Engaging with Contemporary Culture PDF Download

Author: Martyn Percy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317143353
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Theology and the churches are often considered to be at the margins of contemporary culture, frequently struggling for identity and attention. In this important new book Martyn Percy argues that a rich form of practical theological engagement is needed if the churches are to comprehend their situation in the modern world, thereby enabling them to engage more confidently with society. Drawing on a range of perspectives in the religion-culture debate, and from case studies in the USA and Europe, the book explores the myriad of ways in which culture is now shaping contemporary Christianity, and how vital an appreciation of this dynamic is for the self-understanding of churches and theology. This book explores the crucial and continuing contribution that theology can make to public life, in an era that is often perceived to be dominated by consumerism and secularity. It will especially appeal to scholars of contemporary religion, practical theologians, and all those who are engaged in ministerial formation.

Author: Kieran Beville
Publisher: Christian Publishing House
ISBN: 0692637680
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Once upon a time, Postmodernism was a buzz word. It pronounced Modernism dead or at least in the throes of death. It was a wave that swept over Christendom, promising to wash away sterile, dogmatic and outmoded forms of church. But whatever happened to postmodernism? It was regarded as the start of a major historical transition to something new and promising and hailed as a major paradigm shift. Is it a philosophy that has passed its "sell-by" date? No! The radical fringe has become the dominant view and has been integrated into all aspects of life, including the Christian church. With the emergence of multicultural societies comes interaction with different belief systems and religions. Values like tolerance and a dislike of dogmatism have become key operating concepts, which reflect a change in worldview. This change is affecting every area of life, including the way we believe and what we believe. The effects are far-reaching. Postmodernism presents new challenges and opportunities for Christians. In this book Kieran Beville presents Postmodernism as a quest for significance, meaning and belonging and outlines evangelistic strategies for reaching Postmodern people with the abiding good news of the gospel.

Author: Mark Clavier
Publisher: SPCK
ISBN: 0281070393
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Rescuing the Church . . . examines how people are initiated into a consumer culture during childhood and thus drawn into pursuing a vocation as consumers by means of various quasi-sacramental rites and practices. The upshot of this is that the church today is composed primarily of men and women whose lives are situated more within a consumer culture than within a distinctively Christian one. In order for the church to free itself, the author believes it must reclaim a sacramental identity that is grounded in a narrative tradition and realized in real, local worshipping communities.

Author: Martyn Percy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317055837
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
This book seeks to dynamically alter the way that theologians, ecclesiologists, students of religion and ministers look at the church. Taking the ideas of composition, formation and vocation as basic ecclesial categories, Martyn Percy explores how apparently innocent and incidental material is in fact highly significant for the shaping of theological and ecclesiological horizons. The Introduction sets the tone, with a meditation on how the apparently ordinary scent of a country church can be redolent with meaning, setting the tone of expectation in relation to subsequent worship. This book is not, however, simply about reading meanings into events, ideas, conversations and contexts. Rather, it sets out to faithfully interpret much of the material that surrounds us, yet is often taken for granted, or more usually unnoticed. The book is an invitation to involve the scholar or minister, paying close and patient attention to beliefs, language, artefacts, rituals, practices and other material - all of which are constitutive for ecclesial life and theological identity.

Author: Klyne Snodgrass
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725244454
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Ex Auditu began as the journal incorporating the papers of the Fredrick Neumann Symposium of Princeton Theological Seminary. After the first four volumes the journal began publishing the papers from the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. The intent from the first has been to provide a forum for doing interdisciplinary theology from a biblical perspective for the benefit of the Church. Each annual publication focuses on a topic crucial to the life of today's Church. Additionally, each issue contains an annotated bibliography and a sermon, which makes it a practical guide for pastors. EDITOR: Dr. Stephen Chester, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary EDITOR EMERITUS: Dr. Klyne R. Snodgrass, Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dr. D. Christopher Spinks, Acquisitions Editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. EDITORIAL BOARD: Terence E. Fretheim, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Richard B. Hays, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC; Jon R. Stock, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR; Miroslav Volf, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT; John Wipf, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Individuals: U.S.A. and all other countries (in U.S. funds)-$20.00 / Students-$12.00 Institutions: $30 in the U.S., and $40 for international shipments (in U.S. funds) To subscribe: Send pertinent information to Wipf and Stock Publishers at [email protected] and indicate your preferred method of payment. Back issues are available through Wipf and Stock Publishers. Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at North Park DETAILS: For more information about the symposium click here. INQUIRIES: Other inquiries should be addressed to one of the following: Dr. Dennis Edwards, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary 3225 W. Foster Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 Telephone: (773) 244-6238 / Email [email protected] Chris Spinks, Acquisitions Editor Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W. 8th Ave., Ste. 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Telephone: (541) 344-1528 / Fax: (541) 344-1506 / Email: [email protected]

Author: Timothy T.N. Lim
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004347372
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
In Ecclesial Recognition, Hegelian philosophy, group social psychology, and Axel Honneth’s recognitional politics provide insights to facilitate the churches’ progress to recognize each other as legitimate, true churches. Yves Congar’s oeuvre confirms the intersubjective dynamics of ecclesial inclusion and exclusion.

Author: Kevin Ronald Ward
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620324113
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
"Church-going in most Western societies has declined significantly in the wake of the social and cultural changes that began in the 1960s. Does this mean that people in these societies are losing any religious dimension in their lives, or is it being expressed in other forms and places? This study begins by looking at comparative data on how church-going patterns have changed in five countries--Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand--examining reasons for the decline, how churches have responded to these changes, and why some churches have shown greater resilience. It then explores some of the particular challenges these changes pose for the future of churches in these societies and some of the responses that have been made, drawing on both sociological and theological insights. The conclusion is that, despite the loss of belonging, believing persists and religion continues to play a significant role in these societies, mediated in a variety of diffuse cultural forms. Cases illustrating these changes are largely drawn from New Zealand, which as the country most recently settled by Europeans has always been ""secular"" and thus provides helpful insights."

Author: Ian S. Markham
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532617836
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
One of the most interesting voices in the Academy and the Church today is Martyn Percy. Percy, the Dean of Christ Church Oxford and a leading voice in the Anglican Communion, is both theologically orthodox, yet deeply unconventional. While remaining engaged in the scholarly community, Percy writes with clarity and passion on topics that range from ecclesiology to music, from sexuality to the Trinity, from advertising to ministerial training—he is a polymath. This book is two books in one. The first half contains a series of articles (written both by church leaders and academics) that serve as substantial, critical introductions to Percy’s thought. In the second half, the reader gets to hear from Percy himself in a collection of wide-ranging material from his corpus. While producing a dialectical engagement of some depth (as Percy offers written responses to his interlocutors), this volume should prove useful for a variety of communities beyond academic circles, especially ones engaged with contemporary issues facing ecclesiology, churches, and the wider Anglican Communion.

Author: Christopher Swift
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351930435
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The place of religion in public life continues to be a much-debated topic in Western nations. This book charts the changing role of hospital chaplains and examines through detailed case studies the realities of practice and the political debates which either threaten or sustain the service. This second edition includes a new introduction and updated material throughout to present fresh insights and research about chaplaincy, including in relation to New Atheism and the developing debate about secularism and religion in public life. Swift concludes that chaplains must do more to communicate the value of what they bring to the bedside.

Author: Jeffrey W. Driver
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666736163
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Churches around the world have been confronted by shame and culpability in widespread revelations of child sexual abuse. In this book, Jeffrey Driver, who has served the Australian Anglican Church as both a diocesan bishop and archbishop, explores some of the underlying cultural and theological influences that may have predisposed the possibility of abuse, as well as the defensiveness and cover-ups that sometimes followed. The first responses of most churches to the revelations of abuse were, of necessity, mostly structural and programmatic. Recognizing the institutional temptation to do only enough to settle a crisis, Jeffrey Driver calls for something different from the churches. Drawing on the imagery of Holy Saturday, he encourages a deeper journey of reflection and change, for churches and church leaders to linger reflectively in the grey spaces of loss and shame long enough to hear the voice of God addressing them through the vulnerable and the wounded once more, calling the church back to itself and into a deeper, humbler relationship with the world it is called to serve.