Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice
Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice
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Hardback
£58.00
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521833264
Published: 02/12/2004
The book sets out to address and answer three questions from the point of view of Christian theology. The first is, from where does theology speak? The second is, what are the mechanisms whereby cultures change? The third is, how might we conceive the relationship between the contemporary production of theological discourse and the transformation of cultures more generally? Drawing upon the work of standpoint epistemologists, cultural anthropologists and social scientists, the book argues that public acts of interpretation are involvements in renegotiating the future direction of cultural change. Though the enquiry is conducted from one particular standpoint - Christian theology - the observations and suggestions it makes regarding cultural transformation and the defense it makes of syncretism have more general application.
'The book's great strength lies in its rehabilitation of religious discourse as a legitimate challenge to 'the secular logics of Western global capitalism'. So its focus is 'the negotiation between Christian living and thinking and the contemporary world'.' Church Times '... erudite and challenging ... highly commended. It is a well-researched, discerning and insightful piece of work. ... any 'student' with a heart for apologetics and cultural transformation will find it most illuminating.' Expository Times 'Graham Ward is one of the best known representatives of Radical Orthodoxy ... [provides] a more general model for understanding how cultures change, especially whether and how religious practice can shape the cultural transformation. ... well written, demonstrating Ward's admirable mastery of the theories from various fields.' Ars Disputandi ' ... this is a book about the essential criteria for theological 'credibility' in general ... here is a project which I think certainly demands to be taken very seriously indeed.' Theology
