A Theology of Engagement

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

1 Engagement: What it is and Why it Matters 7

2 Augustine’s Theological Methodology 30

3 Assimilation, Resistance, and Overhearing 48

4 Assimilation: Engagement with Human Rights 62

5 Resistance: The Heresy of State Sovereignty and the Religious Imperative for Intervention to Defend
Human Rights 71

6 Assimilation: The Importance of the Black and Feminist Perspectives 86

7 Overhearing: Clash of Discourses – Secular in the West Against the Secular in India 109

8 Overhearing: Thinking about Hinduism, Inclusivity, and Toleration 123

9 Assimilation: Christianity and the Consensus around Capitalism 138

10 Assimilation and Overhearing: Rethinking Globalization – Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Risale-I Nur, Hardt, and Negri 147

11 Keith Ward: An Engaged Theologian 159

12 Engaging with the Pope: Engagement yet Not Engagement 168

13 The Shape of an Engaged Theology 191

Conclusion 208

Notes 210

References 235

Index 245