In Beyond the Spirit of Empire, the authors analyze the global empire not only in its political and economic dimensions, but also in its symbolic constructions of power and in its general assumptions often taken for granted. How does empire mould human subjectivity, for instance, and how does it affect the understanding of humans within the whole of creation? What are the religious dimensions of empire, its claims to divine attributes like omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, eternity, and what about its alleged exclusiveness and pervasiveness that destroys human life and freedom, which turns politics into a banal matter? The authors propose to look beyond empire to the possibility of politics and freedom, to the recovery of the notion of people, to the importance of ongoing concern for the oppressed and excluded, and to a messianic faith that allows us to live in anticipation, though ambiguously, of the promise of new times to come.

Beyond the Spirit of Empire (Reclaiming Liberation Theology)

History

Rieger, Joerg

Sung, Jung Mo

Miguez, Nestor

World

Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd

The thoughts and beliefs of John Wesley and the Early Methodist traditions are frequently related to recent progressive tendencies in theology. There are numerous parallels between contemporary interests in people at the margins and Wesley's concern for poor people and his commitments to the sick and imprisoned. In this volume, contributors from diverse backgrounds in the United States and around the globe reflect on radical and liberation traditions in Methodism in their own context. In conversation with contemporary Methodism and the Wesleyan heritage, each chapter focuses on the question of how radical and liberation traditions provide new visions for the present and future of the church. Contributors: Jose Miguez Bonino, Rebecca S. Chopp, Stephen G. Hatcher, Jione Havea, Theodore Jennings, Jr., Cedric Mayson, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Andrew Sung Park, Jong Chun Park, Harold J. Recinos, Joerg Rieger, John J. Vincent, and Josiah U. Young, III.

Methodist and Radical: Rejuvenating a Tradition

Religion & Spirituality

Vincent, John

Christian Books & Bibles

Kingswood Books

Although we loathe admitting it, Christians have often, through crusade, conquest, and commerce, used the name and power of Christ to promote and justify political, economic, and even military gain. Rieger's ambitious and faith-filled project chips away at the colonial legacy of Christology to find the authentic Christ - or rather the many authentic depictions of Christ in history and theology that survive our self-serving domestications. Against the seeming inevitability of globalized unfairness, Rieger holds up a "stumbling block" that confounds even empire.

Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times

Fortress Press

What are the prospects for liberation theology and the social change it espouses? What can liberation theologies learn from each other? Writing from a variety of social locations―the African American community, the feminist struggle, and tensions within Europe, North America, and Latin America―these exciting and enlightening thinkers reflect on the vastly changed context of and challenges to liberation. Yet they find common concerns and cause. They espouse religious reflection that attends closely to those pushed to the margins (even though on the surface things seem to be improving), to shifting structures of oppression, and especially to global economic structures as they affect specific locales. For all those interested in the survival and growth of justice-oriented religious commitment, this volume signals concrete and exciting new directions for thought and action. Participants include: John B. Cobb, Jr., Claremont School of Theology Gustavo Gutierrez, Instituto Bartalome de Las Casas, Rimac, Peru M. Douglas Meeks, Wesley Theological Seminary Jurgen Moltmann, University of Tubingen Joerg M. Rieger, Perkins School of Theology Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary Gayraud S. Wilmore, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta

Liberating the Future: God, Mammon, and Theology

Theology is fracturing along tension lines once hidden by the great modern consensus that reigned from Schleiermacher's day till our own. Now, all of it is in dispute: its starting point, its self-awareness, its claim to truth, its method and interaction with other disciplines and institutions in church, academy, and society.
Rieger offers an enlightening way to understand the chief strands or options in theology today and a valuable proposal for resituating theology around the crucial issue of inclusion. He sees four competing vectors at work in today's Christian theology: Theology of Identity (liberal theology, represented by Schleiermacher and founded in the self), Theology of Difference (dialectical theology, represented by Barth and founded in the Wholly Other), Theology and the Postmodern (postcritical theology, represented by Lindbeck and founded on the text), and Theology and the Underside (liberation theology, represented by Gutierrez and others and founded in the interests of the other person).
Further, Rieger goes on to propose that each of these is in some way exclusionary and elitist; the mass of humanity and the globe's most pressing problems do not invade this cathedral, and in some ways the market itself has replaced God. Religious thought can remain viable only when it is grounded in an openness that reaches beyond the global market and postmodern squabbles, critiques its own complicity in the situation, and resituates itself in express commitment to those left out of today's "gated community".

God and the Excluded: Visions and Blindspots in Contemporary Theology

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Even though economic downturns are still followed by upturns, fewer people benefit from them. As a result, economic crisis is an everyday reality that permanently affects all levels of our lives. The logic of downturn, developed in this book, helps make sense of what is going on, as the economy shapes us more deeply than we had ever realized, not only our finances and our work, but also our relationships, our thinking, and even our hopes and desires. Religion is one arena shaped by economics and thus part of the problem but, as Joerg Rieger shows, it might also hold one of the keys for providing alternatives, since it points to energies for transformation and justice. Rieger's hopeful perspective unfolds in stark contrast to an economy and a religion that thrive on mounting inequality and differences of class.

No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future

Business & Money

Economics

From the journey of Abraham to the travels of Jesus and Paul, from medieval pilgrims to today's global trekkers, travel has held deep religious significance. In fact, says Joerg Rieger, traveling can be seen as a metaphor for the whole Christian life, especially pertinent in an age of global connectedness, widespread international travel, and religious encounter. Rieger's historical and theological reflections offer concrete ways in which travel can open up fresh encounters with meaning and, ultimately, the divine.

Traveling (Compass: Christian Explorations of Daily Living)

The American dream of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" is no longer possible, if it ever was. Most of us live paycheck-to-paycheck, and inequality has become one of the greatest problems facing our country. Working people and people of faith have the power to change this-but only when we get unified! In this practical and theological handbook for justice, renowned theologian Joerg Rieger and his wife, community and labor activist Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger, help the working majority (the 99% of us) understand what is happening and how we can make a difference. Discover how our faith is deeply connected with our work. Find out how to organize people and build power and what our different faith traditions can contribute. Learn from case studies where these principles have been used successfully-and how we can use them. Develop "deep solidarity" as a way to forge unity while employing our differences for the common good.

Unified We Are a Force: How Faith and Labor Can Overcome America's Inequalities

Henkel-Rieger, Rosemarie

Chalice Press

Millions of people travel every day, for what seem like millions of reasons. Some travel for pleasure, others travel for work and education, and many more travel to find a new job and a better life. In the United States, even those who don?t travel far still frequently find themselves on the move. What can we learn from these different forms of travel? And what can people of faith learn from the Christian and Jewish traditions that took shape on the road? From the exile from Eden to the wanderings of Jesus and his disciples, the story of Scripture is a dynamic narrative of ceaseless movement. Those who let themselves be inspired by this movement, and are willing to learn from others and from mistakes made in the process, are well positioned to make a difference in the world, not only at home but also around the globe. In this revised edition of the author's book Traveling, Joerg Rieger reflects on how Christian faith reorients the way we think about and make journeys in our lives .

Faith on the Road: A Short Theology of Travel and Justice

IVP Academic

Distancing himself from liberals and conservatives but also pointing to the uselessness of a middle way, Rieger explores the theology of grace in situations of human pressure. Following John Wesley in his move to consider the 'works of mercy' as part of the means of grace, the author proposes to us a relational concept of grace that will prosper in dialogue and solidarity with those in distress, the oppressed 'other' who make present the gracious 'Other.'

Grace Under Pressure

Rieger, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology Perkins School of Theology Jeorg

United Methodist General Board of Higher Education

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