Mark R. Teasdale

The premise of the author is that social justice and black liberation theology will lead to holistic salvation. Structural racism exists (p. 4) and James Cone of black theology fame sets the tone of the volume. The religious wars of the past makes it incumbent on Christians to prove to secular thinkers that religion, in particular conservative religion, is not an enemy of society as religion had been until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Three theological traditions are selected by the author: Orthodox, Reformed, and Arminian/Wesleyan (p. 33) because they promote the common good and are amenable to secular thought. Not mentioned is the Roman Catholic Catechism: "1898 Every human community needs an authority to govern it. The foundation of such authority lies in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the common good of the society." But then Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino OP appears (p. 45) who is a Catholic theologian and Dominican priest who is regarded as one of the founders of Latin American liberation theology. Roman Catholic efforts pop up again in line with the goals of liberationist sustainability goals (pp. 86-91).

Holistic salvation has been particularly pressing in the Third World or as the author describes the area: "Majority World" (p. 45). The author does not mention how Western Civilization benefited the Third World, as noted by Niall Ferguson when those outside the Western tradition advanced from Western secular accomplishments (Niall Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest [https://www.librarything.com/work/11014302/91501766)]. Here I mention two of Ferguson's "Killer apps:" property rights and medicine.

Property Rights
Property rights are key. John Locke argues that if even seven people are gathered together and their beliefs coincide; they constitute a church. Therefore, all beliefs should be tolerated and through the reasonableness of Christianity some may see the truth (p. 113). In the tolerant example provided, in North America, the United States grew in liberty and expanded. In South America though, the area was characterized by "division, instability, and underdevelopment. . . . " (p. 115) and "conflict, poverty, and inequality (p. 119). Ferguson addresses the issue of difference. At root is the issue of land. In his early career as a South American Washington, the Liberator Simon Bolivar failed to appeal to non-whites and they rallied to the royalist cause. It was only after two unsuccessful attempts at forming a Republic that Bolivar developed a strategy to unite all people of color. In his efforts he found unlikely supporters among Irish and British freedom fighters. 7,000 U.K. supporters were attracted with promises of freedom and land (p. 121).

At one point, Bolivar is quoted by Ferguson as stating that the American experiment could never work in Latin America. He states that there is little in common between the English American and the Spanish American (p. 124). Bolivar's vision was not a land-owning Republic with the rule of law but a life-long dictatorship of Bolivar.

The second problem was the unequal distribution of land. A creole elite, merely 10,000 people, 1.1% of the people, owned nearly all the land (p. 124). In 1910, on the eve of the Mexican revolution, only 2.4% of the rural population owned any land (p. 124). In contrast, in 1900, the rural population in the United States owned 75% of the land. Throughout the British Empire the same general statistic of land ownership remains consistent. Up the present, it continues to be one of the primary distinctions between British-influenced areas and Latin America.

Finally, racial antagonism and division doomed Latin America from unity (p. 125). Creoles resented former slaves and vice versa. The indigenous peoples made up a larger component of Latin America than in North America and they were not integrated, or displaced as in North America, into Latin American governance.

"The newly independent states began their lives without a tradition of representative government, with a profoundly unequal distribution of land and with racial cleavages that closely approximated to that economic inequality" (p. 127).

Medicine
Those contemplating the evils of imperialism might consider the advance in medicine assisting the world's people's to live longer. For example, in 1800 the average life expectancy was 28.5 years, and in 2001, Western medicine lengthened life expectancy globally to 66.6 (p. 146). During the colonialist period life expectancy increased during occupation and has declined in the post-colonial period (p. 147).

The concerns of the author to promote holistic salvation did not work in the Third World with the racism that existed there which could not duplicate the favorable conditions of the American Republic; and whereas Western medicine has addressed limitations in Third World health.

The author cites numerous United Nations and global agencies to measure against the mission of the churches.

Arguably the most valuable contribution of the volume is the Appendix. In order to understand which church has been the most successful in addressing holistic salvation the author provides the metrics to measure. The math of mission has a scorecard for both congregations and individuals to use as score cards.… (plus d'informations)

Summary: A holistic vision of salvation that includes material standards of living, quality of life, and eternal life under the rubric of abundant life.

Mark Teasdale is a professor of evangelism who works with churches reluctant to engage in evangelism to help them demonstrate and proclaim God’s saving work. For many of us, when we think of salvation, it means being restored to right relationship with God through the cross of Christ and having the hope of eternal life through his resurrection. Teasdale would affirm all of that but in this book, proposes that salvation is a far more holistic idea in scripture that has to do with human life and well-being both materially and spiritually.

The opening chapters of this book ground this claim in scripture. He proposes that there are three measures of the abundant life of salvation: standard of living, quality of life, and experiencing eternal abundant life in Christ. He both believes that this holistic vision allows the church to pursue the abundant life with people not ready for entering into a relationship with God in Christ. He contends they are experiencing salvation when we address everything from poverty to health care. This allows us to make common cause with those who do not share a Christian worldview but care about improving the standard of life of people and their quality of life.

Teasdale recognizes the danger that without the gospel of eternal abundant life, this can simply become humanitarian aid and social work. These are good but not all the good God intends for people. What differentiates Christian salvation are Christians working in community that demonstrates its spiritual hope as they invite people not only to receive goods and services but to receive these in the context of a spiritually robust and caring community, ready to speak of their hope.

The use of standards of living and quality of life allows both individuals and churches to have measurable goals and metrics as they share abundant life. The appendix of the book includes examples of both personal and corporate metrics churches can adopt and adapt.

Biblical scholars have long known that the language of salvation encompasses far more than just our eternal destiny. What this book does is work out what this might look like in the church’s life, both in the believer’s enjoyment of abundant life and the sharing of that life with those who do not yet believe. Instead of a program, Teasdale offers a paradigm shift while encouraging congregations to set their own measurable goals to address standards of living, quality of life, and the embrace of eternal life in Christ that together encompass the abundant life.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.… (plus d'informations)