This is a creative but dense theological essay. He should have made it a little easier for there reader, to my mind. He must have had some idea in to how the different pieces are suppose to be read together, but I cannot get into his head. I don't think that is what Ford intended, but I just cannot get in to his thinking in this book.

I suppose this is postmodernism in the bad sense of the word, as lack in coherence. When he goes on to his analysis of Thèrèse and Bonhoeffor I am completely lost in terms of how this is linked to 'face' and self. Levinas get a mention a little more often, but not to any degree that I feel like the first part of the book has influenced his reading of the second to any significant degree. Jüngel is barely mentioned for the rest of the book and Ricoeur only rarely. These section at least link together somewhat, but there is no real connection to my mind and then it simply gets worse. Ford starts with long chapters on the philosopher Levinas, then links in somewhat to Jüngel and then there is a section on Ricoeur.

The section on Bonhoeffer is likewise rather interesting, but I just can't make out how the book is suppose to be put together as a whole. And that is the problem of the whole book for me. The section on 'face' in the Bible was really quite useful and interesting, but I did not see why he needed Levinas, Jüngel and Ricoeur for that. I have read most of Ford's Modern Theologians and I thought that this would be a very interesting read, and it was at some parts.

Theology by David F. Ford