Vulnerability and Courage ─ A Pastoral Theology of Poverty and the Alienated Self

Theological studies of poverty and alienation have tended to be very abstract, says Shin (Soongsil U. and Seoul Women's U., Korea), looking for root causes of the problems and for societal changes and intellectual shifts necessary to alleviate them. By contrast, he is concerned with the issues on the pastoral level, how individuals and families experience and respond to poverty and alienation, and how their suffering can be relieved. He covers the missing individual in theological discussions of economic vulnerability, a new framework for understanding alienation and its relation to poverty, Fromm on alienation, alienation interpreted by a macro-social lens, Erikson on alienation and self, and a Tillichian and pastoral response to alienation. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Hyon-Uk Shin served as chaplain at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied at Yonsei University, Emory University, and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he received his PhD. Shin is now teaching at Soongsil University and Seoul Women's University in Seoul, Republic of Korea.