Subversive Spirituality

by Eugene H. Peterson

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1997

Overview

Subversive Spirituality is a gathering together of articles written by Eugene Peterson over the past twenty-five years. Made up of occasional pieces, short biblical studies, poetry, pastoral readings and interviews, this book reflects on the overlooked facets of the spiritual life. Peterson captures the epiphanies of life with the pleasing pastoral style and inspiring depth of insight for which he is well known.

Peterson describes his book this way: "The gathering of articles and essays, poems and conversations, is a kind of kitchen midden of my noticings of the obvious in the course of living out the Christian life in the vocational context of pastor, writer, and professor. The randomness and repetitions and false starts are rough edges that I am leaving as is in the interests of honesty. Spirituality is not, by and large, smooth. I do hope, however, that they will be found to be 'freshly phrased.'"

Key Features

• Reflects on the overlooked facets of the spiritual life
• Captures the epiphanies of life with the pleasing pastoral style and inspiring depth of Eugene Peterson
• Presents a gathering of articles and essays, poems and conversations of Peterson's noticings of the obvious in the course of living out the Christian life in a vocational context as a pastor, writer, and professor

Contents

SPIRITUALITY

• Saint Mark: The Basic Text for Christian Spirituality
• Back to Square One: God Said
• Spirit Quest
• Writers and Angels: Witnesses to Transcendence
• The Seminary as a Place of Spiritual Formation

BIBLICAL STUDIES

• The Holy Stump
• Jeremiah as an Ascetical Theologian
• Learning to Worship from St. John's Revelation
• Apocalypse: The Medium Is the Message
• Resurrection Quartet

POETRY

• Holy Luck

PASTORAL READINGS

• Poetry from Patmos: St. John as Pastor, Poet, and Theologian
• Masters of Imagination
• Sheep in Wolfe's Clothing
• Kittel among the Coffee Cups
• Mastering Ceremonies
• Teach Us to Care, and Not to Care
• Unexpected Allies
• Novelists, Pastors, and Poets
• Pastors and Novels

CONVERSATIONS

• A Conversation with Eugene Peterson
• Haphazardly Intent: An Approach to Pastoring
• Subversive Spirituality
• On Pentecostals, Poets, and Professors
• Of Passion, Prayer, and Poetry

Praise for Subversive Spirituality

A quiet, unassuming man, Peterson defies the typical definition of pastor and teacher. He is indeed subversive, quietly feeding his flock what they really need, not what they think they want. This book continues in that tradition. Along the way readers will be blessed with profound writing, and definitions of what it truly means to live an examined, Christ-like life.

Aspire

A wonderfully refreshing collection of essays, articles, addresses, poetry, and conversations with one of the great Presbyterian pastors of our day . . . The author's soul shines through each of these forms with clarity and consistency.

Presbyterians Today

Peterson's writing displays a pastor's heart and an intellectual's mind. . . This is a lively and deeply thoughtful book. The topics are widely divergent, but all focus on the ministry and how our contemporary society can understand the gospel. Never far from biblical texts and images, this book is creative in its understanding and presentation of the gospel. Any pastor would be well served to spend time with this excellent introduction to Peterson's theology and its application to the modern world.

Clergy Journal

Product Details

• Title: Subversive Spirituality
• Author: Eugene H. Peterson
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1997
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 263
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Spiritual life › Christianity; Spiritual life › Biblical teaching; Evangelicalism
• ISBNs: 9780802842978, 0802842976, 1467428779, 9781467428774
• Resource ID: LLS:SBVRSVSPRTLT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-23T01:15:18Z

About Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson (1932–2018) was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. He wrote more than thirty books, including his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the Bible, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, his memoir, The Pastor, and numerous works of biblical spiritual formation, including Run with the Horses, also available in a commemorative edition. Peterson was founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he served for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. With degrees from Seattle Pacific, New York Theological Seminary, and Johns Hopkins University, he served as professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, until retiring in Lakeside, Montana, in 2006.