Thesis on Gunton and Zizioulas: Ethics and the Imago Dei

[Jeremy]

Hi All,
I'm writing first to find whether this site is still active as
it's marvelously helpful (especially Nate's bibliographies) and there
are some new things to add from the past couple years. Has anyone had
any luck contacting Nate? As an introduction, I'm working an a
Master's thesis that will examine Gunton's work specifically on the
imago dei, and compare it to that of John D. Zizioulas. My own
interest in both Gunton and Zizioulas is in their ethical work, so
I'll be spending time reading their sermons and informal addresses
usually excluded from their "academic" corpus. I've had some time to
read some of your great work on Gunton and have found it quite
helpful, so you can expect me to post my own work as it develops over
the next year, that is, if there are any readers still on this list.

Blessings and Peace,
Jeremy Kidwell
MCS Candidate, Regent College (Vancouver, BC)

[Richard Kirby]

I'm still on the list, and still miss CEG.

 Maybe Gordon Arthur PhD foes too...

Cordially

Richard S.C. Kirby, Ph.D.

 

Executive Director, Stuart C. Dodd Institute for Social Innovation
Seattle, Washington, USA: StuartCDoddInstitute.org

 

Co-author, The Leadership of Civilization Building: Administrative and Civilization Theory, Symbolic Dialogue, and Citizen Skills for the 21st Century
Authors: Richard J. Spady and Richard S. Kirby
Publisher: Seattle: Forum Foundation, 2002, 302 pp.
ISBN: 0-9700534-9-5

 

 

Corresponding Professor of Mathematical and Financial Sciences and Director of the Institute for Mathematical and Financial Innovation, University of Russia's Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia: urao.edu

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[N Suda]

Jeremy,

 

Thanks for writing, as your work develops I'd love to post it on the site. Activity on the site goes in ebbs and swells, but I'm sure new material will draw some interest. Last I checked a fair number of people visit the site regularly, and a fair number are on the email group.

 

Your research topic sounds interesting - it will certainly take you through the range of Gunton's thought. Gunton's 'non-academic' (I'm sure Gunton would have been bemused at that distinction - although I know you didn't mean to draw a clear line there) is some of his most interesting. A couple of thoughts as you begin (?) your research.

 

Gunton tended to explore ideas as he wrote, and he also tended to become fascinated with an idea and write extensively on the topic (still exploring as he wrote) until he ran the full stretch of an idea or until a new interesting idea arrested Gunton's thought. That is to say while he was a clear writer, he wasn't always precise, and it is very difficult to discuss Gunton's position on any topic from a limited corpus. He tended to implicitly assume his readers had read his previous works, or were at least familiar with his prior train of thought. While you will no doubt find some very interesting things in the occasional works, I would be careful to draw conclusions which could be thought to be in contradiction to Gunton's more measured works. One thing I learned of Gunton's writings is that they are best read in, and as a whole. It is unfortunate to say the very least that we will never have the entire whole.

 

On the other hand, Gunton frequently would introduce a topic or idea sometimes with the utmost brevity, yet would not develop or turn back to it. These unexplored themes abound everywhere, the occasional works included. It would be interesting to see how Gunton might have developed these themes.

 

If in your research you come across anything I've missed in my bibliography (it was hard going when I complied it, and I'm sure to have missed a few things) please share, and I'll add it to the site.

 

Best regards,

Nate 

[Jeremy Kidwell]

Hi Nate,

Thanks for your reply - it's encouraging to hear from other Guntonites around the globe. I've been annotating your bibliography from the website as I go - so I'll try and organize my thoughts and get it back to you with whatever additional resources I've found (there's an .mp3 recording of a course he taught here in the Pacific Northwest back in the 90s for one). You're definately right about his brevity in introducing new and interesting analysis in unexpected places, I'm hoping to connect the dots in terms of his ethics... we'll see how it all comes together. On another note, if you're still maintaining an endnote version of those bibliographies, I'd love a copy as I'm using a software reference manager as well. I understand, of course the incredible amount of work that represents, and would attempt to reciprocate as best I can, if you don't mind parting with it.

Blessings,

Jeremy