Vocation in Christ

Karl Barth (1886-1968), as a young Swiss pastor in Safenwil, struggled to make an organic connection between ""the newspaper [contemporary sociopolitical events] and the New Testament."" When he discovered ""a strange new world of God within the Bible,"" God became the subject matter for renewing and transforming the world. This discovery helped Barth to integrate the world into his interpretation of the Bible and also impacted his theology of Christian vocation as divine summons to God's special freedom and obedience. Vocation in Christ examines the theology of vocation and reading Scripture among the Naga Christians in northeastern India, in conversation with Barth's theology of vocation. Social-scientific research is employed on congregations and Bible study groups to explore how the Naga Christians understand vocation and Scripture in light of their sociopolitical and religious context. This book serves as an introduction for Western readers of how vocation is understood from an Asian perspective and emphasizes the theme of vocation as Christian witness without accommodating to worldly values. It readdresses Barth's theology of vocation, which calls for a revitalization of Christian vocation in our contemporary situation. The primary claim of this book is that vocation is God's calling to obedience, and devotion to the love of God is reciprocal to the love of neighbor. ""This is a fine and necessary study. The author contextualizes the European debate on vocation by God and one's own place and task in life. . . . This book will lead the Naga Baptist churches in developing their own contextual framework of their Christian vocation. This work is a model of contextual theology."" --Jurgen Moltmann ""By relating Karl Barth's understanding of vocation and Scripture reading to the experience of Naga Christians in northeastern India, Imliwabang Jamir charts new paths in Christian theology. His book contributes not only to our understanding of these classic theological topics, but also to our understanding of world Christianity."" --Lois Malcolm, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary ""The growth of global Christian thought is of central importance for believers anywhere. . . . Dr. Jamir provides us with a wonderful example of why this is true. He expertly introduces us to Naga Christians, but does not hesitate to point out some of their cultural and political problems. Into this context he brings the powerful biblical doctrine of the call of Christ to all believers: Come and follow me. . . . The result is richly rewarding contextual theology."" --Alan G. Padgett, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary Imliwabang Jamir is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology (on study leave) at Oriental Theological Seminary (Nagaland, India). He received his doctorate from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota.