Description

Both personal and scholarly in tone, this book encourages readers to think theologically, ethically, and politically about the statement that declares: “God loves diversity and justice.” The multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-disciplinary, and multi-gendered identities of the eleven contributors and two respondents deepen the conversation. It considers questions such as: Do we affirm or challenge this theological statement? Do we concentrate on “God” in our response or do we interrogate what diversity and justice mean in light of God’s love for diversity and justice? Alternatively, do we prefer to ponder the verb, to love, and consider what it might mean for society if people really believed in a divinity loving diversity and justice? Of course, there are no easy and simple answers whether we consult the Sikh scriptures, the Bible, the Qur’an, the movies, the Declaration of Human Rights, or the transgender movement, but the effort is worthwhile. The result is a serious historical, literary, cultural, and religious discourse that fends against intellectually rigid thought and simplistic belief systems across the religious spectrum. In our world in which so much military unrest and violence, economic inequities, and religious strife prevail, such a conversation nurtures theological, ethical, and political possibilities of inclusion and justice.

Table of Contents

Introduction: From Progressive Theological Discourse to Changing the World
Susanne Scholz
PART I. ABOUT GOD
Chapter 1: God Is Diversity and Justice: A Feminist Sikh Perspective
Nikky-Guninder K. Singh
Chapter 2: As Long As You Are Doing Something: A Secular Feminist Perspective from Canada
Pamela J. Milne
Chapter 3: I AM, Who Loves the Prophets, Loves You: Meditations on the Progressive/Prophetic at the End of Jewish History
Marc H. Ellis
PART II. ABOUT LOVE
Chapter 4: A World without Tags: A Progressive Palestinian Muslim Scholar Speaks
Isam Shihada
Chapter 5: Class Matters in an Age of Empire: A White Feminist Working-Class American Speaks
Susanne Johnson
PART III. ABOUT DIVERSITY
Chapter 6: Celebrating Diversity Is Not What It’s All About: A Progressive White Male German-American Theologian Speaks
Joerg Rieger
Chapter 7: Does God Really Love Diversity? Biblical Counter-Examples from a Chinese-American Perspective
Sze-Kar Wan
PART IV. ABOUT JUSTICE
Chapter 8: Diversity, Justice, and the Bible for Grown-Ups: A Jewish Russian-Israeli-American Hebrew Bible Scholar Speaks
Serge Frolov
Chapter 9: The Exiled Native: The Paradox of the Black Scholar
Maria Dixon
Chapter 10: Justice Is at the Core: The Law, Justice, and Gender Equality in Islamic Feminism
Qudsia Mirza
Chapter 11: Transgender Spirituality: Finding Justice through Activism and Love
Gordene McKenzie and Nancy Nangeroni
PART V. TWO RESPONSES
Chapter 12: Reflections on “God Loves Diversity and Justice”: A (Modern) Human Rights Perspective
Pat Davis
Chapter 13: Should God Remain? A Response from the Perspective of Peace and Conflict Studies
Victoria Fontan

Product details

Published Mar 27 2017
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 248
ISBN 9781498557115
Imprint Lexington Books
Dimensions 231 x 149 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Susanne Scholz

Contributor

Pat Davis

Contributor

Maria A. Dixon

Contributor

Marc H. Ellis

Contributor

Victoria Fontan

Contributor

Serge Frolov

Contributor

Susanne Johnson

Contributor

Pamela J. Milne

Contributor

Qudsia Mirza

Contributor

Nancy Nangeroni

Contributor

Joerg Rieger

Contributor

Isam M. Shihada

Contributor

Sze-kar Wan

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