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| Document Type: | Book |
|---|---|
| All Authors / Contributors: |
David P Leong |
| ISBN: | 9781498260763 1498260764 9781610974523 1610974522 |
| OCLC Number: | 802291844 |
| Notes: | Based on theauthor's thesis (Ph. D.-Intercultural Studies)--Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies, 2010. |
| Description: | xx, 250 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. |
| Contents: | Part one: urbanization and contextualization. Urbanization in context ; Faith and culture -- Part two: a missional theology of cultural engagement. Incarnation: the missional task ; Confrontation: the prophetic task ; Imagination: the creative task -- Part three: an urban exegesis of the Rainier Valley. Unpacking urban exegesis ; Observation: the urban context of Rainier Valley ; Interpretation: a local urban theology of Rainier Valley -- Part four: an urban contextual theology. Contextualization as process ; The urban context ; Toward an urban contextual theology. |
| Series Title: | American Society of Missiology monograph series, 12. |
| Responsibility: | David P. Leong. |
Abstract:
This research explores the cultural and theological complexities within the urban context as some of the most prominent societal realities shaping our cities today. Cities represent the convergence of identities, industries, and ideologies in a dynamic urban ecosystem of pluralism and globalization. Far more than just the incidental built environment that houses such phenomena, the city is a living, breathing organism with vital systems and infrastructure that function as a means of sustenance for its inhabitants. Ultimately, cities are a cultural reflection of our common humanity in all of its beauty and depravity. More specifically, this work critically examines the cultural and theological significance of the urban context as an exercise in missiological contextualization. Through a dialectical exploration of the locality of Seattle's Rainier Valley and the universality of the street comer, three different lenses are used to examine the intersection of faith and culture in the city. First, through developing a rnissional theology of cultural engagement, the themes of incarnation, confrontation, and imagination inform a theological posture that is conversant with urbanism. Second, an interdisciplinary method of urban exegesis that synthesizes the symbolic systems of urban semiotics and the missional theology of cultural exegesis is applied to particular settings in Seattle's Rainier Valley as a form of observing and interpreting urban communities. Third, an urban contextual theology that is situated in an environment of physical density, social diversity, and economic disparity emphasizes the necessity of engaging the city with theologies of place, neighbor, and community. In an effort to equip and empower the church and others to engage the city as thoughtful, missional people, this research seeks to cultivate a combination of critical observational skills in the urban context and a constructive understanding of the holistic Christian mission among the poor and disenfranchised in our urban communities. From the street comer in the ghetto to newly gentrified enclaves of hipsters, "street signs" are all around us; they point us in the right direction toward deeper understanding, alert us to the presence of injustice on the horizon, and draw our attention to the redemptive beauty of the city that is revealed in the light of the gospel.
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