For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference
Book Summary • Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun, For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2019), Kindle Edition. 197 pp. $11.
Read time: 4 min
Summary
In their book, For the Life of the World, Yale Divinity School professors Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun contend that the central purpose of Christian theology is to foster human flourishing by continuing Christ’s mission to make the world “God’s home.” The authors critique modern theology for losing focus on what truly matters—discerning and promoting the good life lived in the presence of God. Their primary goal is to recover theology’s role as a source of wisdom, not merely academic knowledge, focusing on human flourishing in a world increasingly disconnected from the transcendent. Key concepts they cover include the “flourishing life,” defined as the ultimate goal for humanity, exemplified and secured by the person of Jesus Christ. Drawing from Romans 14:17, Volf and Croasmun introduce a tripartite framework for flourishing: life going well (circumstantial well-being), life led well (moral agency), and life feeling as it should (joy)—a life lived in the Spirit. They argue for a theology deeply engaged with these dimensions and not as a detached academic exercise. The book’s structure addresses the neglect of flourishing in modern theology, critiques the crisis within theological education, and offers a vision of theology that contributes to human flourishing in pluralistic societies. Its major themes include aligning theological work with God’s mission, the interdependence of all human life, and the call for theologians to live lives consistent with the truths they espouse. Through this framework, the authors accentuate theology’s rightful role in guiding humanity toward its ultimate telos in the presence of God.
Quotations
“Multiple visions of flourishing life mutually contending though rarely completely incompatible and each explicitly or implicitly claiming to stand for the true life vie for the allegiance of all. We are choosing in a post-secular and pluralistic world. Free to choose and at the same time saddled with the necessity of doing so, we are also faced with the choice between a meaningful life and life bereft of meaning” (23).
“To change the world, we need an “I have a dream” speech, not an “I have a complaint” speech. Without daring a positive proposal, this mode of normative theological engagement can neither secure freedom, its most central value, nor identify what counts as exclusion, or even as suffering” (55).
“The purpose of Christian theology is the flourishing of all life because Christian theology stands in service of the continuation of Christ’s mission to embody and spread the good news of God’s coming to make the world into God’s home” (76).
“Misalignment between lives and visions doesn’t just diminish the credibility of theologians; it is prone to undermine the veracity of their work because it hinders their ability to adequately perceive and articulate these visions” (120).
“The teleios both (1) stands in opposition to Sin and (2) describes the telos of creation in consummated relation to God. In the sin-redemption subplot, teleios describes that which has been set free from the dominion of Sin and has the possibility of doing the good (teleios as “mature”; e.g., 1 Cor. 2: 6). In the primary creation-consummation plot, teleios describes that which has been and/ or is being drawn to consummation (teleios as “perfect” or “complete”; e.g., 1 Cor. 13: 10)” (156). ❖
Quote this Review
Footnote: Timothy J. Harris, “For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference,” Practical Theologian, November 12, 2024, www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/bookreview-d9sp6.
Bibliography: Harris, Timothy J. “For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference.” Practical Theologian, November 12, 2024. www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/bookreview-d9sp6.
