Most people would agree that human perfection is unattainable. Indeed, theologians have typically expressed ambivalence about the possibility of human perfection. Yet, paradoxically, depictions of human perfection are widespread. In this volume, Robin Gill offers an interdisciplinary study of human perfection in contemporary secular culture. He demonstrates that the language of perfection is present in church memorials, popular depictions of sport, food, music and art, liturgy, and philosophy. He contrasts these examples with the socio-psychological concept of 'maladaptive perfectionism', using commercial cosmetic surgery as an example, as well as the 'adaptive perfectionism' suggested in the lives of Henry Holland, Paul Farmer, and, more ambivalently, Ludwig Wittgenstein. Gill then provides an in-depth analysis of New Testament and Septuagint usage of teleios and theological debates about the human perfection of Jesus. He argues that the Synoptic accounts of the Transfiguration offer a template for a Christian understanding of perfection that has important ecumenical implications within social ethics.

‘Perfection, a gospel mandate few can attain! Yet Jesus’ Transfiguration illumines God's faithful in his perfection - Gill’s brilliant insight for Christian ethics.’

Lisa Cahill - J. Donald Monan, S.J. Professor of Theology, Boston College

‘The idea of human perfection is crucial for Christian ethics, and this penetrating discussion revitalises a rather neglected topic in Christian ethics.’

Keith Ward - Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford University