Theology in a new key : responding to liberation themes / Robert McAfee Brown.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Robert McAfee, 1920-2001.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and justice.

Mission of the church.

Liberation theology.

Physical Description:

212 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Westminster Press, [1978]

Summary:

"I do not think there are any issues on the theological and human scene more important than the ones liberation theologians are raising," says this author. In this book he explores how we can respond to them without condescension, arrogance, or co-optation. He surveys in detail the kind of challenges to North American Christians issued by South American theologians. He then calls upon the church to work to make itself what it ought to be and to take sides politically in support of human rights.

The lengthy annotated bibliography cites the major works in liberation from Latin America, along with responses from elsewhere that speak to the condition of North Americans.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Established Harmonies: A Diminished Seventh in Need of Resolution (The Possibility of a New Direction) 19

Established Harmonies 20

The Diminished Seventh 22

Resolving the Diminished Seventh 23

Continuity or Discontinuity? 26

Entertaining the Notion of a New Key: A Roman Catholic Journey 27

Anticipations of a New Key: A Protestant/Orthodox Journey 35

The Possibility of Attentiveness to Theology in a New Key 48

Chapter 2 A Challenge to the Established Harmonies: "The View from Below" (Liberation as a New/Old Note) 50

A Geographical Historical Excursion: From Medellin 1968 to Santiago 1972 52

Characteristics of "The View from Below" 60

1. A Different Starting Point: The Poor 60

2. A Different Interlocutor: The Nonperson 62

3. A Different Set of Tools: The Social Sciences 64

4. A Different Analysis: The Reality of Conflict 67

5. A Different Mode of Engagement: Praxis 70

6. A Different Theology: The "Second Act" 72

A Note Still to Be Sounded 74

Chapter 3 The Melodic Stridency of Scripture: Marx, Luke, and John (From a Hermeneutic of Suspicion to a Hermeneutic of Engagement) 75

The Beneficial Effects of Stridency 76

Recognizing Our "Ideological Captivity" 77

"Hermeneutical Suspicion" 80

"Hermeneutical Circulation" 85

A Hermeneutic of Hope 88

1. The God Who Takes Sides 88

2. "To Know God Is to Do Justice" 90

3. The True Worship 92

4. Liberty to the Oppressed 94

5. The Judgment of the Nations 95

A Hermeneutic of Engagement 97

Chapter 4 Chords of Discord: A Twelve-Tone Scale of Sorts (A Critique of Critiques: Pros and Cons, Sharps and Flats) 101

An Eightfold Sequence of Critiques 102

1. Defensive Critiques 103

2. Total Rejection Critiques 104

3. Oversimplified Critiques 106

4. Pseudo-Issue Critiques 110

5. Reductionist Critiques 114

6. Methodological Critiques 118

7. Co-optation Critiques 123

8. Dialogical Critiques 127

From Critiques to Creative Appropriation 131

Chapter 5 "How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land?": Discovering the Word of God for Us (What Can We Learn from Elsewhere for Our Situation?) 132

Rehearing "the Lord's Song"

A Threat and a Challenge 133

Resinging Our Own Song

A More Ample Orchestration 135

Rewriting Our Christian Song

Attention to Neglected Themes 138

Redirecting Our North American Song

A New Kind of National Anthem 143

Reorganizing Our Chorus

A Search for New Alliances 146

Chapter 6 Two Cheers for the Church: A Not-Quite Hallelujah Chorus (Is There Still a Role for the Church?) 155

Scenarios for the Future 156

Images for the Future 158

1. The Remnant Within the Remnant 158

2. The Abrahamic Minority 160

3. The Freedom of the Anti-Chameleon 161

Beyond Sloganeering: Can We Enter Into "Solidarity with the Oppressed"? 162

1. Denunciation and Annunciation 163

2. Acts of Solidarity Within the Community 165

3. Hearing the Voice of the Voiceless 172

4. Taking Sides ... Politically 175

5. A Theology of "Letting Go" 179

Two Cheers for the Church 182

First Cheer: Liturgy Can Be Enabling 182

Second Cheer: The Global Family Already Exists 186

The Last Word: The Primacy of Act 187.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages 199-208.

ISBN:

0664242049

OCLC:

3844566