Before nature: a Christian spirituality

Description

Before Nature caps a set of themes first brought to the fore in Santmire's previous work, most notably the classic The Travail of Nature. Here Santmire continues the pursuit of a theology bound up with nature and its condition, especially the fragility and fervent expectation of nature's redemption. Out of this concern, Santmire invites readers on a theological and spiritual journey to a prayerful and contemplative knowledge of the Triune God, in which practitioners are inducted into a bountiful relationship with the cosmic and universal ministry of Christ and the Spirit uniting all of nature in a single vision of hope and anticipation. Scholarly, practical, and accessible.;pt. 1. Considering the journey -- 1. Blessedly scything with God -- 2. Introducing a way of prayer -- 3. The world in which we pray -- pt. 2. The first steps of the journey -- 4. Praying to Jesus -- 5. The ambiguous case of one who prays to Jesus -- pt. 3. Contemplating the Triune God -- 6. The heart of the Trinity prayer -- 7. The presence of the Triune God in nature -- 8. The works of the Triune God in nature -- pt. 4. Calling on the Holy Spirit -- 9. Calling on the Holy Spirit -- 10. Sauntering in the Spirit.