Read more
People worldwide find themselves part of overlapping communities of identity and belonging--racial, political, cultural, sexual, ideological. Some identities, like brand loyalties, are chosen; some, like class identity, are imposed.
As followers of Jesus Christ, those called to live iln between the age that is and the age to come, Christians ask what it means to be part of the body of Christ, God's new creation from among the nations, in a world filled with other nations. "Who--and whose--are we?" There is no easy answer, no time at which Christians got it completely right. Yet such questions must be addressed, and the stakes are high. Matters of war and peace, exclusion and inclusion, who starves and who does not, the credibility of the gospel itself--all are caught up in the whirl of identities, allegiances imposed or refused, and questions about what "the church" might possibly mean in such circumstances.
In this book, a distinguished group of scholars from five continents asks, "How can the church respect the diversity of its members--many nations, cultures, and communities--while maintaining a coherent witness to the kingdom of God that is not undermined by more parochial ideologies or priorities?"
Chapter Contributors:
Braden Anderson
Maria Clara Lucchetti Bingemer
Michael Budde
Matthew Butler
William Cavanaugh
Jose Mario Francisco
Peter Galadza
Stanley Hauerwas
Daniel Izuzquiza
Slavica Jakelic
Pantelis Kalaitzidis
Eunice Karanja Kamaara
Emmanuel Katongole
Dorian Llywelyn
Martin Menke
Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator
A. Alexander Stummvoll
About the author
Michael L. Budde is Chair and Professor of Catholic Studies and Professor of Political Science at DePaul University, where he is also Senior Research Professor in the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology. He is the author of numerous books on ecclesiology, political economy, and culture, including
The Borders of Baptism: Identities, Allegiances, and the Church (2011) and the edited volume
Witness of the Body: The Past, Present, and Future of Christian Martyrdom (2011).
