This elegant and accessible book takes an in-depth look at the life and thought of the brilliant, yet little-known theologian, Dorothy L. Sayers. Author Laura K. Simmons examines Sayers's thoughts on topics ranging from the incarnation and the Trinity to work ethics and the arts. Simmons does great justice to a woman whose goal was to avoid Christian 'slip-slop and fiddle-faddle,' and in doing so, introduces the modern church to a brilliant thinker. Canon John Thurmer (former chancellor of Exeter Cathedral) says, 'Simmons has done us a great service in writing the first full-length, comprehensive survey of the theology of Dorothy L. Sayers. This enterprise has difficulties. Most of the devotees of Lord Peter Wimsey and many who appreciate the translations of Dante are not interested in theology, and theologians raise their eyebrows and say, 'Sayers?' For Sayers, however, the novels, the theology, and the translations were all 'variations upon a hymn to the Master Maker,' and Simmons celebrates the hymn and the value of its theological variations for the twenty-first century.' Robert K. Johnston (Fuller Theological Seminary) says, 'As the institutional church falters, lay theology becomes increasingly important, infusing dogma with new life. In twentieth-century England, the list of such lay thinkers was impressive--Chesterton, Lewis, Eliot, and the least known of this group, Dorothy Sayers. With the publication of Creed without Chaos, readers now have access to the breadth of Sayers' theology, particularly as expressed in her voluminous letters. In the process, Simmons has provided an important resource for America's twenty-first-century church.' |
