The Theology of George MacDonald: The Child Against the Vampire of Fundamentalism
Ebook
Overview
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was writing at a time of Evangelical unease. In a society ravaged by Asiatic cholera, numbed by levels of infant mortality, and fearful of revolution and the toxicity of industry (to name but a few of the many challenges), the “gospel” proclaiming eternal damnation for unbelievers was hardly good news; rather, Christianity was increasingly viewed as the source of bad news and a tool of state oppression. MacDonald agreed: in his view, the church had become a vampire sucking the blood of her children instead of offering them eucharistic life. In contrast, like Christ, MacDonald brings before us a child. Although at first sight a familiar Romantic incarnation, in MacDonald’s theology “the child” becomes an unlikely icon challenging the vampire’s kingdom--a challenge reaching beyond the confines of Evangelicalism, confronting the foundations of much of Western theology. This meticulously-researched study exploring MacDonald’s work--especially his “realist” and fantasy novels--in the light of its Victorian context is of more than historical interest. His incisive critique of church and empire have particular relevance today in light of the growing and troubling alliance between fundamentalist expressions of church and intolerant, right-wing politics. This volume considers MacDonald’s radical solution to religious vampirism; becoming children.
“A study not only of the nineteenth century, de Jong’s book on
George MacDonald is also a warning for our own time and its
religious tendencies. MacDonald is often known for little more than
his influence on C. S. Lewis and Tolkien, but here he emerges as a
serious voice, not a theologian but through literature an explorer
of central theological ideas and their influence for good and, too
often, ill. De Jong’s knowing and informed revisiting of the theme
of the child after Wordsworth and Romanticism is a welcome reminder
of its continuing importance today, of the importance of
literature, and of the dangers of the vampire of
fundamentalism.”
—David Jasper, Emeritus Professor, University of Glasgow
- Title: The Theology of George MacDonald: The Child Against the Vampire of Fundamentalism
- Author: John R. de Jong
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532678769, 9780718848415, 9780718895792, 9781532678745, 9781532678752, 1532678762, 0718848411, 0718895797, 1532678746, 1532678754
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532678769
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T14:53:31Z
John R. de Jong is a theologian, musician, and writer working at
the interface of faith and creativity.