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"In his remarks upon being named Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams spoke of "the Christian creed and Christian vision (that) have in them a life and a richness that can embrace and transfigure all the complexities of human life." Confidence in that creed, he said, "saves us from being led by fashion." Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement explores Williams' concern that fashion dictates how we understand and respond to the world around us, rather than long-accepted behavioral and relational norms, or icons. Whereas fashion comes and goes, cultural icons arise from generations of conversation, and "represent some of the basic constraints on what human beings can reasonably do and say together if they are going to remain within a recognizably human conversation." Specifically Williams explores images of childhood, our awkwardness at speaking about community, our unwillingness to think seriously about remorse, and our devastating lack of vocabulary for the growth and nurture of the self through time. "All have in common the presupposition that we cannot choose just any course of action in respect of our human and non-human environment," he writes, "and still expect to 'make sense.'" In Lost Icons, he explores how cultural norms have been discarded and how society will suffer without a sense of "soul." "Those who are already familiar with the writings of Rowan Williams will know of his gift of taking the ordinary stuff of human experience and opening it up to show how it can carry us into the mystery of God incarnate. They will not be surprised to discover that in his new book he once again enlightens us." - The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold "How rare it is to find someone who, simultaneously, is thoughtfully and constructively involved both with the main teachings of Christian theology and also with contemporary culture, politics, education, and spirituality. This is a rich book" - David F. Ford, Theology Today "Rowan Williams is one of the deepest and most insightful theologians today. Here he reflects on crucial notions - childhood, charity, remorse, soul - that we depend upon but have allowed to atrophy." - L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School Rowan Williams will be the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury."--Bloomsbury Publishing

"In this original book Rowan Williams sketches out a new understanding of how human beings open themselves to transcendence. Drawing on the French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain, the Welsh poet and painter David Jones, and the American novelist Mary Flannery O`Connor, Rowan Williams fulfils his ambition for Christianity to engage with contemporary culture, and that a man who holds highest office in the Church has the time and intellectual energy to write such original theology is encouraging for us all. 'Unabashedly erudite in tone, this book may appeal to scholars and readers interested in grappling with a debate that has probably been engaged as long as there have been artists and theologians.' Publishers Weekly 'Discusses important issues in a profound and original way.' Church of England Newspaper."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Klappentext: Rowan Williams was close by when the terrorists struck New York and the World Trade Center fell. In this short meditation, he takes his personal experience of the horror as the starting point for some broader reflections on the feelings of powerlessness which prompted the attacks, and the appropriate Christian response to this rage: understanding where the rage of the powerless comes from is as necessary as air and water in a world that isn't to tear itself apart. If we are to avoid the trap of violence we have to recognise power for what it is and isn't: as what is given us for the setting free of each other, not as the satisfying of our passion for control. There are no easy answers but this little meditation aims to give hope that risk and reconciliation are a new and living way to avoid the relentless spiral downward to more and worse aggression.

The article examines the relationship between communal religious identity & the secular, liberal state. It addresses the concern that religious allegiance undermines an individual's or group's political loyalty. The liberal secular state is threatened when a religious community participates in public discussion because this challenges the positioning of religious belief as personal & private. Currently this issue is brought into sharp focus by the identities of Muslim people although it is by no means restricted to this religious group. The early Christians negotiated the difficulties of loyalty to the empire & worship of the one true God as uniquely divine. The work of William Cavanaugh & Maleiha Malik is utilized to argue that religious communities can participate in public discussions in secular liberal states while living by narratives not shared by these polities. In fact religious communities can deepen the moral discussions of liberal secular states by bringing to its instrumental rationalism convictions established on alternate beliefs & narratives about the human condition. The recognition of the public role of religions need not induce panic in the liberal secular state & may secure religious communities sufficiently to allow mature, critical debate & discussion of their loyalties. 6 References. Adapted from the source document.

British voters have been accused of being bored with government. Perhaps this boredom stems from the voters' assumption that the relationship between citizen & government is similar to that between customer & service provider. This situation lends itself to a consideration of the philosophies of Gillian Rose, Charles Mathewes, & Stanley Hauerwas -- philosophies that focus on the ties between the politics of liberal modernity & the politics of identity. These ties, in turn, are intrinsically related to a rights-based political culture that recognizes minority as well as majority groups. Meanwhile, Rose's work points to the idea that a rights-driven political culture will not necessarily result in the embrace of common values. According to Hegel, at this point it is essential to bring in theology & the "myth" of spirit, & to argue that the Christian Church contributes to the formation of common values. It must also be recognized that the Church plays a role in political campaigns & agenda setting; however, the Church fails to properly model a political system based on comprehensive social exchange. K. A. Larsen