In this important study John de Gruchy examines the past, present and future roles of Christianity in the development of democracy. He traces the relationship from its gestation in early Christendom to its virtual breakdown as democracy becomes the polity of modernity, and focuses on five twentieth-century case studies, including Nazi Germany and South Africa, which demonstrate the revival of the churches as a force in the struggle for democracy. His conclusions point the way to the development of a theology for a just world order.

This Companion serves as a guide for readers wanting to explore the thought and legacy of the great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45). Its chapters, written by authors from differing national, theological and church contexts, provide an introduction to, and commentary on, Bonhoeffer's life and work, guiding the reader along the paths of his thought. Experts set out Bonhoeffer's political, social and cultural contexts, and offer biographical information that is indispensable for the understanding of his theology. There is a chronology and a glossary.

Schleiermacher, a German theologian at the turn of the nineteenth century, is truly one of the masters of modern theology: he sought to rebuild Protestant theology in the wake of the Enlightenment and of Kant's destruction of traditional metaphysics. He was the founder of liberal theology with its emphasis on inner experience and the knowledge of God as mediated through history. This volume concentrates on the key texts and ideas in Schleiermacher's thought. It presents the essential Schleiermacher for students and the general reader. Keith Clements's introductory essay and notes on the...

Whether born in the Mideast, Africa, Asia, or brought home to the streets of America, violent hatreds often threaten to swamp the minimal cooperation needed to foster life and health. Does Christianity have anything besides warmed-over pieties to offer a world torn by estrangement, alienation, and violently opposed worldviews?

In this signal contribution to public theology, John de Gruchy, an internationally esteemed political theologian, emphatically affirms the possibility and necessity of reconciliation. For Christians, he says, reconciliation is the center and perennial test of their...

Christianity, Art and Transformation is a journey of exploration that is both historical and contemporary, theological and practical. The reader is invited to share in the journey beginning in the life of the early church, traveling through the history of European Christianity and art, and arriving in southern Africa. Many themes weave through its pages, among them the nature of beauty, good taste, the power of sacred images, aesthetics and ethics, and the role of art in society and the church today.

In this stimulating book, John W. de Gruchy points out the relevance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thought for the life of the church in South Africa, engaging in dialogue the theology of Bonhoeffer and the theology of South Africa. Both Bonhoeffer's theology and his life bore witness to the need for Christians to come face to face with the pressing political and social issues of the day. Bonhoeffer believed that to bear an authentic witness to Christ in certain settings was to go against the stream; the church in South Africa, says de Gruchy, faces the challenge to be just such a "troublesome...

Description: In this book Donovan Roebert provides a path for Christians and Buddhists who wish to better understand the essential, living tenets of their own faith while exploring how these two great religious paths can provide insights of real benefit to adherents of either. Without lapsing into syncretism or demanding a departure from orthodoxy, this book provides a sound and thorough basis on which Christians and Buddhists -- and all those seeking greater insight into faiths other than their own - can explore the rich possibilities for learning from one another. Beyond describing in...

About the Contributor(s): John de Gruchy is Emeritus Professor of Christian Studies at the University of Cape Town, where he taught for over thirty years. He is currently a Senior Research Scholar at the University of Cape Town and an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. De Gruchy, who has doctorates in both theology and the social sciences, is author of The Church Struggle in South Africa and a number of other significant books.

Few people have any extensive knowledge of the life and witness of the Protestant churches in the former Portuguese colonies of southern Africa. Yet these communities of faith played a significant role in the liberation struggles that led to the independence of both Mozambique and Angola and subsequently to the independence of Zimbabwe and the ending of apartheid in South Africa. In Mozambique, Eduardo Mondlane emerged from the Swiss Mission to become the first president of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO). This book examines Mondlane's role in challenging the churches both in...