Making the Best of It

Following Christ in the Real World
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-19-984394-7
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 652 g

What should be the Christian's attitude toward society? When so much of our contemporary culture is at odds with Christian beliefs and mores, it may seem that serious Christians now have only two choices: transform society completely according to Christian values or retreat into the cloister of sectarian fellowship.

In Making the Best of It, John Stackhouse explores the history of the Christian encounter with society, the biblical record, and various theological models of cultural engagement to offer a more balanced and fruitful alternative to these extremes. He argues that, rather than trying to root up the weeds in the cultural field, or trying to shun them, Christians should practice persistence in gardening God's world and building toward the New Jerusalem. Examining the lives and works of C. S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer for example and direction, Stackhouse suggests that our mission is to make the most of life in the world in cooperation with God's own mission of redeeming the world he loves. This model takes seriously the pattern of God's activity in the Bible, and in subsequent history, of working through earthly means--through individuals, communities, and institutions that are deeply flawed but nonetheless capable of accomplishing God's purposes. Christians must find a way to live in this world and at the same time do work that honors God and God's plan for us.

In an era of increasing religious and cultural tensions, both internationally and domestically, the model that Stackhouse develops discourages the "all or nothing" attitudes that afflict so much of contemporary Christianity. Instead, he offers a fresh, and refreshingly nuanced, take on the question of what it means to be a Christian in the world today.

Zielgruppe

Professors and students of ethics and theology of culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Stackhouse, John G. Jr.

Stackhouse, John G.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Christentum und Gesellschaft, Kirche und Politik
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Ethik, Moraltheologie, Sozialethik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Who Are We, for Jesus Christ, Today?
Part I: The Classic Typology
1: Reappropriating H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture
Part II: Some Resources for the Recovery of Christian Realism
2: C.S. Lewis: The Christian Individual
3: Reinhold Niebuhr: Prophet of Christian Realism
4: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Christian and the Church in and for the World
Part III: Making the Best of It
5: Method in Ethics: A Sketch
6: The Story and the Mission
7: Vocation
8: Principles of a New Realism
Conclusion: Making the Best of It
Index
Index of Scriptural References

Über Autor(innen)

Stackhouse, John G.
John G. Stackhouse, Jr. is Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology, Regent College. He is the author of Can God Be Trusted? Faith and the Challenge of Evil (OUP 1998), Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today (OUP 2002), Church: An Insider's Look at How We Do It, and Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender. He lives in Vancouver, B.C.