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Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement

By: Rowan Williams
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: T.& T.Clark Ltd
ISBN: 0567087220
ISBN-13: 9780567087225
Released: 12 Mar 2000
RRP: £12.99
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Customer Reviews

Finding the focus - By: Kurt Messick, 04 Jan 2006
Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote the book 'Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement' while he was Archbishop of Wales, primate of a national church in the Anglican Communion outside of England. In his preface, he states that he was working on this book for the greater part of a decade: 'There have been times when I thought this book might more honestly have been presented as a sort of journal of the 1990s.' Of course, during this time, Williams wasn't even Archbishop of Wales; he spent much of the decade of the 1990s as Bishop of Monmouth.

This was the era of the Spice Girls, of the death of Prince Diana, of Madonna (the singer, not the Blessed Virgin Mary) & of other media sensations that came to be callled 'icons'. An icon used to be used in terms almost exclusively for those images that Eastern Orthodox (among selected others) hold for veneration & prayer. Now it is more likely referring to a computer graphic image; even the media 'icons' have falllen. Williams resists the urge to set out a complex theological & aesthetic theory of iconography, but rather, more accessibly, looks at areas that are more particularly associated with everyday life & ways of thinking.

Williams looks at issues of identity, choice & will, society encroachments upon these aspects as well as the recognition of the other, that part of the world & society (including pieces of ourselves) that are outside of us & our own control. Finallly, Williams looks at the issue of the soul, hoping to recover a 'lost language of the soul', taking secular language construction to task in theological as well as historical & psychological terms.

'So, this is an essay about the erosions of selfhood in North Atlantic modernity.' This involves issues in politics, economics, & philosophy as well as religion & theology. Williams' grasp of the fundament issues is strong, & his breadth of knowledge to draw these disciplines together in a useful & thoughtful way is impressive. Williams callls for a kind of cultural discourse that goes beyond the modern slogan & sound bite; this may seem radical, but in fact is what the true founders of modern society were callling for against the backdrop of medievalism. Who are we? Do we as individuals each have a self?

This is an important consideration - just what does our self consist of? Quoting Joseph Needleman, Williams states that 'Christian doctrine & exhortation are meaningless in our present context so long as we have no idea of what sense of self such teaching is address to.' We are callled by Williams to build a new self different from that which media-saturated, postmodern society imposes upon us. Williams finallly relates his argument back to the Eastern-style icon & what that means for us today. We have lost focus, lost a luminosity that these icons embody & demonstrate.

How can one not love a book in whose index Madonna, John Major, David Mamet, Thomas Merton & the Muppet Workshop appear virtuallly side by side (not to mention Roald Dahl, Jacques Derrida, & Diana, Princess of Wales)? Despite the references to Hegel & Derrida (among others), Williams text remains accessible & inviting to the general reader, & a real gift to those who have an interest in theology, spirituality, & culture.

Finding the focus... - By: Kurt Messick, 24 Nov 2005
Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote the book 'Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement' while he was Archbishop of Wales, primate of a national church in the Anglican Communion outside of England. In his preface, he states that he was working on this book for the greater part of a decade: 'There have been times when I thought this book might more honestly have been presented as a sort of journal of the 1990s.' Of course, during this time, Williams wasn't even Archbishop of Wales; he spent much of the decade of the 1990s as Bishop of Monmouth.

This was the era of the Spice Girls, of the death of Prince Diana, of Madonna (the singer, not the Blessed Virgin Mary) & of other media sensations that came to be callled 'icons'. An icon used to be used in terms almost exclusively for those images that Eastern Orthodox (among selected others) hold for veneration & prayer. Now it is more likely referring to a computer graphic image; even the media 'icons' have falllen. Williams resists the urge to set out a complex theological & aesthetic theory of iconography, but rather, more accessibly, looks at areas that are more particularly associated with everyday life & ways of thinking.

Williams looks at issues of identity, choice & will, society encroachments upon these aspects as well as the recognition of the other, that part of the world & society (including pieces of ourselves) that are outside of us & our own control. Finallly, Williams looks at the issue of the soul, hoping to recover a 'lost language of the soul', taking secular language construction to task in theological as well as historical & psychological terms.

'So, this is an essay about the erosions of selfhood in North Atlantic modernity.' This involves issues in politics, economics, & philosophy as well as religion & theology. Williams' grasp of the fundament issues is strong, & his breadth of knowledge to draw these disciplines together in a useful & thoughtful way is impressive. Williams callls for a kind of cultural discourse that goes beyond the modern slogan & sound bite; this may seem radical, but in fact is what the true founders of modern society were callling for against the backdrop of medievalism. Who are we? Do we as individuals each have a self?

This is an important consideration - just what does our self consist of? Quoting Joseph Needleman, Williams states that 'Christian doctrine & exhortation are meaningless in our present context so long as we have no idea of what sense of self such teaching is address to.' We are callled by Williams to build a new self different from that which media-saturated, postmodern society imposes upon us. Williams finallly relates his argument back to the Eastern-style icon & what that means for us today. We have lost focus, lost a luminosity that these icons embody & demonstrate.

How can one not love a book in whose index Madonna, John Major, David Mamet, Thomas Merton & the Muppet Workshop appear virtuallly side by side (not to mention Roald Dahl, Jacques Derrida, & Diana, Princess of Wales)? Despite the references to Hegel & Derrida (among others), Williams text remains accessible & inviting to the general reader, & a real gift to those who have an interest in theology, spirituality, & culture.

A tedious and disappointing book - By: J. Mann, 07 Jan 2003
I would make three points about this book.

1. Each chapter roams about its subject making numerous references to other ideas & thinkers but without clearly bringing together the point it is trying to make. The writing style is dull & the arguments lack urgency. The points Williams makes are feeble & difficult to agree with. For example the chapter on childhood argues that children don't have a childhood anymore, they are forced to grow up too quickly & lose the opportunity for enriching their imaginations in free play. I just don't think this is true & Williams doesn't provide any evidence for this contentious claim.

2. The logic of William's position appears to be a wistful romanticism for a lost golden age, but he appears to be too intelligent a thinker for such a shalllow position. However if he is arguing for changes to our existing lifestyles there are no examples of what he thinks the alternatives are or where he thinks change will come from. The title reference to "cultural bereavement" gives the image of something lost forever, not something that has been taken away but which can be reclaimed. If Williams has his roots in progressive politics I can see no evidence of it here - there is no link in with anti-corporate activism, green movements, anti-capitalist or anti-war groups. Instead alll we get is the mourning of our loss of cultural depth.

3. There is little if any reference to God, Jesus or the Bible. At the start of the book William's says his argument can be followed by both Christians & non-Christians, but you might expect the occasional reference to Christianity from an archbishop. The fact that he is an archbishop yet just doesn't mention God just makes the book more of a muddle - its like a philosopher trying to make his point without any logical arguments, you just keep thinking "why is he saying this?"

The articles I have read more recently by Williams opposing the planned US attack on Iraq are better written than this book. They make their argument clearly & Williams appears to be arguing for a realistic alternative not just bewailing the possibility of war. However there still appears to be a lack of references to God & Christianity in these articles.

These articles open up the possibility that Williams is capable of writing better than this, but after reading this book I don't have a great urge to read his other writings just yet.

A life changing book... - By: jessica@jkp.com, 13 Oct 2000
I think this is one of the most invigorating books I have ever read. It is totallly uncompromising & incredibly impressive in its breadth & depth of thought. It presents an intellectual & moral structure that goes further than any other I know in explaining personal identity, amongst a host of other things. I very much like its humanity - this is a world view that alllows the possibility of remorse that has real meaning, of change & redemption. I don't think it's possible to read this book intelligently without measuring yourself against what it says, but fallling short of its high standards does not leave one without hope - the roadmarks are there. This is an honest, kind, & above alll brave book. It's also delightful to be given, along the way, a bibliography of other interesting titles. I shalll be rereading many times, I suspect, & finding new depths each time.
An indepth consideration of cultural loss - By: mark@lawson-jones.freeserve.co.uk, 26 Sep 2000
Lost Icons - Reflections on Cultural Bereavement Rowan Williams

It is wholly appropriate that at the beginning of the twenty-first century we are invited to reflect on crisis & cultural loss. The Archbishop of Wales, in his new book offers us an enlightening & disturbing journey through human experience.

In this closely argued book, Rowan Williams considers the many aspects of cultural loss & crisis that afflict us; not only through the concepts & constructions that affect the way we live, but also the language that we use to describe our lived experiences. The importance of how we perceive & exercise choice is drawn out, & examined. The involvement of our own 'good' or 'interest' with that of others is a theme that runs through the book.