Wrestling with God
Ethical Precarity in Christianity and International Relations

Explores the ethical tensions impacting Christian practice in international politics from early missions to contemporary humanitarianism.

Cecelia Lynch (Author)

9781108704847, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 March 2020

304 pages
15 x 23 x 2 cm, 0.45 kg

'This book has a number of virtues, one of them being the author's ability to weave together insights from different fields of study, especially political science and religion, through primarily ethical reflections.' F. G. Kirkpatrick, Choice

Contrary to charges of religious “dogma,” Christian actors in international politics often wrestle with the lack of a clear path in determining what to do and how to act, especially in situations of violence and when encountering otherness. Lynch argues that it is crucial to recognise the ethical precarity of decision-making and acting. This book contextualizes and examines ethical struggles and justifications that key figures and movements gave during the early modern period of missionary activity in the Americas; in the interwar debates about how to act vis-à-vis fascism, economic oppression and colonialism in a “secular” world; in liberation theology's debates about the use of violence against oppression and bloodshed; and in contemporary Christian humanitarian negotiations of religious pluralism and challenges to the assumptions of western Christianity. Lynch explores how the wrestling with God that took place in each of these periods reveals ethical tensions that continue to impact both Christianity and international relations.

1. Wrestling with God in the Modern West
2. Understanding Christian Wrestling About Ethics
3. Wrestling with the Violence of Conquest
4. Wrestling with War
5. Wrestling with the Violence of Oppression
6. Wrestling with Violence and Injustice Abroad and at Home
7. Has Anyone Prevailed?
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Geopolitics [JPSL], International relations [JPS], Sociology: customs & traditions [JHBT], Christian institutions & organizations [HRCX], Christian life & practice [HRCV], Christianity [HRC], General & world history [HBG]