The theological role of biography
This article explores the role of biography in Christian theology. For the greater part of Christian history, biography has played a key devotional and apologetic role by providing models of how the one life of Christ is at work in the saints. Following the Reformation, biographies of Protestant mar...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2023
|
| In: |
Theology
Year: 2023, Volume: 126, Issue: 3, Pages: 164-173 |
| IxTheo Classification: | FA Theology KAA Church history KCD Hagiography; saints NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
Foxe
B Bonhoeffer B Biography B Hagiography |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article explores the role of biography in Christian theology. For the greater part of Christian history, biography has played a key devotional and apologetic role by providing models of how the one life of Christ is at work in the saints. Following the Reformation, biographies of Protestant martyrs removed the miraculous element of hagiography, but the exemplary and apologetic functions of biography remained centrally important. From the twentieth century, I argue, there has been a loss of confidence in the role of biography in Christian devotional life and in theology. In conclusion, I suggest ways in which the role of biography might continue to be of value for contemporary theology. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2044-2696 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0040571X231171278 |