Prophetic Fragments

The crisis of religion in America, says Cornel West, is profound and pervasive: profound in that it deepens as Americans turn more desperately toward religion; pervasive in that it affects every form of religion in America, from Christianity to Buddhism, from reform Judaism to Islam. The rise of the religious right, the decline of liberal Christianity, and the challenge of liberation theology are all symptoms of this crisis.

In this book Cornel West explores the landscape of this crisis in essays, articles, reviews, and even fiction. The selections outline the contours of a "principled prophetism" -- a prophetic religion that incorporates the best of modernity and secularity (tolerance, fallibilism, criticism), yet brings prophetic critique to bear upon the idols of modernity and secularity (science, technology, and wealth).

Touching on various aspects of Christian thought and action in our post-modern times, the essays in this book are informed by a revolutionary Christian vision that is so often absent from American religious life. They display the intellectual rigor that has made Cornel West a highly respected author and thinker -- one who is not only a perceptive surveyor of contemporary Christian thought, but also a gifted shaper of that thought.