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| I Can Do No Other
ISBN: 9781506438238
Platform/Publisher: Project MUSE / Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Chapters; Download: Chapters
Subjects: Christian sociology; Church and social problems; Social justice;
Author Anna M. Madsen's book is a fresh and challenging look at the legacy of Martin Luther and the new reformation that is calling people of faith to action today.
This book is born out of the conviction that at least two gods are currently competing for our collective trust: nationalism (and its many sub-manifestations) and quietism. Both make a case for and a claim on our allegiance, each by way of different motivations of self and institutional protection. Madsen looks at today's modern context and asks: Where will the church stand in a day that is marked by globalization, polarization, racism, bigotry, and debates about justice for humanity and for the earth itself. While the Reformation church was built on the foundation of justification by grace, Madsen calls people of faith to a new reformation that will focus on standing for justice in the world. Madsen delves into who Jesus was, and how our claim that he died and was raised establishes our faith and impacts the way we live it out. She pays attention to Luther's theology and juxtaposes it with our present context. She explores recent examples of Nazi resistance, liberation theology, black and womanist theology, and feminist theology, each of which come at social justice in their unique ways, with a common conviction that justice work is central to the Christian life. She speaks of how our faith grounding and our faith history weave together and entwine themselves into our present moment, offering both warnings and encouragement. And last, a case is made that justice, anchored in justification, is our new Reformation moment, one not inconsistent with Luther's theology, but weighted differently to address the different weighty concerns of our day. A study guide is included to encourage group conversation and action.
Anna M. Madsen, Lutheran pastor and public theologian, is host of the Spent Dandelion Theological Retreat Center in Two Harbors, Minnesota, and the creator of OMG: Center for Theological Conversation. She is a frequent speaker and teacher in the church and the author of I Can Do No Other: The Church's New Here We Stand Moment. Ashley Moyse is the McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Christian Ethics and Public Life at Christ Church, University of Oxford. He is also a research associate at Vancouver School of Theology at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Reading Karl Barth, Interrupting Moral Technique, and Transforming Biomedical Ethics and has coedited several volumes, including Correlating Sobornost: Conversations between Karl Barth and the Russian Orthodox Tradition (Fortress, 2016), Kenotic Ecclesiology: Select Writings of Donald M. MacKinnon (Fortress, 2016), and Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives. |
