Religious issues and debates Books

Book SynopsisThis important collection of essays addresses the question of why scholars can no longer do without class in religious studies and theology, and what we can learn from a renewed engagement with the topic. This volume discusses what new discourses regarding notions of gender, ethnicity, and race might add to developments on notions of class.Trade ReviewTimely and indispensable for working to change the plight of the 99 percent, this provocative text probes the intersection of religion, theology, and class through the lenses of global capital, gender, blackness, migration, and alternative economies. I highly recommend it. - Kwok Pui-lan, Professor, Episcopal Divinity School, USA By gathering provocative analyses from international thinkers into one volume, Joerg Rieger raises embedded assumptions about social class and theology into a much-needed, critical light. Religion, Theology, and Class: Fresh Engagements After Long Silence provides a space for substantive conversations among scholars in religious studies, particularly as we consider building just relationships. - Stephanie Y. Mitchem, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of South Carolina, USATable of ContentsIntroduction: Why We Can Do No Longer without Class in Religious Studies and Theology; Joerg Rieger PART I: BASIC DEFINITIONS AND CHALLENGES 1. Religion and Class; Richard D. Wolff 2. Classes, Other Distinctions, and Their Theological Values; Néstor Míguez 3. Save Us from Cynicism: Religion and Social Class; Jung Mo Sung 4. Class, Sin, and the Displaced; Vítor Westhelle PART II: HISTORICAL CONTEXTS 5. Religion and Class in the Construction and Deconstruction of the Myth of American Exceptionalism; Sheila D. Collins 6. Protesting Classes through Protestant Glasses: Class, Labor, and the Social Gospel in the United States; Ken Estey PART III: ONGOING STRUGGLES: GENDER, POVERTY, RACE, AND CLASS 7. Poverty and Poor People's Agency in High-Tech Capitalism; Jan Rehmann 8. Inequality, Class, and Power in Global Perspective; Pamela K. Brubaker 9. Black Reconstruction: Thinking Blackness and Rethinking Class in Late Capitalist America, Corey D.B. Walker 10. Instigating Class Struggle? The Study of Class in Religion and Theology and Some Implications for Race and Gender; Joerg Rieger

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Book SynopsisThis book uses ethnography as theological practice, yielding a theology constructed at the intersection of church, academy and everyday life. Drawing on the author's research in her Baptist church, the resulting 'ethnographic theology' produces creative theological insights, while also proposing fresh alternatives for Christian thought and action.Trade Review“The volume is addressed to other academic theologians, particularly those who desire to produce knowledge not about or for but through those who empower their work. … I found her ways of weaving dense theory and theology through ethnography a pleasure to read.” (Rebecca Spurrier, Shorter Reviews, Vol. 70 (4), October, 2016)Table of ContentsIntroduction PART I: ETHNOGRAPHIC THEOLOGICAL THEORIES AND METHODS 1. Making Space: Making the Theological Field 2. Making Theologians: Deploying a Theological Habitus PART II: CONSTRUCTIVE THEOLOGIES 3. Cogs in the Machine: A Reflexive Theology of Ecclesial Change 4. The Slump of a Shoulder: A Carnal Theology of God 5. My Mother's Hips: A Performance Theology of Sanctification Conclusion

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Book SynopsisIntroductory Remarks PART I: EPISTEMOLOGY 1. Disagreement, Opinion and Expertise 2. Belief, Faith and Evidence 3. Debate, Reason and Argument PART II: METAPHYSICS 4. Science, Nature and Transcendence 5. Mind, Body and Spirit 6. Cause, Freedom and Responsibility PART III: ETHICS 7. Flourishing, Virtue and Happiness 8. Trust, Violence and Power 9. Meaning, Understanding, and Narrative Postscript References and Further Reading IndexTable of ContentsIntroductory Remarks PART I: EPISTEMOLOGY 1. Disagreement, Opinion and Expertise 2. Belief, Faith and Evidence 3. Debate, Reason and Argument PART II: METAPHYSICS 4. Science, Nature and Transcendence 5. Mind, Body and Spirit 6. Cause, Freedom and Responsibility PART III: ETHICS 7. Flourishing, Virtue and Happiness 8. Trust, Violence and Power 9. Meaning, Understanding, and Narrative Postscript References and Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisFrances Timbers is a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Victoria, Canada. She holds a PhD from University of Toronto.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. For the Uninitiated 2. Magic, Manhood and Masculinity 3. Scrying and Subversion 4. Swords, Sex and Sacrifice 5. Fairies and Fantasy 8. Magic and Honour Conclusion

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Book SynopsisNo church is immune to the problems that can arise when parishioners behave in difficult ways. Responding to such situations with self-awareness and in a manner true to one’s faith tradition makes the difference between peace and disaster. In this must-read book, Boers shows how a better understanding of difficult behavior can help congregational leaders avoid the trap of labeling such parishioners and exercise self-care when the going gets rough.

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Book SynopsisThis is a landmark book that will renew our understanding of what the gospel - literally 'the good news about Jesus' - is for today's cultures. It begins with a key challenge - do we believe God speaks in the cultural context, or only in the Christian tradition? Part One - Listening to God in the cultural context explores the radically changing culture in which the church exists today, the rise of new spiritualities, the secularisation of society and religion's increasingly dubious public image. Part Two - Listening to God in the Christian tradition looks at key periods in Christian history as responses to cultural changes, from the ancient pagan world to modernist faith. What can we learn from the lessons of the past? Part Three moves from theory to practice and tells great stories where innovative evangelism is taking place - from supermarkets to festivals to the internet.

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