Compelling social perspectives from a prominent Catholic scholar Pope Francis in a 2013 interview famously likened the church to a field hospital. In this book William Cavanaugh adopts Pope Francis’s metaphor to show how the church can help heal both the spiritual and the material wounds of the world. As he examines the intersection of theology with themes of religious freedom; economic injustice; religious violence; and other pressing topics; Cavanaugh emphasizes that the church cannot condemn the evils of the world from a position of superiority. Rather; he says; its practices of solidarity with humanity must be based on a profound recognition that the church shares in the guilt of human sin. Cavanaugh’s Field Hospital provides guideposts for a church that is willing to go outside of itself onto today’s battlefields — both metaphorical and literal — not to inflict wounds but to bind them up and heal them.
#913769 in Books Katongole Emmanuel 2010-12-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .56 x 6.00l; .70 #File Name: 0802862683224 pagesThe Sacrifice of Africa A Political Theology for Africa
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Sacrifice of Africa has been a great resource for me in my own book writing processBy Ryan KujaI was introduced to Dr Katongole's work fairly recently and wish I had known of him earlier. The Sacrifice of Africa has been a great resource for me in my own book writing process. Ive gleaned many insights with regard to the interplay of theology and politics on the African continent. Clear; concise and very well written; Dr. Katongole opened up fresh ways of understanding ethnic conflict and the politicization of ethnicity on the continent and; overall; a very illuminating look at nation state politics through a theological lens. Highly recommend this.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. On Social Engagement in AfricaBy CustomerIn his book The Sacrifice of Africa; associate research professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke Divinity School; Emmanuel Katonogle; attempts to inject fresh life into the conversation surrounding Christian social ethics and Africa. Undergirding the desire for a new conversation is Katongole’s observation that despite Christianity’s growth and increased interest in social engagement in Africa; Christians have been unable to both explain and adequately address the realities of “war; tribalism; poverty; corruption and violence…endemic in Africa’s social history.†Christians have failed; Katongole contends; because Christians have often assumed that “the most urgent task for Christian social ethics is to make politics work better; that is; become more democratic and transparent; with the expectation that properly functioning nation-state politics in Africa will ensure peace and stability and thus advance development.†As such; Katongole argues that the dominant paradigms of Christian social engagement have operated within the terms and conditions of the nation-state with its underlying stories; assumptions and structures.In this way; churches and Christianity have purchased the false story of modernity; which Katongole contends; suggests that the nation-state; as the successor institution to the colonial structures of divide and rule; offers to bring salvation to Africa through democracy; stability; and development. Yet; throughout Africa’s post-colonial history; Katongole notes; this “story translated into myriad forms of use and abuse; sacrificing African lives and ultimately Africa itself.â€As a result; Katongole believes that “Christian social ethics must uncover the underlying stories of the key social institutions [e.g.; the nation-state] in Africa that affect both their performance and the types of characters they produce.†“Stories;†according to Katongole; do not abstractions floating in disembodied minds; but form and buttress “our values; aims; and goals;†including our perception of what is possible. Thus; Katongole asserts; “a new future for Africa requires much more than strategies and skills to solve the problems of nation-state politics.†Instead; Katongole continues; a new conversation in Christian social ethics demands “a different story that assumes the sacred value and dignity of Africa and Africans;†which is capable of fostering “practices and policies; or new forms of politics; that reflect this sacredness and dignity.†In developing this argument; Katongole breaks up the book into three parts.In part I; Katongole argues that even though the nation-state has been unsuccessful in providing transparent democracy; peace; stability; basic services and development in Africa; the nation-state has succeeded (counter-intuitively) by capturing the imaginations of Africans; including Christian social ethicists. As such; Katongole continues to argue that since churches and Christianity have assumed the underlying assumptions of the nation-state; and accordingly; and have failed to question its modus operandi; Christian social engagement has often capitulated to offering solutions circumscribed within nation-state politics. This has resulted; Katongole argues; in “prescriptive haste.†This reality is made manifest through the three dominant paradigms of Christian social engagement; Katongole suggests.In the end; Katongole argues; these three paradigms fail; because all three rest on the modern distinction between religion and politics. That is; Katongole argues; according to this Western ideology (which Africans have assumed); politics is considered to be the role of the “neutral†nation-state; whereas “religion†is the “competency†of the church. However; this understanding of politics and religion and the dichotomy it produces; “obscures the full import of the gospel as a social vision;†Katongole contends. Thus; Katongole is attempting to describe how “religion†(e.g.; Christianity) is considered “private†and “spiritual;†while “politics†is considered “public†in this modern dichotomy. In this way; Katongole argues that implicit within this presupposed dichotomy is that Christianity does not possess an inherent social imagination and order.As a result; Christians have adopted responses that range from “reticence†to“frantic activism.†Reticence; according to Katongole; varies in form within the three paradigms; yet each assumes that the inner motivation given by Christianity is “applied in the social realm;†that is; “out there.†That is; each of the three responses depends on the existence of a socio-political order independent of Christianity itself. In other words; although each paradigm conceives of Christianity’s importance for the social realm in their respective ways; all three fail to recognize that the Christianity possesses its own social formation. As such; participating in church life and liturgy only; at best; trains the individual for “the challenges of the real world of politics.†In this way; the primary way of viewing social engagement is to simply wait “for politics to show up.†On the other hand; “frantic activism;†in Katongole’s view; represents the “unyielding temptation to be both practical and relevant to the task of social reconstruction†as circumscribed by “the field of politics†(e.g. the nation-state and development studies programs fashionable at universities). Thus; once again; Christians have capitulated their distinctive story; by limiting their social engagement to the articulated by the stories and structures of the nation-state. In so doing; Katongole argues; Christians have failed to embody the claim that “Jesus is the Savior and Lord of history;†which generates a “concrete social; material; political; and economic reality that is ushered into existence by God’s revelation in history.†Therefore Christians must shift from attending to “skills†and “strategies†to the formational “stories†that shape the Christian imagination.Part II represents Katongole’s attempt to provide a “theoretical framework†for what he observes is “essentially an ecclesiological task.†Here; Katongole critically engages the life and thought of Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara. In Katongole’s evaluation of Sanakara’s revolutionary project; Katongole observes that Sankara’s vision lacked a convincing telos and narrative. In reflecting on his assessment of Sankara; Katongole concludes that Christianity; alternatively; does offer the sort of robust narrative and telos required to sustain a community of memory and lament.Next Katongole engages the work of the late Jean-Marc Ela; a Cameroonian theologian. Unlike the three paradigms described by Katongole in part I; Ela; according to Katongole; “invites the church to rethink its social mission so as to embody an alternative; more hopeful history than is proffered through the nation-state.†Through his critique of the church; Ela illuminates the importance of conceiving of the church as “one of concrete local communities in which everyday realities—drawing water; planting cabbages; digging a pit latrines; rearing chickens and receiving immunization against cholera—are as much matters of Christian salvation as the celebration of the Eucharist; baptism and anointing the sick.†Thus; Ela is significant for Katongole’s ecclesiological vision; because Ela’s thought and life represent a uniquely Christian social imagination that conceives of the church as an “everyday†social embodiment; which does not depend on the assumptions and structures of the nations-state.After establishing his theoretical framework; Katongole describes three “concrete examples†that Katongole believes embody his ecclesiological vision. Here; in part III; Katongole describes the stories of Paride Taban and the peace village in Kuron; Sudan; Angelina Atyam and the Concerned Parents Association based in northern Uganda; and Maggy Barankitse’s ministry; Masion Shalom; in Burundi.The Sacrifice of Africa provides much food for thought; and I do not doubt that it will generate a fresh conversation at the intersection between Christian social ethics and Africa.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A must read about the African realityBy Noele J. CoooperSince 1964 I've been especially interested in the African experience; met African friends; and for some years traveled to Africa learning more about the various cultures (Burundi; Sierra Leone; South Africa). "The Sacrifice of Africa: A Political Theology of Africa" is an informative and challenging addition to my research. It's a book I'll keep returning to and discussing with Africans.
