Michael Battle – författare

Leading contemporary theologians and scholars present essays on the themes of liberation and reconciliation in tribute to J. Deotis Roberts. The essays are divided into the following sections: Theological Reflection, Faith in Dialogue, and Shaping the Practice of Ministry. The compilation presents an interesting array of perspectives on the ways in which Christian theology, ethics, and ministry are involved in the quests for liberation and reconciliation in North America and the rest of the world.

Much of the literature on the book of Revelation paints a frightening apocalyptic vision of the end times. Michael Battle offers an alternative look at Revelation in this new work, seeing it instead as a hopeful call to bring heaven on earth. Battle explores the problematic imagery found in Revelation before showing how similar problems play out in our contemporary world. Battle sees Revelation as a guide that shows us that we can live out God's call for heaven on earth by living in community with one another, as exhibited through the writings of Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Rowan Williams, and Ubuntu theology. He writes, “I seek to imagine in my particular Christian context how a view of heaven need not lead to culture wars and further excuses for oppressing others. Heaven, as envisioned by John of Patmos, has much greater purpose.�

The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu's spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cape Town and primate of Southern Africa from 1986–1996, and chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1995–1998—recognize him as a charismatic political and religious leader who helped facilitate the liberation of oppressed peoples from the ravages of colonialism. But the inner landscape of Tutu’s spirituality, the mystical grounding that spurred his outward accomplishments, often goes unseen.Rather than recount his entire life story, this book explores Tutu’s spiritual life and contemplative practices—particularly Tutu’s understanding of Ubuntu theology, which emphasizes finding one’s identity in community—and traces the powerful role they played in subverting the theological and spiritual underpinnings of apartheid. Michael Battle’s personal relationship with Tutu grants readers an inside view of how Tutu’s spiritual agency cast a vision that both upheld the demands of justice and created space to synthesize the stark differences of a diverse society. Battle also suggests that North Americans have much to learn from Tutu’s leadership model as they confront religious and political polarization in their own context.

This book gives readers a broad understanding of the Black Church in America and a sense of its uniqueness in the wider world. Explores the history of the Black Church in America, its African roots, beliefs, practices, politics, and contemporary moral dilemmas Argues that in the Black Church, individual and communal destiny are bound together The author is a Priest in the Episcopal Church and teaches spirituality and Black Church studies at Duke University.

This book gives readers a broad understanding of the Black Church in America and a sense of its uniqueness in the wider world. Explores the history of the Black Church in America, its African roots, beliefs, practices, politics, and contemporary moral dilemmas Argues that in the Black Church, individual and communal destiny are bound together The author is a Priest in the Episcopal Church and teaches spirituality and Black Church studies at Duke University.

As defined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.The African spiritual principle of Ubuntu offers believers a new and radical way of reading the Gospel and understanding the heart of the Christian faith, and this new book explores the meaning and utility of Ubuntu as applied to Western philosophies, faith, and lifestyles.Ubuntu is an African way of seeing self-identity formed -through community. This is a difficult worldview for many Western people, who understand self as over, against, or in competition with others. In the Western viewpoint, Ubuntu becomes something to avoid—a kind of co-dependency. As a Christian leader who understands the need, intricacies, and delicate workings of global interdependency, Battle offers here both a refreshing worldview and a new perspective of self-identity for people across cultures, and of all faiths.

A fascinating profile of one of the most colorful, controversial and celebrated religious figures of our time, Malcolm Boyd—best-selling author, civil rights activist, gay cleric, and spiritual director.Through unparalleled access to the personal recollections, writings, and archival records of Malcolm Boyd, Michael Battle provides profound insight into one of America’s most celebrated—and reviled—public religious figures. In the dialogue between Battle, a younger, black heterosexual Christian, the reader comes to view this older, white, gay Christian’s life of activism and ministry with a fresh perspective.

The first of an exciting new series, Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Faith explores the impact of questions of faith across the Anglican Communion. Featuring contributions by a diverse group of theologians from the North and South, including Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Paul Ueti, and Simon Ro Chul Lai, the Conversations in Global Anglican Theology series addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion. From classical issues such as the imagio dei and atonement theology to contemporary challenges such as interfaith relations and the interaction of church and state, the series features thought-provoking essays by established and emerging scholars.Edited by Michael Battle, a leading Anglican thought leader, the first volume in the series, Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Faith, features the voices of non-Western thinkers, long silenced in mainstream Anglican discourse, including Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin.  Each contributor brings a unique perspective to the question of faith, but all confront this central dilemma:  How can we enable authentic conversations around the practice of faith in a global context in which many theologians and spiritual leaders in the Global South are often relegated to working in a ministry or a social justice context? How can contemplation and reflection nurture social action?   Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Faith is a paradigm shifting contribution.

Reflections on urgent theological issues by established and emerging scholars across the Anglican Communion.  Featuring contributions by a diverse group of theologians from South and North, the Conversations in Global Anglican Theology series addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion. From classical issues such as the imagio dei and atonement theology to contemporary challenges such as interfaith relations and the interaction of church and state, the series features thought-provoking essays by established and emerging scholars.  This first volume, edited by Michael Battle, considers questions of faith and their impact across the Anglican communion. Featuring contributions from writers across the Anglican communion, the volume examines the first of Richard Hooker's pillars of Anglicanism from a variety of perspectives.

A new collection of thought-provoking essays explores the impact of questions of culture and history across the Anglican Communion. Edited by Michael Battle, an Anglican thought leader and innovator, Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Culture, the second book in this new series, appears at a moment in time when culture wars bedevil national and international politics, as well as Christian communities across the globe. Featuring contributions by a diverse group of theologians including Mercy Tabitha Wambui Kamau, Khushnud Azariah, Walter Brownridge, James Tengatenga, Noah Mbano, and Chanmi Byun, this volume addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion. From classical issues such as Christ against Culture, to the possibility of common prayer among diverse cultures, to the problems of ethnocentrism, the conversation on Culture challenges the Western church how to better engage the global one.As the world seems to be pivoting away from a compassionate global order the voices in this volume shy away from the typical tropes of peace on earth and instead present the practical steps needed to first practice and resemble a communion of churches.Platforming non-Western theologians, the Conversations in Global Anglican Theology series addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion, featuring thought-provoking essays by established and emerging scholars.

A new collection of thought-provoking essays explores the impact of questions of culture and history across the Anglican Communion. Edited by Michael Battle, an Anglican thought leader and innovator, Conversations in Global Anglican Theology: Culture, the second book in this new series, appears at a moment in time when culture wars bedevil national and international politics, as well as Christian communities across the globe. Featuring contributions by a diverse group of theologians including Mercy Tabitha Wambui Kamau, Khushnud Azariah, Walter Brownridge, James Tengatenga, Noah Mbano, and Chanmi Byun, this volume addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion. From classical issues such as Christ against Culture, to the possibility of common prayer among diverse cultures, to the problems of ethnocentrism, the conversation on Culture challenges the Western church how to better engage the global one.As the world seems to be pivoting away from a compassionate global order the voices in this volume shy away from the typical tropes of peace on earth and instead present the practical steps needed to first practice and resemble a communion of churches.Platforming non-Western theologians, the Conversations in Global Anglican Theology series addresses the most pressing questions facing the churches of the Anglican Communion, featuring thought-provoking essays by established and emerging scholars.