Traces the visual and textual depictions of the Good Shepherd motif from its early iterations as a potent symbol of kingship, through its reimagining in biblical figures, such as the shepherd-king David, and onward to the shepherds of Greco-Roman literature.
The Johannine literature has inspired the Church's christological creeds, prompted its Trinitarian formulations, and resourced its ecumenical and social movements. However, while confessional readers find in these texts a divine love for "e;the world,"e; biblical scholars often detect a dangerous program of harsh polemics arrayed against "e;the other."e; In this frame, the Johannine writings are products of an anti-society with its own anti-language articulating a worldview that is anti-ecclesiastical, anti-hierarchical, and, more seriously, anti-Jewish and even anti-Semitic. In New Testament studies, the prefix "e;anti-"e; has become almost Johannine. In John and the Others, Andrew Byers challenges the "e;sectarian hermeneutic"e; that has shaped much of the interpretation of the Gospel and Letters of John. Rather than "e;anti-Jewish,"e; we should understand John as opposed to the exclusionary positioning of ethnicity as a soteriological category. Neither is this stream of early Christianity antagonistic towards the wider Christian movement. The Fourth Evangelist openly situates his work in a crowded field of alternative narratives about Jesus without seeking to supplant prior works. Though John is often regarded as a "e;low-church"e; theologian, Byers shows that the episcopal ecclesiology of Ignatius of Antioch is compatible with Johannine theology. John does not locate revelation solely within the personal authority of each believer under the power of the Spirit, and so does not undercut hierarchical leadership. Byers demonstrates that the "e;Other Disciple"e; is actually a salutary resource for a contemporary world steeped in the negative discourse of othering. Though John's social vision entails othering, the negative "e;other"e; in John is ultimately cosmic evil, and his theological convictions are grounded in the most sweeping act of "e;de-othering"e; in history, when the divine Other "e;became flesh and dwelled among us."e; This early Christian tradition certainly erected boundaries, but all Johannine walls have a "e;Gate"e;-Jesus, the Lamb of God slain for the sin of the world that God loves.
Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years, especially during the Trump era. Middle Eastern Christians are often portrayed as a homogeneous, helpless group ever at the mercy of their Muslim enemies, a situation that only Western powers can remedy. The Politics of Persecution revisits this narrative with a critical eye.Mitri Raheb charts the plight of Christians in the Middle East from the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 to the so-called Arab Spring. The book analyzes the diverse socioeconomic and political factors that led to the diminishing role and numbers of Christians in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan during the eras of Ottoman, French, and British Empires, through the eras of independence, Pan-Arabism, and Pan-Islamism, and into the current era of American empire. With an incisive expose of the politics that lie behind alleged concerns for these persecuted Christians-and how the concept of persecution has been a tool of public diplomacy and international politics-Raheb reveals that Middle Eastern Christians have been repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of Western national interests. The West has been part of the problem for Middle Eastern Christianity and not part of the solution, from the massacre on Mount Lebanon to the rise of ISIS. The Politics of Persecution, written by a well-known Palestinian Christian theologian, provides an insider perspective on this contested region. Middle Eastern Christians survived successive empires by developing great elasticity in adjusting to changing contexts; they learned how to survive atrocities and how to resist creatively while maintaining a dynamic identity. In this light, Raheb casts the history of Middle Eastern Christians not so much as one of persecution but as one of resilience.
Examines seven contemporary environmental challenges through the lens of classical Christian virtues. Authors Kathryn Blanchard and Kevin O'Brien use these classical Christian virtues to seek a "golden mean" between extreme positions by pairing each virtue with a pernicious environmental problem.
When Cone wrote Black Theology and Black Power, he liberated the Gospel of Christ from its institutionalized forms. This book continues Cone's theme of power in the public realm and examines the economic, political, cultural, gender, and theological implications of black faith and black theology.
The atonement-where God in Jesus Christ addresses sin and the whole of the human predicament-lies at the heart of the Christian faith and life. Its saving power is for all people, and yet a deep hesitancy has prevented meaningful discussion of the cross' relevance for people with disabilities. Speaking of disability and the multifaceted concept of the atonement has created an unresolvable tension, not least because sin and disability often seem to be associated within the biblical text. While work in disability theology has made great progress in developing a positive theological framework for disability as an integral part of human diversity, it has so far fallen short of grappling with this particular set of interpretive challenges presented by the cross.In Accessible Atonement, reflecting on his experience as both a pastor and a theologian, David McLachlan brings the themes and objectives of disability theology into close conversation with traditional ideas of the cross as Jesus' sacrifice, justice, and victory. From this conversation emerges an account of the atonement as God's deepest, once-for-all participation in both the moral and contingent risk of creation, where all that alienates us from God and each other is addressed. Such an atonement is inherently inclusive of all people and is not one that is extended to disability as a "e;special case."e; This approach to the atonement opens up space to address both the redemption of sin and the possibilities of spiritual and bodily healing.What McLachlan leads us to discover is that, when revisited in this way, the cross-perhaps surprisingly-becomes the cornerstone of Christian disability theology and the foundation of many of its arguments. Far from excluding those who find themselves physically or mentally outside of assumed "e;norms,"e; the atoning death of Christ creates a vital space of inclusion and affirmation for such persons within the life of the church.
Focusing on the southeastern Gold Coast in the middle of the nineteenth century, Healing and Power in Ghana identifies patterns of indigenous reception, rejection, and reformulation of what had initially arrived, centuries earlier, as a European trade religion.
Explores the cultural entrapment of the modern church regarding wealth and relationships and calls all Christians to live out genuine love for their neighbours. Jimmy Dorrell provides a practical and timely exploration of what it means for the church to be a place of redemption for all of God's people - the rich and the poor.
This collection of primary sources from Early Stuart England, compiled by Deborah Shuger, reflects the varieties of religious expression, theological conviction, and spiritual experience of the fascinating and turbulent period in English religious history from 1603 to 1638.
Gary Dorrien expounds in this book the religious philosophy underlying his many magisterial books on modern theology, social ethics, and political philosophy. His constructive position is liberal-liberationist and post-Hegelian, reflecting his many years of social justice activism and what he calls "e;my dance with Hegel."e; Hegel, he argues, broke open the deadliest assumptions of Western thought by conceiving being as becoming and consciousness as the social-subjective relation of spirit to itself; yet his white Eurocentric conceits were grotesquely inflated even by the standards of his time. Dorrien emphasizes both sides of this Hegelian legacy, contending that it takes a great deal of digging and refuting to recover the parts of Hegel that still matter for religious thought.By distilling his signature argument about the role of post-Kantian idealism in modern Christian thought, Dorrien fashions a liberationist form of religious idealism: a religious philosophy that is simultaneously both Hegelian-as it expounds a fluid, holistic, open, intersubjective, ambiguous, tragic, and reconciliatory idea of revelation-and post-Hegelian, as it rejects the deep-seated flaws in Hegel's thought. Dorrien mines Kant, Schleiermacher, and Hegel as the foundation of his argument about intellectual intuition and the creative power of subjectivity. After analyzing critiques of Hegel by Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, Karl Barth, and Emmanuel Levinas, Dorrien contends that though these monumental figures were penetrating in their assessments, they appear one-sided compared to Hegel. In a Post-Hegelian Spirit further engages with the personal idealist tradition founded by Borden Parker Bowne, the process tradition founded by Alfred North Whitehead, and the daring cultural contributions of Paul Tillich, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosemary Radford Ruether, David Tracy, Peter Hodgson, Edward Farley, Catherine Keller, and Monica Coleman.Dispelling common interpretations that Hegel's theology simply fashioned a closed system, Dorrien argues instead that Hegel can be interpreted legitimately in six different ways and is best interpreted as a philosopher of love who developed a Christian theodicy of love divine. Hegel expounded a process theodicy of God salvaging what can be salvaged from history, even as his tragic sense of the carnage of history cuts deep, lingering at Calvary.
The contemporary world has been shaped by two important and potent myths - Karl Jaspers' construct of the "axial age", and the myth of the "dark green golden age," as narrated by David Suzuki and others. Iain Provan illuminates the influence of these two deeply entrenched and questionable myths.
Romans 5-8 revolve around God's dramatic cosmic activity and its implications for humanity and all of creation. Apocalyptic Paul measures the power of Paul's rhetoric about the relationship of cosmic power to the Law, interpretations of righteousness and the self, and the link between grace and obedience.
Uncovers the shortcomings of contemporary moral philosophy and the depth and capacity of the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions, reminding the reader that classical virtue ethics remains the most promising framework for understanding the moral life.
The Miss America pageant has extraordinary staying power. Despite the cultural winds of the past century, Miss America continues to captivate the nation, giving America what it wants most-sex, entertainment, competition, religion, and even self-discovery. In Miss America's God, Mandy McMichael traces the pageant's long and complicated history. She demonstrates that the pageant is a little explored window into American culture, one that reveals a complex cocktail of all Americans hold dear. Ultimately, McMichael contends that the pageant is an unexpected cultural space of religious expression and self-discovery for many contestants whose faith communities support and validate their pageant participation. Miss America's God utilizes feminist theory, women's history, sociology, psychology, ethnography, and religious studies to explain the enduring popularity of the pageant, as well as religion's curious embrace of its spectacle. While contestants use the pageant to build faith and identity, the pageant uses the faith of the contestants to remain relevant in a society that is increasingly suspicious of it. McMichael shows just how central religion has been to Miss America. Religion, for Miss America, sanctifies sex, ritualizes entertainment, justifies competition, and enables self-discovery. Religion makes Miss America a cultural icon that withstands the test of time.
Bates applies his method to both oft-referenced and underutilized passages in the writings of Paul and suggests a new model for Pauline hermeneutics that is centered on the apostolic proclamation of Christ.--Michael J. Gorman, Dean, Ecumenical Institute of Theology "St. Mary's Seminary & University"
With its origins in the author's experience of adjusting to the challenges of quadriplegia, "Crippled Grace" considers the diverse experiences of people with a disability as a lens through which to understand happiness and its attainment.
It is a road map to the emerging American political and cultural landscape.--Patrick J. Deneen, David A. Potenziani Memorial Associate Professor of Constitutional Studies, University of Notre Dame
Traces the history of public school prayer in America and the legal debates since the 1962 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the practice. The book makes available the historical and legal information from which readers can draw their own conclusions about this sensitive issue.
"Jacob Arminius' Declaration of Sentiments was delivered orally in Dutch before the States of Holland in October 1608"--Introduction.
One hundred and fifty years of archaeological investigation has yielded a more complete picture of the ancient Near East. This book combines the most significant of these archaeological findings with those of modern historical and literary analysis of the Bible to recount the history of ancient Israel and its neighbouring nations and empires.
"A century ago it was true that if you wanted to understand the ancient Israelites you had to read the Bible, the Old Testament. Today, if you want to understand the Old Testament, you need to study the history and archaeology of the ancient people of Israel"--Preface.
Offers the first book-length exploration of Kierkegaard's views on knowledge, an epistemology that M.G. Piety argues is both foundationalist and nonfoundationalist, substantive and procedural, and includes both internalist and externalist theories of belief justification.
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