The practice of a public theology is to identify issues that require attention for the sake of a civil society and the flourishing of all. In diverse ways the writers of Enacting a Public Theology recognise that the present is a volatile moment in time. The publication explores the loss of confidence in the contemporary expressions of democracy; the climate emergency accompanies the dawn of the Anthropocene; the migration of people raises concerns to do with identity, belonging and where is home; the invasion of land wrongly described as terra nullius and then invaded demands a deepened praxis of reconciliation between first and second peoples; and lastly there is an urgent need to speak into the situation of those pushed to the margins because of HIV/Aids. Enacting a Public Theology represents the thinking of writers from Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand. It is both local and global in its concern. Each one of the contributors participated in the triennial gathering of the Global Network of Public Theology held in Stellenbosch in 2016.
This book delves into the public character of public theology from the sites of subalternity, the excluded Dalit (non) public in the Indian public sphere. Raj Bharat Patta employs a decolonial methodology and explores the topic in three parts: First, he engages with ‘theological contexts,’ by mapping global and Indian public theologies and critically analysing them. Next, he discusses ‘theological companions,’ and explains ‘theological subalternity’ and ‘subaltern public’ as companions for a subaltern public theology for India. Finally, Patta explains ‘theological contours’ by discussing subaltern liturgy as a theological account of the subaltern public and explores a subaltern public theology for India.
Public theologies reflect on the contextuality of the Christian religion. Much of this contextuality is dependent on place: place as the culture and the society in which religions are situated, place as the position from where a theologian speaks, place as the biographical contingencies that shape people's lives. Moreover, public theologies ask for the contribution of Christian ethics to society, thereby shaping the social, cultural, and religious space to which they belong. The contributions in this volume analyse the categories of space and place in order to deepen the understanding of contextuality, thereby taking up some of the challenges presented by the so-called "spatial turn".
Because of the disconnect within the curriculum and the lack of contextual relevance, African theological education is still searching for appropriate approaches to ministerial training. Integrative theological education refers to systematic attempts to connect major learning experiences appropriate to the education and formation of ministers. It is seen as a solution to connect and transform ministry training. The main premise of this book is that the key to enhancing theological education is the intentional integration of knowing with being and doing, of theory with practice, and of theology with life and ministry. In this way, all aspects of student learning are brought together holistically, highlighting an educational strategy that is concerned with connections in human experience, thereby supporting student learning. Making Connections offers the opportunity to consider integration as an appropriate pedagogical approach, to create the correct balance in making education more meaningful and fulfilling for the African, revealing humanising education grounded in African philosophy and worldview.
Humanity operates like a force of nature capable of affecting the destiny of the Earth System. This epochal shift profoundly alters the relationship between humankind and the Earth, presenting the conscious, thinking human animal with an unprecedented dilemma: As human power has grown over the Earth, so has the power of nature to extinguish human life. The emergence of the Anthropocene has settled any question of the place of human beings in the world: we stand inescapably at its center. The outstanding question—which forms the impetus and focus for this book—remains: What kind of human being stands at the center of the world? And what is the nature of that world? Unlike the scientific fact of human-centeredness, this is a moral question, a question that brings theology within the scope of reflection on the critical failures of human irresponsibility. Much of Christian theology has so far flunked the test of engaging the reality of the Anthropocene. The authors of these original essays begin with the premise that it is time to push harder at the questions the Anthropocene poses for people of faith.
This interdisciplinary book explores the science and spirituality nexus in the Pacific Islands Region and as such makes a critical contribution to sustainable climate change adaptation in Oceania. In addition to presenting case studies, literary analyses, field projects, and empirical research, the book describes faith-engaged approaches through the prism of: • Context: past, present, and future prospects• Theory: concepts, narratives, and theoretical frameworks• Practice: empirical research and praxis-informed case examples• Doctrine: scriptural contributions and perspectives• Engagement: enlisting religious stakeholders and constituencies Comprising peer-reviewed works by scholars, professionals, and practitioners from across Oceania, the book closes a critical gap in the literature and represents a groundbreaking contribution to holistic climate change adaptation in the Pacific Islands Region that is scientifically sound, spiritually attuned, locally meaningful, and contextually compelling.
This book is an important step in clarifying the issues that come up when addressing the public square. It is an early effort towards a coherent theological frame for engagement in socio-political issues, this time rooted in the richness of a multi-faith context like that of India. While the church is the primary social context in which the saving power of God is made visible, this book equally insists that it is in the larger arena of what God is doing in the world that the kingdom’s historic presence is felt. It is a fitting tribute to a man who has spent much of his life opening up the spaces where the Word is in vital conversation with the larger world. Melba Padilla Maggay, PhD, Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC).
The battle of the heart can be seen as the core problem of the Christian religion in modern culture. According to Augustine, the complex mixture of longings are the driving forces of human lives. These longing are not an intellectual puzzle, but rather a craving for sustenance. The contributions locate the battle for the heart and transformation of society and church in the context of an ethnic, multi-religious, socio-economical divided Africa. Where are the authentic voices of leaders who can change the heart? How to mend a 'broken' heart? How to transform congregations towards inclusion of difference? Can we embrace the dignity of difference as attitudes that enable transformation of church and society?
This study commends the public theology of the English Reformation as a fruitful though neglected resource for a critical analysis of the contradictions of freedom that riddle late-modern liberal democracies and a constructive response to them. Drawn from the key legal, liturgical, homiletic and confessional elements of the English Reformation, this foundational Anglican tradition provides a theological vantage point for understanding current moral and political impasses in the western legacy of natural rights. The extensive development of natural rights in pre-modern scholastic theory and practice and its continuity with theoretical development from the 17th century onward make the Reformers' criticisms of scholastic moral, political, and ecclesial thought germane to identifying the problematic features of the prevailing modern tradition and to furnishing a theological alternative to them. These features are: an individualistic and voluntarist conception of moral agency, a regulative and juridical orientation to human relationships, and an anthropocentric concentration on human rather than on divine right, judgement, and freedom. The humanity they portray is detached from its created ordering to Christological perfection and bound within a self-enclosed ethical and political self-understanding. This is effectively countered by the English reformers' presentation of the salvation of creation in Christ, faith working through love, the spiritual fellowship of the church, and the provisional character of political jurisdiction.
This book explores human dignity, human rights and social justice based on a Chinese interdisciplinary dialogue and global perspectives. In the Chinese and other global contexts today, social justice has been a significant topic among many disciplines and we believe it is an appropriate topic for philosophers, theologians, legal scholars, and social scientists to sit together, discuss, enrich each other, and then deepen our understanding of the topic. Many of them are concerned with the conjuncture between social justice, human rights, and human dignity. The questions this volume asks are: what’s the place of human rights in social justice? How is human dignity important in the discourse on human rights? And, through these inquiries, we ask further: how is possible to achieve humanist justice? This volume presents the significance, challenges, and constraints of human dignity in human rights and social justice and addresses the questions through philosophical, theological, sociological, political, and legal perspectives and these are placed in dialogue between the Chinese and other global settings. We are concerned with the norms regarding human dignity, human rights and social justice while we take seriously into account their practice. This volume consists of two main sections. The first section examines Chinese perspectives on human rights and social justice, in which both from Confucianism and Christianity are considered and the issues such as patriotism, religious freedom, petition, social protest, the rights of marginalized people, and sexual violence are studied. The second section presents the perspectives of Christian public theologians in the global contexts. They examine the influence of Christian thought and practice in the issues of human rights and social justice descriptively and prescriptively and address issues such as religious laws and rights, diaconia, majoritarianism, general equality, social-economic disparities, and climate justice from global perspectives including in the contexts of America, Australia, Israel and Europe. With contributions by experts from mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, USA and Norway, the book provides valuable cross-cultural and interdisciplinary insights and perspectives. As such it will appeal to political and religious leaders and practitioners, particularly those working in socially engaged religious and civil organizations in various geopolitical contexts, including the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
