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Book Cover for: Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing, Emmanuel Katongole

Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing

Emmanuel Katongole

Winner:Christianity Today Book Award -Christian Living (2009)

Christianity Today Book Award winner

Our world is broken and cries out for reconciliation.

But mere conflict resolution and peacemaking are not enough. What makes real reconciliation possible? How is it that some people are able to forgive the most horrendous of evils? And what role does God play in these stories? Does reconciliation make any sense apart from the biblical story of redemption?

Secular models of peacemaking are insufficient. And the church has not always fulfilled its call to be agents of reconciliation in the world. In Reconciling All Things Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, codirectors of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School, cast a comprehensive vision for reconciliation that is biblical, transformative, holistic and global. They draw on the resources of the Christian story, including their own individual experiences in Uganda and Mississippi, to bring solid, theological reflection to bear on the work of reconciling individuals, groups and societies. They recover distinctively Christian practices that will help the church be both a sign and an agent of God's reconciling love in the fragmented world of the twenty-first century.

This powerful, concise book lays the philosophical foundations for reconciliation and explores what it means to pursue hope in areas of brokenness in theory and practice.

Book Details

  • Publisher: IVP
  • Publish Date: Oct 10th, 2008
  • Pages: 167
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.40in - 5.40in - 0.60in - 0.45lb
  • EAN: 9780830834518
  • Categories: Christian Theology - Ethics & Moral TeachingChristian Theology - SoteriologyChristian Living - Social Issues

About the Author

Rice, Chris: -

Chris Rice (DMin, Duke Divinity School) is director of the Mennonite Central Committee United Nations Office in New York City and coauthor of Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing.

Katongole, Emmanuel: -

Emmanuel Katongole (Ph.D., Catholic University of Louvain) is associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke Divinity School. He grew up in Uganda, was ordained a Catholic priest of Kampala diocese, and taught philosophy and ethics at the Uganda National Seminary. He now teaches on the face of Jesus in Africa, the Rwanda genocide, politics, violence and theology, and AIDS and other social challenges. He is the author and editor of several books, including A Future for Africa and African Theology Today. Katongole and Chris Rice are founding codirectors of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School.

Praise for this book

There is much to commend this slim volume. Catholic and Protestant lay persons and seminary students alike will benefit from the authors' expansive theological vision of reconciliation.
Center for Reconciliation founders Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice use personal experiences and historic examples to illustrate their roadmap for reconciliation work. Reconciliation is not a theory or an achievement, they teach, but a gift of God, an invitation to a story, a journey with God's new creation as the goal.
"Reconciling All Things is an excellent book that provides a solid framework for the books that will follow in IVP's Resources for Reconciliation series. It also would serve well as a conversation starter in our church communities, particularly as we seek to discern what the Mission of God looks like in our particular location."
"Reconciling All Things is the best book I have read during the preceding course of twelve months. I call this book 'true theology in practice.' What makes this book an invaluable resource is its message of reconciliation, the wisdom it embodies, and the fact that both Rice and Katongole have been actively involved in this journey!"
"Deeply theological, this short book needs slow reading by anyone interested in harnessing the power of the spirit for social change."
"Reconciliation has become a popular buzz word. But I've learned there are no quick and easy fixes for a broken world. This book takes us deeper. It is fresh, biblical, practical, inspiring and full of hope. The authors themselves embody the vision our world needs--African and American, black and white, Uganda and Mississippi, Protestant and Catholic, joined in common ministry across divides. This book is for all those restless Christians I meet who long for an alternative."
"Rather than suggesting formulaic or easy steps, Father Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice challenge their readers to embody a spirituality that reconciles. With the compelling texture of real-life stories, the credibility of their own journeys in reconciliation, and humble yet profound theological reflections, Emmanuel and Chris offer an accessible and fresh entry point for the crucial conversations on reconciliation."
"This is a tough and a hopeful book. Tough, not because it is hard to read, but because it calls us to what the authors portray as the imperative but long, painful and not always rewarding journey of reconciliation. But hopeful because it is full of keen insights, fascinating stories and wise counsel. If we truly believe God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself, then this book is important reading. Read it and heed the call to join in God's great story of reconciliation. You will find yourself challenged beyond comfort, yet moved with great expectations."
"Chris Rice and Emmanuel Katongole know how much genuine reconciliation costs; therefore, they are perfect leaders to teach us not to take the task too lightly or to try to bring it about too superficially. This is a critically important book and an incisive beginning to what promises to be a world-changing series. Christians have a unique vision to live--the new creation of wholehearted community!"