Kenneth E. Kirk – författare

A compelling justification for the centrality of worship in Christian life, drawing on the ascetic tradition and with implications for moral theology and ecclesiastical historyBased on the 1928 Bampton Lectures, The Vision of God was the first of Kenneth E. Kirk's three major books on moral theology. Drawing inspiration from the ascetic tradition of Christianity, Kirk advocates the priority of worship in ethical thought. Beginning with the sixth beatitude, he places the visio Dei front and centre throughout, placing himself in a eudaimonistic tradition that ranges from Irenaeus to Aquinas and the Shorter Catechism. Worship, he shows, offers the opportunity to discover and acknowledge something more valuable than the self, and thus contains the key to moral instruction. Although Kirk published an expanded 'complete edition' of The Vision of God in 1931, he notes in the preface to the shorter text presented here that 'what remains approximates to, though it is not quite identical with, the actual lectures as originally delivered.' The reader therefore has in their hands the essence of Kirk's thesis, which continues to prompt debate today.

This book, originally published in 1927, has proven to be one of the most important and influential books in the field of ethics in the twentieth century. It remains a pertinent, original, and insightful work--a landmark statement of modern casuistry.The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically and ethically. It presents a selection of important and otherwise unavailable texts in easily accessible form. Volumes in this series will enable sustained dialogue with predecessors though reflection on classic works in the field.