pastoral counseling and inner healing. His texts, one of which opens with a discussion of genocide, contain incisive critiques of the dark side of modernity alongside wide-ranging demonstrations of the pertinence of the imago Dei to the current debates about human dignity and rights. His book is a ringing call to the church to take the measure of the value of this anthropological revelation for its proclamation of the gospel.