Lexington Books
Pages: 322
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜
978-0-7391-7352-7 • Hardback • April 2013 • $120.00 • (£92.00)
978-0-7391-7353-4 • eBook • April 2013 • $114.00 • (£88.00)
Michael St. A. Miller is associate professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology and Director of Cross-Cultural and International Programs at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Introduction
Section I: Establishing Conceptual Foundations
Chapter 1 Freedom as a Concept and Ideal
Section II: Clearing a Path for Freedom
Chapter 2 Free-Will Established as a Christian Problematic
Chapter 3 Reformed, but Not Free
Chapter 4 The Mixed Message of the Scriptures Regarding Freedom
Section III: The Journey toward Freedom—Restructuring Theological Foundations
Chapter 5 Breaking Away in the Name of Freedom
Chapter 6 God-Talk and Human Freedom
Section IV: Struggling For Freedom at Ground Level
Chapter 7 Freedom in Its Negative and Positive Aspects
Chapter 8 Freedom in Imagination
Chapter 9 Modest Imaginings on Freedom-Oriented Ecclesiology
The promise of Christian faith is that "for freedom Christ has set us free." Yet in the witness and theology of the church this promise is frequently hampered and often undermined by claims about God and humanity that serve instead to reflect and reinforce hierarchies of oppression. Michael Miller argues instead for views of God's creativity and humanity's limited self-creativity that make good on the promise of genuine freedom.
— Clark Williamson, Indiana Professor of Christian Thought, Emeritus, Christian Theological Seminary
Michael Miller’s attempt to provide an understanding of freedom in what he calls a “realistic” libertarian manner is a refreshingly honest series of studied reflections on how we can begin to re-appropriate our Christian traditions in ways that promote authentic freedom. His abiding concern throughout the text is that “the denial of freedom, which has characterized life in many parts of the world, has been perpetrated not simply because the oppressors misused theological concepts, especially the grounding concept of God, but because many traditional theological concepts, including that of ‘God’, lend themselves to oppressive use.” This is a bold statement and his text is a successful attempt to support this claim. Professor Miller’s dialogues with a range of interlocutors in philosophy, sociology, cultural theory and theology give the reader wonderful critical insights into historical and contemporary perspectives on this issue. If you carefully follow his argument you are compelled to engage his search for a realistic realignment of our theological endeavor in support of authentic freedom. This is done not only through a revision of the theological concepts used to understand God, but also through practical suggestions for Christian living, given towards the end of the book. Of special significance in this text, to my mind, is Professor Miller’s privileging of thinkers and theologians from his native context, the Caribbean. All who engage the task of re-envisioning theological concepts especially as they inform Christian practice in the service of the marginalized should read this book.
— Gerald Boodoo, Duquesne University