"Against all the arguments that religious conviction should be manifest in public life, Jonathan Malesic offers perhaps the most theologically profound, fruitful, and rigorous challenge: the real truth of Christianity cannot be worn like a flag pin on a politician's lapel. It occurs in secret and in silence. True subjectivity of faith precludes its manifestation in public life, and all attempts to display it in such a way only profane it and further pervert the church as a community of 'secret disciples.' This genuinely fresh, freethinking book displays the independence of mind and life for which it argues. Lucidly written and crisply argued, it is a significant contribution to discussions in the field, and will be a wonderful counterpoint to the dominant narrative in classes about religion and public life."--__Charles Mathewes__, University of Virginia; editor, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Malesic's thesis is striking and provocative: we should conceal our faith in order to protect it from being absorbed and prostituted in our voracious secular culture. Readers may not be persuaded, but by the end of the book they will find themselves richly rewarded with many fresh insights into the possibilities for Christian witness in our strange, postmodern era. A truly fresh contribution to the important debate about faith, politics, and culture."--__R. R. Reno__, Creighton University  
  
"Jonathan Malesic calls Christians in America to conceal their identities in public life as a form of therapy that unhinges Christian witness from its accommodation to public expectation and reward. By credibly challenging the assumption that Christian identity is only authentic if it is publicly visible and explicit, Malesic has transformed the conversation about the relationship of the church to the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This book should be read and discussed widely."--__Bryan Stone__, Boston University School of Theology

__Jonathan Malesic__ (PhD, University of Virginia) is assistant professor of theology at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He has written several essays for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

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.

Provocatively argues that concealing Christian identity in American public life is the best way to maintain faithful witness and integrity.

Introduction: Secrecy and Christian Faith in Contemporary America  
Part 1: Concealment of Christian Identity in the Theological Tradition  
1\. Promoting Secrecy in a Christian Empire: Cyril of Jerusalem's Discipline of the Secret  
2\. Liturgical Secrecy as Cyril's Defense against Opportunism and Imperial Authority  
3\. The Secret of Faith in Kierkegaard's Works of Love 4. How Kierkegaard's Secret Agape Subverts Bourgeois Culture  
5\. Bonhoeffer's Arkandisziplin: Christian Confession in a World Come of Age  
6\. The Limits of Arkandisziplin and of the Secular  
Part 2: Concealment of Christian Identity in Contemporary America  
7\. The Secret-Keeping Self and Christian Responsibility for the Other  
8\. The Church as a Community of Hidden Disciples  
9\. Secret Faith's Fulfillment of the Church's Mission in America: An Engagement with Hauerwas  
Epilogue: The Challenge of Ambiguous Religious Identity in Wise Blood and The Moviegoer Index

Malesic, Jonathan

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Secrecy and Christian Faith in Contemporary America

Part One: Concealment of Christian Identity in the Theological Tradition

1. Promoting Secrecy in a Christian Empire: Cyril of Jerusalem's Discipline of the Secret

2. Liturgical Secrecy as Cyril's Defense against Opportunism and Imperial Authority

3. The Secret of Faith in Kierkegaard's Works of Love

4. How Kierkegaard's Secret Agape Subverts Bourgeois Culture

5. Bonhoeffer's Arkandisziplin: Christian Confession in a World Come of Age

6. The Limits of Arkandisziplin and of the Secular

Part Two: Concealment of Christian Identity in Contemporary America

7. The Secret-Keeping Self and Christian Responsibility for the Other

8. The Church as a Community of Hidden Disciples

9. Secret Faith's Fulfillment of the Church's Mission in America: An Engagement with Hauerwas

Epilogue: The Challenge of Ambiguous Religious Identity in Wise Blood and The Moviegoer

Notes

Index

Secret Faith in the Public Square [eBook]

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