From Publishers Weekly
What passes for hospitality in contemporary life—being "nice," reaching out to consumers, and practicing multiculturalism for its sake—is a distortion of real hospitality, according to Newman, a professor of theology and ethics at Baptist Theological Seminary. In our political, economic and ethical common life, as well as within our Christian congregations, we have domesticated hospitality. True hospitality is learned in worship, which, at its best, teaches people to receive from God, as well as to give everything back. Rather than motivating us to be hospitable, Newman explains, worship transforms us so that no other choice is possible. Newman explores how corporate worship (singing, praying and so on) can help people overcome the individualism of contemporary culture, which works against Christian understandings, and begin to see their lives as gifts from God. Particularly in the Eucharist, people learn to be both guest and host, and "become people capable of recognizing and receiving Christ," able to see God in others, no matter how strange or challenging they appear. This scholarly study of how North American culture understands, and has marginalized, true hospitality will be of interest primarily to academics, clergy and students.
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From the Back Cover
Untamed Hospitality is part of The Christian Practice of Everyday Life series, dedicated to theological consideration of the concerns of everyday life. Series editors are David S. Cunningham and William T. Cavanaugh.
"In the face of church trivialized as 'inclusivity,' and of worship reduced to 'entertainment,' Elizabeth Newman here invites us into the classical liturgy of the household of God, where people learn to embody true hospitality. She shows how participation in the life of the Triune God--as both reception and gift--then shapes and calls for parabolic and transformative enactment in the social worlds of the sciences, medicine, economics, politics, and education. The author's criticisms of contemporary culture and her display of a Christian alternative are equally grounded in wide scholarship and enlivened by engaging examples. A book to savor and enjoy!"--Geoffrey Wainwright, Duke University
"If we open our hearts to the stranger, we will open our hearts to what is strange within us. This precious book shows a way to peace and to unity inside us and around us, for the church and for the world."--Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche
"Elizabeth Newman has rescued us from flabby and incoherent notions of tolerance that sanctify the status quo, and provided us with a theologically astute understanding of the role that the practice of hospitality should play in the life of the Christian community and of the individual believer. She does a masterful job of showing how this practice ties together politics, economics, sacraments, and the basic doctrinal and moral convictions of the church to constitute our lives as faithful disciples who can speak meaningfully in and to this time and place. A theological work of the first order!"--Barry Harvey, Baylor University
"This is a brilliant book. Elizabeth Newman translates complex theological and philosophical issues into the flesh and blood reality of lived-out Christian discipleship. She seamlessly weaves the practice of Christian worship into a critical analysis of economic, political, and educational practices--not attempting to create a grandiose vision of radical social reconstruction, but instead articulating how the daily practice of Christian hospitality can slowly build a new world. Essential reading for anyone looking for a positive alternative to our disintegrating bourgeois culture."--Murray Jardine, author of The Making and Unmaking of Technological Society
