Description
Book SynopsisIn Theology, Empowerment, and Prison Ministry Meins G.S. Coetsier offers a new scholarly account of Karl Rahner’s theological anthropology and the prison pastorate with a contemporary expansion for meaning, seeking an antidote to the suffering and isolation of those incarcerated with a “theology of empowerment.” Drawing on prison ministry theorists and practitioners, and on the experiences of Viktor Frankl, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Etty Hillesum, the book argues that Rahner’s views on prison ministry are significant and encouraging but limited regarding the needs and demands of 21st-century prison ministry. In a convincing, perceptive, and groundbreaking study, Coetsier goes beyond Rahner with ecumenical and interreligious perspectives, reminding us all of our human dignity, of meaning and transformation, of our liberation, creativity, hope and community.
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction 1 Karl Rahner’s Anthropology and Gaudium et Spes Introduction 1 Karl Rahner’s Theological Anthropology 2 Anthropology of Gaudium et Spes 3 Anonymous Christianity Conclusion 2 Karl Rahner on the Prison Pastorate Introduction 1 Finding Christ in Prisoners (Christus in den Gefangenen) 2 Finding Ourselves in the Prisoners 3 The Hidden Truth of Our Own Situation Conclusion 3 Rahner’s Limitations – Responses and Challenges Introduction 1 Where Rahner’s Anthropology and “The Prison Pastorate” Fall Short 2 Response to Rahner’s Limitations 3 Two Further Questions Conclusion 4 Rahner’s Edges – Incarceration from a Prisoner’s Perspective Introduction 1 The Will to Meaning 2 Three Mental Stages 3 Prison Perspectives Conclusion 5 Beyond Rahner – Towards a Theology of Prison Ministry Introduction 1 The Situation of Prisoners Today 2 The Need for a Theology of Empowerment 3 Elements of a Theology of Empowerment (Theologie der Stärkung) Conclusion Conclusion Chronology Bibliography Plates Index
