Social Theology

Privilege is a social consequence of our unwillingness to reckon with and turn from sin. But stewarded, it can help us see and participate in God's inbreaking kingdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that privilege is real and declares that, rather than exploiting it for selfish gain or feeling immobilized by it, Christians have a responsibility to leverage it. Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege, indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using biblical examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians' responsibility in stewarding it well.

When was the last time you had an honest, heartfelt, yet kind and productive conversation with someone about depression, mental illness, substance abuse, pornography, premarital sex, racism, divorce, abortion, LGBT issues, or politics? If you're tired of avoiding tough conversations, Challenging Conversations is the book you've been waiting for. With straightforward answers to some of the most challenging moral issues disrupting the church, this book will help you build your confidence using three simple steps to becoming a conversant Christian.

Whether you read the open chapters of Genesis, or reflect on the discipline of therapy, or simply listen deeply to someone in deep pain, you will discover that when your world seems to be in deep chaos, the capturing that chaos in words can enable you to discover meaning and hope. A Star and a Tear is a fictional attempt to tell the story of racism in our country. In listening to the story and sharing your thoughts with others, you can discover meaningful ways to respond in a way that offers healing and hope.

The Bible is filled with stories of people who walked away from face-to-face encounters with Jesus thinking he was a total jerk. This book explores the premise that if Jesus were to return today as he did two thousand years ago, he (or she!) would meet the same fate. That is, his own people would fail to recognize who he is, they would argue with him incessantly, and seek to have him destroyed. Written by a seasoned atheist turned Christian, this book seeks to help non-Christians have a better understanding of Christianity, including why we don't always do as we should.

Brad Braxton and Anthony Pinn represent two traditions—Christianity and Secular Humanism respectively—that have for centuries existed in bitter opposition. For too long, people with different worldviews have disparaged and harmed one another. Instead of fighting each other, Braxton and Pinn talk with, listen to, and learn from one another. Their wide-ranging conversation demonstrates the possibility of fruitful exchange that accounts for—rather than masks—their differences.

Remarriage after Divorce? A Biblical Defense of the Traditional Christian View delivers a compelling and deeply scriptural exploration of one of Christianity's most controversial topics. Author C.A. White defends the historical Christian view that while divorce may be permissible in some cases, remarriage while the original spouse is still alive constitutes adultery—without exceptions. White argues that repentance from such situations requires extraordinary steps, including separation or celibacy, as continuing in unrepentant adultery jeopardizes one's eternal soul.

The 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, an African American teenager in Florida, and the subsequent acquittal of his killer, brought public attention to controversial "Stand Your Ground" laws. The verdict, as much as the killing, sent shock waves through the African American community, recalling a history of similar deaths, and the long struggle for justice. On the Sunday morning following the verdict, black preachers around the country addressed the question, "Where is the justice of God? What are we to hope for?"

History tells us that all civilizations progress through a sequence of nine distinct phases that begin and end with bondage. America is hardly immune to this progression. Michael Abbott, Jr. explores the collapsing cultural institutions that have ushered America within one short step of this final, tragic phase. History and human nature suggest that our fate has already been sealed, but Abbott charts a clear path to breaking free.

Restored to Earth provides the first comprehensive examination of the religious and ethical dimensions and significance of contemporary restoration practice, an ethical framework that advances the field of environmental ethics in a more positive, action-oriented, experience-based direction. Van Wieren brings together insights and examples from restoration ecology, environmental ethics, religious studies, and conservation and Christian thought....

Through a thought-provoking, journalistic voice, Billy Hallowell, faith editor for theblaze.com, provides objective one-on-one interviews with various leading voices in Christian ministry to explain what they believe the Bible teaches us about the last days. From its easy-to-understand writing style to its glossary of terms and other helpful tools, everything about this book was created to allow you to educate yourself on what the Bible says, compare what the experts believe, and draw your own conclusions about the end.

Charles E. Curran explores the social mission of the U.S. Catholic Church from a theological perspective, analyzing and assessing four aspects: the importance of social mission, who carries it out, how it is carried out, and the roles that the Church and individual Catholics play in supporting these efforts. In the early and mid-twentieth century the Catholic Church in the United States tended to focus its social mission on its own charities, hospitals, and schools.

Our economy is hanging on to a thread printing trillions of paper dollars while the "value" of bitcoin exceeds $50,000. People are burning their cities and inciting riots while government officials do nothing and even more ridiculously, voting to remove their police departments. The threat of COVID-19 has closed economies, government offices, airports, and schools around the world. It's obvious we are living in treacherous times.

America is on the brink of collapse. What will you do to save your country? America has suffered some big losses - eroding morals, a Godless culture, and a declining national spirit. These losses have corrupted the very fabric of our once-stalwart nation, coalescing into social and political overthrow with anarchy raging in the streets. Many wonder, Is this the end of America?

Financial crisis, political crisis, environmental crisis - the list goes on. We’re confronted with calamity every time we read the headlines. But behind each of these lurks another kind of crisis, one we find harder to define: a moral crisis. In this wise and practical audiobook, Pastor Jonathan Dodson takes us back to the Beatitudes, the centerpiece of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Dodson examines each of the Beatitudes in the context of the new morality that buffets our society today, presenting a compelling portrait of the truly good life, both personal and social.

No Justice is the harrowing story of Robbie Tolan, who early on one New Year's Eve morning, found himself being rushed to the hospital. A White police officer had shot him in the chest after mistakenly accusing him of stealing his own car...while in his own driveway.

Tom Krattenmaker is part of a growing conversation centered at Yale University that acknowledges - and seeks to address - the abiding need for meaning and inspiration in postreligious America. What, they ask, gives a life meaning? What constitutes a life well led? In Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower, Krattenmaker shares his surprising conclusion about where input and inspiration might best be found: in the figure of Jesus.

Unlike many celebrities, Winfrey's is an overwhelmingly positive public persona. Here, religion reporter Marcia Nelson explores the spiritual dimensions that are prevalent in all aspects of the Oprah Winfrey media empire. Though Oprah is rarely explicitly religious on her television show or magazine, Nelson points out that there are several major Christian themes that weave through these aspects of her life and work: confession, redemption, healing, mission, forgiveness, and salvation.

This book contains a collection of academic articles ranging from African-American history, Jewish history, early Christian history, the New Testament, Patristic history, medieval history, and the history of the Reformation. This academic work is a bold quest to capture the essence of history and canon as phenomenalized in the human experience. Scholars and students of history, religion, literary criticism, sociology, anthropology, humanities, and theology will surely benefit from reading this book.

A grandmother's theology carries wisdom strong enough for future generations. The Divine has been showing up at the kitchen tables of Black women for a long time. It's time to get to know that God.

Hurt with Fetters reveals a fundamental problem associated with current practices of criminal justice. The problem is essentially one of narrative, and is built into how the story of criminal justice is told. Christians have adopted narrative understandings of justice that run contrary to the contours of the Christian story.