Two streams run through the Western philosophical stream: one characterized by Being, beings, the unchanging, the static, and the unitary; and the other by Action, actions, the changing, the dynamic, and the diverse. The former might be represented by Parmenides, Plato, and much of what followed; the latter by Heraclitus, and by rather less of what followed. The book explores the "Action" stream as it wound its way through history, through Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, Maurice Blondel, Henri Bergson, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, process philosophy and theology, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and John Boys Smith. The journey enables us to create the beginnings of an "actology": a way of seeing ourselves, the universe, and God in terms of actions in patterns rather than as beings that change. Such an actology offers a complete alternative narrative far more in tune with the diverse and rapidly changing world in which we live than the ontology that has shaped philosophy, theology, and much else for the past two thousand years.

There are no words foul and filthy enough to describe war. So declared Geoffrey Woodbine Willie Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), a decorated frontline chaplain whose battlefield experiences in World War I transformed him into his generation's most eloquent defender of Christian pacificism. Studdert Kennedy was also a tireless champion of the social gospel who wrote a dozen books, scores of articles, hundreds of poems, and preached countless sermons in both the UK and the US promoting economic justice. Studdert Kennedy's writing and preaching influenced an entire generation. William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, described him as a true prophet. Even though he's fallen into obscurity with the passage of years, Studdert Kennedy's message still inspires the likes of Desmond Tutu and Jÿrgen Moltmann. This collection of Studdert Kennedy's work, the first in sixty years, seeks to introduce this most relevant of thinkers to our troubled times. The book pulls together Studdert Kennedy's most important writings on war and peace, poverty, the problem of evil, the church's role in the world, sin and atonement, the suffering God, love versus force as world powers, and the beloved community. Editor Kerry Walters introduces the texts with a biographical and thematic essay.

'There are no words foul and filthy enough to describe war.' So declared Geoffrey 'Woodbine Willie' Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), a decorated frontline chaplain whose battlefield experiences in World War transformed him into the most eloquent defender ofChristian pacifism of his generation. Studdert Kennedy was also a tireless champion of the social gospel who wrote a dozen books, scores of articles, hundreds of poems, and preached countless sermons in both the UK and the US promoting economic justice. Studdert Kennedy's writing and preaching influenced an entire generation. William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, described him as a true prophet. Even though he has fallen into obscurity with the passage of years, Studdert Kennedy's message still inspires the likes of Desmond Tutu and Jurgen Moltmann. This collection of Studdert Kennedy's work, the first in 60 years, seeks to introduce this most relevant of thinkers to our troubled times. The book pulls together Studdert Kennedy's most important writings on war and peace, poverty, the problem of evil, the Church's role in the world, sin and atonement, the suffering God, love versus force as world powers, and the beloved community. Editor Kerry Walters introduces the texts with a biographical and thematic essay.