Ebook
This book explores the interconnection of theological education and Christian scholarship, cultural and theological hermeneutics, pedagogy and community knowledge, democracy and citizenship. Yet, the three major disciplines or discourses covered in this work include multicultural education, theology, and hermeneutics through the lens of human flourishing and the concept of the good life. From this angle, this project is written from three different methods and approaches that intersect with each other: a theology of contextualization, a hermeneutics of interculturality, and a pedagogy of cultural literacy and transformative community knowledge.
The book advances the idea that theological education should be the starting point to foster candid conversations about the importance of democracy and human rights, civic engagement and the political life, inclusion and diversity, and pluralism and difference in our multicultural society. The book uses the tools of multicultural education and cultural knowledge to enhance democracy and promote fundamental human virtues that would sustain the good life and human flourishing in the world--in the Aristotelian sense and in the Socratic idea of local and world citizenship.
Finally, this text offers an alternative vision to contemporary theological education, to deconstruct the white, male, and Eurocentric narratives of theological education and Christian scholarship.
“This well-researched book has a clear pedagogical aim. Its goal is for human flourishing and hope in theological education. With its well-crafted chapters and numerous examples of syllabi that incorporate critical theory, ethnic studies, and the sociological approach to education, this book will be a sure guide for the much-needed reassessment of theological education.”
—Ronald Charles, University of Toronto
“Celucien Joseph has set out a new, courageous, and constructive vision for theological education and Christian formation for God’s diverse and expansive kingdom. His vision for cultivating character and intellectual rigor in the next generation of Christian leaders through thoughtful engagement with the story of redemption recorded in the Christian Scriptures is one I believe every global theological educator should champion.”
—William Dwight McKissic Sr., senior pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church
“Celucien Joseph presents a bold manifesto for the future of theological education in the United States. . . . Joseph proposes a renewal of theological education with a more diverse faculty, a holistic vision of human need, and a syllabus that cultivates both moral and intellectual virtues and links the Christian gospel with Christian activism. This book is both a salutary warning and an earnest exhortation for a more inclusive and impactful type of theological education.”
—Michael F. Bird, Ridley College
“Magnificent. Joseph’s passionate proposal for rethinking theological education, by an insider, is extremely important. It demonstrates clearly the results of embedded racism and misogyny. It offers an inspired proposal for transformation. This should be required reading for all university and seminary administrators and faculty. It is a truly revolutionary book!”
—David Bundy, Manchester Wesley Research Centre
“These proposals may come across as bitter pills to swallow. However, they could be just what contemporary Christianity and its inefficient theologies need to be healed in order to contribute to God’s purposes of healing our present world. Students, educators, and theological institutions can take, read, and swallow Joseph’s prescriptions slowly and be theologically healed.”
—Sègbégnon M. Gnonhossou, Seattle Pacific University