Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment [Paperback]

Rowan Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

The trial, conviction, and death of an innocent man 2,000 years ago have particular resonance today. Atrocities from around the world shake us nearly every day, and we all experience trials in our own lives too. In this book the new Archbishop of Canterbury looks in depth at the trial of Jesus, using it to teach readers how to face the challenges of life in todays trying times. Bringing the biblical accounts of Jesus trial vividly to life, Rowan Williams highlights what can be learned about Jesus from each of the four Gospel portraits. Mark shows a mysterious figure revealed as the Son of God. Matthew describes the Wisdom of God tried by foolish men. Luke presents a divine stranger. John speaks of the paradox of divinity submitting to judgement. These illuminating discussions are followed by a reflection on Christian martyrdom and a meditation on tyranny, freedom, and truth. A set of discussion questions and a thought-provoking prayer after each chapter make Christ on Trial an ideal book for study groups. Throughout the book Williams draws not only from the Bible but also from fiction, drama, and current events, pointing up ways in which society today continues to put Christ on trial. Even more, he argues that all Christians stand with Jesus before a watching world. Though we may not be directly confronted with death, we are nevertheless called daily to respond to the falsehood of such lures as power, influence, and prestige. Several words aptly describe this book by Rowan Williams: Profound. Incisive. Literary. Contemporary. Relevant. Prophetic. Christ on Trial will move and change those who read it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 141 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080282496X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802824967
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rowan Douglas Williams was born in Swansea, south Wales on 14 June 1950, into a Welsh-speaking family, and was educated at Dynevor School in Swansea and Christ's College Cambridge where he studied theology. He studied for his doctorate - in the theology of Vladimir Lossky, a leading figure in Russian twentieth-century religious thought - at Wadham College Oxford, taking his DPhil in 1975. After two years as a lecturer at the College of the Resurrection, near Leeds, he was ordained deacon in Ely Cathedral before returning to Cambridge.

From 1977, he spent nine years in academic and parish work in Cambridge: first at Westcott House, being ordained priest in 1978, and from 1980 as curate at St George's, Chesterton. In 1983 he was appointed as a lecturer in Divinity in the university, and the following year became dean and chaplain of Clare College. 1986 saw a return to Oxford now as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Canon of Christ Church; he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1989, and became a fellow of the British Academy in 1990. He is also an accomplished poet and translator.

In 1991 Professor Williams accepted election and consecration as bishop of Monmouth, a diocese on the Welsh borders, and in 1999 on the retirement of Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones he was elected Archbishop of Wales, one of the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. Thus it was that, in July 2002, with eleven years experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a leading primate in the Communion, Archbishop Williams was confirmed on 2 December 2002 as the 104th bishop of the See of Canterbury: the first Welsh successor to St Augustine of Canterbury and the first since the mid-thirteenth century to be appointed from beyond the English Church.

Dr Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological writer, scholar and teacher. He has been involved in many theological, ecumenical and educational commissions. He has written extensively across a very wide range of related fields of professional study - philosophy, theology (especially early and patristic Christianity), spirituality and religious aesthetics - as evidenced by his bibliography. He has also written throughout his career on moral, ethical and social topics and, since becoming archbishop, has turned his attention increasingly on contemporary cultural and interfaith issues.

As Archbishop of Canterbury his principal responsibilities are however pastoral - leading the life and witness of the Church of England in general and his own diocese in particular by his teaching and oversight, and promoting and guiding the communion of the world-wide Anglican Church by the globally recognized ministry of unity that attaches to the office of bishop of the see of Canterbury.

His interests include music, fiction and languages.

In 1981 Dr Williams married Jane Paul, a lecturer in theology, whom he met while living and working in Cambridge. They have a daughter and a son.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Human scoiety in the dock, July 5, 2009

By 

John D. Fitzmorris "The Big Irishman" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment (Paperback)

With Rowan Williams I have looked into the face of an enemy and seen a friend. I was raised Catholic and Irish and to say the least Englishmen and their brand of religion were not held in the highest of esteem in the days of my youth. I have of course moved far from those tribal positions and it is through the writings of such profound Christian thinkers and writers as the Archbishop that I have broadened my horizons. In this little tome Rowan Williams has taken the trial of Jesus and thrown its withering light on how humans have constructed our systems of oppressions and exclusion. God bless the archbishop a man I would not mind calling a friend and standing trial with.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An edifying glimpse of Rowan Williams' Gospel, July 4, 2009

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William T. Barto (Fairfax, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment (Paperback)

This is a magnificent book by the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The theme of the book is well-described in the subtitle: how the Gospel unsettles our judgment, and why this unsettling is a good thing. To establish these points, the author examines the trial scenes in each Gospel and proffers a typically unexpected interpretation of Christ's actions therein. For example, while examining the Gospel according to Mark, the author re-imagines "what it is for God to speak to us as God - not as a version of whatever makes us feel secure and appears more attractive than other familiar kinds of security. For if our talk about God is a religious version of talk about human safety, the paradox is that it will fail to say anything at all about salvation. It will not have anything to do with what is decisively and absolutely not the way of this world."

His fans and critics alike frequently point to the author's intellectual prowess, but this is a book in which the reader can glimpse in the text a pastor's heart. Each of the gospel chapters moves the reader away from an interpretation of the texts that would "let God become again a competitor in the world's business, whose power can 'trump' all other claims at the end of the day," toward an awareness that God meets us "on this lowly ground" (quoting Donne) and frequently in circumstances and through people that show little or no signs of transcendence or even joy. As the author notes, "the mystery is in our midst, wherever and however we find ourselves." And each chapter ends with a wonderful prayer that captures the spirit of each chapter's meditation.

Williams' prose can be tough to negotiate at times, but this book is well above average for his works in terms of its ease of reading, approaching his sermons in terms of accessibility. Not every chapter is equally understandable in a single reading, and I recommend several passes over the chapters on John and the Christian martyrs. That being said, the book is wonderful, and I recommend this book to anyone interested in a thoughtful assessment of the unsettling nature of the "Good News" of Christianity, especially those within the Anglican tradition. There is wisdom here for both sides of the current Anglican unpleasantries!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, understandable book., March 14, 2010

By 

Matthew S. King "mathematician and jesus foll... (SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment (Kindle Edition)

To put it simply, this book is everything I thought it would be before I picked it up. A very thoughtful, in depth, illuminating analysis of Christ's trial accounts. In addition to the accounts that you expect (from the four Gospel accounts) they also have a section on martyrs and the trial of Christ from "The Grand Inquisitor" (part of the Brothers Karamazov).

As the Brothers K is my favorite novel, I was enthralled to learn midway through reading the book that this was a chapter that was included. However, upon reading the section, it was more of a wrapping up chapter than one that needed multiple readings of "The Grand Inquisitor" to understand (which would have mirrored the other chapters on the Gospels). However, the entire book did deliver, and the sparse details in the last chapter is actually making me more intrigued about his book on Dostoevsky.

Overall, the rest of the chapters were quite well thought out, easy to understand, had short (though still powerful) sections, and most importantly, pushed the reasons (and focus) of the trials back upon the reader, which is exactly what I hoped this book would do.

Lastly, I bought this as a book on my Kindle. Thankfully, they had the references tagged, so that if you hit them, you could go to the index to see what the reference was quickly. In other words, it used the Kindle format to its advantage.