The Problem and Promise of Freedom - by Steven Félix-Jäger (Paperback)

About the Book

Offers a public theology that challenges the church to be a holy, loving, and generous witness to a world bound by visions of self-absorbed autonomy and materialism.

Book Synopsis

Jesus calls us to make disciples of all the nations. Many Christians believe this means enlisting soldiers in a culture war. But putting faith in the service of politics risks remaking God in our own image. How can the church help bring God's kingdom to earth without relying on the political structures of this world?

Critiquing our idolization of the values of classical Western liberalism, Steven Félix-Jäger seeks a renewal of the church's public witness. He points out the pitfalls that stem from our obsession with individual freedom--from the prosperity gospel to Christian nationalism to conformity with secular progressivism. True freedom is not about individual liberty or free market economics but about flourishing in covenant with God. Félix-Jäger offers a public theology that challenges the church to be a holy, loving, and generous witness to a world bound by visions of self-absorbed autonomy and materialism. Inspired by Jubilee and Pentecost, he ultimately constructs an alternative model for public witness rooted in the abundance of the Spirit.

The Problem and Promise of Freedom not only serves as an indispensable resource for students of religion and society but also offers urgent and clear-sighted witness to the church today.

From the Back Cover

The Problem and Promise of Freedom offers a public theology that challenges the church to be a holy, loving, and generous witness to a world bound by visions of self-absorbed autonomy and materialism.

"Félix-Jäger has crafted a robust theology of the responsible church, which lives out a public theology that is rooted in God's covenant of abundance. His brilliant book is both a thesis and a manual for churches willing to be 'responsible' in today's controversial Western societies."
--Nimi Wariboko, Boston University

"Too often, we see our freedom in Christ as a kind of libertine Americanism where we can do whatever we want under the banner of empire. Thankfully, Félix-Jäger has offered us a substantive alternative. To be free, it seems, is to be submitted to Christ. And this book paves a way forward to understand how that is more about freedom than anything a nation could ever construct on its own."
--A. J. Swoboda, Bushnell University; author of The Gift of Thorns

"This book rejects conservative Christianity's culture-war stance against secular liberalism and instead advances a vibrant Pentecostal public theology of renewal and abundance. Written with conceptual clarity, academic rigor, and fresh insights, this work makes a significant contribution to public theology."
--Hak Joon Lee, Fuller Theological Seminary

"This book argues persuasively that the church must resist the idols of the liberal tradition. Félix-Jäger creates a distinctively Pentecostal public theology that combats the pervasive free-market ideology in the church with a counternarrative of abundance."
--Wolfgang Vondey, University of Birmingham

"Félix-Jäger elaborates on the conceptions of liberty that have infiltrated the church in one of the most succinct and accessible summations available. Utilizing powerful biblical imagery, he highlights the contemporary challenge confronting public theology: discerning true worship and counterfeit worship as manifested in our economic and social lives."
--Christopher Parkes, Hillsong College, Australi

About the Author

Steven Félix-Jäger (PhD, University of Wales) is associate professor of theology and worship, chair of the Worship and Media Department, and director of academic research at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California. He is also an ordained minister of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, cohost of the TikTok Theology podcast, and an exhibiting artist, songwriter, and producer. Some of his previous books include Renewing Christian Worldview (coauthored with Yoon Shin) and Renewal Worship.