SPCK Rowan Williams Collection (5 vols.)

by Rowan Williams

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2014–2018

Overview

Rowan Williams has worn many hats: theologian, teacher, pastor, bishop. He has held numerous university posts, and he steered the Anglican church through many high-profile moments in his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury. This collection of his recent works brings together Williams’ breadth of academic expertise and pastoral experience as it comes to bear on some of the most foundational aspects of Christian life and thought today—what it means to be Christian, what it means to be a disciple, what it means to be human, and more.

Through his thought-provoking theological reflection and analysis, Williams is able to be both accessible and penetrating. In addressing these core Christian beliefs and people, Williams provides much to meditate on for any Christian seeking to engage the central tenets of the Gospel. You will find much here to both challenge and edify in increasing your understanding of Jesus and his message.

Key Features

• Includes many of the most recent works of this notable contemporary theologian and bishop
• Provides meaningful insight into core Christian beliefs for both beginners and non-beginners alike
• Offers substantive theological reflections that are great for individual study and small group discussions

Product Details

• Title: SPCK Rowan Williams Collection
• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Volumes: 5
• Pages: 522
• Resource Type: Topical
• Topic: Christianity

Being Christian

• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 84

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Full of sensitive pastoral advice and shot through with arresting and illuminating theological insights, Rowan Williams’ new book explores the meaning and practice of four essential components of the Christian life: baptism, Bible, Eucharist and prayer.

Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life

• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 86

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The aim of this little book is simple: to help you to see more clearly, love more dearly and follow more nearly the way of Jesus Christ.

Written for the general reader by one of our greatest living theologians, this book will help you to see more clearly, love more dearly and follow more nearly the way of Jesus Christ.

Here is quite the most beautiful writing on discipleship I know. I am grateful for the inspiration that I find in these pages. I commend it to those who have been on this journey a long time, as well as to anyone who wonders what on earth following Jesus is all about.

—Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

In this gentle and challenging book, Rowan Williams gives us both a clear explanation of what discipleship is and a stirring vision of what our discipleship can do. It is a beautifully crafted book that gives the reader real food for thought and sustenance for the journey . . . Each chapter would make for wonderful house group discussion material.

—Jude Levermore, Head of Discipleship & Ministries, The Methodist Church

Being Human: Bodies, Minds, Persons

• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 128

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

What is consciousness? Is the mind a machine? What makes us persons? How can we find the path to human maturity?

These are among the fundamental questions that Rowan Williams helps us to think about in this deeply engaging exploration of what it means to be human.

The book ends with a brief but profound meditation on the person of Christ, inviting us to consider how, through him, “our humanity in all its variety, in all its vulnerability, has been taken into the heart of the divine life.”

With discussion questions for personal or group use at the end of each chapter, this is a book that readers of all religious persuasions will find both challenging and highly rewarding.

Through an elegant exploration of the nature of human consciousness Being Human convincingly debunks current discourse about the value of autonomy as the foundation of self-confidence, restoring human narrative and relationships to the heart of our being. A fascinating book, worthy of reflection and discussion.

—Baroness Sheila Hollins, emeritus professor of the psychiatry of learning disability at St George’s, University of London

Williams never disappoints: his reflections on such important topics as the nature of consciousness, how we view time, and the wisdom of silence make vital reading.

—Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary

God with Us: The Meaning of the Cross and Resurrection—Then and Now

• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 128

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

God with Us: The Meaning of the Cross and Resurrection—Then and Now takes a fresh look at Christianity’s foundational story—the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Full of illuminating theological insights, Rowan explores the manifest love of God found in the gospel. Each chapter includes questions suitable for group discussions or individual reflection.

There is a dignity inherent in Rowan Williams’ writing that both challenges and enobles those who read it. This book addresses the core questions of Christian faith: what do Jesus’ death and resurrection mean? With characteristic hope and a sense of adventure, Rowan Williams urges us to take seriously the interpretations of the past while remaining resolutely rooted in our own present, orientated towards the future. We are asked to consider in this book nothing less than the fundamental meaning of life itself. And it is thanks to the genius of his scholarship that the question brings joy in the answering.

—Lucy Winkett, Rector of St. James’ Church, Piccadilly

Reading the book, I found myself drawn afresh to the vision of “perfect humanity” made manifest in Jesus Christ.

—Miroslav Volf, Professor of Systematic Theology, Yale Divinity School

This is a wonderful book; it is life-changing. No one can read it without coming closer to the crucified and risen Jesus...Rowan Williams is a very great teacher. With simplicity, subtlety, profound seriousness and humor too, he opens up to us the infinite depth of our Christian faith.

—Sister Wendy Beckett

Meeting God in Paul

• Author: Rowan Williams
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 96

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Rowan Williams explores the essentials of Paul’s thought for complete beginners—as well as for those who’ve read Paul’s letters many times before and want to see them in a fresh light.

Written at a highly accessible level, this book would be perfect for anyone thinking about confirmation, while also appealing to people who are curious as to why Paul has had such a profound influence on Christian history and belief.

About Rowan Williams

Born in 1950, Rowan Williams was educated in Swansea (Wales) and Cambridge. He studied for his theology doctorate in Oxford, after which he taught theology in a seminary near Leeds. From 1977 until 1986, he was engaged in academic and parish work in Cambridge, before returning to Oxford as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity. In 1990, he became a fellow of the British Academy.

In 1992, Professor Williams became Bishop of Monmouth, and in 1999 he was elected as Archbishop of Wales. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in late 2002 with 10 years’ experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a primate in the Anglican Communion. As archbishop, his main responsibilities were pastoral—whether leading his own diocese of Canterbury and the Church of England, or guiding the Anglican Communion worldwide. At the end of 2012, after 10 years as archbishop, he stepped down and moved to a new role as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Professor Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological writer and teacher as well as an accomplished poet and translator. His interests include music, fiction, and languages.