Caribbean Contextual Theology

Caribbean Contextual Theology
Author: Carlton Turner
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2024-01-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 033406337X

Caribbean Contextual Theology introduces readers to the robust theological conversations taking place in the Caribbean region since the early 1970s, and the region’s key theologians and texts. Attempting to bring a contextual theological gaze to what is a fascinating and often understated context, it offers readers an introduction to the unique and important contribution that a Caribbean theological lens can bring to the broader theological landscape.

Reshaping the Contextual Vision in Caribbean Theology

Reshaping the Contextual Vision in Caribbean Theology
Author: Michael St. A. Miller
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Caribbean Area
ISBN: 9780761837848

This work addresses the growing challenge of contextuality within Christianity in the setting of the vibrant and dynamic Caribbean. The challenge results from the recognition that all religious practices are conditioned by the geographical, ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural frameworks in which they emerge. This contextuality should inform the way theological diversity within Christianity is addressed, as well as the way Christian formulations are considered in relation to other religions. The text offers conceptual support for the position that Christian theologizing in the Caribbean requires that the context's religious diversity be engaged and that insights from other religions be explored. Processing this position through an examination of religious dynamics within the English-speaking sub-region, the prominent attempt at contextually sensitive Christianity (Caribbean Revisionist Christianity) with the associated theological orientation (Caribbean Theology) is analyzed in relation to formulations and practices from other dominant religions in the area-Afro-Caribbean Religion, Hinduism, and Islam. Epistemological analysis exposes the complexity of the religious life and a framework is proposed for inter-religious engagement. This framework engenders contextually sensitive pluralism and demands that theology be pursued in dialectical mode. The dialectical approach is then dramatized in an inter-religious dialogue on God.

Theologising Brexit

Theologising Brexit
Author: Anthony G. Reddie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2019-06-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0429671474

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the theological challenge presented by the new post-Brexit epoch. The referendum vote for Britain to leave the European Union has led to a seismic shift in the ways in which parts of the British population view and judge their compatriots. The subsequent rise in the reported number of racially motivated incidents and the climate of vilification and negativity directed at anyone not viewed as ‘authentically’ British should be a matter of concern for all people. The book is comprised of a series of essays that address varying aspects of what it means to be British and the ways in which churches in Britain and the Christian faith could and should respond to a rising tide of White English nationalism. It is a provocative challenge to the all too often tolerated xenophobia, as well as the paucity of response from many church leaders in the UK. This critique is offered via the means of a prophetic, postcolonial model of Black theology that challenges the incipient sense of White entitlement and parochial ‘nativism’ that pervaded much of the referendum debate. The essays in this book challenge the church and wider society to ensure justice and equity for all, not just a privileged sense of entitlement for some. It will be of keen interest to any scholar of Black, political and liberation theology as well as those involved in cultural studies from a postcolonial perspective.

Overcoming Self-Negation

Overcoming Self-Negation
Author: Carlton Turner
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2020-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532687028

Bearing in mind the complex and multiple legacies of slavery and colonialism, particularly as they present themselves in the African Caribbean, Turner addresses what he sees as a fundamental but underexplored phenomenon: Self-Negation. He defines this as the tendency for persons living in the aftermath of slavery and colonialism to "not" like themselves, or to live with a dissonance in their identity. This problem is particularly seen in the relationship between the Church and African indigenous religious heritages within the region. Using the Bahamas as the site for qualitative research and theological reflection, he explores the complex relationship between the Church and Junkanoo, an African Caribbean street festival. Whilst Bahamians eagerly participate in both spheres, it is the common belief that Church is sacred and Junkanoo is secular, and the two should never mix. Turner theorizes that the theological root of the issue is the kinds of colonial hermeneutics that still inform church and cultural practices. Whilst Self-Negation is perpetuated by a hermeneutic of dichotomy, Turner proposes a counter, a hermeneutic of embrace, that takes African indigenous cultural heritages seriously and brings wholeness to the kinds of religious and cultural identities within postcolonial and post-slavery societies.

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions
Author: Patrick Taylor
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 1185
Release: 2013-04-30
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 0252094336

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions is the definitive reference for Caribbean religious phenomena from a Caribbean perspective. Generously illustrated, this landmark project combines the breadth of a comparative approach to religion with the depth of understanding of Caribbean spirituality as an ever-changing and varied historical phenomenon. Organized alphabetically, entries examine how Caribbean religious experiences have been shaped by and have responded to the processes of colonialism and the challenges of the postcolonial world. Systematically organized by theme and area, the encyclopedia considers religious traditions such as Vodou, Rastafari, Sunni Islam, Sanatan Dharma, Judaism, and the Roman Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist churches. Detailed subentries present topics such as religious rituals, beliefs, practices, specific historical developments, geographical differences, and gender roles within major traditions. Also included are entries that address the religious dimensions of geographical territories that make up the Caribbean. Representing the culmination of more than a decade of work by the associates of the Caribbean Religions Project, The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions will foster a greater understanding of the role of religion in Caribbean life and society, in the Caribbean diaspora, and in wider national and transnational spaces.

Under the Oak Tree

Under the Oak Tree
Author: Ronald J. Allen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2013-11-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1620321920

"Two trends in the early twenty-first-century intersect to give this volume immediate relevance: 1) The emerging postmodern ethos in North America is calling into question many things we have taken for granted, including the purposes of the church; and 2) our time is increasingly fractious as groups with distinct worldviews become polarized and often antagonistic. Eleven noted contributors join a growing current that sees conversation as an image to refresh our thinking about the nature and purpose of the church, and as a process in which individuals and communities with different perspectives come together for real understanding. Under the Oak Tree employs the image of Sarah and Abraham greeting three visitors under the Oaks of Mamre as an image for the church as a community of conversation, a community that opens itself to the otherness of the Bible, voices in history and tradition, others in the contemporary social and ecological worlds. Furthermore, the book shows how conversation can lead the church to action. The book takes a practical approach by exploring how conversation can shape key parts of the church's life. Topics include preaching, worship, formation, evangelism, pastoral care, mission and ecumenism, social witness, and the relationship of Christianity to other religions. Foundational chapters consider God as conversational, the church as community of conversation, and the minister as conversation leader. "

Freedom in Resistance and Creative Transformation

Freedom in Resistance and Creative Transformation
Author: Michael St. A. Miller
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2013-04-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0739173537

In Freedom in Resistance and Creative Transformation, Michael Miller addresses the concept of freedom that is central to the grammar of Christian faith and important in a wide range of religious and nonreligious settings across the globe. He confronts the fact that despite the claimed importance of freedom there continues to be interpersonal, socio-political, and religious power hierarchies that keep some people dominant and others subjugated. The book suggests that often these hierarchies are informed by Christian teachings that deny freedom to human beings on the basis of their humanity per se. Having classified humanity as fallen, we are instructed that freedom is experienced by disparaging our humanity as we actually experience it, seeing ourselves as our own worst enemies and accepting bondage to God—the bondage reflected in the character of relations with those seen as God’s special representatives in the world. Miller presents a case against this understanding of the human situation, and in the process he critically engages the Old and New Testaments along with ideas of significant representatives of Christian orthodoxy. As an alternative he promotes freedom that is finite, realistically libertarian, and relational as most compatible with the character of human beings that are partially self-creating and self-determining. Contributing to this position is the view that an infinitely temporal God, by character and desire, participates in human life in a way that ensures the requisite space for authentic decision making, from which emerges genuinely novel possibilities for human life. This dynamic has implications for the continued development of the human species and the quality of life in the cosmos as a whole.

A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology

A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology
Author: Garnett Roper
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-08-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1621898318

The project of developing a contextual theology for the Caribbean was first articulated in the early 1970s in Trinidad and Jamaica. In the years since, many evangelical churches and theologians in the Caribbean have been ambivalent about the validity of this project, assuming that an emphasis on context was somehow antithetical to the pure gospel. But the crisis of the times, along with a more mature hermeneutic, has led to a re-evaluation of this assumption. Here a group of evangelical Caribbean theologians enter the discussion, with substantive proposals for how the gospel addresses the Caribbean context. They are joined by other theologians from mainline Protestant and Catholic traditions in the Caribbean. The result is an ecumenical dialogue on the diverse ways in which orthodox Christian faith may provide both challenge and hope for the Caribbean context. Half the essays in this volume were originally presented at the Forum on Caribbean Theology held in 2010 at the Jamaica Theological Seminary; the rest were invited especially for this volume.

Text and Context

Text and Context
Author: Melanie Baffes
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2018-10-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 153264342X

As biblical hermeneutics moves increasingly toward the inclusion of vernacular approaches to the text--understandings of the Bible based on culture, context, and human experience--many communities of faith around the world are contributing their voices to the conversation of global Christianity. This volume explores reading methods and text interpretations of believers in South Africa, the Caribbean, Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, India, Kenya, Fiji, Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Nigeria--revealing the ways various faith communities read the Bible contextually. Essays in this volume also illustrate the impact of the biblical text in people's lives--on their understandings of oppression, identity, the plight of refugees, decline and loss, the relationship between church and society, imperialism, homelessness, restorative justice, bodily experiences of the Holy Spirit, and time and the future. Together, these writings provide an in-depth sense of how global Christians read the Bible through the lens of their own tradition or culture, as well as how the Bible informs all aspects of their lives as they read the world biblically.

Reshaping of Mission in Latin America

Reshaping of Mission in Latin America
Author: Miguel Alvarez
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Christianity
ISBN: 9781498290876

This work describes the re-shaping of mission in Latin America in recent years. It covers a broad spectrum of Christian movements that coexist in the area. The book includes themes related to theology of mission, ecclesiology, history, social action and leadership. It is designed to serve as a guide to understand different Christian trends in contemporary Latin America. Most contributors belong to the young generation of Christian leaders emerging in different locations of the region--from the Central America, the Caribbean, and South and North America. They are sensitive to the differences that are part of denominational identity. This work is unique and calls for a meaningful and mature dialogue among Christians in the continent. Latin America is still a continent of hope where Christianity continues to grow in the midst of poverty, social and political struggles. Christian workers are seeking for unity and mutual understanding. Promising young leaders are emerging and bringing innovation, vision and dynamism to the Latin American church in every country. ""If missiological writing from and about Latin America in the English language has been lagging behind, this volume heralds the revitalization within this arena and area. Alvarez has mobilized a younger generation of bilingual missiologists who have lived or worked across the Americas to provide an update and perspective on Latin American mission that anticipates developments in the next generation even while looking ahead into the middle of the twenty-first-century global context. May this tribe increase!"" --Amos Yong, Professor of Theology & Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA ""This volume is completely unique! I am impressed by the level of maturity shown by the writers. Most of them are part of the new generation of scholars that is reshaping mission theology in Latin America. Their papers are open to dialogue and mutual understanding. Alvarez has gathered excellent documents from writers of the North, Central, South America, Brazil and the Caribbean. This effort is remarkable!"" --Dario Lopez, Professor of Mission Theology, Seminario Biblico Gamaliel and Administrative Bishop of the Church of God in Peru ""This book produces just what it promises. It is a compendium of scholarship and practical wisdom for endeavoring mission in Latin America in the twenty-first century. This fresh resource for scholars, people, and preachers alike will influence the scope and direction of mission in Latin America in the future. Read, reflect, enjoy, but most of all, take seriously its claims and propositions."" --Johnathan E. Alvarado, Senior Pastor, Grace Church International, President and Professor of Theology, The Greater Atlanta Theological Seminary, Atlanta, GA Miguel Alvarez (PhD, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies) is a missionary from Honduras and serves as Director of Hispanic Ministries for the Church of God in the State of Virginia. He is Associate Representative of Superbook at the Christian Broadcasting Network and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Mission at Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. Alvarez is former President of the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries in Manila, Philippines and former Administrative Bishop of Church of God in the Northeast Hispanic Region of the United States.