Cosden, A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation

Share this:

Darrell Cosden, A Theology of Work. Wipf and Stock, 2006.

Sequel: Cosden, The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work

Referenced in: Missional Spirituality, Discipleship – Missional Spirituality of Work

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

This is the scholarly monograph behind the popular-level work by Cosden, The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work.

From the Publisher

Given that so much of our contemporary lives are spent working and that so many major decisions and issues in life revolve around our work, it is surprising just how little serious theological reflection there is on the subject. A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation makes work itself the subject of theological enquiry. From within Christian doctrine it asks the pressing questions ‘what is work and work’s place in God’s economy and thus, how should we be carrying out our work?’ Through dialogue with Jürgen Moltmann, Pope John Paul II and others, this book develops a genitive ‘theology of work’. It offers a normative theological definition of work and a model for a theological ethics of work that shows work’s nature, value and meaning now, and, quite uniquely, eschatologically related to the new creation. Throughout the book it is argued that work in its essence is about transformation and, as such, it is an activity consisting of three dynamically interrelated dimensions: the instrumental, relational, and ontological.

About the Author

Darrell Cosden (PhD at St Andrews University) was Lecturer in Theology and Ethics at the International Christian College in Glasgow from 1999-2007, and now teaches at Judson University, Elgin IL. His creative and stretching approaches to teaching have inspired students to have a passion for theology, and to make the connections between that theology and people’s day to day lives, as do his books The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work and A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation both published by Paternoster.


See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Ministry Leadership