Abstract
This book belongs to a series on ‘the gracious acts of God’; ‘the orientation of each volume is both dogmatic and doxological’ and each is to ‘follow a broad fivefold movement’ comprising creed, Scripture, diverse soteriologies and constructive theology, along with doxological prelude, interludes and postlude (p. xii). This particular volume fulfils the prescription in four chapters: ‘The Nicene Creed’, ‘Scripture’, ‘The Church fully alive’ and ‘The Christian life and glorification’. It uses John 17, Ephesians and Psalm 145 both as interludes and as key texts to generate reflection on the theme of glorification. There are some wonderful passages about God’s love, blessing and grace; about church unity as gift rather than task; about the intensification of the everyday (rather than extraordinary experiences); about joy countering the temptation to despair; about smiles … The book eschews any definition of glory or glorification, aiming rather to draw the reader into ‘the flow of glory that moves abundantly within God, radiates from God and attracts everything into the fullness of God’ (p. 7). A key leitmotif is Irenaeus’ statement: ‘The glory of God is a human being fully alive.’
One significant feature of the book is its treatment of the creed as a doxological text. For many in our society, including churchgoers, creeds present themselves as articles of belief that generate ambivalent, even negative, responses. Historically, however, creeds were developed in association with baptism and were liturgical affirmations of commitment. True, they were subsequently exploited as tests of orthodoxy as controversies rocked the Church; but their initially doxological character deserves constant re-affirmation. Furthermore, attending to the Nicene Creed as it affirms the coming of Christ in glory and appeals to the co-glorification of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son places glory at the heart of this testimony to trust in God; historically, the most significant argument for Trinitarian doctrine at the crucial moment of its formation was their co-glorification.
What this book does not do is address the potentially negative vibes, in our contemporary culture, of much of the discourse of glory and glorification. From the beginning, imperialist terminology was borrowed, setting Christ’s kingship in competition with Caesar’s; and the Scriptures validated monarchical terms for God. How does such language ring true in democratic societies, suspicious of authority, distrustful of politicians and averse to any kind of ‘kowtowing’? A more telling, but rather disturbing, contemporary parallel might be the glorification of success, fans lauding pop stars, footballers and populists – the equivalent of the ‘vainglory’ (kenodoxia = empty glory) characteristically chased by ancient competitive elites and roundly criticized by the greatest preacher of antiquity, John Chrysostom, a distinctly pertinent, if problematic, analogy given the way in which Trump’s adoring crowds have been likened to evangelistic rallies. Perhaps the strength of this book lies in not tackling the sceptic or cynic, but rather seeking to win the reader to renewed and deeper engagement with traditional liturgical texts such as the Gloria.
Long ago, Augustine, writing on the Trinity, posed the question: how can we love what we do not know – what is beyond our knowledge? Students of theology, clergy and worshippers will find the answer for our contemporary world by reading reflectively this integrative exploration of glorification. As I put it in my own recommendation: From the glory of God to the glory of an everyday smile – this book draws the reader into renewed praise, more prayerful theology, greater ecumenism, and deeper appreciation of how fundamental glorification is to Scripture, creed and the Christian life. So it’s well worth taking the time to read, learn, and inwardly digest.