Loosing the Chains: Religion as Opium or Liberator?

by J. Andrew Kirk

The last century has seen the undermining of Christian values in the West as influenced by Marx, Freud and Nietzsche and the phenomenal growth of the Church in Latin America, Southern Africa and parts of the Far East. So, after such a shift in its centre of gravity, what is the function of the Church today? Is it, as Marx described it, flowers on the chains continue to oppress us, or have we seen, in the words of Nietzsche, the death and burial of God?;The author discusses the key issues that dominate the beliefs and thought of today.

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 1992

About the author

J. Andrew Kirk has spent his life in theological education in South America and the United Kingdom. Recently retired from a teaching position at the University of Birmingham, England, he is the former Dean and Head of the School of Mission and World Christianity at Selly Oak Colleges. Kirk holds degrees from the University of London and Cambridge.

He is the author of thirteen books, including The Mission of Theology and Theology as Mission (1997), What is Mission?: Theological Explorations (1999), and Mission under Scrutiny: Confronting Current Challenges (2006).