Just Peace by
In 2011 the World Council of Churches brought to a close the Decade to Overcome Violence, to which the churches committed themselves at the beginning of the century. Just Peace has evolved as the new ecumenical paradigm for contemporary Christian ethics. Just Peace signals a realistic vision of holistic peace, with justice, which in the concept of shalom is central in the Hebrew Bible as well as in the gospel message of the New Testament. This paradigm needs further elaboration. VU University gathered peacebuilding practitioners and experts from different parts of the world (Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Europe) and from different disciplines (anthropology, psychology, social sciences, law, and theology)--voices from across generations and Christian traditions--to promote discussion about the different dimensions of building peace with justice.
Sacred Resistance: A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent by
Author Ginger Gaines-Cirelli pastors a church in the heart of Washington DC, adjacent to the White House, which actively works to bring justice and help for marginalized communities, refugees and immigrants, and the endangered earth. She inspires and leads this work through preaching and by organizing and developing strong leaders, deeply rooted in a well-developed theological understanding. Pastoral warmth and compassion characterize the recommended practices.
The Gospel of Faith and Justice by
In these probing essays, available for the first time in English, Gonzalez returns to the essential insights of liberation theology-the perspective of the poor and the primacy of praxis-grounding them in a fresh reading of Scripture as well as a realistic understanding of the new global context. Offering compelling new insights into this influential theology, The Gospel of Faith and Justice demonstrates how to live a radical Christianity, faithful to Jesus' integration of faith and the call to social transformation.
Globalization, Spirituality and Justice: Navigating a Path to Peace by
This revised edition of the popular classroom text offers a theological reading of globalization and a global reading of theology.
Journeys That Opened up the World: Women, Student Christian Movements, and Social Justice, 1955 - 1975 by
This volume contains inspiring memoirs from sixteen women active in the civil rights movement, anti-war campaigns, and the rise of feminism in the Cold War era. It places religious activism at the center of social movements previously thought of as largely secular. For thousands of young women in the 1950s and 1960s, involvement with the student Christian movement (SCM) changed their worldviews. Religious organizations fostered women's leadership at a time when secular groups like Students for a Democratic Society, and the Left in general, relegated most female participants to stereotypical roles. The SCM introduced young women to activism in other parts of the country and around the world. As leaders, thinkers, and organizers, they encountered the social realities of poverty and racial prejudice and worked to combat them. The SCM took women to Selma and Montgomery, to Africa and Latin America, and to a lifelong commitment to work for social justice.
Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice by
In this compelling history of progressive evangelicalism, Brantley Gasaway examines a dynamic though often overlooked movement within American Christianity today. Gasaway focuses on left-leaning groups, such as Sojourners and Evangelicals for Social Action, that emerged in the early 1970s, prior to the rise of the more visible Religious Right. He identifies the distinctive "public theology--a set of biblical interpretations regarding the responsibility of Christians to promote social justice--that has animated progressive evangelicals' activism and bound together their unusual combination of political positions.
Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Americas by
In this study, Michelle Gonzalez examines Sor Juana's contributions as a foremother of many currents of contemporary theology. In particular, in joining aesthetics with the quest for truth and justice, her work and witness suggest new avenues for Hispanic, feminist, and other liberation theologies.
Divine Rebels: American Christian Activists for Social Justice by
In an effort to reclaim the fundamental principles of Christianity, moving it away from religious right-wing politics and towards the teachings of Jesus, the American Christian activists profiled in this book agitate for a society free from racism, patriarchy, bigotry, retribution, ecocide, torture, poverty, and militarism. These activists view their faith as a personal commitment with public implications; their world consists of people of religious faith protecting the weak and safeguarding the sacred.
Giver of Life, Hear Our Cries! by
Assuming the voices of African women, author Jessie Fubara-Manual introduces the concrete realities of these women's lives in vivid description, insightful analysis, and abiding hope. These women's stories of desperation and hope demonstrate the joys, pains, and the systemic evils that are battled daily.
The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching by
African American congregations have long been celebrated as a locus for powerful, prophetic preaching, but at its best they have also embraced a strong pastoral and wisdom dimension as well, what Kenyatta Gilbert calls a "trivocal impulse." Yet African American preaching today is more threatened than ever imagined and must now overcome its own apparent irrelevance in an increasingly pluralistic, postmodern age of intense spiritual and social crisis. Gilbert asserts that the survival of both black churches and African America at large is directly tied to recovering this trivocal character of gospel proclamation. He closely examines the functions of all these strains of African American preaching in churches and communities, provides road maps for recovering one's authentic preaching voice, and highlights preachers who embody this trivocal proclamation style. The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching is a constructive effort to examine the historical contributions of African American preaching, the challenges it faces today, and how it might become a renewed source of healing and strength for at-risk communities and churches.
How Not to Kill a Muslim: A Manifesto of Hope for Christianity and Islam in North America by
In How Not to Kill a Muslim, Dr. Joshua Graves provides a practical subversive theological framework for a strategic posture of peaceful engagement between Christians and Muslims. Based upon both academic and personal experience...this book will provide progressive Christians with a clear understanding of Jesus' radical message of inclusivity and love.