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Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy
In Christ and the Common Life Luke Bretherton provides an introduction to historical and contemporary theological reflection on politics and opens up a compelling vision for a Christian commitment to democracy.
In dialogue with Scripture and various traditions, Bretherton examines the dynamic relationship between who we are in relation to God and who we are as moral and political animals. He addresses fundamental political questions about poverty and injustice, forming a common life with strangers, and handling power constructively. And through his analysis of debates concerning, among other things, race, class, economics, the environment, and interfaith relations, he develops an innovative political theology of democracy as a way through which Christians can speak and act faithfully within our current context.
Read as a whole, or as stand-alone chapters, the book guides readers through the political landscape and identifies the primary vocabulary, ideas, and schools of thought that shape Christian reflection on politics in the West. Ideal for the classroom, Christ and the Common Life equips students to understand politics and its positive and negative role in fostering neighbor love.
In dialogue with Scripture and various traditions, Bretherton examines the dynamic relationship between who we are in relation to God and who we are as moral and political animals. He addresses fundamental political questions about poverty and injustice, forming a common life with strangers, and handling power constructively. And through his analysis of debates concerning, among other things, race, class, economics, the environment, and interfaith relations, he develops an innovative political theology of democracy as a way through which Christians can speak and act faithfully within our current context.
Read as a whole, or as stand-alone chapters, the book guides readers through the political landscape and identifies the primary vocabulary, ideas, and schools of thought that shape Christian reflection on politics in the West. Ideal for the classroom, Christ and the Common Life equips students to understand politics and its positive and negative role in fostering neighbor love.
480 pages, Hardcover
Published May 7, 2019
About the author
Luke Bretherton
11 books5 followersLuke Bretherton is professor of theological ethics and senior fellow of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Before joining the Duke faculty, he was reader in Theology & Politics and convener of the Faith & Public Policy Forum at King's College London. He has worked with a variety of faith-based NGOs, mission agencies, and churches around the world, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 5, 2022
Book of the year, though I suppose there's still time for that to be challenged. If you want a deep/comprehensive dive into political theology, Luke Bretherton is your guy. If I have even 5% of the intellectual capacity this man has by the time I die, I will be sitting pretty. Amen.
May 5, 2022
a tour de force.
September 1, 2021
Outstanding work of readable scholarship. I have already used it in my teaching in a master's level christian ethics class on political thought. Asks so many good questions, offers flexibility and new insight into some very calcified places. In other words, what Christian scholarship does best. A book that serves with its wisdom and palpable grace.
July 24, 2021
I was attracted to this book because… I have an underlying draw to what is best for the common good. I was intrigued by Luke’s bringing this together from a Scriptural and institutional perspective. I also saw it as a research tool for a project I am working on.
This book was about…Bretherton shows how we join our relationship/responsibilities to God and our relationship/responsibilities as neighbors and citizens.
Things I liked about this book…One of Bretherton’s early assumptions is the more we understand the relationship between our spiritual and political life the deeper we well understand what it means to be the church and a witness in the community.
Why you should read this book…So often, we think we need to separate our secular and spiritual lives. This book should our responsibility to live our spiritual lives for the common good of our secular world.
This book lived up to the back cover copy … The four reviews on the back cover do give you an accurate view of the book.
Luke Bretherton
This book was about…Bretherton shows how we join our relationship/responsibilities to God and our relationship/responsibilities as neighbors and citizens.
Things I liked about this book…One of Bretherton’s early assumptions is the more we understand the relationship between our spiritual and political life the deeper we well understand what it means to be the church and a witness in the community.
Why you should read this book…So often, we think we need to separate our secular and spiritual lives. This book should our responsibility to live our spiritual lives for the common good of our secular world.
This book lived up to the back cover copy … The four reviews on the back cover do give you an accurate view of the book.
Luke Bretherton
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews