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Confederate monuments figure prominently as epicenters of social
conflict. These stone and metal constructs resonate with the
tensions of modern America, giving concrete definition to the
ideologies that divide us. Confederate monuments alone did not
generate these feelings of aggravation, but they are far from
innocent. Rather than serving as neutral objects of public
remembrance, Confederate monuments articulate a narration of the
past that forms the basis for a normative vision of the future. The
story, told through the character of a religious mythos, carries
implicit sacred convictions; thus, these spires and statues are
inherently theological . In Cut in Stone , Ryan Andrew Newson
contends that we cannot fully understand or disrupt these statues
without attending to the convictions that give them their power.
With a careful overview of the historical contexts in which most
Confederate monuments were constructed, Newson demonstrates that
these "memorials" were part of a revisionary project intended to
resist the social changes brought on by Reconstruction while
maintaining a romanticized Southern identity. Confederate monuments
thus reinforce a theology concerning the nature of sacrifice and
the ultimacy of whiteness. Moreover, this underlying theology
serves to conceal inherited collective wounds in the present. If
Confederate monuments are theologically weighted in their allure,
then it stands to reason that they must also be contested at this
levelaprecisely as sacred symbols. Newson responds to these
inherently theological objects with suggestions for action that are
sensitive to the varying contexts within which monuments reside,
showing that while all Confederate monuments must come under
scrutiny, some monuments should remain standing, but in redefined
contexts. Cut in Stone represents the first detailed theological
investigation of Confederate monuments, a resource for the larger
collective task of determining how to memorialize problematic pasts
and how to shape public space amidst contested memory.
I have come not to bring peace, but a sword." These words of Christ
echo in our current times. In recent years, a growing number
of commentators have decried a lack of civility in
public discourse. Considered in isolation this concern is
innocent enough, but no call for civility happens in a
vacuum, and there is good reason to be suspicious of civility
in our current political context. Calls for civility can
encourage passivity and blunt prophetic action
against injustice; further, truly heinous policies can
be pursued under the guise of civility. And yet
civility should not be dismissed outright, especially
as presented by its more nuanced defenders--when it
is presented as a limited good in a pluralist society.In The
End of Civility, Ryan Andrew Newson analyzes the development of the
concept of "civility" as we know it in modern discourse and names
some of the criteria Christians can use to judge between healthy
and toxic appeals to civility. The challenge, Newson
contends, is discerning when civility is called for and when
its pursuit becomes vicious. Pleas for civility cannot
be assessed without considering the context in which they are
made. Some appeals to civility merely seek to lessen
conflict, even conflict necessary in the struggle for a more
just world. But when issued by people struggling for
justice on the margins of society, calls for civility
can name the types of conflict that might lead to liberation.
One must be attentive to what counts as "civil" in the first
place and who gets to make that determination. Which bodies are
considered civil and "ordered," and which people are under
suspicion of being "uncivil" before they ever say a word?
For Christians, civility can never be an ultimate good but
remains subordinate to the call to follow Christ--in
particular, the Christ who is not always "civil"Â but who
calls people to an ethic of resistance to injustice and
solidarity with people who are suffering.
James Wm. McClendon, Jr. (1924-2000) was the most important
""baptist"" theologian of the twentieth century. McClendon crafted
a systematic theology that grew out of the immediacy of preaching
the text, refused to succumb to the pressures of individualism, and
lamented the stunted public witness of a fractured Protestant
ecclesiology. This third and final volume of his Collected Works
provides a compendium of McClendon's sermons - examples of what he
called ""first-order"" theology in action. While McClendon was
predominantly known as a philosophical theologian, he persisted in
the belief that the theology that mattered most occurred in
ordinary congregations seeking to bear faithful witness in the
world. The sermons in this collection - many rarely seen and never
before published - provide an important window into McClendon's own
theology and witness to his convictions about theology's purpose
and end. This third volume serves as an invaluable resource for
ministers, students, and theologians who seek a fuller
understanding of McClendon's ""baptist"" theology.
James Wm. McClendon, Jr. was the most important "baptist"
theologian of the twentieth century. McClendon crafted a systematic
theology that refused to succumb to the pressures of individualism,
grew out of the immediacy of preaching the text, and lamented the
stunted public witness of a fractured Protestant
ecclesiology.
This two-volume set mixes previously unpublished and published
lectures and essays with rare and little known works to form a
representative collection of the essential themes of McClendon's
work. The first volume focuses on the philosophical and theological
shifts leading to McClendon's articulation of the baptist vision.
The second volume specifically elucidates the more philosophical
themes that informed McClendon's work, including ways in which
these themes had immediate theological import. Taken together, the
set provides the most comprehensive presentation of McClendon's
work now available, revealing the sustained and systematic
character of his vision over the course of his life. These two
volumes will provide scholars, preachers, and students with
McClendon's radical, narrative, and connective theology.
In a society that is increasingly marked by apathy, division, and
moral incompetence, how might Christians set about working with
others in such a way as to begin to address those challenges that
seem to overwhelm our capacity to respond? In Radical Friendship,
Ryan Newson argues that the often-neglected practice of communal
discernment provides a path to faithful political engagement that
is worthy of reconsideration, especially given its ability to
create authentic friendships both within and beyond the church.
Such friendships, Newson maintains, are capable of fostering a type
of competence in people who engage the practice that can counteract
those social, political forces that are antithetical to
competence's formation.Uniquely, Newson explores the contours of
communal discernment as a practice that is especially relevant to
Christians seeking radical democratic alternatives to political
liberalism. Communal discernment is shown to be capable of
generating conscientious participation in grassroots politics;
additionally, this practice enables Christians to enjoy reciprocal,
discerning relationships with people of differing convictional
communities. Indeed, communal discernment turns out to be capable
of preparing Christians to recognize and celebrate analogues to the
practice in the world at large.
It is now widely acknowledged that the Western world has been
transitioning into a ""postmodern"" context for some time. Many, if
not most, of the commitments that gained ascendancy during the
Enlightenment are rapidly changing-including but not limited to our
cultural sensibilities, manufacturing practices, philosophical
theories, and political forms. Given these shifts, the challenge
for Christians of all stripes is to strive to faithfully engage
this world without acquiescence or retreat. In Inhabiting the
World, Ryan Newson argues that resources contained in the ""baptist
vision"" of Christian life are uniquely helpful in describing how
Christians might transformatively and receptively inhabit the world
as it now is. Newson unpacks the contours of a Christian identity
centered around listening-to oneself, to others, and to the wild
voice of God-and focuses his argument by engaging the work of
theologian James Wm. McClendon, Jr. No mere ""report"" on
McClendon's thought, however, Newson pushes back on and creatively
extends McClendon's work, including into the fields of
neuroscience, political theology, church practices, and ecclesial
failure. Crucially, Newson's concern is less with what this
tradition has always said and more with what we should say moving
forward, outlining a positive vision that goes beyond merely saying
what we are against. Altogether, he unpacks what a radical Baptist
identity for today might look like while seeking to avoid many of
the dead ends and false starts often associated with this
tradition.
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