Vulnerability and Glory

Vulnerability and risk are global realities. Violence, genocide, famine, and natural disaster indicate the complex vulnerability of earthly existence expressed by the biblical depiction of humans as fragile "earthen vessels." Culp demonstrates how the entire world is vulnerable to transformation as well as destruction and offers a theological account of how vulnerability is the very basis for life before God. Only when we are truly vulnerable can we witness the grace and glory of God manifested through our resistance to inhumanity, testimony in the midst of suffering, and expressions of delight and gratitude for the good gifts of life.

Kristine A. Culp is Dean, The Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago, and Associate Professor of Theology, The Divinity School, The University of Chicago. She works in constructive theology, especially in relation to feminist theologies and theology in North America. She is the editor of "The Responsibility of the Church for Society" and Other Essays by H. Richard Niebuhr.