Graceful Reading

Theology and Narrative in the Works of John Bunyan

By: Michael Davies

Write A Review

Hardcover | 4 July 2002

At a Glance

Hardcover
416 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 2.69

Hardcover

$350.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $87.75 with

or

Ships in 7 to 10 business days

Graceful Reading offers a new way of understanding Bunyan''s theology and his narrative art, examining and reassessing the complex and interdependent relationship between them. Michael Davies begins by proposing that Bunyan''s theology is far from obsessed with the forbidding Calvinist doctrine of predestination and its corollary tendency towards painful introspection. Bunyan''s is, rather, a comfortable doctrine, in which the believer is encouraged to accept salvation through the far more assuring terms of Bunyan''s covenant theology - those of faith and grace. The book then reassesses how Bunyan''s narrative style is informed by this theology. Works such as Grace Abounding and The Pilgrim''s Progress reveal a profound sensitivity to narrative forms and reading practices, as they aim to inculcate in their readers a self-consciousness about reading itself which is instrumental in the very process of spiritual instruction, in seeing ''things unseen''. This is a study, therefore, which asserts a radically different way of reading of Bunyan''s writings, both through the terms of seventeenth-century covenant theology, and through some distinctly ''postmodernist'' ideas about narrative practice.

Industry Reviews

Davies provides an elegant and persuasive explication of the power of Bunyan's prose and brings us back in touch with the affective reality which informs Bunyan's ultimate and over-riding conviction that the language of the Bedford congregation, like that of the Bedford women, is a language of joy and consolation. * Vera J. Camden, Bunyan Studies *

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.