Eucharistic Reciprocity

A Practical Theological Inquiry Into the Virtue of Gratitude

By: A. William DeJong

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Paperback | 11 November 2019

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276 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.27

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This volume probes the nature of gratitude as a virtue and identifies its moral value in the Christian life in order to enhance pastoral effectiveness in ministering to those gripped by sins of desire. Such impulses are explored in terms of the seven deadly sins, which this inquiry regards as distorted desires for the good God provides. Utilizing a method of mutual critical correlation, this volume brings philosophical and psychological claims about gratitude into conversation with the Christian tradition. On the basis of an ontology of communion in which humans are inextricably situated in giving-and-receiving relationships with God, others, and the world, this inquiry defines gratitude as a social response involving asymmetrical, agapic reciprocity, whereby a recipient freely, joyfully, and fittingly salutes a giver for the gift received in order to establish, maintain, or restore a personal and peaceable relationship. Critiquing especially the reductions of gratitude by Aristotle and Jacques Derrida, this inquiry recommends gratitude as a virtue which, when embodied, practiced, and ritualized especially, though not exclusively, in the Eucharist, has potential to repel the destructive idolatries generated by the seven deadly sins and thus function as a crucial ingredient in human social flourishing. Familiarity with the virtue of gratitude as a vital ingredient in moral flourishing therefore equips pastors for greater ministerial effectiveness.

Industry Reviews

“How can North Americans be greedy when they are #SoBlessed? DeJong gives us a magnificent theological and philosophical tour of gratitude in this important new book, and how the posture and practice of gratitude serve as an inoculant for the poisons of modern moral life, a ‘solvent for distorted and destructive desires.’ Recovering the joy of gratitude, DeJong argues that the virtue of gratitude can transform our worst vices into virtues, nowhere more miraculously than in the church and in its sacrament of the Eucharist.”
—Robert Joustra, Associate Professor of Politics & International Studies, Redeemer University College

“This wise and insightful book, with its impressive multi-disciplinary exploration, has taught me many new lessons about the idea of gratitude. But reading it also made me experience gratitude, for the marvelous way that William DeJong shows how informed scholarship can inform a profound engagement in pastoral ministry.”
—Richard Mouw, President Emeritus, Fuller Theological Seminary

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