Robert Jenson is a profound theologian. He is also a spritely essayist. The essay may in fact be his genre of choice.
Cascade has just released a compilation of these essays under the Jensonian title, Theology as Revisionary Metaphysics. Most of the essays are fairly recent, but it’s rather shocking to discover a couple of pieces from the early 1960s (remember the 1900s, kids?), and to realize just how long Jenson has been about this game.
There are cultural essays, some first published in First Things (“How the World Lost Its Story”), others developing a cultural Christology – Christ as polity, as art, as drama. Some are more technical pieces where Jenson returns to his distinctive theological themes. The essay on impassibility is, I think, the best thing he has written on the subject, and there’s an essay clarifying “Once More” why he denies the Logos asarkos.
This collection gathers together some of Jenson’s best work, demonstrating his wit, insight, and breadth. For those unfamiliar with Jenson, first hasten to the nearest confessional booth and then, absolved, start with this appetite-whetting volume.
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