Re-Envisioning Christian Humanism

Since the early 1980s, there has been renewed scholarly interest in the concept of Christian Humanism. A number of official Catholic documents have stressed the importance of "Christian humanism," as a vehicle of Christian social teaching and, indeed, as a Christian philosophy of culture. Fundamentally, humanism aims to explore what it means to be human and what the grounds are for human flourishing. Featuring contributions from internationally renowned Christian authors from a variety of disciplines in the humanities, Re-Envisioning Christian Humanism recovers a Christian humanist ethos for our time. The volume offers a chronological overview (from patristic humanism to the Reformation and beyond) and individual examples (Jewell, Calvin) of past Christian humanisms. The chapters are connected through the theme of Christian paideia as the foundation for liberal arts education.

Jens Zimmermann was born and raised in Germany. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and a PhD in Philosophy from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He currently occupies the position of Canada Research Chair in Interpretation, Religion and Culture, and is Professor of English at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. His publications include Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2015) and Humanism and Religion: A Call for the Renewal of Western Culture (OUP, 2012).

PART I: Christian Humanism: Theological Roots and Their Enduring Significance
1. The Cultural Context for Re-Envisioning Christian Humanism, Jens Zimmermann
2. Patristic Humanism: The Beginning of Christian Paideia, John Behr
3. The Church Fathers and the Humanities in the Renaissance and the Reformation, Irene Backus
PART II: Christian Humanism in Renaissance and Reformation
4. The Christian Humanism of John Calvin, Nicholas Wolterstorff
5. Conversion and the Sacraments: Erasmian Humanism and Elizabethan Hermeneutics of the Eucharist, Torrance Kirby
6. Erasmus, Christian Humanism, and Spiritual Warfare, Darren Provost
PART III: Christian Humanism, Education, and the Arts
7. Scripture in the Studium and the Rise of the Humanities, David Lyle Jeffrey
8. Fiery Tongues and Minds Afire: Humanist Poetry in the English Renaissance, Brett Foster
PART IV: Christian Humanism and Modernity
9. The Formation of a Catholic Concept of Christian Humanism and of Inclusive Secularity, Martin Schlag
10. Ignaz von Dollinger and the University: Examining a German Christian Humanist of the Nineteenth Century, Thomas Albert Howard
11. From Institutions to Anthropology: The Christian Humanism of John Paul II and the Crisis of Modern Times, Russell Hittinger