Alpers disrupts received oppositions between church and world by recognizing both grace already given and the distorting power of sin. She provocatively urges Christians not to take on God's work for themselves, but instead to recognize the hope that grace brings to a fallen world and to attend to its signs. An important intervention in both public theology and systematic theology.

David Grumett, University of Edinburgh, UK

Wide-ranging but sharply focused and clearly argued, this is an important contribution to systematic theology. In a way that few of us manage to do, Alpers takes seriously the significance of the doctrine of sin for the practice of theology itself.

Karen Kilby, University of Durham, UK

This is the best book on Edward Schillebeeckx's theology that I have read. Alpers demonstrates that Schillebeeckx presents a starting point for political theology today, in our secular age, that can stand up against the alternatives on offer. Combining theoretical rigor and theological sophistication, with this book Alpers establishes herself as a leader among her generation of political theologians.

Vincent Lloyd, Villanova University, USA