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Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics Paperback – September 1, 2004

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Samuel Wells (Author)
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3.6 out of 5 stars 8 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 236 pages
  • Publisher: Brazos Press; 35301st edition (September 1, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1587430711
  • ISBN-13: 978-1587430718
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsRe-Imagining Christian Ethics
By Marco D. Funk on March 21, 2006
Format: Paperback
In this book Wells suggests that the current use of 'performance language' in ethics requires a correction. Wells shows his readers that the dramatic practice of improvisation can help Christians better understand the nature of Christian discipleship. Wells provides a sophisticated, yet easy to understand, account of how Christian ethics requires that we learn the skill of improvisation. Christians do not perform a script, as performative ethics seems to suggest, as much as they improvise within an accepted tradition that is generated and rooted in the community's reading of scripture. Wells further defines practices such as accepting, blocking, and overaccepting as ways in which Christians can respond to their social context; suggesting that the Christian community cannot simply accept or block the offers and gifts that it receives. Instead, Christians must overaccept these offers and therefore open up new possibilities that would not exist otherwise. Another helpful exploration that Wells leads is regarding the givens/assumptions that exist as we move through life. Wells argues that the new birth that is at the base of Christian conversion also affects the way Christians see the world and everything in it. The assumptions that govern society's ethics must be questioned if Christians really believe what they do about the cosmos and Christ's Lordship.

Wells is able to explore his argument while telling powerful and helpful stories that challenge the way certain issues/decisions are understood in our world. He challenges the questions of the debate, which is why this book reminds me of John H. Yoder's work (I'm a fan of his stuff too). I'm glad this kind of theology is being done and leaves me hopeful that we are not being left to despair in the polarizing debates so common in North America.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Fresh and Faithful Look at Christian Ethics
By Craig Stephans VINE VOICE on May 28, 2009
Format: Paperback
Samuel Wells compares his vision for Christian ethics to theatrical improvisation. Wells defines theatrical improvisation as unscripted drama done by actors schooled in their art and seasoned in their practice. Such skilled actors can approach various and unknown situations without fear, with humor and confidence. Wells calls his idea of Christian ethics a "study of how the church may become a community of trust in order that it may faithfully encounter the unknown of the future without fear." (11) His idea of improvisation for Christian ethics gives Christians "uninhibited freedom" in their lives. Christians are encouraged to do and say the obvious based on their formation in a Christian community that discerns and practices life in Christ.

Wells patterns his drama of ethics not only on improvisation in the theater but on his interpretation of how God is revealed working in Jesus Christ. Wells sees God as overwhelming humanity in the incarnation. In the resurrection, God has saved humanity through what humanity has rejected. Wells calls the first action "overaccepting" and the second action "reincorporation." For Wells, these are the two most significant practices in improvisation and provide the pattern for how Christians should imitate God. He also employs terms like "blocking" and "accepting" to describe Christian posture toward the world. Improvisation is not mere spur of the moment or spontaneous behavior by Christians; rather, it is a methodical approach to Christian ethics based on Christian community and formation through regular study of Scripture, prayer and liturgical practice. Improvisation requires preparation and practice, so that in the moments of decision or action there is no ethical crisis.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe church in God's drama
By Tedd Steele on January 13, 2005
Format: Paperback
Improvisation is a wonderful addition to the recent discussion of virtue ethics. Wells believes that Christians act as part of a five act play (creation-Israel-Jesus-church-eschaton) that is the drama of God's interaction with the world. Christians act correctly when they improvise according to the nature of the story.

Wells brakes his arguments into three sections. The first makes the case for improvisation as an appropriate metaphor for Christian action. He places his understanding in stark contrast with deontological and consequentialist ethics. The second section outlines the main components of improvisation, which he then applies to the Christian life. The important components are forming habits, assessing status, questioning givens, overaccepting, and reincorporation. Through this improvisation, the story always move forward in a way that is faithful. In the final section, Wells shows how imporovisation might be applied to ethical issues. He deals with two that seem threatening and two that seem promising. The goal is to act in ways that bring the issues into continuity with the drama of God.

This is a great book. Read it if you are interested in Christian ethics. It also provides insights into other parts of theological study.
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3.0 out of 5 starsEthics as Structured Spontaneity
By T. Hamaker on November 4, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Samuel Wells, a priest in the Church of England, has written this thoughtful and thought-provoking book at a time when we're facing ethical dilemmas on all sides. This isn't a mere skim of the typical concerns like forgiveness, adultery, and greed. He puts his template to the test in the final chapters of the book by working through issues of terrorism, disability/handicap, cloning, and genetically altered food. I was all the more intrigued by this book when I saw it mentioned by N.T. Wright in his book, After You Believe.

Wells takes as his starting point the practices of improvisational actors. Many of us are familiar with "improv" from the television program "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" My delight in improv comes from an improv comedy venue in Raleigh that I went to as a high school student. Improv seems random, chaotic, always on the edge of crashing. Anything - the wrong word, the wrong time, the wrong person - can kill the momentum and bring the story to a grinding halt. But the actors keep it going with a few crucial rules and actions. I remember when I first came across this insight. I was reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and there it was: "[T]he truth is that improv isn't random and chaotic at all....[I]mprov is an art form governed by a series of rules" (Blink, 113). It's an exercise in structured spontaneity, where the structure is formed through effort and the spontaneity emerges through habit.

The connection to ethics is made when Wells insists, "Ethics is not about being clever in a crisis but about forming a character that does not realize it has been in a crisis until the 'crisis' is over. Improvisation is not about being spontaneous and witty in the moment, but about trusting oneself to do and say the obvious" (Improvisation, 12).Read more ›
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