The phrase "hopeful politics" has dominated our public discourse in connection with the inspiring rise of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the remarkable election of Barack Obama as president of the
The phrase "hopeful politics" has dominated our public discourse in connection with the inspiring rise of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the remarkable election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. But what happens when that hope disappoints? Can it be salvaged? What is the relationship between faith, hope, and politics?
In this book Allan Boesak meditates on what it really means to hope in light of present political realities and growing human pain. He argues that hope comes to life only when we truly face reality in the struggle for justice, dignity, and the life of the earth. Dare We Speak of Hope? is a critical, provocative, prophetic -- and, above all, hopeful -- book.
Studies in Christian Ethics
"What Boesak offers is a thoroughly theological, and ultimately Christological, account of hope that promises to shape and sustain political engagement in the pursuit of 'justice, peace, and equity.'"
Englewood Review of Books
"An important work for followers of Christ who wonder if the political processes and systems we engage are beyond redemption. Boesak's reflections offer readers an opportunity to recover a sense of how real hope, properly placed, might inspire and transform God's people."
Dwight N. Hopkins
-- University of Chicago Divinity School
"I can hardly think of any other person in the world whose word and witness stand more unswervingly with the poor and the workers. Despite surface signs of progress, Allan Boesak reminds Christians and all people of decent hearts that hope emerges phoenix-like when the criterion for life is the life of the oppressed."
Ulrich Duchrow
-- University of Heidelberg
"Those who rejoiced in the victory of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama and who were disappointed afterwards by the developments in their respective countries and worldwide will experience new hope through this moving book. . . . Inspiring, encouraging, and mobilizing for people yearning for justice."
Curtiss Paul DeYoung
-- Bethel University
"A masterpiece! Dare We Speak of Hope? invites readers to embrace the question of hope in a world of injustice and oppression, disappointment and depression. In this beautifully written and powerfully persuasive volume, Boesak reasserts the power of hope when it emerges out of woundedness, struggle, and peacemaking."
R. Simangaliso Kumalo
-- University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
"Allan Boesak, a great prophet and scholar, has done it again. This is a brilliant book on hope and politics."
Nicholas Wolterstorff
-- from foreword
"[An eloquent, challenging, and deeply spiritual book."
Ponderings on a Faith Journey
"If we want to engage in a struggle that truly changes the reality for those on the margins, then we would be wise to consider the wisdom of Allan Boesak, a wisdom forged in the struggle for human dignity and justice. . . . We need guides like Boesak, if we are to understand the relationship of our faith to our politics — that we might be harbingers of hope."
Missionalia
"Here is another of Boesak's significant contributions to the development of a much needed political spirituality in South Africa. . . . This book is a timely reminder that human beings are not simply at the mercy of massive institutional forces but can continue in the way of the Old Testament prophets to speak truth to power in a time honoured tradition. Here we have an inspirational source of praxis."
Journal of Church and State
"A welcome addition to the field of restorative justice."
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