Redemption That Liberates: Political Theologies of Richard Mouw and Nam-dong Suh

This book is for both evangelicals and ecumenicals interested in a holistic approach to the Christian vision of social transformation. The author compares Richard Mouw’s Reformed political theology and Nam-dong Suh’s Minjung theology to suggest a vision of transformation that is theologically more cogent and politically more engaged.

In general, Minjung theology understands transformation in terms of political liberation and Reformed theology in terms of spiritual redemption, and theologians of the two theologies have criticized the other’s approach as theologically inadequate. However, Suh’s formulation of Minjung theology and Mouw’s Reformed political theology based on the neo-Calvinist worldview show significant affinities with each other in their understanding of transformation in Christ. Both Suh and Mouw show a broad understanding of liberation and redemption. They develop their theologies in an inclusive both/and way of thinking, and their holistic approach is contrasted with the exclusive either/or way of thinking in the Minjung theology of Byung-mu Ahn and the Reformed theology of David VanDrunen.

The book concludes that redemption in Christ aims at an all-encompassing transformation that includes not only spiritual renewal but also liberation from social alienation, economic inequality, and political oppression.