Overview

In recent years, martyrdom and political violence have been conflated in the public imagination. Rubén Rosario Rodríguez argues that martyr narratives deserve consideration as resources for resisting political violence in contemporary theological reflection. Underlying the three Abrahamic monotheistic traditions is a shared belief that God requires liberation for the oppressed, justice for the victims and, most demanding of all, love for the political enemy. Christian, Jewish and Muslim martyr narratives that condone political violence - whether terrorist or state-sponsored - are examined alongside each religion's canon, in order to evaluate how central or marginalized these discourses are within their respective traditions. Primarily a work of Christian theology in conversation with Judaism and Islam, this book aims to model religious pluralism and cooperation by retrieving distinctly Christian sources that nurture tolerance and facilitate coexistence, while respecting religious difference.

Full Product Details

9781107187146

Table of Contents

Reviews

Advance praise: 'This is an exceptional academic contribution to the historical study of martyrdom among the classic Abrahamic religions, but also to its contemporary religious, political, and cultural relevance. It is a highly ambitious project that will leave an enduring mark in the always pertinent field of religiosity and human sacrifice. I strongly recommend its careful and critical reading.' Luis N. Rivera-Pagan, Henry Winters Luce Professor in Ecumenics Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey Advance praise: 'Christian Martyrdom and Political Violence is a serious and important work in constructive Christian theological ethics, intending to rescue the concept of martyrdom from contemporary corruptions - corruptions so grave that the very concept of martyrdom risks being discredited. This is a groundbreaking book which I recommend highly.' Rev. David P. Gushee, Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University, Georgia

Advance praise: 'This is an exceptional academic contribution to the historical study of martyrdom among the classic Abrahamic religions, but also to its contemporary religious, political, and cultural relevance. It is a highly ambitious project that will leave an enduring mark in the always pertinent field of religiosity and human sacrifice. I strongly recommend its careful and critical reading.' Luis N. Rivera-Pagan, Henry Winters Luce Professor in Ecumenics Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey Advance praise: 'Christian Martyrdom and Political Violence is a serious and important work in constructive Christian theological ethics, intending to rescue the concept of martyrdom from contemporary corruptions - corruptions so grave that the very concept of martyrdom risks being discredited. This is a groundbreaking book which I recommend highly.' Rev. David P. Gushee, Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University, Georgia Advance praise: 'Rosario-Rodriguez's attempt at a fundamental theology built around the narratives of martyrdom is a remarkable synthesis of long and serious work in the fields of liberation theology, biblical studies, systematics, interreligious dialogue, 'world church' studies, and moral theology; it is something truly new, and opens a whole fertile field of inquiry. I am especially impressed by the care and integrity with which he approaches Islamic martyr narratives without either assimilating them to the Christian narratives or creating a false partition between their theological meanings.' David Hart, Fellow of The Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies

Author Information

Rubén Rosario Rodríguez is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology in the Department of Theological Studies at St Louis University, Missouri. His first book, Racism and God-Talk: A Latino/a Perspective (2008), won the 2011 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award for Theology. He has contributed to two recent collections, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Latino/a Theology (2015) and Immigrant Neighbors among Us: Immigration across Theological Traditions (2015), and is editor for the forthcoming T&T Clark Companion to Political Theology.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available