Prison Theology: A Theology of Liberation,Hope and Justice

Abstract : In our nation today, the number of prisons and prisoners continue to grow at rates that are out‐of‐control. One in 100 of our citizens is in jail or prison, the highest ratio in the world. Unlike the poor, homeless, critically ill, and elderly, those in prison are separated from us to the degree they are unseen. Unseen also, is the oppressiveness of the criminal justice system that oversees more than 6.5 million people either in confinement or on probation or parole. Liberation theology, which advocates and works toward freeing people from oppression, includes feminist, black, womanist and Latino/Hispanic movements. This article proposes prison theology as part of the liberation theology family and identifies a prison theology based on liberation, hope and justice. It encourages a prison theology movement led by the church to liberate those under the oppressiveness of the criminal justice system, especially those confined and to energize a passion for justice and compassion for the oppressed throughout the criminal justice system.     

Women as wives and rulers in Martin Luther's theology

This article offers a theological analysis of Martin Luther's complex view on women and their role in society, focusing on his exposition of the narratives of creation and fall in the Lectures on Genesis. Luther's understanding of women is defined by an ostensible paradox. On the one hand, Luther claims that all women are equal to men in relation to God and hold the power to rule over the earth, which they execute as leaders of the household. On the other hand, Luther passes on a traditional view of women being of a weaker nature and argues that wives have to subordinate to their husbands. I interpret this understanding of women as an outcome of Luther's theological anthropology based on his doctrine of justification. Men and women are equal as priests and kings in relation to God and authorized to manage their relationship with him, to teach and pray for others, and to disobey authority that interferes with this faith relation. As sinners, though, they must submit to authority to suppress sin. Both men and women exercise authority through their gender-specific callings in the earthly hierarchies, which constitute God's created order. However, women have to subordinate to their husbands in order to suppress sin. The article discusses whether this complex view on women promoted patriarchal social structures or whether the freedom and equality of the spiritual realm over time filtered through to the role of women in society, paving the way for their liberation.     

Philosophical virtues

It has been suggested that philosophers should adopt a methodology largely inspired by mathematics and that the “mathematical” virtues of rigor, clarity, and precision are also fundamental philosophical virtues. In reply, this paper argues that some excellent philosophy lacks these virtues and that too much emphasis on the mathematical virtues excludes potentially valuable forms of philosophical discourse and makes the profession less diverse than it should be. Unduly restrictive conceptions of philosophical argumentation should be avoided. On a contributory conception, philosophy should try to make a positive contribution to human emancipation where possible. The paper argues that it is possible and desirable for epistemology to contribute in this way and that the mathematical virtues are less significant in this context than the emancipatory virtues of what one might call “liberation philosophy.” These include irony, reflectiveness, imagination, contrarianism, and worldliness.     

The skillful means and meanings of philosophy: Attention and immersion in the philosophical art of writing

This response to Richard Shusterman's Philosophy and the Art of Writing focuses on his concern that philosophy is, first and foremost, a way of life, illustrated in the West by the Socratic ideal of the philosopher and in the East by the example of the scholar-artist-gentleman. This paper examines the process of Buddhist meditation and the process of creating novels, supplementing the authors Shusterman carefully examines with examples from Black American literature, the author's own teacher John Gardner, and artistic colleagues the author has known. The basic thrust of the response is that the skillful means used in writing can indeed be a form of self-creation, but it can also be a means of liberation from the self.     

Palestinian Liberation Theology: Creative Resistance to Occupation

The ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories has widely affected the Christian population in the region. This study focuses narrowly on the diminishing minority of Palestinian Christians, and how their position under occupation has led to the development of Palestinian Liberation Theology and practices of creative resistance. It begins by acknowledging the unique position of Palestinian Christians as liminal yet indigenous members of society. It then explores their complex collective identity, demonstrating how specific facets of their historic identity (i.e. denominationalism, Arabism, and political station) have been preserved, and how these inform their theological and practical responses to the changing socio-political landscape. It goes on to probe the degree of consensus around Palestinian Liberation Theology, as well as prominent manifestations of the ideology in response to occupation. Ultimately, this study finds that Palestinian Liberation Theology represents a creative and valuable contribution to the national struggle for liberation, providing a shared ideology and culturally specific blueprint for revolutionary collective action guided by plurality, nonviolence, and collaboration.     

The Many Meanings of the Only Christ

The intertwining of reflection about Christ and personal experience of Jesus has been at the heart of the matter from the start of the Reformation. Luther's Christology unites the transcendent and the intimate; it is Christ alone, Solus Christus, who mediates God's presence and promise to the world. This becomes one of the “solas” of the Reformation and the one to which this volume of Dialog is dedicated. This introduction considers the variety of ways theology has described the primary experience of Christ; we will consider how Christ has been theologically presented in terms of love, liberation, creativity, co‐sufferer, and holy presence. In addition, within the last century, one can see Christologies taking on universal or particular forms. The universal approach sees Christ in, with and under all the world, whereas the more “particular” forms connect to the singularity of Christ or Jesus as the sole locus of revelation of God in history or today. This introduction also explores the contemporary debate about the meaning of the cross and atonement in relation to the understanding of Christ as savior.     

Lutheran Preaching and the Quest for Humanization and Planetary Justice: A Perspective from Brazil

Abstract :  Since economic globalization hides the roots of injustice and internationalizes its consequences, any attempt to preach (which necessarily means to preach justice) must address the local church and at the same time the wider global context, hence the term "planetary justice." This article describes the current approach to Lutheran preaching in Latin America and specifically the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil (IECLB). The article offers the following suggestions for Lutheran preaching throughout the world: hold form and content in creative tension; present justification as liberation; strive for a biocentric, gender conscious, and planetary symbiotic homiletic.     

Restructuring Interreligious Dialogue from the Bottom Up through the Lenses of Deep Solidarity and the Multitude

Social movements and liberation theologies have addressed various forms of oppression and exploitation along the lines of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and other factors, not without tensions. What might bring them closer together without erasing differences? Addressing this question has important implications for fresh approaches to interreligious dialogue. In this contribution, notions of deep solidarity and of the multitude point the way toward restructured interreligious engagements.     

Using Liberation Psychology and Dialectical Humanism to Understand Latinx Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms

The authors conducted a study to examine how the presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, family importance, and enculturation influenced Latinx adolescent students’ depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Two regression models revealed there was a statistically significant relationship between predictor variables, life satisfaction, and depression. The article concludes with a discussion regarding the importance of these findings and recommendations for practice and research. Los autores llevaron a cabo un estudio para examinar cómo la presencia de sentido en la vida, la búsqueda de sentido en la vida, la esperanza, la importancia de la familia y la enculturación influyeron en los síntomas depresivos y satisfacción vital de estudiantes adolescentes Latinx. Dos modelos de regresión revelaron que existe una relación estadísticamente significativa entre las variables de predicción, la satisfacción vital y la depresión. Este artículo concluye con una discusión en torno a la importancia de estos hallazgos, así como recomendaciones para la práctica y la investigación.     

基督宗教、马克思主义和"历史终结"--以解放神学为例串起的历史分析

本文以解放神学为例考察了基督宗教与马克思主义的内在关联性,对中国基督宗教的处境化作了初步的分析。