And Now I See . . .: A Theology of Transformation: 8 - Softcover

Barron, professor of systematic theology at Mundelein Seminary, near Chicago, offers an accessible exploration of Christian theological concepts He divides his book into three sections as he examines Christianity as a source of human transformation. In his first section, Barron argues that human nature is alienated from itself and thus humans are in need of a mediator who can draw them back to God and self. The second section takes up a renewed understanding of God in light of the alienated nature of humanity. In his final section, Barron contends that Christ is a healer and reconciler who seeks to draw humanity back into relationship with God. Along the way, Barron draws on sources as diverse as Dante, Paul Tillich, Thomas Merton and Flannery O'Connor. --Publishers Weekly

"Christianity is, above all, a way of seeing. What unites figures as diverse as James Joyce, Caravaggio, John Milton, the architect of Chartres, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the later Bob Dylan is a peculiar and distinctive take on things, a style, a way, which flows finally from Jesus of Nazareth. Origen remarked that holiness is seeing with the eyes of Christ. Teilhard de Chardin said, with great passion, that his mission as a Christian thinker was to help people see. And Thomas Aquinas said that the ultimate goal of the Christian life is a 'beatific vision,' an act of seeing. This book is about coming to vision through Christ." -- Robert Barron, from the Prelude