{"product_id":"a-church-for-the-world-the-church-s-role-in-fostering-democracy-and-sustainable-development-9781978710795","title":"A Church for the World: The Church’s Role in","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Church for the World: The Church’s Role in Fostering Democracy and Sustainable Development challenges theologians and lay readers alike to think about the role of the church vis-à-vis its responsibility to the world. How may the church contribute to democracy and foster sustainable development? Contributors from mostly non-Western theological communities offer historical, developmental, ecclesiastical, and theological perspectives on the church-world relationship, challenging misconceptions and practices that prevent the church from living up to its transformational vocation as salt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13-16). The driving force behind the questions and perspectives discussed here is Gustavo Gutierrez’s axiom in A Theology of Liberation: A theology which fails to address the most urgent needs of ordinary people is not worthy of the word “theology.” Proceeding from this insight, this book creates awareness about the relationship between religion, democracy, and development, and aims to strengthen the self-understanding of the church with regard to its responsibilities in the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book offers 12 perspectives on the role of the Christian church, both descriptively and prescriptively, in development, democracy, economies, and human flourishing in a holistic sense. The contributors provide an enlightening combination of historical, developmental, ecclesiastical, and theological perspectives. . . The Christian church has too often bifurcated the promotion of development and the teachings of faith when development agencies and churches should work as partners, and churches should avoid the temptation to silence in the face of injustice and the violation of human rights even under threat from governments that pressure churches' complicity. Regarding troubled areas such as Myanmar or Tibet, essays point out that the Christian community possesses not only the duty of prayer but also a prophetic role in a public theology. In the latter, Christians can cooperate with like-minded members of other religions. Of interest to comparativists, political theorists, and religious scholars. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.\u003c\/p\u003e * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is such a rare delight to find together in a single book Christian theologians from such a wide variety of non-Western backgrounds and perspectives offering new and fresh views on such an important topic — the church's role in the civil and political realms. This makes A Church For the World a unique and valuable addition to the ongoing worldwide Christian conversation. The topic itself is not new, but how many times is it addressed from a non-Western perspective and dealing with real life examples from developing countries throughout Africa and Asia? How many times do you find Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Gudina Tumsa (Ethiopia) in the same book, let alone the same chapter?! During my many years on the African continent and even now in working with under-represented groups in the United States, the flow of ideas has always tended to be from the West to the non-West. This book attempts to reverse the flow. This time the non-West advises the West and I found these suggestions to be relevant and thought provoking. Throughout, my own theological thinking was challenged, shaped, and sharpened!\u003c\/p\u003e -- Glenn Fluegge, Concordia University Irvine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an increasingly globalized yet politically fragmented world with competing visions of the common good and economic relations, the perspective of religious scholars and theologians from the majority world can no longer be seen as an optional voice in an already constituted Western choral arrangement. Samuel Yonas Deressa and Josh de Keijzer push us not only to reflect on but also reframe how we approach questions concerning democracy and sustainable development through the lens of emerging critical and constructive Global South voices. This composition of chapters will train our ears to listen for a more complex, deeper, and richer polyphony of voices contributing a challenging vision toward the common good informed by the Christian tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., Concordia Seminary\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eForeword: Toward a Postcolonial “Inescapable Network of Mutuality”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGary M. Simpson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: A Church for the World: The Church’s Role in Fostering Democracy and Sustainable Development\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSamuel Yonas Deressa and Josh de Keijzer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart One: Historical Perspectives\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Church and Development in Post-Colonial Africa: Revisiting African Development Plan and the Theology of Reconstruction through the Lens of the Capabilities Approach\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSamuel Yonas Deressa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2. Church and Development in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Gudina Tuma’s Holistic Theology\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSamuel Yonas Deressa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3.On Human Flourishing: A Call for Public Responsibility in Contemporary Ethiopian Christianity\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAndrew D. DeCort\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart Two: Developmental Perspectives\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4. Church and Human Development: An Asian Perspective\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLim Teck Peng\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5 The Critical Role of the Church in the Development of Asia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDelfo Canceran, OP\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart Three: Ecclesiastical Perspectives\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6. Church and Development in Nigerian Context: Theological Foundation, Practical Appraisal, and Prophetic Call to Action \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIbrahim Bitrus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7. Hospitality and Social Responsibility: the Church in the Age of Globalization \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNestor Ravilas and Wilfredo Laceda\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e8. On Not Answering the Public Cry for Justice: The Silence of the Ethiopian Evangelical Churches in the Context of National Crisis\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWondimu Sonessa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart Four: Theological Perspectives\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e9. The Roles of Religions in Public Theology: An Asian Perspective on the Paradoxes of Religious Violence and Peace\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Thang Moe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e10. Justice and Peace will Kiss Each Other (Psalm 85:10b): Integrating the Ethics of Justice and Peace in a Broken World\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Thang Moe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e11. To Be Like Christ: Decolonizing Theology for an Incarnational Church\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJosh de Keijzer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e12. Capitalism as Divine Necessity: Toward A Political Theology of the Cross\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJosh de Keijzer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbout the Contributors","brand":"Rowman \u0026 Littlefield","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51043440951639,"sku":"9781978710795","price":28.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781978710795.jpg?v=1750958238","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/a-church-for-the-world-the-church-s-role-in-fostering-democracy-and-sustainable-development-9781978710795","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}