Secret Faith in the Public Square

An Argument for the Concealment of Christian Identity

Jonathan Malesic

• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9781441210210
• eBook ISBN:
  9781441204844
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion, Politics & State

In this groundbreaking and provocative book, Jonathan Malesic argues that the best way for Christians to be caretakers of their tradition and to love their neighbors selflessly is to conceal their religious identity in American public life. The alternative--insisting on Christianity's public visibility in politics, the marketplace, and the workplace--risks severely compromising the distinctiveness of Christian identity.

Delving deep into the Christian tradition, Malesic explains that keeping Christian identity secret means living fully in the world while maintaining Christian language, prayer, and liturgy in reserve. He shows how major thinkers--Cyril of Jerusalem, Søren Kierkegaard, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer--sought to protect Christian identity from being compromised by the public sphere. He then shows that Christians' dual responsibilities for the tradition and for the neighbor must be kept secret.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Secrecy and Christian Faith in Contemporary America
• Part One: Concealment of Christian Identity in the Theological Tradition
• Part Two: Concealment of Christian Identity in Contemporary America
• Epilogue: The Challenge of Ambiguous Religious Identity in Wise Blood and The Moviegoer
• Notes
• Index