{"product_id":"christianity-and-contemporary-politics-the-conditions-and-possibilities-of-faithful-witness-paperback-softback-9781405199698","title":"Christianity and Contemporary Politics; The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness (Paperback \/ softback) 9781405199698","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eChristianity and Contemporary Politics\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“I confess I did not think this book could be written. But it can be done because Bretherton has done it. He has written this marvelous book that engages the complex theoretical issues necessary to develop a constructive theological politics without losing sight of concrete social challenges associated with community organizing, immigration, and consumerism. Bretherton has set a new standard in Christian political reflection.”\u003cbr\u003e —Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School  \u003cp\u003e\"Sophisticated, erudite, deeply insightful, and written with a passion born out of political engagement. Bretherton pushes the field of political theology into fresh pastures ... This book will serve many, not just political theorists and theologians.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Gaving D'Costa, University of Bristol\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eLuke Bretherton (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781405199698, Wiley\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 12 January 2010\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e272 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.6 x 15 x 1.3 cm, 0.386 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “A deeply hospitable book, which is rooted in evangelical orthodoxy, but is clearly open to public dialogues and unafraid to speak within them in its own accent … [Bretherton’s] account of listening as a Christian political practice is outstanding and inspiring. This is a very fine book, which deserves the attention and engagement of the practical theological community.” \u003ci\u003e (\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eInternational Journal of Practical Theology\u003c\/i\u003e, 19 July 2012)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“My hope is that the ideas contained here will not remain in the academy but will provide  momentum for a challenging Christian encounter with the issues and injustices of our political and social context.”  (\u003ci\u003eModern Believing\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 April 2012)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"[Bretherton] establishes himself in this book as a leading figure in political theology by giving a profound synthetic account of political theory and theology.\" (\u003ci\u003eChurch Times\u003c\/i\u003e, 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"I'll be giving \u003ci\u003eChristianity and Contemporary Politics\u003c\/i\u003e to my graduate students and others seeking to become authors and academics. It is a model of the kind of book a scholar should be looking to write.\" (\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e, June 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"This is a wonderful book, perhaps the best book on contemporary Christianity and politics in liberal nation-states I have read. It is both based in concrete practices and theoretically aware. Most of all, its author exhibits the virtues necessary to undertake such a task: he is generous, faithful, and engaged with real communities of Christians and others. I will be using this book with students, and recommending it to colleagues.\" (\u003ci\u003eStudies in Christian Ethics\u003c\/i\u003e, June 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"I strongly recommend this book as one of the most fascinating accounts of the relationship between politics and religion in contemporary society. The author has mastered very skillfully several bodies of literature from different disciplines and presented a new synthesis of them. He points a way forward that takes into account traditional ways of understanding religious faith and practice but practiced in the very new and emergent conditions of the twenty-first century.\" (\u003ci\u003ePolitics, Religion \u0026amp; Ideology\u003c\/i\u003e, December 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"This book is important, though not always an easy read. However, the effort will reward those who persevere with new insights about the mission of the church and the witness of the individual Christian. It should prove particularly refreshing to those who train ministers and church-related community workers, as well as to all who struggle with political and community issues within the church in its Big Society.\" (\u003ci\u003eReform\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 May 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Over the past decade political theology has become one of the most energetic (and polemical) conversations in the field of theology. Bretherton makes a signal contribution to these debates as a voice characterized by critical charity. While the field has tended to line up in camps (e.g., Niebuhrians vs. Hauenvasians), Bretherton is eager to affirm what's right in both without shrinking from criticizing either. The great virtue of this book is that it moves the conversation from the abstract environs of national politics and 'church-state' questions to the nitty-gritty environs of the municipal pursuit of the common good (or rather, as Bretherton emphasizes, goods in common). Changing the scope and scale of the question, the book provides a fresh analysis through a series of case studies that are attentive to place - considering, for example, the community organizing of Saul Alinsky (the space of Obama's apprenticeship) as a case of the church concretely impacting the shared space of common goods. Neither beset by worries about Constantinianism, nor motivated by pretensions to Christendom, this book deserves wide attention.\" (\u003ci\u003eCHOICE\u003c\/i\u003e, December 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"I cannot commend it highly enough.\" (\u003ci\u003eRegent's Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 October 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Bretherton is one of the most helpful voices engaging culture in a way that results in robust witness and faithful Gospel proclamation. And so this book is enthusiastically recommended to all concerned with relevant Christian witness in ever changing Western political situations.\" (\u003ci\u003eEuropean Journal of Theology\u003c\/i\u003e, 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCongratulations to Luke Bretherton on winning the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing for \u003ci\u003eChristianity and Contemporary Politics\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelations between religious and political spheres continue to stir passionate debates on both sides of the Atlantic. Through a combination of theological reflection and empirical case studies, Bretherton succeeds in offering timely and invaluable insights into these crucial issues facing 21st century societies. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eExplores the relationship between Christianity and contemporary politics through case studies of faith-based organizations, Christian political activism and welfare provision in the West; these case studies assess initiatives including community organizing, fair trade, and the sanctuary movement\u003cbr\u003eOffers an insightful, informative account of how Christians can engage politically in a multi-faith, liberal democracy\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eIntegrates debates in political theology with inter-disciplinary analysis of policy and practice regarding religious social, political and economic engagement in the USA, UK, and continental Europe\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReveals how Christians can help prevent the subversion of the church – and even of politics itself – by legal, bureaucratic, and market mechanisms, rather than advocating withdrawal or assimilation\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eEngages with the intricacies of contemporary politics whilst integrating systematic and historical theological reflection on political and economic life\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface.  \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Terms and Conditions of Political Life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion and Postsecular Politics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheological Politics and the Ecclesial-Turn.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary of Aims and Methodology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Faith-Based Organizations and the Emerging Shape of Church–State Relations.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Working Together\": The Shaping of Relations between the State and Religious Groups in a Multi-Faith Society.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Cohesion, Social Capital, and the \"Salvation\" of Civil Society.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLiberalism and the Continuing Requirements of Public Reason.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheological Politics and the Question of What Constitutes Faithful Witness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEcclesiology and the Political Mission of the Church.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Local: Augustine, Alinsky, and the Politics of the Common Good.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Alinsky Approach: The Work of Broad-Based Community Organizing.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEschatology, Politics, and the Mutual Ground of the \u003ci\u003eSaeculum.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChristian Realism \u003ci\u003eRedivivus\u003c\/i\u003e?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Thomistic Democratic Politics?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReweaving Civil Society.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitics without Piety Is Pitiless; Piety without Politics Is Pitiful.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. National: Christian Cosmopolitanism, Refugees, and the Politics of Proximity.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheological Politics and the Liberal Democratic Response to Refugees.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRefugees as Bare Life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBare Life and the Limits of Humanitarianism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHallowing Bare Life: A Doxological Response.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHallowed Be Thy Name.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSanctuary: The Practice of Hallowing Bare Life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. Global: Consumerism, Fair Trade, and the Politics of Ordinary Time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefining Political Consumerism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsumerism and the Formation of Desire.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical Consumerism as Apprenticeship in the Virtues.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical Consumerism as Neighbor Love.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFair Trade as Contradiction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFair Trade, Globalization and the Emergence of Political Consumerism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrdinary Politics and the Peace of Babylon.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion: Toward a Politics of Hospitality and a Theology of Politics.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEpilogue.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBibliography.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Religion \u0026amp; beliefs [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Religion \u0026amp; beliefs\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Religion%20\u0026amp;%20beliefs%20%5BHR%5D%22\"\u003eHR\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52165879857432,"sku":"9781405199698","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781405199698.jpg?v=1781101371","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/christianity-and-contemporary-politics-the-conditions-and-possibilities-of-faithful-witness-paperback-softback-9781405199698","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}