Spirits of the political

theological engagement in the public sphere

Sebastian H. Kim

pp. 125-139

in: Amos Yong, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Kirsteen Kim (eds), Interdisciplinary and religio-cultural discourses on a spirit-filled world, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Abstract

One of the most difficult aspects of life in the church is finding its place in the wider society. How does the church relate to the state and public life? In what way do theology and politics interact with each other in a shared spirit? The church has been struggling to find appropriate models and approaches for engaging in public affairs with the "principalities and powers," the many spirits of the world and different ideologies and movements. In this chapter, I will examine public theology as a pneumatological framework for Christian engagement in politics and public life and then illustrate this with three examples from different contexts. I will then discuss in pneumatological terms three ways in which Christian theology has public relevance and contributes to political life.