The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu’s spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.
Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cap...
The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu’s spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.
Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cap...
Howard Thurman was famously known as one of the towering giants of American religion in the twentieth century. His writings have influenced some of the most important religious and political figures of the last century, from Martin Luther King to Barack Obama. Theologians such as James Cone and Cornel West regularly signal their indebtedness to him. He was a mystic, a preacher, an educator, a theologian, and much more. It is impossible to understand the African American church today without an a...
In this helpful addition to the Armchair Theologians series, Miguel A. De La Torre provides a concise overview of the global religious movement known as liberation theology that focuses on defining the major themes of this movement, as well as dispelling some common misconceptions. Liberation theology attempts to reflect upon the divine as understood from the poor, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. The key figures, historical developments, and interfaith manifestations...
How should Origen, Anselm, Luther, Wesley, Kierkegaard, Barth, and Whitehead be read today, in light of postcolonial theory and twenty-first-century understandings? This book offers a reader-friendly introduction to liberation theology by having scholars "from the margins" explore how questions of race and gender should be brought to bear on thirty classic theologians. Each short chapter gives historical background for the thinker, describes that thinker's most important contributio...
How should Augustine, Aquinas, Bonhoeffer, Kant, Nietzsche, and Plato be read today, in light of postcolonial theory and twenty-first century understandings? This book offers a reader-friendly introduction to Christian liberationist ethics by having scholars "from the margins" explore how questions of race and gender should be brought to bear on twenty-four classic ethicists and philosophers. Each short chapter gives historical background for the thinker, describes that thinker's mo...
This first-of-its-kind collection reveals U.S. Latino/a theological scholarship as a vital terrain of study in the search for better understanding of the varieties of religious experience in the United States. While the insights of Latino/a theologians from Central and South America have gained attention among professional theologians, until now the role of U.S. Latino/a theology in the formation of North American theological identity has been largely unacknowledged. Nonetheless, th...
This book brings to the fore the difficult realities of racism and the sexual violation of women. Traci West argues for a liberative method of Christian social ethics in which the discussion begins not with generic philosophical concepts but in the concrete realities of the lives of the socially and economically marginalized.
An expansion of the 1971 classic text, this second edition of Liberation and Reconciliation argues for a balance between the quest for liberation and the need for reconciliation in black-white relations. Written by one of the pioneers of Black Theology, it examines biblical and theological themes from the perspective of Black experience and concludes that nonviolent reconciliation is the best response to racial oppression.
How do black political needs and goals relate to black religious experience? What is the meaning of religion--and of Christ--in a racist society? In this classic early articulation of black theology, first published in 1974, J. Deotis Roberts argues that reconciliation is the essence of the good news, but it must be in conjunction with liberation. Ethnicity and theology, he contends, must meet in the specific black religious experience by recognizing the liberal, activist, and ev...
Leading contemporary theologians and scholars present essays on the themes of liberation and reconciliation in tribute to J. Deotis Roberts. The essays are divided into the following sections: Theological Reflection, Faith in Dialogue, and Shaping the Practice of Ministry. The compilation presents an interesting array of perspectives on the ways in which Christian theology, ethics, and ministry are involved in the quests for liberation and reconciliation in North America and the rest...
Believing that African American religious studies has reached a crossroads, Cornel West and Eddie Glaude seek, in this landmark anthology, to steer the discipline into the future. Arguing that the complexity of beliefs, choices, and actions of African Americans need not be reduced to expressions of black religion, West and Glaude call for more careful reflection on the complex relationships of African American religious studies to conceptions of class, gender, sexual orientation,...
Two aspects are fundamental to Hispanic/Latina theology: rich diversity and a collaborative spirit. In this groundbreaking book, Hispanic scholars come together to create a theology drawn from the collaboration of Latino and Latina Protestants in North America. The authors discuss a range of topics--God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the importance of scripture, the church, humanity, the doctrine of sin, spirituality--and the challenges facing Hispanic/Latina Protestant theology.
Renowned theologian Robert McAfee Brown believes that Christianity cannot be fenced off or separated from the world, but must always be viewed in relation to other realms of society. Making religious and moral concepts integral to real life is the challenge that Brown presents in this book. This call to a more active faith is perfect for use in study groups or for personal reflection. Here, Brown puts his belief to the test, writing on Christianity and a multitude of topics.
At the roots of African American Christian life is a powerful force of soul, a dynamic spirituality that provides joy and hope. This African American spirituality empowers a celebration of life that transforms culture. The dynamic experience of African American churches establishes a new kind of freedom that sets an example for all other peoples in their struggles for liberation from the world's shackles. Soul Survivors is a stirring call to celebrate the depths and diversity of spi...
How can Christians bring about peace and justice in the world, when Christianity seems either to claim the absolute truth about God or to dissolve into "disempowering relativism"? James Will seeks an answer for this crucial question in the spiritual and intellectual life of the church. He challenges the traditional western idea of God as omnipotent and unchanging, instead offering the theory of the universal relationality of God. Writing from the perspective of process theology, Wil...
This valuable resource from one of the founding fathers of the black theology movement discusses how to minister to the black community. Using an interdisciplinary approach, J. Deotis Toberts shows how theological concepts can be applied to education, pastoral care, and political and economic issues.
This analysis of four Black religious leaders--Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Joseph H. Jackson, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr.--reviews their differences and determines whether grounds for coalitional activity still exists. These leaders all clearly agreed that racism should be opposed but they vigorously disagreed on the forms the opposition should take.
Using sound theology, Richard Shaull helps all Christians seek a deeper understanding of liberation theology and the Reformation. This volume will be a welcome contribution to the seminary classroom.
This book represents a major contribution toward the development of a global feminist theology. The personal histories and experiences of women of African, Asian, Anglo-American, and Latin-American heritage recounted here make it possible to analyze the social and historical contexts of their Christian faith. Their insights into the lives of those who have been oppressed or excluded, in the Third World or in the United States, clear the way for understanding the partnership of men an...
Robert McAfee Brown's Religion and Violence is a comprehensive introduction to the ethical and moral questions that abound at the intersection of violence and religion. Brown discusses such important issues as nuclear war, terrorism, capital punishment, and revolution.
Challenging all who are concerned about religion in today's world, J. Deotis Roberts outlines a new way of looking at the essential questions. Roberts proposes a theology concerned with concrete and specific situations that also retains a universal vision. In discussing the relationship of American black thought to African, liberation, feminist, Asian, and Euro-American theologies, he covers significant religious issues such as love, justice, power, and evil.
Four Mordern Prophets explores the life and thought of four twentieth-century Christian leaders who epitomize the struggle for freedom and justice. William Ramsay summarizes the work of these four modern thinkers and challenges us to join in the struggle.
