Reading The Bible After Christendom

Pietersen argues that for too long the Old Testament has been the primary source for Christian ethics and the letters of Paul for Christian discipleship. Without disparaging these sources the author suggests that the church in a postmodern, post-Christian society needs to look at Scripture with a different focus. This book seeks to examine what reading the Bible might look like in the current period when the church is no longer central and the Christian story is not well known. 'This is a provocative and refreshing exploration of the possibilities inherent i[1;5Cn reading Scripture from the margins, rather than from within the compromised and rapidly receding structures of Christendom. A worthy addition to the challenging After Christendom series, Lloyd Pietersen's thoughtful work moves the discussion forward in ways that are at times controversial, at other times stretching, but at all times constructive. Highly recommended!' - Brian Harris, Principal, Vose Seminary, Perth Australia

The social landscape has radically changed over the past fifty years. Christians were once respected, sought out, and trusted. Now we are blamed, marginalized, and viewed with suspicion. In this book, David Rietveld explains what, how, and why this has happened, in a way that the average person can understand. He begins with Christendom, where both Christians and non-Christian held shared beliefs and values. He explains the church's role, and how evangelism and discipleship worked in that era. He then tracks the changes that have occurred and clarifies what and why things are now different. Insightful, broad explanations are illustrated by real-life examples, and woven together so that readers can see the patterns in the new twenty-first-century Western landscape. If you are seeking a thoughtful overview of what is going on in our world and how this relates to being a Christian in a local church, this book is a great introduction.

The post-Christendom era in the English-speaking world has seen a significant reduction in access to political power by the churches, a slow loss of their social and cultural influence, and a shredding of their moral standing from abuse scandals and other public failings. Community Engagement after Christendom directly addresses these challenges, proposing a different approach to the relationship between church and society. Church agencies today are often entangled in contracting with the state and its private partners to deliver government policy and services. This means they can be increasingly vulnerable to external pressure. So what resources can they and their agencies draw upon to reshape community engagement in a difficult, unsettling context? Community Engagement after Christendom proposes a multifaceted approach. It begins by reading Scripture afresh through questions shaped by the present situation. Douglas Hynd then explores the story of Anabaptist public servant Pilgram Marpeck, identifying how his critique of Christendom can help reshape our understanding today. Finally, he looks at the current experience of church-related agencies and Christian advocacy, suggesting fresh, imaginative ways forward.

In the face of what appears to be a widespread questioning of the practical usefulness of serious theological reflection on the nature and purposes of God, the authors of this intriguing book argue that a return to the sources of the Christian tradition represents nothing less than a rich trove of resources for Christian living. By revisiting the story of speech about God in scripture and in the living tradition of the church, the authors argue that we are thereby enabled to confront the contemporary temptations that too often unwittingly remake God in our own image. In this way the authors provocatively suggest that at least part of what Christian discipleship involves today is bound up with the task of unlearning some of the ways of speaking of God that have become so familiar to us. By learning to reread the texts of the Christian tradition, particularly in its most vital and creative moments, the authors suggest that we might become better equipped to faithfully read the signs of our own times.

The people of God throughout history have been a people of exile and diaspora. Whether under the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks or Romans, the people chosen by God have had to learn how to be a holy people in alien lands and under foreign rule. For much of its history, however, the Christian church lived with the sense of being at home in the world, with considerable influence and power. That age of Christendom is now over, and as Lee Beach demonstrates, this is something for which the church should be grateful. The "peace" of Christendom was a false one, and there is no comfortable normalcy to which we can or should return. Drawing on a close engagement with Old Testament and New Testament texts, The Church in Exile offers a biblical and practical theology for the church in a post-Christian age. Beach helps the people of God today to develop a hopeful and prophetic imagination, a theology responsive to its context, and an exilic identity marked by faithfulness to God?s mission in the world.

Christianity must be understood not as a religion of private salvation, but as a gospel movement of universal compassion, which transforms the world in the power of God's truth. Amid several major global crises, including the rise of terrorism and religious fundamentalism and a sudden resurgence of political extremism, Christians must now face up fearlessly to the challenges of living in a "post-truth" age in which deceitful politicians present their media-spun fabrications as "alternative facts." This book is an attempt to enact a transformative theology for these changing times that will equip the global Christian community to take a stand for the gospel in an age of cultural despair and moral fragmentation. The emerging post-Christendom era calls for a new vision of Christianity that has come of age and connects with the spiritual crisis of our times. In helping to make this vision a reality, Searle insists that theology is not merely an academic discipline, but a transformative enterprise that changes the world. Theology is to be experienced not just behind a desk, in an armchair, or in a church, but also in hospitals, in foodbanks, in workplaces, and on the streets. Theology is to be lived as well as read.

How would you describe the Old Testament? Offensive, violent, patriarchal, archaic; difficult, boring, obsolete? Many Christians don’t bother with it anymore. Yet these ancient books were in Jesus’ lifeblood, and they provided the thought-world of those early followers who wrote about him in what became the New Testament. This book challenges those stereotypes of Israel’s Scriptures by exploring their significance in the apostolic writings and by demonstrating the importance of whole books for nuanced interpretation. It takes readers on a tour through four key books before considering the wider issues of interpretation that readers must consider in order to hear God’s Spirit speaking afresh to a range of contemporary concerns, including racism and the environment.

In contemporary Western society the church has been pushed to the margins, leading experts to describe the current era as a time ‘after Christendom’. Many traditional churches and congregations are struggling, a condition worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic regulations. As the practice of churchgoing wanes, the performance of the sacrament is called into question. How can we bring the traditional, communal experience of sacrament into the modern world? In Sacraments after Christendom, Andrew Francis and Janet Sutton tackle this question head-on, exploring and discussing the enactment of the sacrament in the context of church decline and an increasingly isolated world. In doing so, they deconstruct traditional perceptions and broaden our understanding of ritual and community in order to rediscover the truth of the sacrament.