God and Globalization

P. L. Redditt

...an important volume —Choice

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In an age in which globalization is too often just a buzzword for a phenomenon narrowly described in terms of economics and information technology, the God and Globalization trilogy presents serious reflection on the intersection of these with globalization's cultural, religious and moral dimensions. In this second volume, edited by Christian ethicist Stackhouse with practical theologian Browning, contributors consider what the series calls the modern "Authorities" (education, law, medicine and technology) and the implications of what they see as a gradual, historical attrition of these authorities' theological foundations. What does it mean that these authoritative institutions are no longer tethered to the particular confessions, covenants and communities from which they historically arose? When technology is its own authority, who determines its shape, limits and distribution? In calling for a "public theological ethic," the editors seek public space for the deep value questions of ethics and theology that have largely failed to appear in conversations about globalization's most ambivalent dimensions. This is a scholarly book that will reward the serious reader willing to work through the matrix of powers, principalities, regencies and authorities it describes. While the introduction is a bit dense and may give readers the feeling that they have entered a conversation midstream, the six essays that follow (written by theologically minded experts in law, technology, ecology, education, health care and ethics) are provocative, delivering the volume's thesis elegantly and concretely. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.