Poverty and Public Theology: Advocacy of the Church in Pluralistic Society

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Keyword(s):  
Public Debate ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Theological Ethics ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Economic Strategies ◽  
Critical Model ◽  
The Church

AbstractThis article describes four models of connecting the biblical option for the poor with theological ethics. The charity model denies any political significance of this option. The fundamental critical model connects this theological option exclusively with a confessional critique of western capitalism and its market approach. The political advice model does not give an explicit account of its theological groundings but tries to present practicable political solutions. Finally the public theology model which is advocated in this article connects a clear theological profile with the involvement in the public debate on economic strategies which reflect the option for the poor. For this, public theology has to be bilingual, speaking a theological and a secular language; moreover, because of its involvement in the public debate public theology can be understood as a liberation theology for a democratic society. The article presents Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer as public theologians who, in their time, have been advocates for the poor. The memorandum of the German Protestant churches of 2006 on poverty is presented as an example of public theological involvement of the church in our time. The article ends with a reflection on eschatological justice.

scholarly journals An enquiry on poverty discourses in public theology for the calling of the church to respond to poverty: A case for the Africa Inland Church in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah K. Tenai
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Africa Inland Church ◽  
Poverty Levels ◽  
The Church

As an emergent and rapidly growing international field of study, public theology has its focus on how Christian faith and practice impact on ordinary life. Its principle concern is thewell-being of society. In Africa, and in Kenya in particular, where poverty levels are still high, there is a need to enquire into the value and efficacy of the poverty discourses in publictheology, for the calling of the church to respond to poverty. One of the main and fast growingchurches in Kenya, the Africa Inland Church (AIC), has vast resources used for, amongst otherthings, various on-going work amidst the poor and the vulnerable in remote and poor areas. Due to the unrelenting nature of poverty in Kenya, the AIC needs a theological perspective, which is sufficiently sensitive to poverty and can enable it to respond to poverty moreeffectively. Public theology’s emphasis on gaining an entrée into the public square andadopting the agenda of communities, including public theology’s calling on churches toactively participate in rational and plausible public discourses, can assist the AIC to respondeffectively to the challenge of poverty in Kenya.

scholarly journals Prophetic witness and public discourse in European societies – a German perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
Pluralistic Societies ◽  
Prophetic Witness ◽  
The Church

The role of prophetic witness of the churches in the public discourse of modern civil societies is analysed on the basis of three public memorandums of the German Protestant churches on economic questions and their impact on the public. Among the ten systematic conclusions which are drawn from this case study is the importance of the specific context for the role of prophetic statements. The article tries to show how prophetic witness is a necessary element of a public theology, which is not based on fundamental criticism, but develops both critical and constructive perspectives for politics and society. If such public theology is liberation theology for a democratic society it is the task of the church to get involved in the public debate in a ‘bilingual’ way, that is, on the basis of its biblical-theological sources but at the same time with the ability to engage in the secular language of pluralistic societies.

Building the Church and Missionizing in a ‘Religiously Indifferent’ Country: Korean Protestant Churches in Czechia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-335
Author(s):  
Andrea Beláňová ◽  
Tomáš Havlíček ◽  
Kamila Klingorová ◽  
Zdeněk Vojtíšek
Keyword(s):  
Religious Faith ◽  
New Members ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Main Barrier ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Mixed Types ◽  
The Church

Czechia could be labeled as country of an indifferent approach to religious ideas, as religious faith is considered a private issue, and the role of religion in the public sphere is low. This article summarizes the first attempt to research Korean Protestant churches active in current Czechia. A total of fourteen churches is briefly overviewed stating that the churches are not successful in gaining new members throughout the Czech population. Also, a clear distinction cannot be drawn between diaspora and missionary churches, but rather mixed types can be observed. The findings show that the churches do not accommodate their mission strategies according to the religiously indifferent milieu in Czechia, mostly because the missionaries are not aware of this situation. Moreover, language is identified as the main barrier in communication. We conclude by stating that this topic is poorly understudied and difficult to follow due to its dynamic yet closed nature.

Doing Theology: Engaging the Public

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Elliot
Keyword(s):  
Public Theology ◽  
Church Of Scotland ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
The Church

AbstractThis article examines the characteristics of some of the contexts in which public theology is done. Examples are taken from Scotland and particularly the experience of representatives of the Church of Scotland. Three publics are identified as target audiences: an institutional public in which official positions are debated and defended; a constructed public in which theological understanding is developed in the company of others; and a personal public which characterizes some forms of broadcasting. Discourse in each public has different characteristics, drawing on distinctive theological assumptions about church and faith. The article examines how public theology can draw strength from practice in each context.

Religion in the Public Sphere—with Dietrich Bonhoeffer towards a Renewed Understanding of ‘the Two Kingdoms’

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-288
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Two Kingdoms ◽  
The Church

In this article Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s critical reception of the Lutheran doctrine of the two kingdoms is related to the discussion about religion and politics in liberal democracies. Bonhoeffer experienced not only how the church isolated itself from the political sphere—by a ‘pseudo-Lutheran’ doctrine of the two kingdoms—but also how the church was politicized and abused by Deutsche Christen. His theological thinking is therefore a helpful starting point to formulate a theology which is politically relevant without being transformed into politics. Against the background of Bonhoeffer’s theology an argument is advanced that a renewed understanding of the two kingdoms assists the church in being focused on the Gospel, at the same time as it can also give the church instruments to be present in the public sphere with well-defined pretensions, which clarifies whether the assertions of the church are based on revelation or on public reason.

scholarly journals Pastoral Letters and the Church in the public square: An assessment of the role of Pastoral Letters in influencing democratic processes in Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qeko Jere ◽  
Vhumani Magezi
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Church History ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Pastoral Letters ◽  
The Voice ◽  
The Church

The contributory role Pastoral Letters play in Malawi’s democracy cannot be underestimated. Historically, Pastoral Letters have been the voice of the Malawian people, and these have forced authorities to accommodate social and political reforms. From colonialism, federations and independence to the birth and consolidation of democracy, Pastoral Letters have been issued by the Church to State authority demanding political change and improvement in governance issues. For instance, Pastoral Letters issued by the Church put pressure on the British to end colonialism in Malawi, and in 1992, Pastoral Letters hugely contributed to the dismantling of Dr Kamuzu Banda’s, and the Malawi Congress Party’s, three-decade autocratic rule. Even in the multiparty dispensation, which was ushered in during 1994, Pastoral Letters have provided checks and balances to government in the consolidation of democracy. Thus, Pastoral Letters represent the voice of the voiceless in every political dispensation. The article is informed by the Pauline Pastoral Letters’ conceptual framework. The main argument governing this article is that unless there is continuity in the issuing of Pastoral Letters by the Church in addressing specific challenges within a democracy, sustainability of democratic value will always be compromised and not realised.Interdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This is an interdisciplinary article that touches on practical and public theology focusing on Church history and polity in assessing the role of Pastoral Letters in influencing the sustainability of democratic processes in a public square. The article contributes to a wider debate on the role the Church’s Pastoral Letters play in determining the sociopolitical landscape in Malawi. However, this is the only article written from a Pauline Pastoral Letters’ conceptual framework.

scholarly journals Probing the “global Reformed Christ” of Nico Koopman: An African-Kairos perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Urbaniak
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Black African ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The Church

This study seeks to probe Nico Koopman’s Christological approach through the lens of the theological framework spelled out in the Kairos Document (1985), and in particular its understandings of church theology and prophetic theology, critically re-appropriated in the current socioeconomic context of South Africa. Four essential aspects of Koopman’s Christological perspective are examined: (1) the Reformed view of the lordship of Christ as the basis for the public vocation of theology; (2) Trinitarian and Christological foundations of human dignity; (3) Jesus as the epitome of divine and human vulnerability, and (4) the organic connection between the threefold office of Christ and the public calling of the church. In conclusion, I argue that Koopman’s Christ, albeit displaying an African veneer, upon scrutiny, appears to be unfamiliar with and unconcerned about the problems faced by most South Africans today, and thereby fails to constructively engage with African (especially black African) contexts of our day. This is due to four major factors, namely (a) Koopman’s choices regarding theological references; (b) his cursory and un-nuanced treatment of African theological notions; (c) his a-pathetic mode of theologising; and (d) his inability (or lack of willingness) to engage with structural (especially macro-economic) issues. I further suggest that my conclusions concerning Koopman’s “global Reformed Christ” may be (at least tentatively) extrapolated into a number of approaches developed by South African theologians under the umbrella of “public theology”. I also point to some promising (prophetically-loaded) insights coming from the chosen public theologians, including Koopman himself, as a way of illustrating the tension between civic spirit and public anger, inherent in this mode of theologising.

Models of Public Theology

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eneida Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Religious Discourse ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Universal Model ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Contextual Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Action Models ◽  
The Church ◽  
Accessible Form

Abstract In this article, different models of public theology are characterized according to the reasons given for the importance of and need for a public theology (foundational models) and the ways proposed for its realization (action models). There are three emphases of identified foundations: the first understands public theology as a task driven by God (model of disclosure); the second anchors the need for public theology in religious questions that affect all of humanity (universal model); the third bases itself on the finding of the public presence of religious discourse in contemporary society (factual model). With regards to the prospects for action, three principal ways are identified, which affirm the possibility of the publicization of theology: addressing different audiences, such as the academy and the church (model of the audience); articulating itself through a style and an accessible form of argument (apologetic model); addressing contextual challenges (contextual model).

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