The secular age is not a smooth, untroubled process of accumulation and advance but an uneven and unpredictable series of clashes of interest. Charles Taylor's immanent frame cannot be construed merely as a phenomenon within religion and culture but urgently needs to be understood in political and economic termsi.e., as a class project. The failure of the secular, vividly displayed in the crumbling legitimacy of global institutions and in the spectacle of police violence, both calls for and makes possible a renewal of political agency. Tom James and David True argue that a theology of the cross has a distinctive potential today: it can pierce the sacred aura of normalcy around the consensual anti-politics of the neoliberal order so that a vision of a world beyond today's racialized capitalism can emerge. But they contend that we don't need to forsake the emancipatory aims of modernity nor retreat to local communities. As an alternative to these weak strategies, theyoffer a constructive and cruciform account of political agency that includes both prophetic resistance and practical wisdom, each embedded in contemporary struggles for freedom that, they argue, embody divine desire for a common world.

Offers an account of political agency that is simultaneously radical and practical Offers an account of prophetic vision grounded in desire Offers a theological interpretation of labor struggles and social movement activism

Autorentext

Professor Tom James is a leading expert in the energy & natural resources market with over 26 years of global commercial expertise. He began his career in 1989 and has had the opportunity to prove his abilities as a C+ executive at firms around the world in trading, advisory and commercial roles. He is the Executive Chairman of Navitas Resources Group and the Chief Investment Officer of Navitas Resources Capital Ltd. He is based in London, U.K. Navitas Resources (NR) is an energy and natural resources, knowledge-based services group offering trading, investment and risk management solutions. For 8 years he was the Petronet LNG Chair Professor at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies in Asia, has been an Executive Tutor for the MBA Oil & Gas programme at Middlesex University, UK, and a visiting lecturer at Singapore Management University. Professor James has published a number of books on commodity trading and investment-related topics. He is a regular commentator on market trends for international news channels and is a weekly contributor to the CNBC television oil market analysis review.

Klappentext

The "secular age" is not a smooth, untroubled process of accumulation and advance but an uneven and unpredictable series of clashes of interest. Charles Taylor's "immanent frame" cannot be construed merely as a phenomenon within religion and culture but urgently needs to be understood in political and economic terms-i.e., as a class project. The failure of the secular, vividly displayed in the crumbling legitimacy of global institutions and in the spectacle of police violence, both calls for and makes possible a renewal of political agency. Tom James and David True argue that a theology of the cross has a distinctive potential today: it can pierce the sacred aura of normalcy around the consensual anti-politics of the neoliberal order so that a vision of a world beyond today's racialized capitalism can emerge. But they contend that we don't need to forsake the emancipatory aims of modernity nor retreat to local communities. As an alternative to these weak strategies, theyoffer a constructive and cruciform account of political agency that includes both prophetic resistance and practical wisdom, each embedded in contemporary struggles for freedom that, they argue, embody divine desire for a common world.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: The Politics of Death.- 2. Renewing Political Agency: Arendt on Natality and Judgment.- 3. Theology's Re-politicizing: Crisis and Critique.- 3. Transcendence in a Secular Age: Cruciform Desire.- 4. The Problem and Promise of Politics.- 5. Prophetic Agency.- 6. Practical Agency.- 7. The Church as a Community of Desire.