Rowan Williams - Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer

I am not sure that, as a maverick Christian, I am in the least competent to comment on Dr Williamss book Being Christian, but I have read it with great interest and admiration. It is indeed a privilege to enter into the mind of one of the most distinguished theologians of the modern age, a former Archbishop of Canterbury whose life and work have been rooted in his Christian belief. The book deals in what have been seen, since the formation of the Church, as the essentials of Christianity baptism, Bible, Eucharist and prayer which, despite the variety, particularly today in Christian thinking and practice, convinced Christians see as indispensible elements of their faith. Dr Williams also addresses some of the questions that, for generations, have occupied and sometimes perplexed the minds of believers. He is discussing matters that are necessarily complex, but the style is elegant and lucid, and the book, although written primarily for Christians, will be interesting and helpful to those who are seekers after, rather than finders of, religious faith.

P. D. James, OBE, FRSA, FRSL, novelist

Unless we understand our faith we cannot live it, but it is the living that matters. Knowing and thinking and understanding are all means to draw us into the life of Christ, an active living and loving way of being. Christianity is both simple and profound. Rowan Williams understands these two levels and how we come to the depth of what Jesus is by the simplicities of informed Christian practice. This is a handbook for Christian living.

Sister Wendy Beckett, Carmelite Monastery, Quidenham, Norfolk

Who better than Rowan Williams to be our teacher about the essentials of Christianity! In this clear, accessible exposition, we get Williams at his best... worldly-wise, pastorally gentle, grounded deeply in tradition, acutely alert to the real world of violence where God indwells. Williams ushers us more deeply into our best discernment of the Christian life.

Walter Brueggemann, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

Full of rich metaphor and the sort of insight you want to spend a week reflecting on, Rowan Williamss Being Christian offers a succinct introduction to four core elements of Christian life. The book offers a vision of the Christian life that is both challenging and attractive as we are encouraged to be in the heart of a needy, contaminated, messy world as well as encouraging an authenticity of life. Very readable yet profound, Being Christian has potential to be formational for those preparing for confirmation or waiting to understand what it means to be a Christian.

Sally Nash, Director of Midlands Centre for Youth Ministry, St Johns College, Nottingham

Young people need to hear about the essentials of Christian faith from someone who knows them inside out. In this thought-provoking book, Rowan Williams shares the riches of his wonderful mind in a way that will inform, stretch and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. But young people, especially, will find this book invaluable as they take their next step of faith.

Jenny Baker, Development Manager, Church Urban Fund

With remarkable clarity, depth and simplicity, Rowan Williams takes us into the heart of what it means to be Christian. A lifetimes immersion in the classics of Christian theology and devotion lies hidden behind this fresh and illuminating sketch of the essentials, its shape guided by tradition and its lines drawn from personal experience of Christian living and praying.

Frances Young, Emeritus Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham

This is what you get when someone who is both very learned and a former Archbishop of Canterbury writes about what Christians share in practice, but does so from the perspective of living as an ordinary, flawed Christian disciple himself. Simple and engaging enough to read at a sitting, Being Christian is also profound and provocative enough to provide material for fruitful reflection and action for the whole of our Christian life.

No doubt this book will frequently be given as a most acceptable confirmation present, but I think it should also be read by those of us who have been around the block a bit with the Church, and probably thought we had already grasped the whole point of the exercise.

Janet Morley, author, speaker and worship leader

Born in 1950, Rowan Williams was educated in Swansea (Wales) and Cambridge. He studied for his theology doctorate in Oxford, after which he taught theology in a seminary near Leeds. From 1977 until 1986, he was engaged in academic and parish work in Cambridge, before returning to Oxford as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity. In 1990 he became a fellow of the British Academy.

In 1992 Professor Williams became Bishop of Monmouth, and in 1999 he was elected as Archbishop of Wales. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in late 2002 with ten years experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a primate in the Anglican Communion. As archbishop, his main responsibilities were pastoral whether leading his own diocese of Canterbury and the Church of England, or guiding the Anglican Communion worldwide. At the end of 2012, after ten years as archbishop, he stepped down and moved to a new role as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Professor Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological writer and teacher as well as an accomplished poet and translator. His interests include music, fiction and languages.

Being Christian

Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer

Rowan Williams

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by SPCK

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
www.eerdmans.com

Copyright Rowan Williams 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The extract marked KJV is from the Authorized Version of the Bible (The King James Bible), the rights in which are vested in the Crown, and is reproduced by permission of the Crowns Patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Extracts marked BCP are from The Book of Common Prayer, the rights in which are vested in the Crown, and are reproduced by permission of the Crowns Patentee, Cambridge University Press.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-8028-7197-8

eBook ISBN 978-1-4674-4230-5 (ePub)

eBook ISBN 978-1-4674-4196-4 (Kindle)

Contents

What are the essential elements of the Christian life? I am not thinking in terms of individuals leading wonderful lives, but just in terms of those simple and recognizable things that make you realize that you are part of a Christian community. This little book is designed to help you think about four of the most obvious of these things: baptism, Bible, Eucharist and prayer.

Christians are received into full membership of the Church by having water poured or sprinkled over them (or, in some traditions, being fully immersed); Christians read the Bible; Christians gather to share bread and wine in memory of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth; and Christians pray. There is a huge and bewildering variety in Christian thinking and practice about all kinds of things, but these four basic activities have remained constant and indispensable for the majority of those who call themselves Christians.