Publisher's Synopsis
Christianity in the West is facing serious challenges to communicate its message of the Good News and its way of life. The many threats to the vitality of the churches emanate from a whole series of sources such as the culture of scientific materialism, alienation from institutions and the rigidity of churches to engage in serious renewal that both incorporates the spiritual heritage of the past and is open to new horizons of how the Christian story is told and celebrated. Kevin Treston considers how the Traditional Christian Story needs to be complemented by a new story, the Cosmic Christian Story that situates God's revelation in Jesus as the Christ within the great story of the universe. In recent decades, there has been a massive shift in global consciousness and scientific advances. Unless the Christ story is embedded within this consciousness, the Jesus story will tend to be marginalised in a world shaped by the new sciences of quantum physics, evolution, cosmology and morphic energy field theories. For the church, there is no time to delay lest the Good News becomes remote from the cultural mainstream of a new unitive consciousness. The author poses key questions for our consideration. 'What is the driving impulse for the advent of Jesus?', 'Is the core impulse the restoration of God's relationship with humanity after the primal sin, or is the impulse for God's revelation in Jesus an act of love within the evolutionary story of the universe?', 'How can these faith perspectives be integrated into a vital Christian story?' The Cosmic Christian Story is presented as a relevant story for our age and time. The book is for general readers, with reflection questions throughout as guides to small group discussions. Kevin Treston has worked in ministry for over sixty years across Australia and in many countries. He has graduated BA (Hons), MA (Hons), MEd, PhD (University of Notre Dame) and pursued post-doctoral studies in Washington, Chicago and Boston. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Boston College. He is a member of the Association of Practical Theology Oceania and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Catholic education. Kevin lives with his wife Kathryn in Brisbane, Australia.
