Resource List for Reconciliation in Troubled Times
Compiled by Megan Lietz and Dean Borgman
Prof. Dean Borgman mentioned these resources during his lecture – “Reconciliation in Troubled Times” – as one way that we might learn about how to respond to the division of our time.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The New Jim Crow is a powerful and provocative book that explains how the racism associated with the Jim Crow era has not been removed, but redesigned and perpetuated through the social ill of mass incarceration. This is a must-read for understanding how systemic racism still has a profound impact on communities of color today.
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt (2012)
In The Righteous Mind, social scientist Jonathan Haidt argues that our moral, political, and religious positions come more from our “gut feelings” than reason. He considers the implications this has on how we interact with people of differing persuasions and offers perspectives that can help us learn how to cooperate across dividing lines,
Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice by Brenda Salter McNeil
Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil presents a roadmap describing the journey people go through when working towards biblical reconciliation. This book helps people better understand the journey they may be on and equip themselves to progress on to personal and social transformation.
Toxic Inequality: How America’s Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide & Threatens Our Future by Thomas M. Shapiro
Sociologist Thomas Shapiro explores how the historically high economic inequality our country is experiencing must be understood in light of racial inequality. Together, this combination creates “toxic inequality” that must be named, understood, and addressed together to create a more just society.
Preaching Politics: Proclaiming Jesus in an Age of Money, Power, and Partisanship by Clay Stauffer
How can you address the divisive issues of our time in a politically diverse congregation? Preaching politics talks about how issues that underlie our differences, such as our view of money, materialism, and power, impact faith and can be responded to through the teachings of Jesus.
Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation by Miraslav Volf
Croatian theologian, Miraslav Volf, addresses how we see “the other” in a negative light and calls us to move from a position of excluding those who are different from us to embracing them with the love of Jesus. He provides a theology of reconciliation that he believes, when lived, allows people to experience the healing power of the Gospel.
