Much of the emerging protestantism of the sixteenth century produced a Reformation in conscious opposition to formal philosophy. Nevertheless, sectors of the Reformation produced a spiritualizing form of Platonism in the drive for correct devotion. Out of an understandable fear of idolatry or displacement of the uniquely redemptive place of Christ, Christian piety moved away from the senses and the material world - freshly uncovered in the Reformation. This volume argues, however, that in the quest for restoring "true religion", sectors of the Protestant tradition impugned too severely the material components of prior Christian devotion. Larry Harwood argues that a similar spiritualizing tendency can be found in other Christian traditions, but that its applicability to the particulars of the Christian religion is nevertheless questionable. Moreover, in that quest of a spiritualizing Protestant "true religion", the Christian God could shade toward the conceptual god of the philosophers, with devotees construed as rationalist philosophers.Part of the paradoxical result was to propel the Protestant devotee toward a denuded worship for material worshipers of the Christian God who became esh.
Format:
CONTRIBUTORS: Larry D. Harwood
EAN: 9780227174081
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
PAGES:
WEIGHT: 264 g
HEIGHT: 229 cm
PUBLISHED BY: James Clarke & Co Ltd
DATE PUBLISHED: 2013-05-30
CITY:
GENRE: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Religious, RELIGION / Christianity / History, RELIGION / Christian Theology / General, RELIGION / Theology
WIDTH: 153 cm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
History of religion, Christianity, Protestantism and Protestant Churches
"In a short space, Harwood makes all the right observations."
Julie Canlis, Journal of Theological Studies, Vol 65, Issue 1, (April, 2014)
"While reformed worship has been austere and focused largely on the heart and mind, [Denuded Devotion to Christ] has been based on a sincere desire to worship God according to Scripture."
Randall Otto, Reviews in Religion & Theology, Volume 21, issue 3, July 2014
"There is much in Harwood's account of Hegel that is striking and valuable."
Harro M. Höpfl, Journal of Reformed Theology, vol 9 issue 1, 2015
Larry D. Harwood is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Viterbo University in Wisconsin and has authored numerous articles and a few short stories. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Lisbon in Portugal and is presently at work on a book on Bertrand Russell and religion.
