The World is About to Turn: Mending a Nation's Broken Faith

by Rick Rouse, Paul Ingram

Overview

In these increasingly divisive times, how does God intend for us to live well together in the common life? Drawing from scripture as well as writings from a variety of other faith traditions and contemporary theologians, The World is About to Turn offers a practical guide for dialogue and mutual understanding for leaders of faith organizations, schools, and member of faith communities; everyone who hopes to make a positive difference in our corporate life together. Chapters include: The Failure of the American Religious Experiment; When Justice Rolls Down: Finding the Moral Courage to Do What is Right; Love One Another: Practicing Mercy and Compassion; Walking Humbly with God: Repentance and Reconciliation as a Path to a More Civil Society; Values Matter: Discovering Common Values in Many Faith Traditions; Embracing Differences: The Gift of Religious Pluralism; and Building Bridges of Hope: Ten Ways Forward with Multicultural and Inter Religious Dialogue. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter, as well as an appendix with liturgical worship resources, make this hopeful book perfect for small group study, class usage, and congregational leadership.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780827237216
Publisher:	APG Sales & Distribution
Publication date:	11/10/2020
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Rick Rouse has taught practical theology at both the undergraduate level and graduate level in the U.S. and Germany; he is a popular conference speaker; and serves as a parish consultant working with congregations in the areas of strategic planning, spiritual discernment, and leadership. A certified Spiritual Director and ordained Lutheran pastor for 45 years, he has served congregations in Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington.


Paul Ingram is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University where he taught courses in World Religions and Interfaith Dialogue for 34 years. He is the author of 15 books and is actively engagaged in community interfaith dialogue in his retirement.

Table of Contents

Foreword Peter Marty xv

Preface xix

Introduction 1

1 The Failure of the American Religious Experiment 5

2 When Justice Rolls Down: Finding the Moral Courage to Do What is Right 17

3 Love One Another: Practicing Mercy and Compassion 28

4 Walking Humbly with God: Repentance and Reconciliation as a Path to a More Civil Society 39

5 Values Matter: Discovering Common Values in Many Faith Traditions 53

6 Embracing Differences: The Gift of Religious Pluralism 70

7 Building Bridges of Hope: Ten Ways Forward 85

Epilogue 102

Appendices

1 Day of Mourning Worship Resource 106

2 Liturgy of Repentance and Reconciliation 109

3 Dec/Oration of the ELCA to People of African Descent 112

4 A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment 120

5 Reclaiming Jesus: A Confession of Faith in a Time of Crisis 137

Acknowledgments 142

Notes 144

Bibliography 151

Editorial Reviews

10/30/2020

This slim volume by well-known academics and sought-after speakers Rouse, a certified Spiritual Director and ordained Lutheran pastor, and Ingram (emeritus, religion, Pacific Lutheran Univ.) decries the divisiveness that marks the current political and religious climates in the United States and suggests ways to overcome that divisiveness. The authors look at what they term "the failure of the American religious experiment," which in recent years has been marked by the rise of the religious right and violent attacks on minority churches and synagogues. Rouse and Ingram advise that people should never trust a religious leader who tells their followers how to vote, or a political who tells their followers how to pray. Most of the book, however, advises how people of faith can find their way forward from this point with chapters devoted to moral courage, practicing mercy and compassion, repentance and reconciliation, discovering common values, embracing differences, and building bridges with those who are different from us. VERDICT There is much food for thought here, perhaps too much for a text of just a little over a 100 pages (excluding appendices), but the authors prove persuasive in their arguments for inclusivity and mutual respect. —Gail Eubanks, Univ. of Missouri, Springfield

Library Journal