Theology
The Problem and Promise of Freedom A Public Theology for the Church Steven Félix-Jäger Steven Félix-Jäger offers a public theology that challenges the church to be a holy, loving, and generous witness to a world bound by visions of self-absorbed autonomy and materialism. “Félix-Jäger has crafted a robust theology of the responsible church. His book presents a church that carefully asks what is go- ing on in the wider culture and responds to the salient issues of the day from its fidelity to covenantal freedom, proclaiming God’s vi - sion of shalom, and embodying a new form of public witness. This brilliant book is both a thesis and a manual for churches willing to be ‘responsible’ in today’s controversial Western societies.” —Nimi Wariboko, Boston University “Too often, we see our freedom in Christ as a kind of libertine Americanism where we can do whatever we want under the banner of empire. Thankfully, Félix-Jäger has offered us a substantive alternative. To be free, it seems, is to be submitted to Christ. And this book paves a way forward to understand how that is more about freedom than anything a nation could ever construct on its own.” —A. J. Swoboda, Bushnell University; author of The Gift of Thorns “This book rejects conservative Christianity’s culture-war stance against secular liberalism and instead advances a vibrant Pente - costal public theology of renewal and abundance. It presents a constructive theological alternative to secular liberal ideologies of freedom and the free-market economy. A significant contribution to public theology.” —Hak Joon Lee, Fuller Theological Seminary “Argues persuasively that the church must resist the idols of the liberal tradition. Félix-Jäger creates a distinctively Pentecostal public theology that combats the pervasive free-market ideology in the church with a counternarrative of abundance.” —Wolfgang Vondey, University of Birmingham “Félix-Jäger elaborates on the conceptions of liberty that have infiltrated the church in one of the most succinct and accessible summations available. Utilizing powerful biblical imagery, he high- lights the contemporary challenge confronting public theology: discerning true worship and counterfeit worship as manifested in our economic and social lives. This contribution speaks directly to all who aspire to live as ‘dual citizens,’ residents of the kingdom and the world.” —Christopher Parkes, Hillsong College, Australia
FEBRUARY 2025 • 240 pp. • paper • $26.99 • 9781540968142
Steven Félix-Jäger (PhD, University of Wales) is associate pro- fessor of theology and worship, chair of the Worship and Media Department, and director of academic research at Life Pacific University. He is also an ordained minister of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, cohost of the TikTok Theology podcast, and an exhibiting artist, songwriter, and producer. Some of his previous books include Renewing Christian Worldview (coauthored with Yoon Shin) and Renewal Worship.
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR RENEWING CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW 9781540965912 • $27.00p
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