Church and Ethical Responsibility in the Midst of World Economy

Magisterial in scope and scrupulous in its investigation and attribution of sources, Church and Ethical Responsibility in the Midst of World Economy will take its place as an important document that contributes much in terms of prophetic praxis--it challenges those who are comfortably complacent and unwilling to be disturbed.""This book is minjung theology gone global! It is wise, rich, complex, amazingly learned, and passionate in its call for a prophetic Christian approach to global economics.""--Stephen Bevans, Professor of Mission and Culture, Catholic Theological Union""Chung provides the reader not only with an overview of Christian thought on capitalism, but also with a lively explication of and conversation with more than a century of secular political and economic perspectives on capitalism. Helpfully, Chung also broadens the religious contributions beyond Christianity, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in the conversation. Students of social ethics, pastors, teachers, and laypeople will all benefit from this informed and timely book.""--Heidi Hadsel, President and Professor of Social Ethics, Hartford Seminary""Chung creatively constructs a usable theological tradition to challenge the assumption of the economic status quo as our inevitable future, integrating interreligious and cross-disciplinary resources in the struggle. How can the ecumenical church serve as leaven for imagining and implementing alternatives to global business as usual?""--Craig L. Nessan, Academic Dean and Professor of Contextual Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary""In a situation characterized by global crisis and increasing injustice of the world economy, Chung analyzes the responsibility of the church in the development of modern capitalism. At the same time he describes critical potential within the biblical tradition to enable the church''s protest against an unjust world economy. The book represents an important and well-informed contribution to a critique of global capitalism from the perspective of postcolonial theology and economic theory.""--Andreas Pangritz, Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Ecumenical Institute, University of Bonn, Germany""Challenging shallow sloganeering and simplistic and superficial analysis, Chung offers in this thoughtful and thought-provoking work a serious and sustained investigation of the underpinning and overarching economic structures that are an indispensable part of the world in which we live, a world in which we are constantly impacted by these realities. This is a work that is addressed not only to those who are part of the institution that is called the church, but to all those who are willing to pay heed to, and be transformed by, a movement that was called into being by one who paid with his life for his stance against greed, dominion, and the lack of justice.""--Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran SebastianDean of the Seminary and H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at PhiladelphiaPaul S. Chung is Associate Professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. His books related to a prophetic theology of God''s mission, transcultural hermeneutics, and justice in the public sphere include The Cave and the Butterfly (2010) and Liberating Lutheran Theology (together with Ulrich Duchrow and Craig L. Nessan, 2011), among others.