In these essays honoring ethicist Max Stackhouse, leading Christian scholars consider the historical roots and ongoing resources of public theology as a vital element in the church s engagement with global issues. / Public Theology for a Global Society explores the concept of public theology and the challenge of relating theological claims to a larger social and political context. The range of essays included here allows readers to understand public theology as both theological practice and public speech, and to consider the potential and limits of public theology in ecumenical and international networks. / The essays begin by introducing the reader to the development of public theology as an area of study and to the historical interrelationship of religious, legal, and professional categories. The later essays engage the reader with emerging problems in public theology, as religious communities encounter shifting publics that are being transformed by globalization and sweeping political and technological changes. / The breadth and scholarship of Public Theology for a Global Society make this volume a fitting tribute to Stackhouse a central figure in Christian ethics and pioneer in the church s study of globalization.

The practice of a public theology is to identify issues that require attention for the sake of a civil society and the flourishing of all. In diverse ways the writers of Enacting a Public Theology recognise that the present is a volatile moment in time. The publication explores the loss of confidence in the contemporary expressions of democracy; the climate emergency accompanies the dawn of the Anthropocene; the migration of people raises concerns to do with identity, belonging and where is home; the invasion of land wrongly described as terra nullius and then invaded demands a deepened praxis of reconciliation between first and second peoples; and lastly there is an urgent need to speak into the situation of those pushed to the margins because of HIV/Aids. Enacting a Public Theology represents the thinking of writers from Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand. It is both local and global in its concern. Each one of the contributors participated in the triennial gathering of the Global Network of Public Theology held in Stellenbosch in 2016.

The book is a unique stocktaking, by a leading international group of theologians, social scientists and other scholars, on issues facing public theology at the beginning of the 21st century. It combines retrospect and prospect, in that it reflects on the issues and approaches that have characterized public theology in the 20th century, especially its latter half, and attempts to anticipate those which will or should come to the fore in the 21st century, seeking to discern continuities and changes. Three opening chapters deal with the overall theme of public or political theology, with Jurgen Moltmann giving a critical historical account from the Second World War onwards, Raymond Plant relating such theology to cultural pluralism, and Andrew Morton illustrating it from the work of Duncan Forrester. These are followed by pairs of contributions relating public theology to more specific topicsr: History; Technology and Creation; Globalization; Spirituality; Punishment and Forgiveness; Medical Ethics; Tolerance and Human Rights; Social Exclusion and Equality.

The Reformed tradition in the twenty-first century is increasingly diverse, dynamic, and deeply engaged in a wide variety of global and public issues, from the arts and business to immigration and race to poetry and politics. This book brings together the insights of a diverse group of leading Reformed thinkers--including Nicholas Wolterstorff, Makoto Fujimura, Bruce Ashford, John Witvliet, Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, and James K. A. Smith--to offer a contemporary vision of the depth and diversity of the Reformed faith and its global public impact.

What happens when Edward Schillebeeckx's theology crosses paths with contemporary public theology? This volume examines the theological heritage that Schillebeeckx has left behind, as well as it critically assesses its relevance for temporary theological scene. In tracing the way(s) in which Schillebeeckx observed and examined his own context's increasing secularization and concomitant development toward atheism, the contributors to this volume indicate the potential directions for a contemporary public theology that pursues the path which Schillebeeckx has trodden. The essays in the first part of this volume indicate a different theological self-critique undertaken in response to developments in the public sphere. This is followed by a thorough examination of the degree to which Schillebeeckx succeeded in leading Christian theology ahead without merely accommodating the Christian tradition to current societal trends. The third part of the volume discusses the issues of climate change, social conceptions of progress, as well as the evolutionary understandings of the origins and purpose of religions. The final part examines Schillebeeckx's soteriology to contemporary discussions about wholeness.

T&T Clark Handbook of Public Theology introduces the various philosophical and theological positions and approaches in the emerging discourse of public theology. Distinguishing public theology from political theology, as well as from liberation theology, this book clarifies central terms like 'public sphere', 'the secular', and 'post-secularity' in order to highlight the specific characteristics of public theology. Its particular focus lies on the ways in which much of public theology has established itself as a contextual theology in politically secular societies, aiming to continue the apologetical tradition in this specific context. Depending on what is regarded as the most pressing challenge for the reasonable defence of the Christian hope in liberal democracies, public theologians have focused on (social) ethics, ecclesiology, or Soteriology, with the aim to strengthen the virtues needed for democratic citizenship. Here, attention is being paid to Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox perspectives. The volume further illustrates the characteristics of the discourse by introducing the ways in which public theologians have responded to concrete challenges arising in the spheres of politics, economics, ecology, sports, culture, and religion. To highlight the international scope of the public theological discourse, the volume concludes with a summarizing overview of public theological debates in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and Latin America.

This book investigates the intersection of theology and social theory in the work of Jürgen Moltmann. In particular, it examines the way in which his concept of the "Exodus Church" can illuminate the importance of the idea of civil society for a Christian public theology. The concept of civil society can aid in moving from the narrower category of "political theology," a term used frequently by Moltmann to emphasize the church's public commitment, to a broader understanding of theology's public task, which takes into account the plurality of ends and institutions within society. The idea of the Exodus Church enables deeper understanding of Christian ethical participation within a complex modern society.

This book situates public theology within the genre of political theology. Drawing upon the distinct strands of political theologies identified by Daniel M. Bell, Jr., Gnana Patrick treats public theology as the form of political theology for our contemporary era and takes special care to relate these strands of political theologies to the Indian context, thereby opening up the theological horizon for Indian public theology. Further, Public Theology dwells upon certain prominent features of our contemporary global world and discerns the human need for experiencing transcendence today. Taking faith to be the catalyst for this experience of transcendence, it points to civil society as the interstice through which faith can be imparted to the contemporary world. And, it argues for the relevance of public theology for that work.

Higher education has not escaped the imperative of transformation which has marked the post-apartheid South African landscape. The nature of the changes at universities, however, is open to critique. Fundamental questions concerning the ideological moorings of knowledge and the politics of the curriculum have not yet been satisfactorily addressed. During the apartheid era, theology faculties played influential roles at traditional universities, and were often characterised by unsettling exclusion of non- Christian religions, non-Calvinist denominations and marginalised voices. This volume of essays evidences a process at the University of the Free State?s Faculty of Theology to reflect seriously about the need for transformation at the fundamental level, that is, of knowledge. The challenge for theology at a public university is framed in terms of epistemological transformation. A number of outstanding public intellectuals such as Jonathan Jansen, Crain Soudien and Lis Lange have been invited to present papers to clarify the conceptual challenge and what this might entail for theology. Well-known theologians such as Conrad Wethmar, Allan Boesak and Martin Prozesky reflect on the nature of theology and religion at universities amidst social exigencies. Two international theologians ? Harold Attridge from the prestigious Yale Divinity School and Bram van de Beek from the Free University of Amsterdam ? share their experiences of institutions that exemplify excellence and ecumenical openness. Theologians from the Departments of Practical Theology and Systematic Theology at the University of the Free State, writing from the ?inside?, articulate the challenges they envision for theology in a post-apartheid dispensation. The essays represent a variety of perspectives, but all attest to a commitment to re-think the nature and task of theology at a public university, accepting the challenge of knowledge and power, of plurality and otherness, and of restorative intellectual justice. These timely essays make a unique contribution to the discourses on transformation and on theology at a public university.