Hope in Troubled Times

Publisher Description

"Pulls off the difficult feat of communicating, in a gracious and nonjudgmental way, the dire straits in which our society finds itself today. Others have used the concept of idolatry as a category of social critique; no one has ever used it with such biblically-informed power and specificity. This is a remarkable achievement." - Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University

We want to have it all: financial strength, secure homes, clean air and water for our children. With the latest technological advances available, we deserve to have every dilemma resolved. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? Hope in Troubled Time dares to say "no."

Poverty, terrorism, and overtaxed land are planetary problems that make even believers despair. But the authors point to Christ as the source of hope. Our choice is obvious. We work together, learning to live unselfishly, or we watch civilization sink further into the abyss. With a foreword by renowned human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Hope in Troubled Times provides real-world solutions to life-threatening problems. The authors show that with God's guidance we can knock down the idols that stunt clear thinking.

Endorsements

"At a time when so many in our fragile, fractured, and violent world so understandably succumb to despair, rage, indifference, or escapism, this unsettling book issues an audacious manifesto of hope. Fired by a stirring biblical vision of shalom, the authors deploy their ample social science expertise to diagnose the idolatrous obsessions driving our global social, economic, and political crises and blocking their resolution. And they invite all of us--people of faith as well as those who open the book supposing they have none--to take the healing steps that already lie at hand. This book certainly afflicts the comfortable, but only so that the afflicted may indeed be comforted." -Jonathan Chaplin, director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Tyndale House, Cambridge

"These authors are spot on. Their words should be read widely!" - The Most Reverend Njongonkulu W. H. Ndungane, Anglican Archbishop, Cape Town, South Africa

"The real struggle of our time is the choice between cynicism and hope. Hope in Troubled Times argues persuasively that the power and possibility of biblical hope offers a resolution to the problems of combating terrorism, global poverty, and environmental degradation. Its analysis and engaging narrative challenge us to find new solutions grounded in that hope rather than in the idolatrous ideologies of our times." - Jim Wallis, author, God's Politics; editor, Sojourners

"The authors bear no trace of rancor toward Islam and Muslims, only understanding and empathy. The book draws a line between Islam - the religion of peace - and the terrorists who have hijacked Islam. In a desperate post-9/11 world, it searches for answers by analyzing the actions and the psyche of the two warring sides, echoing the views of both." - Javed Akbar, director of outreach, Pickering Islamic Centre, Ontario