Social sources of church growth

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Enrique Dussel

"Enrique Ambrosini Dussel is and has been one of the most prolific Latin American philosophers of the last 100 years. He has written over fifty books, and over three hundred articles ranging over the history of the Latin American philosophy, political philosophy, church history, theology, ethics, and occasional pieces on the state of Latin American countries. Dussel is first and foremost a moral philosopher, a philosopher of liberation. But for him, philosophy must be liberated so that it may contribute to social liberation. In one sense, "beyond philosophy" means to go beyond contemporary, academicized, professionalized, and "civilized" philosophy by turning to all that demystifies the autonomy of philosophy and turns our attention to its sources. "Beyond philosophy," also means to go beyond philosophy in the Marxian sense of abolishing philosophy by realizing it. This is the definitive English language collection of Dussel's enormous body of work. It will allow the reader to get a good sense of the breath and depth of Dussel's opus, covering four major areas: ethics, economics, history, and liberation theology."--Publisher description.

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Carol Ann Drogus

What happens when liberation theology's attempt to mobilize the Brazilian poor for political and social change meets the realities of church, community, and culture in this predominantly Catholic country? In Women, Religion, and Social Change in Brazil's Popular Church, Carol Ann Drogus assesses the successes and failures of the movement as she documents how religious personality and gender affect the way the urban poor on the eastern outskirts of Sao Paulo respond to the liberationist message. All who are interested in Latin American studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, religion, and women's studies will gain much from Drogus's first-hand reports and careful analysis of the role of women, who are the majority participants in the Popular Church.

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Daniel Salinas

The story of Latin American evangelicals doing theology is mostly unknown. In the 1970's there was an important development with the formation of the Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL). This group spearheaded the theological production in Latin America, marking the beginning of a critical stage in the history of evangelicals in the region. This book deals with the reception history in North America of the FTL and its program. Interamerican theological dialogue is documented and analysed.

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Gregory J. Riley

An expert on the historical context in which Christianity arose, Riley illuminates the Greco-Roman world of the early Christians, a world steeped in heroic ideals. Jesus was embraced as a new and compelling hero that one could follow into a whole new life of caring community and transcendent hope. Riley boldly asserts that it was only as Christianity became the religion of the empire that the myth of the Apostles' Creed was created, thereby promulgating the illusion that the Apostles had gathered together and agreed upon a core set of doctrines essential to Christian faith. But the reality is that doctrinal orthodoxy was not an issue for the early Christians. Rather, they focused, in quite varied ways, on following Jesus as a model for living. This book not only provides a whole new understanding of the nature of earliest Christianity, but it also conveys a vital message for today about what Christian faith is really about. Riley reveals the authentic character of Christianity as inherently pluralistic and tolerant of diverse ideas while passionately centered in Jesus.