Awake to the Moment: An Introduction to Theology

Most introductory textbooks in theology see their primary task as explaining Christian doctrines that no one quite understands anymore. While this is one of theologys jobs it is by no means the only nor even the most important one. Theology has also been called to change the world to help people connect deeply rooted beliefs about the worlds source and goal to questions of personal meaning and communal thriving. Theology is here to help us make sense of the complex flawed world into which weve been thrust and to assist us in our attempt to love our neighbors and live toward the common good.For more than forty years the Workgroup on Constructive Theology has brought the liberal and liberationist theological traditions into creative encounter with lived human experience. In this introduction to the methods and tasks of theology they invite a new generation of readers many who will have little or no exposure to Christian doctrine to see theology as a partner in the struggle for a better world. They demonstrate how theological ideas have legs playing themselves out not only in religious communities but in the public square as well. Theology the authors tell us is constructive when it joins in Gods work of building human lives and human societies. Readers will learn to think about all of life in light of their religious commitments and to see theology as an essential tool for a life well lived.