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A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church Hardcover – October 4, 2012

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Ephraim Radner (Author)
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4.5 out of 5 stars 2 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 500 pages
  • Publisher: Baylor University Press (October 4, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1602586292
  • ISBN-13: 978-1602586291
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.5 x 9.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,691,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 starsLenten Reading
By Matthew Milliner on March 8, 2013
Format: Hardcover
NOTE: This review originally appeared in Books & Culture (March/April 2013)

Imagine (as if we have to) a cantankerous public debate between a Christian and one of the new atheists. After the predictable sparring over whether or not God exists, the dispute takes its historical turn. The atheist recites the great litany of ecclesial sins--ways that the church has elicited or even sponsored violence. The Christian then comes to faith's defense, relaying as much of William Cavanaugh's The Myth of Religious Violence as a pithy sound bite allows. But what if, rather than defending the church, the Christian goes off script, replying instead with a range of accusations against Christians that surpass what the atheist has offered, thereby transforming the debate into an act of public penance? Gone is the fear that Christianity might not be true (one that gives rise to so much nervously animated apologetics). Replacing it is a different fear--and a profound sense of disorientation. Such might be the performance of Ephraim Radner, professor of historical theology at the University of Toronto's Wycliffe College, were he to pinch-hit for the latest defender of the faith. Or so we can gather from his latest publication, A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church.

Penitential scenarios like this have been conjured before--in Donald Miller's bestselling Blue Like Jazz, for instance, in which Christian undergraduates construct a reverse confessional booth where they apologize for the church's failings ("You know, the Crusades and all that stuff") to revelers at Reed College; or in the general inclination of any number of enterprising evangelicals to distance themselves from the church's disappointing historical "baggage.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Kenotic Ecclesiology
By Johnny Walker on October 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover
A Brutal Unity is a profoundly unsettling book. Unsettling in the way of the prophet Ezekiel, or John the Baptizer, or Flannery O'Connor.
http://www.amazon.com/Brutal-Unity-Spiritual-Politics-Christian/dp/1602586292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411833963&sr=8-1&keywords=a+brutal+unity
To read Radner is to assume a reading experience marked by a measure of austerity and angst that rarely accompanies such literary ramblings.

His words pierce and swelter - attending to them thus being a deeply uneasy task. The reader is swept up, or perhaps, pulled down, into a deep penitential movement that is at once necessary and painful. Indeed, to read Radner's tome is to subject oneself to a harsh ascesis. One of healing and sanctification, no doubt, but that is only after having exacted a heavy toll.

This is true even at the level of intellectual argument. Radner's work betrays an erudition and interdisciplinary acumen that is seemingly without rival. It is difficult to imagine more than a handful of folks able to keep pace with the diverse, wide-ranging arguments forwarded across the 480 pages. This breadth renders Radner's book heavily resistant to classification. On his own account, it is an exercise in ecclesiology - particularly, an account of ecclesial division - however, I doubt many theologians can match Radner's aptitude in matters of history, political theory, and sociology. In fact, this distinctive feature of his work, namely, its interdisciplinary reach, justifies a hearty commendation in its own right. For the work of a theologian of the Church is no less demanding than this. Yet, of course, the corollary is that folks like myself, who are far less adroit in the above arenas, are condemned to struggle at various points throughout. I trust Dr.Read more ›
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