Alistair Kee - Böcker

Nietzsche dismantled the Christian religion, which he regarded as an obstacle to life, and committed himself with passion to his philosophical faith. This new study gives proper attention to the deeply religious aspects of Nietzsche's life and thought.

Black Theology emerged in the 1960s as a response to black consciousness. In South Africa, it is a critique of power; in the UK it is a political theology of black culture. The dominant form of Black Theology has been in the USA, originally influenced by Black Power and the critique of white racism. Since then, it claims to have broadened its perspective to include oppression on the grounds of race, gender and class. In this book, Alistair Kee contests this claim, arguing that Black and Womanist Theologies present inadequate analysis of race and gender and no account at all of class or economic oppression.With a few notable exceptions, Black Theology in the USA repeats the mantras of the 1970s, the discourse of modernity. Content with American capitalism, it fails to address the source of the impoverishment of black Americans at home. Content with a romantic image of Africa, this 'African-American' movement fails to defend contemporary Africa against predatory American global ambitions. Blacks in the West, Kee claims here, are no longer the victims; they are the voters and consumers who should be able to influence western governments - the American government in particular - into changing policies towards Africa in particular and the third world in general. This book does not argue that Black theologians should give up, but that they should move on, for the sake of the black poor in America, the black poor in Africa and the third world. The failure of Black theologians to do so is a cause for concern beyond the circle of practitioners of Black theology.

This is the first book to show how Latin American liberation theology can be applied to and can transform pastoral care in countries such as Britain and the USA. Hitherto pastoral care has tended to concentrate on looking after individuals. Stephen Pattison suggests that much of the suffering endured by individuals is actually socially and politically caused, and so is avoidable if the appropriate action is taken. The author argues that what we now require is a socio-politically aware and committed pastoral care which makes an option for oppressed and poor people and engages in practical struggle against the forces of injustice and oppression. Focussing as it does especially on mentally ill people and on women, the book will be of interest to all those who want to broaden their vision and knowledge of liberation theology or pastoral care, whether theologians, pastors, students for ministry, members of caring professions, or users of the services they provide.

The changing situation in South Africa and eastern Europe prompts Charles Villa-Vicencio to investigate the implications of transforming liberation theology into a theology of reconstruction and nation-building. Such a transformation, he argues, requires theology to become an unambiguously inter-disciplinary study. This book explores the encounter between theology, on the one hand, and constitutional writing, law-making, human rights, economics, and the freedom of conscience on the other. Locating his discussion in the context of the South African struggle, the author compares this situation to that in eastern Europe, and the challenge of what is happening in these situations is identified for contexts where 'the empire has not yet crumbled'.

In this book a leading contemporary theologian investigates the relation between religion and society. Professor Davis begins with the thesis that society is a product of human agency; this raises immediately the questions of the meaning of modernity and of the function of religion in that context. The linguistic and pragmatic orientation of modern philosophy and social theory lead to a discussion of religious language and of praxis.Whether modernity is an incomplete project, as Habermas would have it, or a mistaken universalism, as the post-moderns maintain, is debated under the heading of human identity, both individual and collective, and in an examination of the formation of the modern self. The practical relevance of the theoretical analyses comes to the fore in a critique of Michael Novak's attempt to make 'democratic capitalism' an ideal. Professor Davis shows that, paradoxically, the post-modern rejection of secularity can be interpreted as a return from the secular to the supernatural.

In the western Christian tradition, the mystic was seen as having direct access to God, and therefore great authority. In this study, Dr Jantzen discusses how men of power defined and controlled who should count as a mystic, and thus who would have power: women were pointedly excluded. This makes her book of special interest to those in gender studies and medieval history. Its main argument, however, is philosophical. Because the mystical has gone through many social constructions, the modern philosophical assumption that mysticism is essentially about intense subjective experiences is misguided. This view is historically inaccurate, and perpetuates the same gendered struggle for authority which characterises the history of western christendom. This book is the first on the subject to take issues of gender seriously, and to use these as a point of entry for a deconstructive approach to Christian mysticism.

This study examines the role of Christianity in Liberia under the corrupt rule of Samuel K. Doe (1980-90). Paul Gifford illustrates the relationship between mainline, evangelical, new Pentecostal and independent churches, and notes the strengths and weaknesses of each. He shows that, in general, Liberian Christianity - far from being a force for justice and human advancement - diverted attention from the causes of Liberia's ills, left change to God's miraculous intervention, encouraged obedience and acceptance of the status quo, and thus served to entrench Doe's power. In so doing, this Christianity, devised in the USA and promoted largely by American missionaries, helped to further the regional economic and political objectives of the US government which was committed to supporting Doe. The Lberian example is used to illustrate the difference between the kinds of Christianity to be found in Africa and in Latin America.

This 1996 book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies. Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called 'satisfaction theory' of atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. Drawing on the work of Norbert Elias and David Garland, the author argues that atonement theology created a structure of affect which favoured retributive policies. He ranges freely between Old Testament texts, St Anselm, and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British social history, to show the integral connection between sin and crime, the legal and the moral. The question arises if the preaching of the cross not only desensitised us to judicial violence but even lent it sanction. The last two chapters review theory and practice in the twentieth century, and Timothy Gorringe makes concrete proposals for both theology and criminal and societal violence.

Disagreements about justice are not simply academic matters. They create problems for practice and for policy-making. In a morally fragmented society in which 'nobody knows what justice is' issues such as wages policy, punishment and poverty become particularly difficult to handle. People striving to act justly are often uncertain how this might be done. Secular theories such as those of Rowls, Hayek, Habermas and modern feminist theorists, examined here, give some guidance for problems of justice that arise on the ground, but have serious limitations. This book argues that Christian theology, although it can no longer claim to provide a comprehensive theory of justice, can provide insights into justice - 'theological fragments' - which give illumination, challenge some aspects of the conventional wisdom, and contribute to the building of just communities in which people may flourish in mutuality and hope.

This 1996 book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies. Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called 'satisfaction theory' of atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. Drawing on the work of Norbert Elias and David Garland, the author argues that atonement theology created a structure of affect which favoured retributive policies. He ranges freely between Old Testament texts, St Anselm, and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British social history, to show the integral connection between sin and crime, the legal and the moral. The question arises if the preaching of the cross not only desensitised us to judicial violence but even lent it sanction. The last two chapters review theory and practice in the twentieth century, and Timothy Gorringe makes concrete proposals for both theology and criminal and societal violence.

Black Theology emerged in the 1960s as a response to black consciousness. In South Africa it is a critique of power; in the UK it is a political theology of black culture. The dominant form of Black Theology has been in the USA, originally influenced by Black Power and the critique of white racism. Since then it claims to have broadened its perspective to include oppression on the grounds of race, gender and class. In this book the author contests this claim, especially by Womanist (black women) Theology. Black and Womanist Theologies present inadequate analyses of race and gender and no account at all of class (economic) oppression. With a few notable exceptions Black Theology in the USA repeats the mantras of the 1970s, the discourse of modernity. Content with American capitalism it fails to address the source of the impoverishment of black Americans at home. Content with a romantic imaginaire of Africa, this 'African-American' movement fails to defend contemporary Africa against predatory American global ambitions.

Black Theology emerged in the 1960s as a response to black consciousness. In South Africa it is a critique of power; in the UK it is a political theology of black culture. The dominant form of Black Theology has been in the USA, originally influenced by Black Power and the critique of white racism. Since then it claims to have broadened its perspective to include oppression on the grounds of race, gender and class. In this book the author contests this claim, especially by Womanist (black women) Theology. Black and Womanist Theologies present inadequate analyses of race and gender and no account at all of class (economic) oppression. With a few notable exceptions Black Theology in the USA repeats the mantras of the 1970s, the discourse of modernity. Content with American capitalism it fails to address the source of the impoverishment of black Americans at home. Content with a romantic imaginaire of Africa, this 'African-American' movement fails to defend contemporary Africa against predatory American global ambitions.