Christianity in a Secularized World
Christianity in a Secularized World

Author: Wolfhart Pannenberg

Publisher: SCM Press

Published: 2012-04-01

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 9780334019176

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this fascinating short study Professor Pannenberg sheds much new light on the discussion of the `secularization' of Christianity. Rather than seeing secularization as primarily a development in the history of ideas, he argues that it began directly out of social and political reaction to the wars of religion and their devastating results. A central chapter looks at the long term problems caused by secularization, including the loss of a basis for values in modern society. And finally Professor Pannenberg looks at the tasks facing the churches today if they are not to be marginalized or become one more item for the consumer society to consume. Here he has particularly interesting criticisms to make of feminist theology and liberation theology. His arguments have an importance which far exceed the dimensions within which they are presented. Wolfhart Pannenberg is Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Munich.

Dominion
Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2019-10-29

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 0465093523

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A "marvelous" (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination. Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.

Christianity and the Secular
Christianity and the Secular

Author: Robert A. Markus

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2006-02-28

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 0268162034

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The history of Christianity has been marked by tension between ideas of sacred and secular, their shifting balance, and their conflict. In Christianity and the Secular, Robert A. Markus examines the place of the secular in Christianity, locating the origins of the concept in the New Testament and early Christianity and describing its emergence as a problem for Christianity following the recognition of Christianity as an established religion, then the officially enforced religion, of the Roman Empire. Markus focuses especially on the new conditions engendered by the Christianization of the Roman Empire. In the period between the apostolic age and Constantine, the problem of the relation between Christianity and secular society and culture was suppressed for the faithful; Christians saw themselves as sharply distinct in, if not separate from, the society of their non-Christian fellows. Markus argues that when the autonomy of the secular realm came under threat in the Christianised Roman Empire after Constantine, Christians were forced to confront the problem of adjusting themselves to the culture and society of the new regime. Markus identifies Augustine of Hippo as the outstanding critic of the ideology of a Christian empire that had developed by the end of the fourth century and in the time of the Theodosian emperors, and as the principal defender of a place for the secular within a Christian interpretation of the world and of history. Markus traces the eclipse of this idea at the end of antiquity and during the Christian Middle Ages, concluding with its rehabilitation by Pope John XXIII and the second Vatican Council. Of interest to scholars of religion, theology, and patristics, Markus's genealogy of an authentic Christian concept of the secular is sure to generate widespread discussion.

Soldiers of God in a Secular World
Soldiers of God in a Secular World

Author: Sarah Shortall

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0674980107

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A revelatory account of the nouvelle thŽologie, a clerical movement that revitalized the Catholic ChurchÕs role in twentieth-century French political life. Secularism has been a cornerstone of French political culture since 1905, when the republic formalized the separation of church and state. At times the barrier of secularism has seemed impenetrable, stifling religious actors wishing to take part in political life. Yet in other instances, secularism has actually nurtured movements of the faithful. Soldiers of God in a Secular World explores one such case, that of the nouvelle thŽologie, or new theology. Developed in the interwar years by Jesuits and Dominicans, the nouvelle thŽologie reimagined the ChurchÕs relationship to public life, encouraging political activism, engaging with secular philosophy, and inspiring doctrinal changes adopted by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Nouveaux thŽologiens charted a path between the old alliance of throne and altar and secularismÕs demand for the privatization of religion. Envisioning a Church in but not of the public sphere, Catholic thinkers drew on theological principles to intervene in political questions while claiming to remain at armÕs length from politics proper. Sarah Shortall argues that this Òcounter-politicsÓ was central to the mission of the nouveaux thŽologiens: by recoding political statements in the ostensibly apolitical language of doctrine, priests were able to enter into debates over fascism and communism, democracy and human rights, colonialism and nuclear war. This approach found its highest expression during the Second World War, when the nouveaux thŽologiens led the spiritual resistance against Nazism. Claiming a powerful public voice, they collectively forged a new role for the Church amid the momentous political shifts of the twentieth century.

A Secular Age
A Secular Age

Author: Charles Taylor

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2018-09-17

Total Pages: 889

ISBN-13: 0674986911

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The place of religion in society has changed profoundly in the last few centuries, particularly in the West. In what will be a defining book for our time, Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean, and what, precisely, happens when a society becomes one in which faith is only one human possibility among others.

Disruptive Witness
Disruptive Witness

Author: Alan Noble

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2018-07-17

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0830881093

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What should Christian witness look like in our contemporary society? In this timely book, Alan Noble looks at our cultural moment, characterized by technological distraction and the growth of secularism, laying out individual, ecclesial, and cultural practices that disrupt our society's deep-rooted assumptions and point beyond them to the transcendent grace and beauty of Jesus.

Christianity
Christianity

Author: Linda Woodhead

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 0199687749

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is a short, accessible analysis of Christianity that focuses on its social and cultural diversity as well as its historical dimensions.

Secularization and Religious Innovation in the North Atlantic World
Secularization and Religious Innovation in the North Atlantic World

Author: David Hempton

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-05-12

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0192519034

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the early twenty-first century it had become a cliché that there was a 'God Gap' between a more religious United States and a more secular Europe. The apparent religious differences between the United States and western Europe continue to be a focus of intense and sometimes bitter debate between three of the main schools in the sociology of religion. According to the influential 'Secularization Thesis', secularization has been an integral part of the processes of modernisation in the Western world since around 1800. For proponents of this thesis, the United States appears as an anomaly and they accordingly give considerable attention to explaining why it is different. For other sociologists, however, the apparently high level of religiosity in the USA provides a major argument in their attempts to refute the Thesis. Secularization and Religious Innovation in the Atlantic World provides a systematic comparison between the religious histories of the United States and western European countries from the eighteenth to the late twentieth century, noting parallels as well as divergences, examining their causes and especially highlighting change over time. This is achieved by a series of themes which seem especially relevant to this agenda, and in each case the theme is considered by two scholars. The volume examines whether American Christians have been more innovative, and if so how far this explains the apparent 'God Gap'. It goes beyond the simple American/European binary to ask what is 'American' or 'European' in the Christianity of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and in what ways national or regional differences outweigh these commonalities.

Leading In A Secular World
Leading In A Secular World

Author: Richard A. Hardy

Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2022-11-03

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1643495143

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As progressivism, identity politics, and moral relativism engulf our nation, Christians find themselves living in an increasingly hostile environment. This current state of affairs has many feeling disillusioned and helpless. Combined with escalating governmental intervention, a deepening racial divide, and a declining moral base, many are finding it more difficult to live by one's faith. Never before in our nation's history has Christianity faced such a hostile environment. In Leading in a Secular World, Richard A. Hardy defines biblical leadership principles to overcome the challenges of leading in this troublesome climate. Founded upon Jesus's last prayer before His crucifixion, these principles define the purpose and goal of biblical leadership. When paired with supporting biblical truths, these concepts will bring clarity to the social chaos we are now witnessing and healing to strained race relations. This book was written for any Christian interested in turning our nation back to God and making a difference in the communities in which they live. It is a practical guide to establish, reinvigorate, and transform your leadership. These concepts will support current leaders and empower a generation of future ones.