Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims
This thesis offers a fresh articulation of the gospel’s significance for the relationship between the church (the ‘word’) and the exercise of coercive rule (the ‘sword’) to Muslim audiences. Setting the stage, Chapter One proposes that Christian theo-political witness to Muslims be viewed through a...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2023
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| _version_ | 1826310883567992832 |
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| author | Firmin, SJ |
| author2 | Horden, J |
| author_facet | Horden, J Firmin, SJ |
| author_sort | Firmin, SJ |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This thesis offers a fresh articulation of the gospel’s significance for the relationship between the church (the ‘word’) and the exercise of coercive rule (the ‘sword’) to Muslim audiences. Setting the stage, Chapter One proposes that Christian theo-political witness to Muslims be viewed through a dramaturgical lens, where the primary task is to adapt faithfully the ‘drama’ of the gospel for Muslims through study of its ‘script’ (Scripture) and previous adaptations. In this spirit, Chapter Two and Chapter Three offer a novel ‘performance review’ of historical Christian theo-political witness to Muslims. It shows how pre-modern Christian theo-political witness manifested an increasingly negative attitude towards the Old Testament, contributing to Muslims critiques that Christianity’s lack of faithfulness to the entirety of its Scriptures made it politically dysfunctional. These critiques have not been surmounted by the selective Old Testament retrievals found in modern and contemporary Christian theo-political witness, which present the gospel as creating an antithesis between the church and coercive rule. Chapters Four and Five offer a ‘performance reform’ in response to this inadequate incorporation of the Old Testament, retrieving the biblical themes of kingship and priesthood. By letting these themes shed light of the meaning of the gospel, Christian theo-political witness can move beyond presenting an antithesis between church and coercive rule to Muslims. It can instead present them as both authorized by the ascended Christ and capable of acknowledging one another’s authority through a modest form of religious establishment. Additionally, it can present the exercise of coercive rule by Christians as accountable to the church’s exercise of the keys of the kingdom, alleviating Muslim concerns about Christianity’s ‘other-worldliness’ and proneness to assimilation. In Chapter Six, the theological permissibility of religious establishment is defended against three critiques, strengthening the case for this thesis’ way of retrieving the Old Testament. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:58:36Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:245edf08-8402-4af1-a47c-9c1ad64dc327 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:58:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:245edf08-8402-4af1-a47c-9c1ad64dc3272023-09-14T16:02:32ZCan 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to MuslimsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:245edf08-8402-4af1-a47c-9c1ad64dc327Political theologyChristian-Muslim RelationsMissiologyEnglishHyrax Deposit2023Firmin, SJHorden, JAl-Akiti, MThis thesis offers a fresh articulation of the gospel’s significance for the relationship between the church (the ‘word’) and the exercise of coercive rule (the ‘sword’) to Muslim audiences. Setting the stage, Chapter One proposes that Christian theo-political witness to Muslims be viewed through a dramaturgical lens, where the primary task is to adapt faithfully the ‘drama’ of the gospel for Muslims through study of its ‘script’ (Scripture) and previous adaptations. In this spirit, Chapter Two and Chapter Three offer a novel ‘performance review’ of historical Christian theo-political witness to Muslims. It shows how pre-modern Christian theo-political witness manifested an increasingly negative attitude towards the Old Testament, contributing to Muslims critiques that Christianity’s lack of faithfulness to the entirety of its Scriptures made it politically dysfunctional. These critiques have not been surmounted by the selective Old Testament retrievals found in modern and contemporary Christian theo-political witness, which present the gospel as creating an antithesis between the church and coercive rule. Chapters Four and Five offer a ‘performance reform’ in response to this inadequate incorporation of the Old Testament, retrieving the biblical themes of kingship and priesthood. By letting these themes shed light of the meaning of the gospel, Christian theo-political witness can move beyond presenting an antithesis between church and coercive rule to Muslims. It can instead present them as both authorized by the ascended Christ and capable of acknowledging one another’s authority through a modest form of religious establishment. Additionally, it can present the exercise of coercive rule by Christians as accountable to the church’s exercise of the keys of the kingdom, alleviating Muslim concerns about Christianity’s ‘other-worldliness’ and proneness to assimilation. In Chapter Six, the theological permissibility of religious establishment is defended against three critiques, strengthening the case for this thesis’ way of retrieving the Old Testament. |
| spellingShingle | Political theology Christian-Muslim Relations Missiology Firmin, SJ Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title | Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title_full | Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title_fullStr | Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title_short | Can 'word' and 'sword' cooperate? Reforming Christian theo-political witness to Muslims |
| title_sort | can word and sword cooperate reforming christian theo political witness to muslims |
| topic | Political theology Christian-Muslim Relations Missiology |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT firminsj canwordandswordcooperatereformingchristiantheopoliticalwitnesstomuslims |