Leaving Christendom for Good argues that the solution to some of the most troubling tensions in the life of the Catholic Church since Vatican II can be found in the council's document Gaudium et spes. This text's view of the church's mission and social relationships as dialogical has the capacity to liberate. Part One studies the contemporary place of religion-with particular reference to Charles Taylor's groundbreaking work, A Secular Age-and examines Gaudium et spes's dialogical view of the church-world relationship. Part Two explores what true dialogue entails and how it is best understood theologically, engaging critically with Joseph Ratzinger's view of the church-world relationship. The book's final chapter considers two practical implications of its argument: how evangelization can be best understood today, and how the church can best approach issues in the public sphere.

Globalization may be the most hotly debated issue surrounding poverty. The benefits and costs of global economic integration are critical and complex. Is a globalized, free-market economy part of the solution to economic injustice or part of the problem? Are the international monetary systems pursuing policies that will reduce poverty or are they serving the interests of the wealthy? What do pro-poor policy reforms look like in the areas of trade and foreign investment? What kinds of immigration restrictions or reforms are consistent with the Christian faith? Should development aid be awarded only to well-governed, democratic countries? Would unrestrained economic growth imply environmental destruction? Economic Justice assembles leading economists to debate these and other issues surrounding globalization's effects on the poor. Writers urge an informed church to help identify the essentials of a Christian perspective on the societal, environmental and economic implications of globalization and to live accordingly.

These collected essays examine the roles of women in their churches and communities, the implication of those roles for African American culture, and the tensions and stereotypes that shape societal responses to these roles. Gilkes examines the ways black women and their experience shape the culture and consciousness of the black religious experience, and reflects on some of the crises and conflicts that attend this experience.

This is a major contribution to scholarly debates on the chronology and nature of secularization in modern Britain. Combining historical and social scientific insights, it analyses a range of statistical evidence for the 'long 1950s', testing (and largely rejecting) Callum Brown's claims that there was a religious resurgence during this period.

Although seen widely as the 20th century's great religious war, as a conflict between the god-fearing and the godless, the religious dimension of the Cold War has never been subjected to a scholarly critique. This unique study shows why religion is a key Cold War variable. A specially commissioned collection of new scholarship, it provides fresh insights into the complex nature of the Cold War. It has profound resonance today with the resurgence of religion as a political force in global society.

This book gathers the voices of four local Hong Kong theologians to reflect on the 2014 democracy protests in the city from the perspectives of Catholic social teaching, feminist and queer intersectionality, Protestant liberation, and textual exegesis. The volume also includes an extended primer on Hong Kong politics to aid readers as they reflect on the theology underlying the democracy protests. September 28, 2014 is known as the day that political consciousness in Hong Kong began to shift. As police fired eighty-seven volleys of tear gas at protesters demanding "genuine universal suffrage" in Hong Kong, the movement (termed the "Umbrella Movement") ignited a polarizing set of debates over civil disobedience, government collusion with private interests, and democracy. The Umbrella Movement was also a theological watershed moment, a time for religious reflection. This book analyzes the role that religion played in shaping the course of this historic movement.

"Scant decades ago most Westerners agreed that . . . Lifelong monogamy was ideal . . . Mothers should stay home with children . . . premarital sex was to be discouraged . . . Heterosexuality was the unquestioned norm . . . popular culture should not corrupt children. Today not a single one of these expectations is uncontroversial." So writes Rodney Clapp in assessing the status of the family in postmodern Western society. In response many evangelicals have been quick to defend the so-called traditional family, assuming that it exemplifies the biblical model. Clapp challenges that assumption, arguing that the "traditional" family is a reflection more of the nineteenth-century middle-class family than of any family one can find in Scripture. At the same time, he recognizes that many modern and postmodern options are not acceptable to Christians. Returning to the biblical story afresh to see what it might say to us in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Clapp articulates a challenge to both sides of a critical debate. A book to help us rethink the significance of the family for the next century.

Most books on spiritual formation focus on the individual. But spiritual formation is at the heart of the church's whole purpose for existence. It must be a central task for the church to carry out Christ's mission in the world. This book offers an introduction to spiritual formation set squarely in the local church. The first edition has been well received and widely used as a textbook. The second edition has been updated throughout, incorporates findings from positive psychology, and reflects an Augustinian formation perspective. Foreword by Dallas Willard.

A true tearful story of how much God loves us and how deep His providence is. The English Translation of the Handong Global University's Story that made 200+ thousand readers cry.

In this book Peter Sedgwick explores the relation of a theology of justice to that of human identity in the context of the market economy. He focuses on three main themes: how the market economy shapes personal identity, through consumption and the experience of paid employment in relation to the work ethic; the impact of the global economy on local cultures; and the effects of technology and global competition on poverty. Sedgwick recommends that the churches remain part of the debate in reforming and humanising the market economy.

Dealing with sexual abuse is painful, especially when it involves a child you care about.

And when it happens in church families, we all bear the pain and need help in knowing how to respond. We ask, should we talk about this or keep it secret to protect those involved? When it becomes known, what people or programs are available to assist? When is therapy needed, and how can the right counselor be found? Does healing really occur, and if so, when and how can we expect it? How do we handle the theological questions the crisis raises? And what should our church be doing?

Dr. Tim Kearney has seen and felt such pain. In this warm and hopeful book he shows how the healing touch of God can come, frequently through God's people in the Christian community.

Here is help with
-- recognizing the symptoms
-- how to handle disclosure
-- understanding the systems that respond to abuse
-- the "Why did God let this happen?" question
-- how a church can become abuse-aware
-- caring for caregivers as well as for the child