Christianity, Empire and the Spirit

(Re)Configuring Faith and the Cultural
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-35736-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 11, 368 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 531 g

Reihe: Theology and Mission in World Christianity

In Christianity, Empire and The Spirit, Néstor Medina uncovers the cultural processes that play a crucial role in influencing how people understand reality, express the Christian faith, and think about God. He uses decolonial thinking, Latina/o theology, and Pentecostal theology to show how the cultural dimension is a central feature in the biblical text; was the force that coopted Christianity from the imperial era of Constantine onwards; and undergirded Western European colonialism and the missionary project. He engages with Protestant and Catholic articulations on “culture” and demonstrates how most theologians perpetuate Eurocentric frames for considering the relation between Christianity and the cultural dimension. Alternatively, he offers a theological proposal that recognizes the Spirit at work in the phenomena of cultures.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Medina, Néstor

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Missionswissenschaft, Missionsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Problem with “Culture”

The Cultural

The Chapters

1. Toward a Broad Description of the Cultural

Introduction

Social Dimension of the Cultural

Contested Nature of Cultural Traditions

The Dynamic between Cultures

The Dynamic Character of Cultures

The Breadth of the Cultural

Religion (Christianity) as a Cultural Element

The Cultural and Theology

Concluding Comments

2. Culture in Early Christianity

Introduction

The Bible as Cultural Document

The Early Christians and the Cultural

3. The Cultural on the Other Side of the Imperial Mirror

Introduction

The Emergence of “Western Europe”

Constructing Knowledge Systems about the Rest of the World

Western European Imperialism: A Cultural Project

4. The Cultural, Missions, and Mainline Protestants Theologians

Introduction

Protestant Missions and Evangelization as Extension of Empire

(Re)Connecting Christianity and Culture (the Cultural) among Protestants

Reestablishing the Connections

5. Richard Niebuhr and the Enduring Debate

Introduction

Introduction

Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture

Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture Reformulated?

Bridging the Debates on the Cultural

6. Reviving the Debates on Christ and Culture in Contemporary Protestantism

Introduction

The WCC and the Rethinking of Gospel and Culture

Rethinking the Role of the Cultural in the Christian Faith

Conclusion

7. Inculturation, the Catholic Church and the Cultures of the World

Introduction

Evangelization and Assimilation

Geopolitical Shifts and the Cultures of the World

The Culturalization of the Church: Evangelization, and Inculturation

Gospel and the Cultural: Theological Implications

Conclusion

8. Understanding the Cultural Pneumatologically

Introduction

Culture as Starting Point and Base for Our Reflection

The (Inter)Cultural and Divine Revelation

Final Remarks

Conclusion

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Néstor Medina, PhD. (2008), St. Michael’s College, is sessional lecturer at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. He has published many articles and book chapters on Latina/o theology and culture including Mestizaje: (Re)Mapping “Race,” Culture, and Faith in Latina/o Catholicism (Orbis, 2009).