Political Theology
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Surveillance and the All-Seeing Gaze of God
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3. Whether from the mouths of cautious parents or disgruntled siblings, the ominous words, “God is watching you,” shape the beginning of ethical reflection for many Christians from a young age. At first, it might seem rather obvious what this sentence means. However, a little unraveling of the context, “who said this and how?” or “why is this the way?” reveals rather quickly that this statement is very reductive even if it is not quite false. Much more can and should be said about God’s knowledge than these four words. To use…
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A Brief History of Black Theology
I want to make a critical reassessment of the journals Black Theology in Britain: A Journal of Contextual Praxis[1] and its successor Black Theology: An International Journal.[2] At the time of writing, Black Theology: An International Journal remains the only academic publication dedicated to the articulation of Black theology in the world. With the demise of the Journal for Black Theology in Southern Africa, Black Theology: An International Journal (hereafter detailed as BTIJ) has assumed added importance for the furtherance of the critical conversation regarding the development of Black theology across the many contours of continental Africa and the African Diaspora. Black Theology in Britain Journal: Making Black Theology Visible…
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Subverting Political Powers through the Power of Advent
Christianity has always been an act of translation. So argued the Gambian missiologist, Lamin Sanneh, who spent many of his years at Yale University. The tradition of advent, celebrated in many western Christian traditions, has travelled a long distance from medieval Europe to the urban towns and villages of the global South. Here in Africa, Christmas trees litter selfies on Instagram profiles. Christmas lights adorn various buildings in a way that enlightens the complicated courtship between faith and consumeristic ideals. Advent hymns ring through songs and prayers in liturgies across various churches in the city of Nairobi. What this act of translation has potential to do is to speak to…
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Barth and Bonhoeffer’s Wartime Warnings Apply Today
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s name is well-known in Christian circles. His early resistance against the Nazi regime leading to his execution in 1945 has made Bonhoeffer into a modern Christian martyr. At times of social conflict, upheaval, and tyranny, Bonhoeffer’s legacy is often looked to as a moral guide. Karl Barth is less of a household name, but his own response to Nazism has inspired many as well. With both Barth and Bonhoeffer, what inspires Christians to this day is how their resistance to National Socialism arose directly from their theological convictions. As we watch the horrors unfolding in Ukraine, many rightly wonder what Barth and Bonhoeffer might have to say to…
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What would Reinhold Niebuhr now be saying about events in Ukraine?
It is of course rash to suggest what Reinhold Niebuhr would now be saying about Ukraine: first because he has been claimed by both those on the left and the right of politics, and secondly it is difficult to separate one’s own views from those one posits might be his. But rash though it may be, the question is still worth asking. First, I suggest, he would be looking critically at the position of NATO supporting governments. What is their responsibility for this tragedy? Even when the cause was undoubtably right, as it was for the Allies in World War II, Niebuhr was keen to eliminate any hint of self-righteousness.…
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The Future of Democracy
In its 2019 annual Audit of Political Engagement, the Hansard Society asked if Britain ‘needs a strong ruler willing to break the rules.’ Whilst 54% of respondents said yes; only 23% said no.[1] Even given the long drawn-out stalemate over Brexit in that year – in which the “will of the people” seemed to be thwarted by parliament itself – this is a disturbing outcome. The nation promptly went ahead and elected a ruler willing to break a number of rules, before and during the pandemic. Democracy is not only under pressure in Britain. In 2020, the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Democracy warned that democracy worldwide is in ‘a…
