On Thinking the Human : Resolutions of Difficult Notions

Of the human, Robert Jenson begins by thinking death. He then moves to consciousness, freedom, reality, wickedness and love. A theologian, preacher and Senior Scholar at the Center of Theological Inquiry (Princeton, New Jersey), Jenson is repeatedly struck with how hard it is to get certain notions into his head, never mind out of his mouth or onto a piece of paper. In terms of death, how do we think, or think about, consciousness' termination? What about the givenness of consciousness itself -- who gives it and how do we, by accepting the gift, participate with the giver? Here, and in relationship to all of the difficult notions, Jenson points out the inherence of perspective. Perspective reveals the community to which one belongs, and all communities have their origin in the divine Community of the manifold Trinity. Like a favorite song on repeat, each of Jenson's queries finds itself unmistakably rising from the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit. The pleasure in this ''little'' book comes in following each of the confounding notions Jensen sets before us to the creative energy of its origin: God's love. As new appearance, age-tanned text free of marks. …