These Three: The Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love

by Robinson, Elaine A.; Chopp, Rebecca S.

• ISBN13: 9781608992331
• ISBN10: 1608992330
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-01
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

These Threereclaims the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love from a Protestant, scriptural perspective. Robinson surveys the current state of the church and the decline of morality and civility in American society; explores the history of the virtues from Greek thought through Aquinas and focuses on three virtues in order to concede that contemporary churches must reclaim and teach the interrelationship of the virtues as our lifelines to God and the good life.

Author Biography

Elaine A. Robinson is Assistant Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. She is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and lives in Fort Worth.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Is the Fabric Frayed?	p. 1
The Decline of American Society	p. 3
Human Nature and the "States" of the Church	p. 10
Bound Together in Faith, Hope, and Love	p. 21
These Three in Historical Perspective	p. 25
The Mythic World of Scripture	p. 25
The Rise of the Theological Virtues	p. 39
Recovering a Theological Understanding of Human Flourishing	p. 49
Faith in God	p. 53
Four Contemporary Distortions of Faith	p. 54
The Character of Faith in God	p. 67
Hope in God	p. 85
The Contours of Hopelessness	p. 85
The Landscape of Our Lives	p. 87
The Character of Hope in God	p. 109
Love in God	p. 127
The Love of the World	p. 128
The Character of Love in God	p. 144
Epilogue	p. 159
Notes	p. 163
Select Bibliography	p. 169
Index	p. 173
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