Outside Eden: Finding Hope in an Imperfect WorldPaperback, 19 February 2009

The reality of imperfection is something we all live with: but how do we live with it? In our dreams and fantasies we like to imagine perfect people, places or communities whilst in our cynical or despairing moments we see ourselves and our society as hopelessly flawed. The Christian Gospel takes a third path: it is about imperfection and glory - it is about how God offers us realistic hope. In Jesus, God responds truthfully and generously to what we and our world are really like, so as to make something glorious of us. The author draws on the poetry of W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, Henry Vaughan and others to encourage readers to follow Christ on this crooked journey to fulfilment. Peter Fisher's approach to the Gospels shows how God brings glory out of imperfection in both human lives and in the community of faith.