Ethics in the Present Tense: Christianity and Crisis 1966-1991

This anthology by the editor and managing editor of the prestigious theological journal could serve as a one-volume primer on what's happening in modern liberal and liberation theology. Once the domain of white males, the field is exploding with voices from a wide variety of races, ethnic groups and people of various sexual preferences. Susperstars of the past generation (Reinhold Niebuhr, Harvey Cox and Roger Shinn) stand alongside those of today: James Cone discusses theology in the context of Black Power; Rosemary Ruether contrasts black with feminist theology; Carter Heyward talks sensitively about witnessing God's presence through lesbian Christian relationships. Some of the best pieces, however, are by lesser known writers who must be considered up and coming in ethics and theology. In an important and controversial piece, Robert Warrior identifies Native Americans with the Canaanites, writing of their need to reject a Christianity that envisions God as a conqueror. Susan Brooks Thistlewaite, in a piece on the Central Park jogger, shows that theology is not divorced from ordinary lives. (Dec.)