God and the Excluded: Visions and Blindspots in Contemporary Theology [Paperback]

Joerg Rieger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

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 Christian today's 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 theologies, represented by North American feminist theology).

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."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"He issues a powerful call for liberating and transforming both contemporary theological discourse and oppressive socioeconomic and political structures.” -- Rebecca S. Chopp, Emory University

“Rieger's God and the Excluded continues his path-breaking work in constructive theology begun in Remember the Poor." -- Rebecca S. Chopp, Emory University

About the Author

Joerg Rieger is Associate Professor of Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He is author of Remember the Poor: The Challenge to Theology in the Twenty-first Century (1998) and editor of Theology from the Belly of the Whale (1999), a reader of Frederick Herzog’s work. Rieger also edited Liberating the Future (Fortress Press 1998).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800632540
• ISBN-13: 978-0800632540
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joerg Rieger is Wendland-Cook Professor of Constructive Theology at Perkins School of Theology, SMU.

For more than two decades Rieger has worked to bring together theology and the struggles for justice and liberation that mark our age. His work addresses the relation of theology to public life, using tools from cultural studies, critical theory, and religious studies, and reflecting on the misuse of power in politics and economics.

Known for his prolific and visionary writing, his books include Globalization and Theology (2010), No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future (2009), Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times (2007, German and Portuguese transl.); Opting for the Margins: Postmodernity and Liberation in Christian Theology (ed., 2003); God and the Excluded: Visions and Blindspots in Contemporary Theology (2001); and Remember the Poor: The Challenge to Theology in the Twenty-First Century (1998, Portuguese transl.).

A volume that he co-authored with Brazilian theologian Jung Mo Sung and Argentinian theologian Nestor Miguez, titled Beyond the Spirit of Empire: New Perspectives in Politics and Religion, was published in 2009.

Rieger has lectured throughout the U.S., as well as internationally, including presentations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, England, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. He is on the steering committee of Jobs with Justice in North Texas and is co-founder of the Workers' Rights Board in the Dallas area.