A 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-a-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.
Samuel Yonas Deressa is assistant professor of theology and Global South at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Josh de Keijzer (PhD Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary) is the author of Bonhoeffer's Theology of the Cross: The Influence of Luther in "Act and Being".
Foreword: Toward a Postcolonial "Inescapable Network of Mutuality" Gary M. Simpson Introduction: A Church for the World: The Church's Role in Fostering Democracy and Sustainable Development Samuel Yonas Deressa and Josh de Keijzer Part One: Historical Perspectives 1. Church and Development in Post-Colonial Africa: Revisiting African Development Plan and the Theology of Reconstruction through the Lens of the Capabilities Approach Samuel Yonas Deressa 2. Church and Development in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Gudina Tuma's Holistic Theology Samuel Yonas Deressa 3.On Human Flourishing: A Call for Public Responsibility in Contemporary Ethiopian Christianity Andrew D. DeCort Part Two: Developmental Perspectives 4. Church and Human Development: An Asian Perspective Lim Teck Peng 5 The Critical Role of the Church in the Development of Asia Delfo Canceran, OP Part Three: Ecclesiastical Perspectives 6. Church and Development in Nigerian Context: Theological Foundation, Practical Appraisal, and Prophetic Call to Action Ibrahim Bitrus 7. Hospitality and Social Responsibility: the Church in the Age of Globalization Nestor Ravilas and Wilfredo Laceda 8. On Not Answering the Public Cry for Justice: The Silence of the Ethiopian Evangelical Churches in the Context of National Crisis Wondimu Sonessa Part Four: Theological Perspectives 9. The Roles of Religions in Public Theology: An Asian Perspective on the Paradoxes of Religious Violence and Peace David Thang Moe 10. Justice and Peace will Kiss Each Other (Psalm 85:10b): Integrating the Ethics of Justice and Peace in a Broken World David Thang Moe 11. To Be Like Christ: Decolonizing Theology for an Incarnational Church Josh de Keijzer 12. Capitalism as Divine Necessity: Toward A Political Theology of the Cross Josh de Keijzer About the Contributors
This 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. * Choice * It 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! -- Glenn Fluegge, Concordia University Irvine In 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. -- Leopoldo A. Sanchez M., Concordia Seminary
