GRACE UPON GRACE, reflections on the meaning of life

83pp., colour illus., paperback, Sun Press, No Place, 2020

ISBN: 9781928314714

A collection of essays on Christian theology that focus on three questions: where we come from, where we are going and who we are.

"The book is definitely not a 'self-help scheme' or a 'feel-good enterprise'. Instead he introduces the reader to 'the art of meaning-making', with fragments, different voices: biblical, his own and others', and with aesthetic expressions. The fragments place the reader in the 'Karoo' that forms a metaphor for Cilliers's theological thinking, a dry and arid landscape with awesome night skies, a place where the Cross of Christ is to be found. If you ever thought about the meaning of life, read this book." Thomas Girmalm, Umeå University, Sweden

"In this deeply personal book, well-known Cilliers themes – including meaning-making, sermons, modern art, colours, Stellenbosch wines, and the Karoo – emerge in a surprisingly new way. They connect with intensely happy and severely sad autobiographical moments and are presented in no more than fragments. However, while reading them, the fragments begin to mutually interact with one another, and playfully create a surprisingly existential theology – a theology that hooks to your own existence as a reader. Take, read, and savour this tasty book." Marcel Barnard, Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam

Johan Cilliers is a retired Professor in Homiletics and Liturgy, a former Head of the Department of Practical Theology and Missiology, at Stellenbosch University, a former President of the Society for Practical Theology in South Africa and a former President of the International Societas Homiletica. He has lectured as visiting scholar in Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany. His books include Worship in the Network Culture, A Space for Grace and Preaching Fools.