Another Kind of Normal

Abstract

Abstract This volume begins constructing the Christian theological basis for ethical living: an interpretation of Christ’s coming and its relation to God as the Creator. An Augustinian vision of consonance between divine rhythm and the rhythmic orders of creation governs the whole volume, which argues for the inseparability of Christology and creation. On the basis of what Augustine calls the ‘interval’, it proposes Christ is encountered as riddle, scandal, and paradox. An account of creation as a Trinitarian event calls for rethinking the key teachings with respect to this understanding of creation as a divine benediction and a theatre for transformation and healing: the ex nihilo out of which all things came to be; what it means to be human; notions of Eden; and the concept of the Fall. An understanding of the relationship between the operations of time and grace is fundamental here, and the book argues for the omnidirectionality of time as graced, rejecting a conception of the temporal as linear and theologies indebted to that conception. Examining our participation in God, through our hiddenness in Christ the book develops an account of the relationship between divine and human creativity. In this participation of all things in God, human beings are haunted by the Christ through whom all things came to be and formed as those created to tend and attend to all that is given. Consonance is the mark of our homecoming, our responsibilities within creation, and the salvation of all life in, through, and with Christ.