I just found out that Rowan Williams has a new book coming out later this year dealing with the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky entitled Dostoevsky: Language, Faith, and Fiction. This promises to be yet another great work from the Archbishop’s pen. We should all be thankful for such an amazing theologian to occupy the chair in Canterbury. It is truly sad that the various newspaper scandals of the ECUSA and their rejection of authentic union, communion, and obedience continue to define how people regard the Archbishop. I continue to be thankful for his life, service, and scholarship.
Rowan Williams on Dostoevsky
Posted by Halden
on March 3, 2008
11 Comments.
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I think he worked on this while on sabbatical at Georgetown.
That seems to be a rather broad condemnation of the ECUSA and what is undoubtedly a complex issue regarding the reposnses to current issues. “their rejection of authentic union, communion, and obedience continue” appears to me, an ECUSA reader of your blog as beneath you. Many of continue to be as thankful for his life, service, and scholarship as you are, and prya for him daily.
Fair enough, David. I should have better qualified my statement. I refer rather to certain strands within the ECUSA which are currently extremely vocal and influential in the direction of the communion as a whole. I would say most clearly that I have the utmost respect for those who remain within the ECUSA, not fleeing the trenches but continuing to strive for unity within them.
This is such fantastic news. In The Wound of Knowledge, Williams’ chapter on Augustine treats his doctrine of providence in terms of the grand mystery of the human subject, in essence saying that Pelagians devalue the mystery of existence in assuming that the forces of the world, temptation, etc. are basically subject to the human’s will. Ben Myers had a post on this a while back. Reading through it, though, I was dying to see him bring up Dostoevsky, but it was outside the realm of inquiry there. The Brothers Karamazov has as one of its main themes the interconnectedness of life, especially in terms of guilt. We are all influenced and influencers, in ways far more profound and complex than we can understand.
Anyway, I’m with you – people who don’t like Williams are idiots.
I also adore Williams; he is certainly one of my spiritual heroes and a great inspiration to me; though you probably should be aware that I am one of those horrible “fashionable” types who worships at the altar of RO. I am, I must admit, fascinated by Williams’ troubles as AB of C as I have had the feeling now for years that he is, in some sense, angling to get out of that position. Obviously he has tremendous pastoral power but his greatest strength, that of rigorous speculative inquiry, is exactly what creates difficulty for him in making settled, pragmatic decisions which he knows will alienate people. He wants to keep the gates of communication, consideration and inquiry as open as possible and this is very respectable but much easier to do when you are not the head of a worldwide communion looking for definitive positions based on unassailable “answers”. Of course there is no way to not alienate some people some of the time and I know he knows that but the only other option is to assume he just does not realize how much of a chasm of understanding lies between him and many of those who hear his words.
As to my own preferences, I actively recommend Grace and Necessity to everyone I know who would be open to it. The final chapter in that book is easily the finest succinct apolgy for the faith I have ever seen. It helps, of course, to be receptive to the ideas he is emphasizing in the text but if you are (and I am) there is really nothing more potent. His superb consideration of David Jones (another hero of mine) in that work is unquestionably encouraging for his upcoming project.
How many of you have read Dostoevsky and understand him? Come on , really!
This is big stuff…literary stuff, too.
The Brothers Karamazov is actually very readable. It’s probably the best work of fiction ever written. Should be required reading for anyone interested in Christian theology.
Agreed – The Brothers Karamazov–like any of his other works–is an incredibly engaging and enjoyable read, both simply as a story and as a theological statement. This certainly doesn’t mean one can understand it all in a single go (or multiple ones for that matter…), but often comprehension of his thought relies a good deal on the particular translation — there are some great translations of his works and some painfully awkward ones which manage to make it nearly impossible to understand. Either way, this will be great to take a look at once it is released!
I remember in the late 80′s reading The Truce of God, which Williams wrote as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book at the invitation of Robert Runcie. From then on I have simply assumed that what he writes is well worth the time and effort to read. The epithet ‘brilliant’, overused by composers of publisher’s blurb, is simple fact when used of Rowan Williams. Intellectual humility, high powered intelligence, spiritual wisdom, and moral courage informed by ethical perception – as a Scottish Baptist I have no Anglican axe to grind, just considerable admiration for a good man from whom I continue to learn much.
Yeah, BK isn’t really obscure or cryptic at all – it owes its reputation to just being really freaking awesome. The only thing tough about it is that it is long, but that just means that you have to keep reading, not that you have to work extra hard to figure out what he’s saying.