Disasters indicate the complex peril of earthy existence. Suffering and risk are global realities. Yet the biblical depiction of persons and communities as "earthen vessels" also suggests that vulnerable creatures can be strengthened to receive and bear the grace and glory of God. This theological account considers how vulnerability to devastation and transformation is the very basis for life before God. The glory of God may be witnessed in resistance to inhumanity and idolatry and expressed in delight and gratitude for the good gifts of life.

Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. www.wjk.com

Kristine A. Culp is Dean of the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago and Associate Professor of Theology, The Divinity School, The University of Chicago. She is the editor of "The Responsibility of the Church for Society" and Other Essays by H. Richard Niebuhr.

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Contents

                         Introduction: Vulnerable to Devastation and
                          Transformation

Part 1   Vulnerability and Community

chapter 1         From Paul’s Earthen Vessel
                           to Augustine’s Mixed Body

chapter 2        Assembled under the Cross:
                           Luther’s Christendom

chapter 3        Calvin on Corruption and Transformation

chapter 4        Modern Treasure?

Part 2   Transformation and Devastation

chapter 5        A Field of Tensions and Conversions

chapter 6        Vulnerability in a World Marked by Suffering

Part 3   Living before God

chapter 7        Always Reforming, Always Resisting

chapter 8        An Itinerary of Delight and Gratitude