Freedom of the Self

Kenosis, Cultural Identity, and Mission at the Crossroads

Keuss

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781630876869
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Freedom of the Self revitalizes the question of identity formation in a postmodern era through a deep reading of Christian life in relation to current trends seen in the Emergent and Missional church movements. By relocating deep identity formation as formed and released through a renewed appraisal of kenotic Christology coupled with readings of Continental philosophy (Derrida, Levinas, Marion) and popular culture, Keuss offers a bold vision for what it means to be truly human in contemporary society, as what he calls the kenotic self. In addition to providing a robust reflection of philosophical and theological understanding of identity formation, from Aristotle and Augustine through to contemporary thinkers, Freedom of the Self suggests some tangible steps for the individual and the church in regard to how everyday concerns such as economics, literature, and urbanization can be part of living into the life of the kenotic self.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: You Are What You Love—the Kenotic Self
• Part One: The Movement of the Self
• Chapter 1: Scripture and the Kenotic Self
• Chapter 2: Forming the Kenotic Self, from Aristotle to Augustine
• Chapter 3: The Kenotic Self
• Chapter 4: Grounding the Kenotic Self through the Mission of God amidst a Cultured World
• Chapter 5: Forging the Kenotic Self through the Responsibility to the Face of the Other
• Chapter 6: Forgetting the Kenotic Self through “Being Given”
• Part Two: The Space of the Self
• Chapter 7: The Kenotic Self and Missional Openness
• Chapter 8: The Kenotic Self and Emergently Responsive Economics
• Chapter 9: The Kenotic Self amidst the Secular City
• Chapter 10: The Kenotic Self after the Eucharist
• Bibliography