Clothed in the Body

Asceticism, the Body and the Spiritual in the Late Antique Era

Hannah Hunt author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:28th Jul '12

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Clothed in the Body cover

Hunt examines the apparent paradox that Jesus' earthly existence and post resurrection appearances are experienced through consummately physical actions and attributes yet some ascetics within the Christian tradition appear to seek to deny the value of the human body, to find it deadening of spiritual life. Hunt considers why the Christian tradition as a whole has rarely managed more than an uneasy truce between the physical and the spiritual aspects of the human person. Why is it that the 'Church' has energetically argued, through centuries of ecumenical councils, for the dual nature of Christ but seems still unwilling to accept the full integration of physical and spiritual within humanity, despite Gregory of Nazianzus's comment that 'what has not been assumed has not been redeemed'?

'Clothed in the Body is a fresh, illuminating, and provocative study at the junction of christology and anthropology. Hunt explores, with keen vision, the tension between dualistic and holistic views of Christ and ourselves. Engaging Jewish and Greek anthropology, the Christian ascetic literature of the desert, the christological debates and formulations of the fourth and fifth centuries, and contemporary scholarship on the human person, Hunt makes an important contribution to current conversations on the body and the incarnation.' Brock Bingaman, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia, USA 'In her earlier book, Joy-Bearing Grief (2004), Hannah Hunt has shown herself to be a sensitive interpreter of the Greek and Syriac Fathers for the modern reader. In this present, thoughtful study she turns to a central issue in early Christian thinking and explores the relationship between different attitudes to the body and the search for a balanced understanding of the unity of the two natures in the incarnate Christ.' Sebastian Brock, Emeritus Reader in Syriac Studies, Oxford University, UK 'This monograph is certainly an important contribution to the study of the relationship between asceticism and Christology in early Christianity. Scholars and informed readers alike will find both compelling observations and areas for further inquiry.' Anglican Theological Review '[A] comprehensive and educative book...' Journal of Theological Studies

ISBN: 9781409409144

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 612g

250 pages