An Unexpected Light: Theology and Witness in the Poetry and thought of Charles Williams, Micheal O'Siadhail, and Geoffrey Hill

"Can poetry matter to Christian Theology?" David Mahan asks in the introduction to this interdisciplinary work. Does the study of poetry represent a serious theological project? What does poetry have to contribute to the public tasks of theology and the Church? How can theologians, clergy and other ministry professionals, and Christian laypeople benefit from an earnest study of poetry? A growing number of theologians today seek to push theological inquiry beyond the relative seclusion of academic specialisation into a broader marketplace of public ideas, and to recast the theological task as an integrative discipline. Mahan pursues that synthesis through identifying poetry as a realm of rich theological resources and instruction for the Christian church. In drawing attention to the "peculiar advantages" it affords, this book addresses one of the greatest challenges facing the church today: the difficulty of effectively communicating the Christian gospel with increasingly disaffected "late-modern" people. David Mahan is the President and Director of the Rivendell Institute at Yale University, where he has served as a campus minister since 1987. He received his Master's degree in religion and literature from Yale Divinity School and completed his PhD in divinity at the University of Cambridge. "David Mahan is a superb close reader of poetry and also a rich theological thinker. This book shows how poetry and theology can come together to light up the great questions of human life today. Above all, his profound engagement with three fascinating poets - O'Siadhail, Williams, and Hill - will expand the circle of those who recognize their great significance for the twenty-first century." - David F. Ford, Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge "David Mahan sheds 'unexpected light' on poetry as a Christian discourse. He does this by deftly elucidating common intellectual ground shared by poets and theologians. Where he shines, however, is in showing how a poem means, how ideas actually become incarnate in texts. Mahan offers beautifully lucid analysis of demanding poets who, in his sure hands, become accessible, though never merely easy. He challenges us to see their work as not only speaking to our particular historical condition but, in quirky and reticent ways, as evangelizing our imaginations." - Peter Hawkins, Professor of Religion and Director of Luce Program in Scripture and the Literary Arts, Boston University "Can poetry matter to Christian theology? To this question, David Mahan's book comprises a resounding 'yes'. With acute sensitivity and painstaking attention to literary detail, the author shows how Christian wisdom is hugely enriched by three major word-crafters. Far from muddying the waters of theological rigor, 'poetic performance' renders theology more precise, lucid, and faithful. An immensely important book, demonstrating just how badly the theologian needs the artist today." - Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Research Professor of Theology, Duke University