Evangelical Postcolonial Conversations

How can the church respond to issues of imperialism, race and globalization? Constructing an evangelical postcolonial theology may be the solution to dealing with these ever-growing issues. Gathering together essays presented at the 2010 Postcolonial Roundtable at Gordon College, this groundbreaking volume seeks to reconcile the ugly history of cultural dominion and colonialism with new perspectives on global society.Rethinking and reimagining the concepts of identity, power, interpretation and historiography through the lens of Christianity, the editors provide readers with new ways of understanding and bettering the world.'The Christian faith of the future must be a joint enterprise in which the descendants of the colonized and the descendants of the colonizers come together, reflect on the past and imagine a different and better future together,' contributor Brian McLaren states. 'That work will involve risks and dangers for both groups, and the contributions of both are essential. One lesson the gospel surely teaches us is this: we are all connected.'Addressing themes like nationalism, Christology and western conquest, contributors discuss reasons Christians need to be careful how they frame their conversations on global topics. The language of 'mission' can be misconstrued in light of postcolonial perspectives, and the essays dig into the role of evangelicalism in modern Christian outreach to help us keep pace with what God is doing in our era.

L. Daniel Hawk (PhD, Emory University) is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio and an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. His work on narrative and identity formation includes Evangelical Postcolonial Conversations (as co-editor and contributor), Joshua in Berit Olam and Joshua in 3-D. Jayachitra Lalitha (D.Th., Serampore University) is associate professor of New Testament at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, South India, where she is dean of the women's studies department and coordinator of the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary Church Women Centre. She is also co-chair of the World Christianity Group of the American Academy of Religion and coeditor of Teaching All Nations: Interrogating the Great Commission (Fortress, 2013). Kay Higuera Smith (Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University) is professor of religion and chair of the department of biblical studies at Azusa Pacific University. Her specialization is in the New Testament and early Judaism.