Liberating Jesus

Liberating Jesus issues a call to free Jesus from the colonial ethic of exploitation and oppression that has distorted much of Christian theology and ministry. Designed for use in seminary or undergraduate classrooms, as well as for church or denominational study groups, this book presents an ethical model that draws upon liberationist, womanist, Anabaptist, and postliberal theologies, and offers a framework for a communitarian virtue ethic of liberation. It identifies the commonalities between these threads, notably the importance of community, character, and justice—while acknowledging their distinctions—and directs them toward the target audience: Christians who embody and enjoy various levels of social, economic, and political privilege. In doing so, it calls on them to confront the oppressive legacy of Christian ethics and begin to understand ethics as formation into a life of service and advocacy, following the witness of Jesus, for the liberation of the marginalized. This book provides Christians with various levels of privilege a way to understand their role and responsibility in participating in movements for justice and liberation.

Author Biography

Kristopher Norris is Vice President of the Alliance of Baptists denomination. He has served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Theology and consultant for the Center for Public Theology at Wesley Theological Seminary as well as the Kreitler Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at Virginia Theological Seminary and is author of three books: Witnessing Whiteness: Confronting White Supremacy in the American Church, Kingdom Politics, and Pilgrim Practices.