Читать книгу An Evangelical Social Gospel? - Timothy L. Suttle - Страница 3

“Combining elements of history, theology, and autobiography, Tim Suttle has written a thought-provoking book that serves as a fresh assessment of Walter Rauschenbusch for the twenty-first-century church. In an age when many Christians use labels such as ‘evangelical’ and ‘liberal’ in an uncritical fashion, Suttle calls upon his audience to reflect on how a recovery of the past can lead to a fresh understanding of Christianity today. While written primarily with an evangelical audience in mind, Suttle’s study provides a welcome perspective not only on Walter Rauschenbusch and the social gospel, but on how Christianity in America might unfold over the course of the next several decades.”

—Christopher Evans

author of Liberalism Without Illusions: Renewing an American Christian Tradition

“Every once in a while, as we journey in faith, we will discover the kind of guide who not only helps us find our way, but our voice. Tim Suttle has not only found his way further into God’s Kingdom, but he has discovered his own voice by rediscovering a like-minded pastor, theologian, and fellow traveler, in Walter Rauschenbusch. Today, in the footsteps of Rauschenbusch, Tim has found a way to ‘reconnect’ the personal nature of the Gospel that has become unhinged from the Gospel’s corporate and communal nature in the Church of Jesus Christ. Every page of this book burns with the fervent love of God, and immediately, one begins to hear in the infectious words of a compassionate pastor, the unswerving conviction of a prophet, beckoning the whole ‘people of God,’ and not just the wandering individuals of the Church with their private experience(s) of grace, to join together in the transforming power of God’s mission to reconcile the whole world. After all, says Tim, ‘the nexus of the personal and corporate is where all the power is.’ Yes, a recovery of the Gospel is underway in the Church because these two faithful pastors and prophetic voices have already seen ahead of the rest of us, and now, they are calling the Church to ‘run further up and further in’ the Kingdom of God.”

—K. Steve McCormick

William M. Greathouse Chair of Wesleyan-Holiness Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary

“In this remarkable and enjoyable book Tim Suttle draws on the theology of Walter Rauschenbusch in offering a holistic account of the Gospel that is truly good news for the world. In so doing he reminds us that the invitation to follow Jesus and participate in the mission of God involves all that we are in an effort to create a society in which the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.”

—John R. Franke

author of Manifold Witness: The Plurality of Truth

“An Evangelical Social Gospel? is a probing and passionate call to Christians and churches to move beyond our one-sided individual relationship with God to equally include relationship with others and responsibility for the wider community. Suttle, using the writings and life of Rauschenbush and his own disquiet as a pastor, stirs us to discomfort at our self-centered complacency and co-option by culture, and moves us to redefine ‘thy Kingdom come on earth as in heaven’ as a call to relationships and transformation of our communities. Transformation goes beyond charity to seeking change in the unjust social structures (public education, prisons, etc). An exciting, challenging, biblically based read that will change your faith, thinking, and action.”

—Mary Nelson

Founder

Bethel New Life, CCDA