__A Critique of the Concept of "Tradition" That Dominates Christian Thought__   
In the two thousand years that have elapsed since the time of Christ, Christians have been as much divided by their faith as united, as much at odds as in communion. And the contents of Christian confession have developed with astonishing energy. How can believers claim a faith that has been passed down through the ages while recognizing the real historical contingencies that have shaped both their doctrines and their divisions?  
  
In this carefully argued essay, leading theologian David Bentley Hart critiques the concept of "tradition" that has become dominant in Christian thought as fundamentally incoherent. He puts forth a convincing new explanation of Christian tradition, one that is obedient to the nature of Christianity not only as a "revealed" creed embodied in historical events but as the "apocalyptic" revelation of a history that is largely identical with the eternal truth it supposedly discloses. Hart shows that Christian tradition is sustained not simply by its preservation of the past, but more essentially by its anticipation of the future. He offers a compelling portrayal of a living tradition held together by apocalyptic expectation--the promised transformation of all things in God.   
  
"Tradition is not the preservation or development of a body of knowledge or cultic practices but the continuity of faith in and hope of the final apocalypse when all that remains is love--so argues David Hart in this brilliant book, which bristles with insights that are sure to both provoke and encourage."  
--__John Behr__, University of Aberdeen  
  
"Tradition and Apocalypse invites readers to abandon every anxious traditionalism in order to inhabit the only kind of tradition Christianity can actually be: that strange discursive tradition--patient and radical, generous and revolutionary--demanded by the permanent ferment of its apocalyptic origin and its final telos in the coming of the Kingdom of God. We have dogma and history only as we find them suspended between the advent and the final apotheosis of the Gospel apocalypse. That faith must own both dogma and history in this way is the summons of this extraordinary book."  
--__Philip G. Ziegler__, University of Aberdeen; author of Militant Grace

__David Bentley Hart__ (PhD, University of Virginia) is a philosopher and a religious studies scholar whose work encompasses a wide range of subjects and genres. He has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of St. Thomas, Loyola College in Maryland, Providence College, and Saint Louis University. In 2015, he was granted a Templeton Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. Hart has written numerous books, including The Beauty of the Infinite, The New Testament: A Translation, The Devil and Pierre Gernet, Theological Territories, and That All Shall Be Saved.

From the Book It seems clear to me that the concept of "tradition" in the theological sense, however lucid and cogent it might appear to the eyes of faith, is incorrigibly obscure and incoherent. This, I would argue, is true not only of the vague, popular version of that concept that a good many believers harbor but rarely think about. It is true also of the version that many (perhaps most) Christian theologians have tended consciously to adopt since the publication in 1845 of the first edition of John Henry Newman's Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, which more or less set the agenda for discussion of the topic, and to which no alternative account of any very great significance has yet been proposed. . . . The general neglect of the topic leaves a fairly enormous unresolved question in Christian thought lying quite conspicuously and troublingly open. When we speak of "Christian tradition," what are we really talking about? Can we really prove the existence of--and then in fact identify--a particular living, continuous, and internally coherent phenomenon that corresponds to that phrase, or will any attempt to do so find evidence only of a product of pure historical fortuity, consisting in a mere mechanically determined series of consecutive viable forms united more by evolutionary imperatives than by internal rationality?

In the two thousand years that have elapsed since the time of Christ, Christians have been as much divided by their faith as united, as much at odds as in communion. And the contents of Christian confession have developed with astonishing energy. How can believers claim a faith that has been passed down through the ages while recognizing the real historical contingencies that have shaped both their doctrines and their divisions?  
  
In this carefully argued essay, David Bentley Hart critiques the concept of "tradition" that has become dominant in Christian thought as fundamentally incoherent. He puts forth a convincing new explanation of Christian tradition, one that is obedient to the nature of Christianity not only as a "revealed" creed embodied in historical events but as the "apocalyptic" revelation of a history that is largely identical with the eternal truth it supposedly discloses. Hart shows that Christian tradition is sustained not simply by its preservation of the past, but more essentially by its anticipation of the future. He offers a compelling portrayal of a living tradition held together by apocalyptic expectation--the promised transformation of all things in God.

In this carefully argued essay, leading theologian David Bentley Hart critiques common understandings of Christian tradition by offering a compelling portrayal of a living tradition held together by apocalyptic expectation--the promised transformation of all things in God.

__Contents__ 1. Tradition and Traditionalism  
2. Tradition and Causality  
3. Tradition and Development  
4. Tradition and History  
5. Tradition and Doctrine  
6. Tradition and Apocalypse  
7. Tradition as Apocalypse  
Index

\["For Christians seeking a deeper understanding of faith", "Clarifies confusing concepts of tradition in Christianity", "You will gain a fresh perspective on faith's evolution"\]

Explore the depth of Christian tradition with David Bentley Hart's insightful essay.

Hart, David Bentley

Cover

Half Title Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Acknowledgments

1. Tradition and Traditionalism

2. Tradition and Causality

3. Tradition and Development

4. Tradition and History

5. Tradition and Doctrine

6. Tradition and Apocalypse

7. Tradition as Apocalypse

Index

Cover Flaps

Back Cover

This essay by David Bentley Hart explores the complexities of Christian tradition and belief over two millennia, addressing historical influences and future expectations.

\["For Christians seeking deeper understanding of their faith", "Challenges outdated views on Christian tradition", "You will gain fresh insights into your beliefs and hope"\]

This thought-provoking essay redefines Christian tradition in light of its future potential.

An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief

Tradition and Apocalypse

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Tradition and Apocalypse

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