A Theology as Big as the City, By Raymond J. Bakke
A Theology as Big as the City
paperback
  • Length: 221 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.25 in
  • Published: July 07, 1997
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • Item Code: 1890
  • ISBN: 9780830818907

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"As we look at the world-class cities around our planet, we face five new urban realities: a crack cocaine epidemic, assault weapons, massive numbers of homeless children, HIV/AIDS and (in the U.S.) what Time magazine has called `the browning of America.' The needs of the urban population are greater than ever. . . . As our cities swell with immigrants, I'm reminded that Jesus was born in a borrowed barn in Asia and became an African refugee in Egypt, so the Christmas story is about an international migrant. Furthermore, a whole village full of baby boys died for Jesus before he had the opportunity to die for them on the cross. Surely this Jesus understands the pain of children who die for the sins of adults in our cities."

How does God see the city? What does Scripture have to say about urban ministry? These are the questions Ray Bakke has systematically addressed, beginning with Genesis and continuing through to Revelation. Here is a biblical theology that will constantly surprise and challenge as you get a glimpse of how big God's view of the city really is.

More than anything else, A Theology as Big as the City is the story of how one evangelical Christian, Ray Bakke, came to have an urban theology. The questions that Bakke raises and the answers he comes up with are crucial for all Christians, no matter their label, to consider. Bakke has systematically worked his way through the scriptures from beginning to end to see what the bible has to say about the city.

Frank A. Mills, Urban Paradoxes, February 10, 2008
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. A Journey to the City
2. God's Hands Are in the Mud
3. Can We Save a City Like Sodom?
4. A Surprising Source of Urban Leaders: Moses His Mother
5. Hope in the City: The Story of Ruth
6. The Individual the Community: Do We Find a Theology of Place in the Bible?
7. Zion Songs Urban Poets: The Need for Timeless Truth
8. What Cities Ought to Look Like: Isaiah's Vision
9. Jeremiah's Letter to Urban Families ( Daniel's Response)
10. Thinking Biblically About the Family (with the Help of Ezekiel)
11. Major Themes in Minor Prophets
12. When All Else Fails, Send the Choir: Reflections on Chronicles
13. The Persian Partnership for the Rebuilding of Jerusalem
14. Models from the Migrant Streams: The Intertestamental Era
15. Skeletons in the Closet: The Other Women in the Family of Jesus
16. Jesus the City: The Search for an Urban Jesus
17. The Church at the City Center: From Pentecost to Antioch - Acts 1-12

18. When Truth Love Collide: The Mission Trip with Paul, Barnabas John Mark - Acts 13; 16:36-40
19. With Paul on an Urban Journey - Acts 15-19
20. Two Letters, Two Urban Spiritualities (Philippians Colossians)

21. The Drama of New Testament Evangelism: The Story of Philemon

22. Ethnicity in the Church: Is it Still Okay to Be Jewish? (Hebrews)

23. The Empire Strikes Back: The Downward Spiral from to Revelation 13 - Romans 13
24. So Long, Babylon, I'll Miss You - Revelation 14-18
25. The Urban Family Album
26. Reflections

Notes

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Raymond J. Bakke

Raymond J. Bakke (1938-2022) was senior associate of Ray Bakke Associates, a nonprofit organization that partners with those who are passionate about empowering the church to be creatively missional in an urban world. He was the former chancellor and professor of global urban studies at Bakke Graduate University and former executive director of International Urban Associates in Chicago, Illinois.