What would a divinely ordained social order look like? Pre&–Vatican II Catholics, from archbishops and theologians to Catholic union workers and laborers on U.S. farms, argued repeatedly about this in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Debating God&’s Economy is a history of American Catholic economic debates taking place during the generation preceding Vatican II. At that time, American society was rife with sociopolitical debates over the relative merits and dangers of Marxism, capitalism, and socialism; labor unions, class consciousness, and economic power were the watchwords of the day. This was a time of immense social change, and, especially in the light of the monumental social and economic upheavals in Russia and Europe in the early twentieth century, Catholics found themselves taking sides. Catholic subcultures across America sought to legitimize&—or, in theological parlance, &“sanctify&”&—diverse economic systems that were, at times, mutually exclusive. While until now the faithful&—both scholars and nonscholars&—have typically spoken of &“the Catholic Social Tradition&” as if it were an established prescription for curing social ills, Prentiss maintains that the tradition is better understood as a debate grounded in a common mythology that provides Catholics with a distinctive vocabulary and touchstone of authority.
What would a divinely ordained social order look like? Pre–Vatican II Catholics, from archbishops and theologians to Catholic union workers and laborers on U.S. farms, argued repeatedly about this in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Debating God’s Economy is a history of American Catholic economic debates taking place during the generation preceding Vatican II. At that time, American society was rife with sociopolitical debates over the relative merits and dangers of Marxism, capitalism, and socialism; labor unions, class consciousness, and economic power were the watchwords of the day. This was a time of immense social change, and, especially in the light of the monumental social and economic upheavals in Russia and Europe in the early twentieth century, Catholics found themselves taking sides. Catholic subcultures across America sought to legitimize—or, in theological parlance, “sanctify”—diverse economic systems that were, at times, mutually exclusive. While until now the faithful—both scholars and nonscholars—have typically spoken of “the Catholic Social Tradition” as if it were an established prescription for curing social ills, Prentiss maintains that the tradition is better understood as a debate grounded in a common mythology that provides Catholics with a distinctive vocabulary and touchstone of authority.
In the decade since the financial crisis of 2008, governments around the world have struggled to develop strategies to stabilize precarious markets, encourage growth, and combat mounting wealth inequality. In the United States, the recovery from that crisis has exacerbated the fears of the working and middle classes and pitted those classes against the wealthy. Although we participate every day in economic life as workers, consumers, employers, or activists, we often experience the economy as a mysterious force that we cannot control, or fully understand. Matthew Shadle argues that Catholics ought to be able to draw on their faith to help navigate and make sense of economic life, but too often the effort to get ahead or just stay afloat drowns out faith's appeal. Interrupting Capitalism proposes a new strategy for Christian economic discipleship. Rather than engage the two theological poles of continuity and rupture, Christians should interrupt capitalism: neither whole-heartedly endorsing global capitalism nor seeking to dismantle it. This means "breaking into" the economy, embracing those aspects that enhance human well-being while transforming the market in a spirit of solidarity. Shadle argues that all three of the dominant theological approaches dealing with economic life-the progressive, neoconservative, and liberationist-are theologies of continuity. A fourth approach, a communitarian one, he believes, can best embody the strategy of interrupting capitalism. The Catholic tradition, including its tradition of social teaching, provides a cultural structure that, along with their own social context, conditions how Catholics think about and engage in economic activity. Drawing on the resources of the tradition, theologians reflect on this activity, giving it a theoretical justification and offering correctives. Both the experience of ordinary Catholics and the work of theologians feed into new articulations of Catholic social teaching. Offering an overview of Catholic thought since the Second World War, Shadle begins with the experience of Catholics in Western Europe at mid-century, moving to Latin America and the United States in the 1970s and 80s, and then concluding with the phenomenon of globalization.
In this timely book, Christine Firer Hinze looks back at Monsignor John A. Ryan’s American Catholic defense of worker justice and a living wage, advancing his efforts for an action-oriented livelihood agenda that situates US working families’ economic pursuits within a comprehensive commitment to sustainable, “radical sufficiency” for all.
Comprising groundbreaking dialogues by many of the most prominent scholars in Christian apologetics and the philosophy of religion, this volume offers a definitive treatment of central questions of Christian faith. The essays are ecumenical and broadly Christian, in the spirit of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, and feature lucid and up-to-date material designed to engage readers in contemporary theistic and Christian issues. Beginning with dialogues about God's existence and the coherence of theism and then moving beyond generic theism to address significant debates over such specifically Christian doctrines as the Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus, Debating Christian Theism provides an ideal starting point for anyone seeking to understand the current debates in Christian theology.
Helps Christians engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and biblically with discussions on gender identity. Originally released in 2017, this version has been updated and expanded. In the West, more and more Christians are coming across the topic of gender identity in their everyday lives. Legislative changes are impacting more and more areas of life, including education, employment, and state funding, with consequences for religious liberty, free speech, and freedom of conscience that affect everyone. So it’s a crucial moment to consider how to engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and biblically with one of the most explosive cultural discussions of our day. This warm, faithful, and compassionate book that helps Christians understand what the Bible says about gender identity has been updated and expanded throughout, and now includes a section on pronoun usage and a new chapter challenging some of the claims of the transgender activist movement. Andrew T. Walker also answers questions such as: What is transgender and gender fluidity? How should churches respond? What does God's word actually say about these issues?
How is God sovereign with respect to creation? Does creation affect God? Does God suffer or change because of creation? If so, how is this related to Christology? Why have these questions been so controversial in evangelical theology, even costing some people their jobs? This book is a collection of lectures given to the Forum for Evangelical Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Six theologians answer the questions above from a variety of perspectives. They draw on resources including the church fathers, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Jurgen Moltmann, process theology, and open theism. In the process of answering the question, does God suffer? each theologian also illustrates how responding to this subject requires an examination of other crucial evangelical issues, such as how we read Scripture and what it means to proclaim that God is love. Although the writers answer these questions in a variety of ways, the hope is that engaging in this conversation together can help evangelicals and all Christians to speak more faithfully of our sovereign God.
Finally, there’s a book that uses sound, rightly divided doctrine and wisdom to answer all your tithing questions. No longer will you have to rely on opinions, clichés, wishful thinking, passed down deceptions, legalism, or plain ole foolishness just to know what is required of you and where you stand with God. The Bible is very clear for those who want to know. All of your questions are thoroughly answered in THE GREAT TITHING DEBATE. The huge list of tithing questions, compiled over years of waiting for tithing to finally work, hinges on an exhaustive knowledge, or lack thereof, concerning exactly what Jesus fully accomplished at the cross. When the reality of redemption is properly understood, most questions disappear and the once shaky believer finds that, not only is he now standing on solid rock, but has actually become part of that rock. When redemption is fully understood, one realizes that the act of tithing to “open heaven” or provide anything that Jesus freely gave at the cross is actually an insult to the suffering He endured at the cross. Yes, tithing worked in the Old Covenant as a part of the total Law, but has absolutely no place in the New Covenant that provides everything (Romans 8:32) through the blood of Christ. Peter counted such teaching as “tempting the Holy Spirit” in Acts 15. Paul obviously had the same opinion in most of his writings, for those who will read them without wearing their tithing glasses. We may call it an “act of faith,” “obedience,” “doing the Word,” “good stewardship,” or what ever we want, but at the end of the day it is nothing more than an obsolete, Old Testament ordinance that will only “frustrate the grace of God,” as Paul taught in Galatians. As circumcision became “nothing” under the NT, likewise, tithing is no longer obligatory. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to actually have your prayers easily answered because of Jesus’ finished work and the Name He gave us to use? Would you like to know that God is going to say “yes” to His promises without you having to wonder if all your church ducks are in a row? And finally, wouldn’t it be nice to have a royal ring put on your finger, a kingly robe put on your back, and a big hug of approval without having to sleep in the bunk house as a “servant” until it’s decided that you can be trusted? So, this is a book about salvation; something that the church seems to know little about. Beyond forgiveness of sins, today’s church seems to be unaware and uninterested in understanding redemption. This vacuum has left us open to a myriad of opinions, questionable doctrines, and even deception. This book endeavors to fill some of that vacuum. You should get a copy and explore the possibilities of the complete redemption that God intended for us to enjoy. Examine the free preview below and “taste and see that the Lord is good,” even much better than we’ve been taught. Hopefully, pride, a rampant byproduct of legalism and performance, won’t keep you from hearing. Maybe you’re still teachable and open to God’s leading, even if you’re already pretty sure you have a good understanding of the duties required of a genuine Christian. DO YOU KNOW THAT Malachi was
Roman Catholicism in the United States: A Thematic History takes the reader beyond the traditional ways scholars have viewed and recounted the story of the Catholic Church in America. The collection covers unfamiliar topics such as anti-Catholicism, rural Catholicism, Latino Catholics, and issues related to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the U.S. government. The book continues with fascinating discussions on popular culture (film and literature), women religious, and the work of U.S. missionaries in other countries. The final section of the books is devoted to Catholic social teaching, tackling challenging and sometimes controversial subjects such as the relationship between African American Catholics and the Communist Party, Catholics in the civil rights movement, the abortion debate, issues of war and peace, and Vatican II and the American Catholic Church. Roman Catholicism in the United States examines the history of U.S. Catholicism from a variety of perspectives that transcend the familiar account of the immigrant, urban parish, which served as the focus for so many American Catholics during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.
What would a divinely ordained social order look like? Pre–Vatican II Catholics, from archbishops and theologians to Catholic union workers and laborers on U.S. farms, argued repeatedly about this in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Debating God's Economy is a history of American Catholic economic debates taking place during the generation preceding Vatican II. At that time, American society was rife with sociopolitical debates over the relative merits and dangers of Marxism, capitalism, and socialism; labor unions, class consciousness, and economic power were the watchwords of the day. This was a time of immense social change, and, especially in the light of the monumental social and economic upheavals in Russia and Europe in the early twentieth century, Catholics found themselves taking sides. Catholic subcultures across America sought to legitimize—or, in theological parlance, “sanctify”—diverse economic systems that were, at times, mutually exclusive. While until now the faithful—both scholars and nonscholars—have typically spoken of “the Catholic Social Tradition” as if it were an established prescription for curing social ills, Prentiss maintains that the tradition is better understood as a debate grounded in a common mythology that provides Catholics with a distinctive vocabulary and touchstone of authority.
