Ten Theology Books to Watch For – October 2024

Redemptive Service: Loving Our Neighbors Well

Lisa P. Stephenson and Ruthie Wienk

(Baker Academic)

This book introduces readers to redemptive service, benevolence, and the pursuit of justice. Bringing together expertise in Christian theology and sociology, Lisa Stephenson and Ruthie Wienk write from the conviction that service to others–especially those who are disenfranchised and impoverished–is central to our identity and mission as Christians.

Redemptive Service articulates the biblical, theological, and sociological foundations of service and explains why it is an important part of true Christian identity. The authors use the parable of the good Samaritan to frame redemptive service as a twofold process. First, true Christian service must emerge from a genuine love of our neighbor, which can only come about when service emerges from a Christian worldview. Second, our vision must be accompanied by intentional and informed action. We must discern and respond to the cries for help that surround us through relief, development, and advocacy work.

The authors highlight why we should engage in service while providing readers with a framework to use when deciding whom to serve and how to serve well.

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Learning to Live: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education

Rachelle Green

(Baylor UP)

What good is theological education for those in prison? For more than fifteen years, students in a Georgia prison for women have participated in a theological education program; most of these women have no desire to become professional religious leaders, and some are not religious at all. In a criminal punishment system governed by practices of social death, these students study theology in hopes of negotiating and constructing meaningful life anew. How can a better understanding of the lives desired by these students help shape a more life-affirming commitment to and practice of theological education in prison?

In Learning to Live, Rachelle R. Green combines ethnographic research with sociological, criminological, and theological scholarship to argue that prisons practice a form of death-dealing education that distorts human vocation and intentionally erodes students’ hopes for meaningful life. However, student narratives attest that incarcerated students may turn to theological learning programs to defy these life-negating pedagogies and piece together lives marked by belonging, dynamism, and freedom. Ultimately, the good of theological education in prison rests in its ability to participate in God’s work of redeeming life from death-dealing domination.

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