When evil strikes : faith and the politics of human hostility / Sunday Bobai Agang ; foreword by Ronald J. Sider.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Agang, Sunday Bobai, author.

Series:

African Christian studies series ; 10.

African Christian studies series ; 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Good and evil--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Good and evil.

Violence--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Violence.

Peace--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Peace.

Conflict management--Nigeria.

Conflict management.

Nigeria.

Reconciliation.

Physical Description:

xxix, 268 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Eugene, Oregon : Pickwick Publications, [2016]

Summary:

Human hostility is not the narrative of a selected few. Since the fall of the grandparents of the human family, Adam and Eve, all humans have continued to participate in the reality of evil. Accordingly, the question is no longer whether evil will strike, but rather, when evil strikes, how should humans, particularly Christians, respond to it? This book offers a relevant and effective theology and ethics for addressing the issue of Christian response to violence in Nigeria and beyond. It situates the whole gamut of the reign of human hostility in its various manifestations: self-interest and greed for power, deception and social injustices, governmental official corruption, terrorism and so on. It encourages humans to take seriously both the fact of God creating humans good and the Fall serving as the gateway of evil into the human race. It recognizes the complexity of human problems. Yet it offers possibility for just peacemaking. In spite of the horrific violence across the globe, humans are still able to do tremendous good. Thus the book recognizes the paradox of humanity: humans are capable of doing tremendous good and equally capable of doing tremendous evil. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1. Unmaking the truth. Whose view of human hostility matters?

How evil entered the human race: the Bible and human history

Why peace eludes Nigerians

Religious fragility and failing symbiotic interactions

Classical Christian approaches to violence

Christian nonviolent just self-defense

The contemporary quest for self-defense

Part 2. Unmasking falsehood. The suffering servant in Isaiah and the African people

Tribes, tribalism, and the Christian faith

How to handle our destroyers

Creative models of just peacemaking in Nigeria

Part 3. Unmasking the mission of the church. The mission of the church distracted

The church's missions and the public arena

Restorative justice and insurgency

Violence and Christian eschatology

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-266).

ISBN:

9781498235686

1498235689

9781498235662

1498235662

OCLC:

951713104