The Bonds of Freedom: Vows, Sacraments and the Formation of the Christian Self - Paperback

by Garry Worete Deverell (Author)

This book proposes that Christian worship is a key source for any theology seeking to understand the covenant between God and human beings in the Christian tradition. Through a detailed examination of phenomenological, biblical and theological sources, the author seeks to write a theology in which the selfhood of both God and human beings is seen as essentially 'vowed' or 'covenantal.' This claim is then explored through a detailed examination of Eucharistic worship, which is understood as a 'non-identical performance' of the covenant established between God and human beings in baptism. Here, then, is a theology that understands Christian worship not simply as 'form' or 'event' but, more radically, as a mutual act of promising and commitment between God and human beings.

Author Biography

Garry J. Deverell is a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia, and an Honorary Research Associate in the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University. He lives with his family and two rats in Melbourne, Australia.