Theology And Dehumanization

No Room for Grace addresses a world dominated by free market capitalism, a world where persons become "human resources," the raw materials for competitive production and profitable investment. Barbara Rumscheidt considers how Christians are to do pastoral theology in such a world and explores the potential for Christian faith responses that can resist the dehumanizing dynamics of the global economy.

In this posthumous volume Jill Anne Kowalik analyzes pathological grief in 17th and 18th-century Germany. Early chapters outline the methodological prerequisites and the main theoretical underpinnings for her multidisciplinary study of mentality and give an overview of the theories and practices of consolation in the Western tradition. She traces the origins of pathological grief to the trauma of the Thirty Years War, and analyzes mourning practices as evidenced by funeral sermons for their punitive theological content. Rather than helping, these practices actually intensified the trauma of loss. The second part of the volume addresses the work of German writers such as Moritz, Nietzsche, Freud, and Goethe for their psychologically acute depiction of the effects of pathological mourning.

"CTS annual volume focusing on dehumanization and theological anthropology, in such areas as sexual harassment, racial justice, and decolonization"--

We live in an era of polarizing political and religious disagreement. Despite the lip service our society pays to tolerance, it's becoming more and more difficult to look past our differences and to recognize our common humanity. The way that we treat each other is a direct result of how we see one another, and our culture is full of warning signs that we aren't seeing each other correctly. In Reclaimed, author and cultural critic Andy Steiger explores the trend toward dehumanization that underlies our fraught times. People on both sides of the political aisle and from all walks of life share a deep desire for better understanding, justice, and human dignity. Yet we're uncertain how to achieve these aims. Steiger points to Jesus as the basis for rediscovering our common ground and our shared humanity. In Jesus we find not only that humans are unique, valuable, and bearers of rights and responsibilities, but also that our dehumanizing tendencies--our worst inclinations toward inhumanity--can be redeemed and restored. Jesus enables us to be fully human, and it's in him that we rediscover the kind of relationships and society for which so many people today are longing.

Right-wing authoritarianism has emerged as a social psychological theory to explain conservative political and religious movements. Such authoritarianism is said to be rooted in the willingness of individuals to support authority figures who seek to restrict civil and human rights. George Yancey investigates the effectiveness of right-wing authoritarianism and the social phenomenon it represents. He analyzes how authoritarians on both the right and the left sides of the sociopolitical spectrum dehumanize their opponents.

Kärkkäinen’s acclaimed five-volume constructive theology abridged in one accessible volume Providing a new and unique way of doing theology in our pluralistic world, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen presents historic Christian doctrines in relation to the natural sciences and four other living faiths—Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. This textbook covers all systematic topics along with a host of current issues such as violence, colonialism, inclusivity, sociopolitical liberation, environmental care, and more. Accessible and student-friendly, Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World is the ideal text for exploring a theological vision at once rooted in the Christian tradition and constructive in its engagement with the complexities of our global, pluralistic world.

Mechanistic dehumanization occurs when human beings are objectified and exploited as a means to an end, comparable to expendable components of a machine. This misconstruction of human value is a source and sustainer of overproduction, an excess of consumption, and the pursuit of unrestrained economic growth, damaging both people and the planet. Can the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global Mission respond to mechanistic dehumanization through mission as accompaniment? The notion of mission as accompaniment, which emerges from liberation theology and development methodology, promotes solidarity among church companions that embodies interdependence and mutuality. Grounded in the New Testament expression of koinonia, Mission as Accompaniment is affirmed in this study as a suitable foundation to counteract mechanistic dehumanization. Through this research with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) Theology and Development program, Brian E. Konkol incorporates economics, ecology, anthropology, and postcolonial missiology. He maintains that two particular elements—the African concept of Ubuntu, and an Olive Agenda—when integrated into mission as accompaniment, will equip the ELCA Global Mission with an advocacy-driven trajectory in response to mechanistic dehumanization.

In this exciting volume, Peniel Rajkumar has assembled the work of nearly twenty prominent Asian theologians, making their writings accessible to the introductory-level student. The result is an ideal introduction to the wealth of Asian theologies and the major questions they raise. It is ecumenical in scope with emphasis on the contemporary concerns within Asian theology and some attention to the development of these theologies. Regional and subject specialists capture the ongoing conversation, incorporating new emphases and trends, thus making the book a fresh introduction to Christian theology in Asia.