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The synopsis for this particular book describes it as a unique study of Schillebeekx theological anthropology and his thoughts on God, understood as a creator and a redeemer.
The idea of the book sounds intriguing indeed, and Jennifer Cooper makes it even more interesting by starting her work with these words:
'Edward Schillebeeckx has never written a theological anthropology. In fact it is even possible from his own writings, to suggest he has deliberately not done so. Instead his theology is a sustained and varied reflection on the nature of God who is both creator and redeemer. His theology is a ‘treatise’ on the God who is God for humanity. This means of course his theology is always both a reflection on the nature of God and at the same time, a reflection on the meaning of humanity. And so for Schillebeeckx what it means to be fully human is discovered in the relationship between the mystery of God and the mystery of humanity.'
These sentences give us a pretty good picture describing the main ideas of this work and if you look at the chapters and their arrangement you will find that Cooper's thoughts are explained in a clear and understandable way. What else should be said about this book?
I think that Philip Kennedy says it best in the passages below:
'Humanity in the Mystery of God is fascinating to read and a mine of information. It explains lucidly the influence on Schillebeeckx of his theological and philosophical masters, Marie Dominique Chenu and Dominic De Petter, and sets him in a wider historical context. Very elegantly written, its greatest strength is that it is highly original. It is the only work I know of which concentrates on the theological anthropology of Schillebeeckx in the early phases of his career. All other books devoted to his life and thought focus on his later theology. Cooper’s text has the singular strength of being able to demonstrate not only a continuation between Schiillebececkx’s early and late theologies, but also that it is not really possible to understand his writings of the 1980s and 90s without attending to the theological principles he first enunciated in the 1940s and 50s.'
Philip Kennedy, Mansfield College, Oxford, UK
Humanity in the Mystery of God is available in the UK in June 2009 and in the US in August 2009
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