AbstractChristianity has often been accused for being complicit in ecological destruction. In response, Christian ecotheology offers both a Christian critique of environmental destruction and an ecological critique of Christianity. It thus encourages an ecological reformation of the Christian tradition for the sake of the whole earth. This volume focuses such a dual critique on the content and significance of the Christian faith in order to confront those aspects that may undermine an environmental praxis, ethos and spirituality. Each of the essays explores one of the core Christian symbols, seeks to capture the current state of the debate in this regard, identifies emerging horizons for such an ecological reformation and invites conversation on the road ahead. This volume includes essays on the trinity, Christology, pneumatology, creation, anthropology, natural suffering, providence, sin and salvation, the nature, governance, ministries and missions of the church, eschatological consummation, a Christian ethos, the role of liturgy, religious plurality andunderlying methodological problems. It thus complements several other discourses in ecotheology on biblical hermeneutics, a retrieval of particular traditions, environmental ethics, animal studies, ecclesial praxis, Christian missions and religion and ecology. The volume captures insights emerging from a collaborative research project on 'Christian Faith and the Earth' in which more than one hundred leading ecotheologians from six continents participated since 2007. It builds on the culminating conference of this project held in Cape Town in August 2012.It extends the conversation on the road ahead through inputs from contributing authors and various respondents.

AbstractDiscourses on salvation in African Christian theology have often focused on the various understandings of salvation in sub-Saharan Africa, as African theology is often understood as sub-Saharan African theology. Thus, in his insightful classification of perspectives of salvation in African theology, the South African theologian, Gerrit Brand, focuses on sub-Saharan African theology to argue that, from an African perspective, Western discourses on salvation have mostly paid attention to the means and how of salvation rather than on the content of salvation. In Africa, however, the focus on the content of salvation has led many to seek to see evidence of salvation. They seek to see evidence of salvation not in the Calvinistic or puritanical sense of transformed morality and church life but the sense of the overall transformation of human life—spiritual, personal, social, political, economic, ecological. This focus on the evidence of salvation has led some to see the Christian view of salvation as elusive.

AbstractThis chapter proposes a holistic model for understanding salvation as “abundant life” and suggests that such a model would promote involvement—as Christians and Pentecostals—in societal reform. It presents insights and examples from the Swedish Pentecostal movement, African Pentecostal theology, and Latin American liberation theology from the 1960s. The chapter highlights the term “holistic soteriology” and what it means to say that salvation is “abundant life.” Salvation is not just about what or whom God saves when He saves the world. Nor is it just a question of from what or to what He saves us. Rather, the question that must be asked is: Who is He who saves the world? The essence of soteriology is not about the results of salvation, cause or effect, but rather about He, Himself, because no salvation is possible without a Savior.

AbstractSalvation is the central tenet of Zionist thought and life. All distinctions between them and us, in and out, pure and impure, healthy and sick, sinner and saint, danger and safety, blessing or curse – have salvation as their underlying theological concept. All aforementioned issues like healing, dancing or apparel relate to and are based on the belief in redemption. Their theological concept of redemption determines the social hierarchy in the churches as this chapter will show. It is not difficult to see that Zionism is a total way of life. Entering into it will require drastic and encompassing changes.