Signs of the Times: Religious Pluralism and Economic Injustice.

Henry G. MacLeod teaches sociology at both Trent University and the
University of

Waterloo.

The title of Gregory Baum’s recent collection of essays, Signs of the Times: Religious Pluralism and Economic Injustice, might suggest a book about eschatology, the theological study of signs signifying the end of the world. However, for Baum, the signs of the times refers to specific "historical events or developments that have a profound impact on human life in society, and thus oblige Christians to rethink the implications of their faith." Previous examples of such signs are the Holocaust and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two contemporary signs of the times demanding theological reflection are the challenge of religious pluralism, the subject of the seven essays, and the globalization of the free market system and economic injustice, the focus of the remaining six.

Baum argues that religions are characterized by an internal pluralism, including both a dark side that fosters hatred and acts of violence and a luminous side promoting love, justice, and peace. An essay on "Muslim–Christian Dialogue after 9/11" is critical of the growing prejudice in the West against Islam that limits it only to fundamentalism and fanaticism and ignores its renewal movement promoting justice. The article "Jewish-Christian Dialogue Under the Shadow of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict" discusses narrow Christian views of the Jewish state as simply an oppressor of the Palestinian nation. The final essay in the section on religious pluralism looks at the approach of the new Pope, Benedict XVI, to the modern world.

The second set of essays examines the globalization of the free market economy and the resulting unjust social conditions and new age of Empire. Baum argues that Christians today have to stand for justice and resist Empire. Other topics include the priority of labour, alternate models of economic development, the common good, and critical theology in Canada.

A brief review cannot do justice to the richness of the ideas put forward by Gregory Baum. The essays are very current, touching on 9/11, the new Pope, and the emergence of writings on God and Empire.

Baum argues that religions are characterized by an internal pluralism, including both a dark side that fosters hatred and acts of violence and a luminous side promoting love, justice, and peace. An essay on "Muslim–Christian Dialogue after 9/11" is critical of the growing prejudice in the West against Islam that limits it only to fundamentalism and fanaticism and ignores its renewal movement promoting justice. The article "Jewish-Christian Dialogue Under the Shadow of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict" discusses narrow Christian views of the Jewish state as simply an oppressor of the Palestinian nation. The final essay in the section on religious pluralism looks at the approach of the new Pope, Benedict XVI, to the modern world.

The second set of essays examines the globalization of the free market economy and the resulting unjust social conditions and new age of Empire. Baum argues that Christians today have to stand for justice and resist Empire. Other topics include the priority of labour, alternate models of economic development, the common good, and critical theology in Canada.

A brief review cannot do justice to the richness of the ideas put forward by Gregory Baum. The essays are very current, touching on 9/11, the new Pope, and the emergence of writings on God and Empire.