Baptist Political Theology

Baptist ideals like the separation of church and state have indelibly shaped Western democracies, and Baptist thinkers continue to influence public policy and political engagement today. Yet the historical contours, enduring commitments, and current contributions of Baptist political thought are little understood. Baptist Political Theology, edited by scholars Thomas Kidd, Paul Miller, and Andrew Walker, introduces readers to the full sweep of Baptist engagement with politics. Part 1 reviews the life, writings, and political activity of important figures in Baptist history, as well as Baptist involvement in key historical eras and episodes. Part 2 presents a collective effort at applied political theology, with essays relating Baptist principles to a range of contemporary issues. This monumental volume sheds light on the history and contemporary practice of Baptists in the public square, offering context and clarity for Baptist political thought in the years to come.

Brings together the best and most popular papers and lectures of one of the most stimulating voices in contemporary theological conversation.

At a time when we have never known more about our globe or shared more information, we live--paradoxically--in a driven, disconnected world. In science, in economics, our communications industry, and even in the public sphere, the human person tends to disappear from consideration or evaporate into an abstraction. The new political theology tries to break the spell of this cultural amnesia. These essays and interviews invite readers to consider the future by asking Where are we headed and what do we stand for. Johann Baptist Metz's theology emerged as an attempt to understand shifting borders and threatening situations. It does not prescribe a political agenda or policies, but it does ask where we might stand if we are to shape a meaningful future together rather than in isolated or in ideological camps. Beginning with the spiritualty of his popular Poverty of Spirit, Metz developed a new method of theological inquiry for our anxious times. These essays represent the mature clarification of his earlier work.

It is now widely acknowledged that the Western world has been transitioning into a ""postmodern"" context for some time. Many, if not most, of the commitments that gained ascendancy during the Enlightenment are rapidly changing-including but not limited to our cultural sensibilities, manufacturing practices, philosophical theories, and political forms. Given these shifts, the challenge for Christians of all stripes is to strive to faithfully engage this world without acquiescence or retreat. In Inhabiting the World, Ryan Newson argues that resources contained in the ""baptist vision"" of Christian life are uniquely helpful in describing how Christians might transformatively and receptively inhabit the world as it now is. Newson unpacks the contours of a Christian identity centered around listening-to oneself, to others, and to the wild voice of God-and focuses his argument by engaging the work of theologian James Wm. McClendon, Jr. No mere ""report"" on McClendon's thought, however, Newson pushes back on and creatively extends McClendon's work, including into the fields of neuroscience, political theology, church practices, and ecclesial failure. Crucially, Newson's concern is less with what this tradition has always said and more with what we should say moving forward, outlining a positive vision that goes beyond merely saying what we are against. Altogether, he unpacks what a radical Baptist identity for today might look like while seeking to avoid many of the dead ends and false starts often associated with this tradition.

In this culmination of his widely read and highly acclaimed Cultural Liturgies project, James K. A. Smith examines politics through the lens of liturgy. What if, he asks, citizens are not only thinkers or believers but also lovers? Smith explores how our analysis of political institutions would look different if we viewed them as incubators of love-shaping practices--not merely governing us but forming what we love. How would our political engagement change if we weren't simply looking for permission to express our "views" in the political sphere but actually hoped to shape the ethos of a nation, a state, or a municipality to foster a way of life that bends toward shalom? This book offers a well-rounded public theology as an alternative to contemporary debates about politics. Smith explores the religious nature of politics and the political nature of Christian worship, sketching how the worship of the church propels us to be invested in forging the common good. This book creatively merges theological and philosophical reflection with illustrations from film, novels, and music and includes helpful exposition and contemporary commentary on key figures in political theology.

The movement of process theology is brought into creative interaction with political theology in this exciting new work by distinguished author John B. Cobb Jr. Confronted with the critical problems facing the global environment, the author seeks to overcome the abstractness that has kept process thought from achieving practical influence. Cobb reviews contemporary political theology in the works of major European theologians, Johann Baptist Metz, Jürgen Moltmann, and Dorothee Sölle, then surveys the movement in recent German theology. He examines the challenge of political theology in the tradition of the Chicago school and advocates broadening the horizons of political theology into the formulation of an ecological, rather than a sociological, theology. Process Theology as Political Theology responds to the challenge of providing a theological base for the Christian activist. Pastors, seminarians, and students will find it to be a stimulating evolutionary work, derived from the author’s concern for the planet earth.

A collection of Metz's writings of the last fifteen years, never before published in English, on the subject of the church in the world.