Fearful Times; Living Faith, Edited by Robert Boak Slocum and Martyn Percy

In the face of real challenges and the worst of times, we turn to what helps us the most. We need actual sources of hope and meaning and strength. Many people in and beyond the church are searching for help in these days. Good News may come in unexpected or surprising ways. It’s time to put into words the difference that living faith makes for us in fearful times.

We’ve seen a pandemic, systemic racism and violence, resurgent nationalism and tribalism, polarization and mutual suspicion, insurrection, environmental peril due to climate change, and on and on. There are unexpected things we can’t predict or control We can feel helpless. But these threats give impetus for reflection on what faith has to say in challenging times, in any time.

Where do we turn in real need? What makes a difference? What do we really believe? The current situation brings the reality of our connectedness with each other into sharp focus. What does our faith mean and what does it offer now for grace, comfort, and transformation? People need to hear it and the church needs to say it through witness and writings. Can we speak in Christ’s name against dishonesty, cruelty, and neglect of the most needy and vulnerable in a time of crisis? The pandemic and other horrors provide the catalyst, the jumping-off point for theology that lives today and in the future, in fearful times and whatever comes next. To all appearances, this may be the worst of times. But the best can come out of the worst. That’s a truth for anyone who sees love in a cross.

Fearful Times; Living Faith presents 22 authors with distinctive approaches and points of focus in their writings. Some tell their own stories or others’ stories that are close to their hearts. They draw connections and suggest responses for times of crisis today. They write theology and reflect on faith in the context of our greatest challenges in this time. These are writings of grief and healing and meaning; of resisting the principalities and powers of evil; of forgiveness and reconciliation. These are stories of hope, finding water in the wilderness, shaking hands with an enemy, discovering unexpected kindness. These are stories of overcoming fear with love and a heart for the future. These are answers to questions of fearful times and living faith.

  Fearful Times; Living Faith 

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