Theological Radicalism and Tradition

‘This volume is a remarkable achievement on the part of its editor, Christopher R. Brewer. Not only has he unearthed various unpublished works of Howard E. Root, a now largely forgotten theologian of a previous generation, he has also assiduously edited and introduced them in a way that establishes their continued relevance for our own age. In focusing on legitimate change in theological expression and understanding, Root argued that the contrast commonly made between appeal to tradition and radicalism represents a profound error. On the contrary, radical thinking can sometimes be the best way of preserving tradition, not least if careful attention is given to how the imaginative resources of artists and others model how the past can be redeployed in fresh ways. Root and Brewer can thus be seen to constitute jointly a formidable challenge to contemporary theological assumptions.’ –David Brown, Wardlaw Professor Emeritus of Theology, Aesthetics and Culture, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, UK

‘The Anglican theologian Howard E. Root was American by birth and early education but British by naturalisation, eventually becoming Professor of Theology at Southampton University and then Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He was a first-hand and sympathetic observer of two radical theological movements in the 1960s, the Honest to God debate and Vatican II, but published very little. Until now even his pellucid Bampton Lectures on theological radicalism remained unpublished and largely unreferenced. Brewer has done us a real service by completing this task and introducing Root’s work to a new generation. The theological links that Root sought to make with the arts (and especially with the poets W.H. Auden and T.S. Eliot) can now be read with pleasure and edification.’ – Robin Gill, Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology, University of Kent, UK

‘This volume recovers the remarkable contribution of Howard E. Root, an ecume