PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, SPIRITUALITY, and FORMATION
STRANGERS AND SCAPEGOATS Extending God’s Welcome to Those on the Margins Matthew S. Vos We live in a world of oppositional relationships and increasing in-group/out-group divisions: citizen/illegal immigrant, Christian/ non-Christian, Republican/Democrat, Black/White, male/female, blue collar/white collar, and so on. Christian sociologist Mat- thew Vos explains that we construct our identities around such bifurcations through what social psychologists call “downward social comparison.” We identify not as individuals but as group members, and we do this by establishing contrasts between “us” and other groups with whom we compare favorably. Strangers and Scapegoats explains that the problem of the stranger lies at the root of many problems humanity faces, such as racism, sexism, and nationalism. The author encourages us to open our- selves to strangers—some quite near us—that we haven’t noticed before. As we identify and learn to see strangers in new ways, we see ourselves anew. This book applies classic sociological theory on the stranger to matters of faith and social justice, showing that an identity in Christ frees us to love strangers as neighbors and friends. It also includes two guest chapters, one on intersex persons and the church and one on stranger-making in the “correctional” system.
AUGUST 2022 • 272 pp. • paper • $24.99 • 9781540965233
CONTENTS
Matthew S. Vos (PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is professor of so- ciology and chair of the department at Covenant College, where he has taught since 2000. He serves as vice president for the Christian Sociological Associa- tion and as an associate editor for the Journal of Sociology and Christianity .
Introduction: Strangers among Us PART 1: STRANGERS AND SCAPEGOATS IN SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
1. Constructing Identity: The Self, the Social, and the Stranger 2. A Stranger World: In-groups, Out-groups, and the Space Between 3. No More Scapegoats: A Stranger Theology PART 2: STRANGERS ON THE MARGINS 4. Strangers in the Pew: Girls and Symbolic Exclusion 5. From Stranger to Neighbor: Intersex Persons and the Church by Val Hiebert, Providence University College 6. Strangers at the Borders: Immigrants and the Heart of the Gospel Message 7. You Made Me a Stranger and Imprisoned Me by Scott Monsma, Northwestern College 8. Competing in Cedar: Nike, Superstar Athletes, and the Unseen Strangers Who Make Our Shoes PART 3: INVITING STRANGERS 9. The Strange(r) Reality of the Gospel 10. Three Stories of the Neighbor Index
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