4/23/07 -- Book of the Week: Render Unto God

BV 639 .P6 P57 2002
Render Unto God: Economic Vulnerability, Family Violence, and Pastoral Theology, by James Newton Poling (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2002)

In his introduction, James Poling writes, "In this book I extend my research to discover how economic vulnerability among working-class and poor women and children in European American, African American, and Latina/o cultures exacerbates experiences of family violence, and what role religion plays in empowering them and their families."

Render Unto God provides extensive research on and case studies of the ways in which economic injustice affects members of these three communities, especially women and children. The concluding two chapters, Pastoral Care With Persons Who Are Vulnerable and The Spirituality of Practicing Goodness, are Poling's plea for a transformation of pastoral care practices, especially when there are marked differences in cultural or economic class backgrounds between a pastoral caregiver and someone receiving the care. Particularly in the Western Church, there is a need for pastoral caregivers to accept their brothers and sisters who have been economically oppressed with open receptivity and a courage to act on their behalf. Poling argues this kind of transformation in pastoral care will in turn lead to a transformation of the worship and community life of the Church, more closely conforming the Church to the image of Christ.

Table of contents:

Principles of Pastoral care -- Economics, violence, and care -- Pastoral Counseling of Domestic Violence Victims in Nicaragua -- A story of healing and liberation -- Pastoral care and vulnerability -- Economic analysis -- The connection between the unjust distribution of wealth and vulnerability -- Theories of capitalism and the distribution of wealth -- A Christian critique of market capitalism -- Resistance to capitalism -- Resistance to capitalism in Nicaragua -- African American resistance to capitalism in the United States -- Women’s resistance to capitalism in the United States -- Theological reflection -- Mark’s critique of oppressive political economies -- Mark’s alternative economic vision -- A church empowered by the holy spirit-- Transforming pastoral care -- Pastoral care with personals who are vulnerable -- The spirituality of practicing goodness.