How Long, O Lord?

Description

The task of reconciliation with God, ourselves and others is an integral element of the mission of God that has been entrusted to his people and leads us to be peacemakers in our societies. Dealing with the grand vision of peace and reconciliation, this book unlocks the biblical story of reconciliation and challenges churches to widen their scope of mission and become a healing and restorative community. With a particular focus on case studies from the Philippines, this book gives insight on the work of reconciliation in different parts of the world. Dealing with themes such as repentance, forgiveness, partnership, and multiculturalism, How Long, O Lord? offers a thorough, academic investigation of the ministry of reconciliation that will be useful for pastors, counsellors, and scholars in various contexts.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783684946
• Langue: English

Extrait

It is hard to overstate the timeliness and importance of this urgent call to peacemaking and reconciliation. While such discussions too often stay at an abstract and general level this collection presents a richly textured and moving account of on-the-ground efforts and proposals, alongside biblical and historical resources. Once you begin reading this book you will not easily put it down, and you will come away with renewed inspiration to be part of God’s program of reconciliation.
William Dyrness, PhD
Senior Professor of Theology and Culture,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA
Author of Insider Jesus
Can peace and justice embrace in our violent and unjust world? This rich compilation probes the depths both of the biblical narrative as well as the stories of contemporary peacemakers in a hope-inspiring and practically rooted response to that urgent question. I have no doubt that readers will share my gratitude to the editors and authors for opening up new vistas and laying new stepping stones for our shared journey as followers of the Prince of Peace.
Ruth Padilla DeBorst, PhD
Provost, Center for Interdisciplinary Theological Education
Coordinator, International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT)
We live in a world of conflict and in need of peace, yet a great number of the followers of Jesus are ill-equipped, ineffective, and in some cases even uninvolved in the task of peacemaking, despite the Beatitudes reminding us that peacemakers will be called the children of God. Too often, Christian believers do not appreciate the importance of this divine task or do not feel competent to carry it out. This compendium presents an invaluable tool that will enable the Body of Christ to overcome our deficiencies in the realm of peacemaking and fulfill the mission of our Lord, the Prince of Peace.
Bishop Efraim Tendero
Secretary General/CEO, World Evangelical Alliance
How Long, O Lord?: The Challenge and Promise of Reconciliation and Peace is a collection of engaging essays presented at a theological forum sponsored by the Asian Theological Seminary in Manila in 2016. This book takes the Western evangelical into another world – a world almost ignored in popular evangelical literature. The primary focus of the book is the Philippines, where the churches are strong in numbers, but great disparity continues in wealth, poverty, injustice, the abuse of women, and civil war. Nevertheless, the wider world is never ignored. Thus, for example, the injustices and pain of the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the Rwanda genocide have chapters. The constant question put to the reader is, What does the Bible say about peace and reconciliation in a world where division, injustice, and conflict prevail? What struck me most forcibly was that the essay writers turned to the Bible, often the Old Testament, to find perspectives and answers. This is a wonderful book, but the pain it reflects makes it a challenging read.
Rev Kevin Giles, DTh
Pastor, Theologian, Writer
Melbourne, Australia
It is a must for us to be equipped in biblical knowledge by all means possible, especially on subjects like peace, a foreign concept in many parts of the world. How we can extend peace to a war-stricken world? This book presents to various Christian leaders and theologians, God’s revelations on the reconciliation and healing brought about by Christ in different contexts. I highly encourage every pastor and church leader to have a copy of this book.
Bishop Noel Pantoja
National Director,
Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches
How Long, O Lord?: The Challenge and Promise of Reconciliation and Peace is a timely book! Those of us who self-define and self-identify as “being in Christ in the world” should be troubled that in spite of (and sometimes because of) the growth and spread of Christianity globally, the world of the twenty-first century is characterized by violent strife and conflicts, gross inequalities, devastating natural disasters, and moral decay. The promise of the gospel narrative – that followers of Jesus, wherever they are, shall have impact on society as salt and light – seems to be a far cry from the experience today.
This book speaks directly to the distortions of the gospel narrative, which have shaped a form of Christianity that is interwoven in the story of discrimination and oppression, violent strife and conflicts, gross social-economic inequalities and moral decay. It also elucidates what the true gospel is – good news of justice, peace, and reconciliation, with testimonies of how it works in different contexts and communities.
I commend How Long, O Lord? to all who define their life in the world by the dictates of the gospel story, but especially to those that are troubled, restless, and dissatisfied with the way things are in the church and in our world today.
Bishop David Zac Niringiye, PhD
Senior Fellow,
Institute for Religion, Faith, and Culture in Public Life (INTERFACE)
Visiting Fellow,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA

How Long, O Lord?
The Challenge and Promise of Reconciliation and Peace
General Editors
Athena E. Gorospe
Charles R. Ringma

© 2019 Asian Theological Seminary
Published 2019 by Langham Global Library
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-493-9 Print
978-1-78368-494-6 ePub
978-1-78368-495-3 Mobi
978-1-78368-496-0 PDF
Athena E. Gorospe and Charles Ringma hereby assert their moral right to be identified as the Author of the General Editor’s part in the Work in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Contributors hereby assert their moral right to be identified as the Author of their Contribution in the Work, in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-493-9
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover


List of Abbreviations


Foreword – Timoteo D. Gener


Foreword – Aldrin M. Pe ñ amora


Introduction “How Long, O Lord?”


Section I – Biblical Perspectives


1 “Righteousness and Peace Kiss One Another” (Ps 85:10)


The Criteria of Peace – An Old Testament Perspective (Psalm 85)


The Scope of God’s Peace – A New Testament Perspective


Conclusion


2 “What’s Your Name?”


Preconditions for Reconciliation (Gen 32:1–32)


Remembering the Name (Mark 5:1–13)


A Memorial without Names


A Face-off with God


The Bridge on the River Kwai


Forgive and Forget? (Jeremiah 31:27–34)


Taking Responsibility for the Sins of the Past Generation


Conclusion


3 God in the Face of the Other


Conflict, Confrontation, and Reconciliation in the Jacob Narrative


Rite of Passage and Jacob’s Transformation


Appropriating “the Face of God” Motif in Resolving Conflicts


Conclusion


Section II – The Ways of Peace


4 Issues in Israeli and Palestinian Reconciliation Encounters


Obstacles to Reconciliation


Identifying the Roots of Intractable Conflict


Stages of Reconciliation


Conclusion


5 Peacebuilding from Below in a Multicultural Setting


Conceptual Terrain


The Case of GiNaPaLaDTaKa Space for Peace


From Conflict Sensitive Relief and Rehabilitation to Community-Based Peacebuilding


Insights on Peacebuilding as a Community-Based Initiative


The Role of Faith-Based Organizations


Challenges to the Evangelical Faith Community


Conclusion


6 Moses, the Datu, and the Prince of Peace