The Future of the New World that Was Supposed to Be

Abstract :  "North‐South" divides usually overlook the fact that Latin America was also part of the New World. It was only after WW II that these countries were lumped together in a large bunch called "third world." For the sake of simplicity, this paper restricts itself to the period when Liberation Theology made its appearance until now. Even though the seventies devised an autonomous Christianity, with its own traits and purposes, nowadays the churches are back in the mainstream. Issues that engage Christians there are not unlike their counterparts in "the North," thanks to globalization. Demographic changes are still more important than cultural ones, and economic prospects are more likely to interfere in the shape of Christianity than the will and emotions of leaders and the faithful alike.     

The Christian Faith in an Inter‐Faith Context

Abstract :  In developing a Christian Theology of the World Religions, this article makes the following claims: (1) the central issue is Christology including the all‐sufficiency of Christ's work to accomplish salvation for all; (2) by distinguishing between general and special revelation, Christians can confirm that God has witnesses among all the world's religions; (3) Christianity ought to continue to live out of its missionary impulse, to proclaim the gospel of salvation, and to provide an apologetic defense of its truth claims; (4) Christian clergy should approach inter‐faith settings with extensive knowledge of the world's religions; (5) and seminaries should revamp their curricula to teach a truly Christian theology of World Religions.     

Ressentiment and power: On Reginster's The Will to Nothingness

A critical discussion of Bernard Reginster's book The Will to Nothingness. The contribution engages with Reginster's interpretation of Nietzschean ressentiment, arguing that it is an essentially interpersonal attitude in two different senses. It is a response to a social situation of structural deprivation, and it involves an element of antagonism toward those who are better off within this social structure. The contribution then discusses Reginster's claim that modern morality restores the sense of power of the masses by adjusting the goals that they aim to pursue. I argue that this interesting interpretation does not do full justice to the themes of hostility or hatred that permeate the Genealogy of Morals, extending from Nietzsche's discussion of the slave revolt to his treatments of the bad conscience and of ascetic ideals.     

Heartless Bimbo or Subversive Role Model?: A Narrative (Self) Critical Reading of the Character of Esther

Abstract :  She has been described as weak, beautiful but brainless, and "the scab undermining the impact of a striking worker's sacrifice." This article engages such opinions, but takes a different view of the character of Esther. It is a narrative critical reading that is nuanced with 'realistic empathy', from the perspective of someone whose life story has much in common with Esther's tale. Given away as a child by my biological parents in a society that preferred boys, like Esther, I was adopted by a single parent and raised in a strongly patriarchal society. I am now an Asian immigrant in New Zealand, a predominantly Western society, while Esther was a diasporic Jew in Persia. ¹     

The Revolutionary Luther: A Gramscian Analysis of Luther's Universal Priesthood

Abstract :  The purpose of this article is to present an image of Martin Luther viewed through the lens of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. The primary focus of the article will be on Luther's articulation of the universal priesthood as it was presented in the 1520 treatise "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation." We will discover that in this treatise Luther's attack on papal authority was, in Gramscian terms, a counter-hegemonic revolutionary act.     

Gay/Lesbian Ordination and the Ontology of the Human Subject

Abstract : Should gay and lesbian persons be ordained? Many anthropological issues are involved in this question: human sexuality, the image of God, and the doctrine of sin. I contend that one of the central—yet unexplored—issues in this debate is the view of the human subject. This article summarizes the non‐ontological anthropologies developed by Wolfhart Pannenberg, Rosemary Ruether, and Mary McClintock Fulkerson. All suggest that subjects are constitutionally related to the world and avoid predicating attributes, such as gender or rationality to supposedly autonomous subjects. These non‐ontological models offer new ways to view the subject, gender, and the debate concerning ordination.     

Reclaiming Bonhoeffer After Auschwitz

Abstract : Christians having sought refuge from guilt by claiming Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonheoffer to be their representative have come under critique by Jewish Holocaust thinkers. Was the historical Bonhoeffer complicit in the anti‐Semitism of his era or a model of prophetic heroism in the face of state sponsored racism and genocide? This article traces the early history of Bonhoeffer's thinking on the “Jewish Question” and the implications of his prison writings for the future of Jewish‐Christian relations. Simplistic defenses and simplistic dismissals fall short of understanding this most complex of theological figures.