{"title":"Books by The Rt Hon Rowan Williams","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781441183880","title":"Dostoevsky","description":"An extraordinary book, which enables us to consider the nature of God in the 21st Century through the lens of Dostoevsky's novels. The current rash of books hostile to religious faith will one day be an interesting subject for some sociological analysis. But to counter such work, is a book of the profoundest kind about the nature and purpose of religious belief. Terrorism, child abuse, absent fathers and the fragmentation of the family, the secularisation and the sexualisation of culture, the future of liberal democracy, the clash of cultures and the nature of national identity - so many of the anxieties that we think of as being quintessentially features of the early twenty first century and on, are present in the work of Dostoevsky - in his letters, his journalism and above all in his fiction. The world we inhabit as readers of his novels is one in which the question of what human beings owe to each other is left painfully and shockingly open and there is no place to stand from which we can construct a clear moral landscape.   But the novels of Dostoevsky continually press home what else might be possible if we - characters and readers - saw the world in another light, the light provided by faith. In order to respond to such a challenge the novels invite us to imagine precisely those extremes of failure, suffering and desolation. There is an unresolved tension in Dostoevsky's novels - a tension between believing and not believing in the existence of God. In \"The Brothers Karamazov\", we can all receive Ivan with a terrible kind of delight. Ivan's picture of himself we immediately recognise as self-portrait. The god that is dead for him is dead for us. This Karamazov God of tension and terror is often the only one we are able to find. This extraordinary book will speak to our generation like few others.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56299723260277,"sku":"9781441183880","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781441183880.jpg?v=1786020775"},{"product_id":"9781472923998","title":"Faith in the Public Square","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRowan Williams on critical contemporary issues in his final book as Archbishop of Canterbury.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArchbishop Rowan Williams is the most gifted Anglican priest of his generation. His views are consistent and orthodox and yet he has been consistently misunderstood - especially in relation to his views on contemporary society, public morality and the common good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this, the final published work of his Archepiscopate, Dr Williams has assembled a series of chapters on matters of immediate public concern and the relationship of Christianity to these issues.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong his topics are 'Has Secularism Failed?: Europe, Faith and Culture', 'Human Rights and Religious Faith', 'Changing the Myths We Live By', 'Housekeeping: The Economic Challenge', 'The Gifts Reserved for Age: Perceptions of the Elderly', and 'Analysing Atheism'.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300157469045,"sku":"9781472923998","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472923998_20ad24bc-c2f5-473b-9048-373ebef962fe.jpg?v=1786020601"},{"product_id":"9781472973078","title":"The Way of St Benedict","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith typical eloquence and wisdom, in \u003ci\u003eThe Way of St Benedict\u003c\/i\u003e Rowan Williams explores the appeal of St Benedict’s sixth-century Rule, showing it to be a document of great relevance to present day Christians and non-believers at our particular moment in history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor over a millennium the Rule – a set of guidelines for monastic conduct –  has been influential on the life of Benedictine monks, but has also served in some sense as a ‘background note’ to almost all areas of civic experience: artistic, intellectual and institutional.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe effects of this on society have been far-reaching and Benedictine communities and houses still attract countless visitors, testifying to the appeal and continuing relevance of Benedict’s principles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the author writes, the chapters of his book, which range from a discussion of Abbot Cuthbert Butler’s mysticism to ‘Benedict and the Future of Europe’, are ‘simply an invitation to look at various current questions through the lens of the Rule and to reflect on aspects of Benedictine history that might have something to say to us’.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith Williams as our guide, \u003ci\u003eThe Way of St Benedict\u003c\/i\u003e speaks to the Rule’s ability to help anyone live more fully in harmony with others whilst orientating themselves fully to the will of God.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300173197685,"sku":"9781472973078","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472973078_d649bf85-92bb-49e9-bafe-9223d2f14efa.jpg?v=1786021030"},{"product_id":"9781472945549","title":"Christ the Heart of Creation","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this wide-ranging book, Rowan Williams argues that what we say about Jesus Christ is key to understanding what Christian belief says about creator and creation overall.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough detailed discussion of texts from the earliest centuries to the present day, we are shown some of the various and subtle ways in which Christians have discovered in their reflections on Christ the possibility of a deeply affirmative approach to creation, and a set of radical insights in ethics and politics as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout his life, Rowan Williams has been deeply influenced by thinkers of the Eastern Christian tradition as well as Catholic and Anglican writers. This book draws on insights from Eastern Christianity, from the Western Middle Ages and from Reformed thinkers, from Calvin to Bonhoeffer – as well as considering theological insights sparked by philosophers like Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChrist the Heart of Creation\u003c\/i\u003e concerns fundamental issues for Christian belief and Williams tackles them head-on: he writes with pellucid clarity and shows his gift for putting across what are inevitably complex ideas to a wide audience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300428853621,"sku":"9781472945549","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472945549_b7603b12-a61b-4136-ab0b-f30804230c95.jpg?v=1786020727"},{"product_id":"9781472989246","title":"Looking East in Winter","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn many ways, we seem to be living in wintry times at present in the Western world.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this new book, Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and a noted scholar of Eastern Christianity, introduces us to some aspects and personalities of the Orthodox Christian world, from the desert contemplatives of the fourth century to philosophers, novelists and activists of the modern era, that suggest where we might look for fresh light and warmth. He shows how this rich and diverse world opens up new ways of thinking about spirit and body, prayer and action, worship and social transformation, which go beyond the polarisations we take for granted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTaking in the world of the great spiritual anthology, the Philokalia, and the explorations of Russian thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, discussing the witness of figures like Maria Skobtsova, murdered in a German concentration camp for her defence of Jewish refugees, and the challenging theologies of modern Greek thinkers like John Zizioulas and Christos Yannaras, Rowan Williams opens the door to a ‘climate and landscape of our humanity that can indeed be warmed and transfigured’.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is an original and illuminating vision of a Christian world still none too familiar to Western believers and even to students of theology, showing how the deep-rooted themes of Eastern Christian thought can prompt new perspectives on our contemporary crises of imagination and hope.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300442780021,"sku":"9781472989246","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472989246_68ab772a-9546-4a55-87ed-24a8ab1e54bc.jpg?v=1786020414"},{"product_id":"9781399415682","title":"Passions of the Soul","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Eastern Christian tradition is filled with theological and spiritual riches. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003ePassions of the Soul\u003c\/i\u003e, Rowan Williams opens up the great classics of Eastern Christian writing to show how it can help us to understand and cope with the ups and downs of modern life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith compelling and illuminating insight, he shows the cost of living in a culture that is theologically and philosophically undernourished, working with a diminished and trivialized picture of the human self. The Eastern tradition teaches us how to develop our self-knowledge and awareness, so that we can relate to the world without selfish illusions. Only then can we be ready for our eyes to be opened to God, and avoid destructive patterns of behaviour.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnly in this way can we understand the kind of people we need to become.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312268816757,"sku":"9781399415682","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399415682_9c48d30f-dc14-4031-989f-aeb2f682d11c.jpg?v=1786019355"},{"product_id":"9781472910431","title":"The Edge of Words","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Edge of Words\u003c\/i\u003e is Rowan Williams’ first book since standing down as Archbishop of Canterbury.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInvited to give the prestigious 2014 Gifford Lectures, Dr Williams has produced a scholarly but eminently accessible account of the possibilities of speaking about God – taking as his point of departure the project of natural theology.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDr Williams enters into dialogue with thinkers as diverse as Augustine and Simone Weil and authors such as Joyce, Hardy, Burgess and Hoban in what is a compelling essay about the possibility of language about God.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312442061173,"sku":"9781472910431","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472910431_c7e2afa4-51b8-441a-8fb0-1ee4cb92adf4.jpg?v=1786020538"},{"product_id":"9781399431514","title":"Solidarity","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCelebrated thinker Rowan Williams explores the shared hopes and burdens that make solidarity possible.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom its use as a rallying cry by the labour movement to its central place in struggles for racial justice, the idea of solidarity is often invoked as the answer to inequality and conflict. And yet, as both a term and a practice, solidarity is tantalizingly slippery. We are encouraged to ‘show solidarity’, but how can we truly realize it?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Rowan Williams argues in this impassioned book, solidarity is not something fixed to be achieved, but a process of mutual recognition. From its origins in the French Revolution to the\u003ci\u003e Nueva Solidaridad\u003c\/i\u003e in Mexico City and the \u003ci\u003eSolidarnosc \u003c\/i\u003emovement in Poland, Williams traces solidarity’s myriad forms through its deep influence on Catholic social thought, its transformation in the hands of thinkers like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Jan Patocka and the creative struggle so central to the writings of Gillian Rose.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe reveals solidarity to be a constant exercise in self-scrutiny and dialogue in which we find that true recognition lies not in asserting that others are ‘just like us,’ but rather in affirming their claim to be ‘fully themselves’. It is in this work of recognition, this possibility of communion, that true hope can be found.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368790339957,"sku":"9781399431514","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399431514_2ef7c021-3de9-47b2-a1c6-636e9090f5e1.jpg?v=1786019513"},{"product_id":"holy-living","title":"Holy Living","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRowan Williams writes accessibly and for the general reader on belief, Christianity and the place of religion today.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApart from being a scholar and theologian, Rowan Williams has also demonstrated a rare gift for speaking and writing plainly and clearly about essentials of the Christian faith. In the chapters of this book he writes with profound perception about the life of holiness to which we are called.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe range of Williams’ frame of reference is astonishing – he brings poets and theologians to his aid, he writes about the Rule of St Benedict, the Bible, Icons, contemplation, St Teresa of Avila  and even R. D. Laing.  He concludes with two chapters on the injunction ‘Know Thyself’ in a Christian context.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout, Williams points out that holiness is a state of being – it is he writes ‘completely undemonstrative and lacking any system of expertise. It can never be dissected and analysed.’\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57484115345781,"sku":"9781472946089","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472946089.jpg?v=1786266149"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-the-rt-hon-rowan-williams.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}