Description:In the wake of excessive evil--the Holocaust, genocide in Africa, tsunamis in Indonesia, terrorism, earthquakes, and floods--must one surrender belief in a good God? The poems in this volume, honest and reverent, arose from the struggle to answer that question with an emphatic "No." They exhibit the tension that also exists in the Bible where the expression "Dust and Ashes" occurs. When Abraham questioned God's justice involving the wholesale destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and an aggrieved Job responded to speeches from a whirlwind, their status as mortals gave rise to different approaches, boldness in one, humility in the other. Following their examples and the voice of dissenters within much of Scripture, these poems chronicle the journey of a lonely "man of faith," the agony and ecstasy of one who refuses to abandon belief in God despite much evidence that brings it into question. They discover the Sacred in Nature, a book written by the finger of God, and they lovingly reflect on biblical texts, a human record of encounter with the Sublime.Endorsements:"Like photographs or glimpses through a window that capture a moment and reveal an unsuspected truth, these poems by James Crenshaw are encounters with the pain and joy of nature, biblical characters, and human relationships. Through these poems Crenshaw wrestles with that enigmatic God from whom he seeks a costly blessing."--Carol Newsom Emory University "A fish called Methuselah and a cat called JOY, the Babel and beauty of the church, the joys of family and of study, and the anguish of cancer--James Crenshaw beautifully articulates these and many more aspects of a rich life, viewed by a mind that is sharply critical and yet humble. The poems are both complex and lucid; many are peopled by the characters of Scripture. These are poems to share with other Christians, and to read again and again."--Ellen F. Davis Duke Divinity School"James Crenshaw's prose always makes me think slowly yet also furiously, and refuses me the luxury of easy answers. Now his poems do the same, though they also open up avenues to hope and trust."--John GoldingayFuller Theological SeminaryAbout the Contributor(s): James L. Crenshaw is the Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, Duke University. Among his recent books are Defending God (2005) and Prophets, Sages, & Poets (2006).
Description:In The World in the Shadow of God, Ephraim Radner argues for a vigorous Christian natural theology and insists that such a theology must, of necessity, be performed poetically. The peculiar character of such a theology is found in its disclosing of the natural limits that indicate indirectly the impinging and more fundamental reality of the divine life. Natural theology represents the encounter between created reality and the "shadow" of God's creative and revelatory grace. However, the encounter is a morally demanding task for the Christian church if it is to be held accountable to the truth on which its life is based. The first portion of the book offers an extended critical essay on the nature of this sort of natural theology, while the second provides a developed set of examples through poems that display the natural world in light of the truths articulated in the Apostles' Creed. Those interested in the intersection of theology, literature, history, and the natural world will be challenged by this attempt to renew a basic element of Christian knowledge and culture.Endorsements:"Never sweetly pious, always directly quarried from the particularity of life, Ephraim Radner's poetry beautifully and movingly reflects the straining, searching, God-desiring pathos of natural theology. Shoes and suitcases speak as eloquently--and as obliquely and uncertainly--as the reliable routines of the lowly ant."--R. R. RenoCreighton University"Radner's style in the introduction where he wrestles with the nature of natural theology as that which 'beats us on the head' is one of vast but lightly worn learning in service of spiritual discipline, the life of somehow joyful penitence. The poetry that follows is crafted and careful, full to bursting with Scriptural imagery, gained from a wise American harvest of both the European (one detects the modernism of Rilke, Celan, and Milosz) and global (Burundi, Haiti) traditions where the world viewed up close in God's holding presence is as cruel as it is colorful. It is as though the wandering children of Israel camp on the northern prairies to dream dreams of wild nature which has possessed the familiar (cats, raccoons, and small children!) One might call this post-Darwinian theology."--Mark ElliottUniversity of St. Andrews, School of DivinityAbout the Contributor(s):Ephraim Radner is Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto. He is the author of several volumes on ecclesiology and hermeneutics including The End of the Church (1998).
Description:In A Pacifist Way of Knowing: John Howard Yoder's Nonviolent Epistemology, editors Christian Early and Ted Grimsrud gather the scattered writings of Yoder on the theme of the relationship between gospel, peace, and human ways of knowing. In them, they find the beginnings of a pacifist theology of knowledge that rejects strategies of empire while at the same time avoids a self-defeating relativism.Endorsements:"Whether in Yoder's approach to Christology within the first portion of this collection or in other important areas, epistemology is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the legacy of John Howard Yoder. Bringing these essays on Yoder's way of knowing together in one volume should go far toward correcting these misperceptions."--J. Denny Weaverauthor of The Nonviolent Atonement"I am not a pacifist, but reading John Howard Yoder the past several years, I am moving in his direction. Meanwhile, this remarkable collection of Yoder's writings offers wisdoms, bearing many other names, that enrich me in mind and spirit right now. There are wisdoms about the truth universal that resides in the particularity of my scriptural tradition, about the covenantal context in which ethics may be received, about why serving the good begins only where we are and why we can talk about it only from where we are, and about why, oh why, we have to be patient."--Peter Ochseditor of The Return to Scripture in Judaism and ChristianityAbout the Contributor(s):Christian E. Early is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Eastern Mennonite University.Ted G. Grimsrud is Professor of Theology and Peace Studies, Eastern Mennonite University.
A Marginal Scribe collects eight studies written over a period of two decades, all of which use social-scientific criticism to interpret the Gospel of Matthew. It prefaces them, first, with a new chapter on the struggle between historians and social scientists since the Enlightenment and its parallel in New Testament studies, which culminated in the emergence of social-scientific criticism; and, second, with a new chapter on recent social-scientific interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. The eight, more specialized studies cover a variety of themes and use a variety of models but concentrate and are held together by those that illumine social ranking and marginality. The book closes with a chapter that ties together these studies.
This study offers an intercultural theory of interpretation and religion. It does so by bringing Western and East Asian traditions into dialogue regarding the nature of interpretation. The result of this innovative study is a theory of interpretation which integrates the socially embodied dimension of human life with the study of hermeneutics and religion in post-foundational and cross-cultural perspective. Toward this end, Paul Chung offers a constructive theology of divine speech-acts in a manner more amenable to the social-public sphere than other proposals. In all of this he deeply considers intercultural horizon of interpretation between West and East and its implications for a theology of interpretation. The result is a truly theological theory of interpretation that takes seriously the issues of intercultural studies and their intersection with Christian doctrine.
Description:Our known world, the world of twenty-first century Americans, is shaped and defined by consumer choice. The premise of consumer choice is that somewhere the perfect fit between product and purchaser exists. In the books on changing traditions the consumerist tone prevails--fundamentalists looking for an even more literal interpretation of Scripture, Protestants "going home" to Rome, feminists heading to the womyncentric sacred grove, conservatives fleeing inclusive rites, Catholics embracing the independent seeker church. But the consumerist impulse masks the kind of prayer and discernment necessary for living in Christian community and for following God. Twenty-first century Christians do make choices, but the hope is that they do so because they follow God. How then is one to answer the question of whether to stay or leave? Through meditating on the fruits of the Spirit that Paul addressed to the church at Galatia, a community that had several of its members wondering whether to stay or leave, Bennett and Nussbaum offer sage reflections about what it means to be led into and out of Christian communions.Endorsements:"A friend of mine once said, 'You have an aisle seat in the Methodist Church.' He was right. Like many I have struggled with the question if I should stay or leave the church that formed me and that I love. So many seem to be dissatisfied with their church these days that the movement among churches is dizzying. Liberal Catholics become Episcopalians. Evangelicals turn to Orthodoxy. Nazarenes find freedom with the Methodists. But is this constant back and forth a sign of sin or can it be faithful? Does it violate the need for a vow of stability? Bennett and Nussbaum offer us a careful, biblically grounded means of discerning how we might be 'free to leave' or 'free to stay' in the context of the fruits of the Spirit. No one should jump from one church to another without spending significant time with these deeply considered reflections. Hopefully, as Bennett and Nussbaum themselves point out, this will be done in the presence of others."--D. Stephen Long, Marquette University"Searingly honest and beautifully written, Bennett and Nussbaum have given us a book, an amazingly gentle and peaceful book, about the painfully difficult decision they made when they became Roman Catholic. This book, I believe, is destined to be a classic."--Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity SchoolAbout the Contributor(s):Jana Marguerite Bennett is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton. She is the author of Water Is Thicker than Blood: An Augustinian Theology of Marriage and Singleness (2008).Melissa Musick Nussbaum is a regular contributor to the liturgical journals Celebration and GIA Quarterly. She is the author of six books and numerous articles. Her work has appeared in Commonweal, Notre Dame Magazine, and National Catholic Reporter. She is a contributor to Take Heart: Catholic Writers on Hope in Our Time (2007).
Modern theorists are virtually united in understanding that space encodes social practices and power relations. Those who control space exert their control by means of particular spatial practices. Models of critical spatiality, such as that of territoriality, show how social relationships are predominant in the classification, communication, and control of space. Space is seen as a relational category rather than an absolute category. In this innovative study, Stewart addresses Mark's editorial and/or compositional control over the geographic presentation of Jesus's ministry. He makes the case that Mark presents the world spatially in a manner widely consistent with geographic traditions found in Greek and Roman texts. In Mark, Stewart argues, Jesus offers an alternative spatial practice, one that is centered on himself. The kingdom of God exists spatially in the area around Jesus in which the new community ""gathers.""
Description:The first Christians immediately set about creating a social structure based on democratic control of their collective resources, which were shared freely. While this was a voluntary system, it carried great spiritual weight and was a continuation of values that were clearly encouraged in the stories of the Old Testament.This style of organizing can also be found in the modern cooperative movement, which is made up of thousands of democratically controlled businesses serving millions of members worldwide. This movement touches the lives of nearly half of Americans, and has grown into a comprehensive economic system in other parts of the world. Christians have played key roles in the development of this movement, but the theological basis for this participation is not widely understood. Holy Cooperation! is an examination of what the Bible teaches about social organizing, and an exploration of some of the cooperative ways that Christians have worked together. Through cooperation we may act as our brothers' and sisters' keepers, while staying true to Jesus's teachings of liberation.Endorsements:"Holy Cooperation! is a tract for our times. For a generation that says, 'Don't tell me what you believe until you show me how you live,' Andrew opens up a treasure chest of experiments old and new in the truth of God's economy. He writes with the zeal of a convert because he's one who has found new hope in Jesus's vision of a kingdom that overcomes Mammon one mustard seed at a time."-Jonathan Wilson-Hartgroveauthor of Free to be Bound and New MonasticismAbout the Contributor(s):Andrew McLeod is a cooperative development specialist who lives in Sacramento, California
Description:The Earth's thin crust of organic matter and the still thinner crust of the spirit is the most concentrated, the most suggestive part of the cosmos. It in every way exceeds itself by pointing above its horizontal surface towards vertical transcendence. However, it can never leave itself behind and always carries itself with itself in every ascent. Poetry attends to the resultant human diagonal.--from the preface to the first sequence, "On the Diagonal: Metaphysical Landscapes"Endorsements:"That John Milbank is an original and powerful theologian is well known. That he is a poet of lyrical and epic sensitivities will now become well known. Here we find piercing lyrics such as 'Ode to Night,' 'Winter Interior,' and 'Cosmos.' Here we find American and British landscapes, alive with history and nature: squirrels in 'sculpted motion' and a day 'brushed with lemon.' And here too we find the ambitious long sequence, 'The Legend of Death,' which, with its concatenation of story, creed, and place, is itself a theological work, one that could only be written as a poem."--Kevin Hart, University of Virginia"This is a poetry of narrative intensity and lyric delicacy. Its sheer range and depth calls to mind 'The Anathemata' of David Jones."--Michael Symmons Roberts, award-winning British poet"John Milbank's new book of poetry offers us a greatly extended and ambitious structure, concerned with humanity's largest concepts across history and ideology as witnessed at their particular localites, as it were their homes in the landscape. I'm particularly glad that he has in this new venture maintained his sense of poetry as the proper vehicle of such vision, without letting it inflate. The poetry's theses are discovered constantly anew with registers of surprise and wonder which amount to an interlocked modesty. So the discoveries are transmitted to us as an authentically poetical account which never deserts the particular, personal, and questing experience, the eyes on the landscape, the words held in their places by the rhythmic tension of constant realisation and renewal. It is a work of genuine illumination."--Peter Riley, author of numerous works of poetry, including Alstonefield: a poem (2003)About the Contributor(s):John Milbank is Research Professor of Religion, Politics, and Ethics at the University of Nottingham. In addition to many works of theology, he is the author of a previous collection of poetry, The Mercurial Wood.
In this creative and original book, Paul S. Chung interprets Karl Barth as a theologian of divine action. Chung appreciates Barth's dogmatic theology as both contextual and irregular, and he retrieves the neglected sides of Barth's thought with respect to political radicalism, Israel, natural theology, and religious pluralism.
In this long-awaited edition of the late Robert Lowry Calhoun's lectures on the history of Christian doctrine, a powerful case is made for the scriptural basis of the ancient ecumenical creeds. The way Calhoun reads the patristic authors helps us see that the Trinitarian "three-yet-one" and Christological "two-yet-one" creedal formulations provide patterns for sorting out the highly diverse biblical ways of speaking of God and of the Messiah (Jesus) so that they are not contradictory. The implied lesson (all the more effective for many of Calhoun's students, just because he let them draw this conclusion by themselves) is that the creeds are not to be understood as deductions from scripture (which they are not in any straightforward way) but as templates for interpreting scripture. It is Trinitarian and Christological patterns of reading--which are implicitly operative for vast multitudes even in churches that profess to be creedless--that make it possible to treat the entire bible, Old and New Testaments together, as a unified and coherently authoritative whole.
Description:The prophets exhort us to defend the poor; but we lionize the rich. They assure us that chariots and missiles cannot save us; yet we seek refuge under their cold shadow. They urge us to forgo idolatry; but we compulsively fetishize the work of our hands. Above all, the prophetic Word warns us that the way to liberation in a world locked down by the spiral of violence, the way to redemption in a world of enslaving addictions, the way to genuine transformation in a world of deadened conscience and numbing conformity, is the way of nonviolent, sacrificial, creative love. But neither polite religion nor society is remotely interested in this--which is why Jesus had to "translate" and "midwife" the prophetic insights for his companions in their historical moment. Dan has done the same for us in ours. As this reading of Exodus attests, he has a keen eye for both text and context, and exegetes both with his life. Thus does he help us shed our denial, connect the dots, and move from our pews to the streets.--from the foreword by Ched MyersEndorsements:"Dan Berrigan has given us a prophetic interpretation of the story of a people's liberation from slavery, contagious violence, and the shocking actions of an ambiguous god. Berrigan has lived out a nonviolent exodus from our own pharaohs. His vision parts the waters of empires past and present. This prophet, like Isaiah, sees a divinely given way from the divisive exodus of our spiritual ancestors to the hope of a promised land for everyone."--James Douglass, Catholic Worker, Founder of Mary's House and Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action "The retrieval of the prophetic in Christian faith and practice is an underlying theme of the renewal and revisioning in today's grassroots Catholicism. Perhaps the prophetic voice of our time is that of Daniel Berrigan, SJ, whose insightful writing and courageous vision has now become the blending of activism and mystic wisdom. Berrigan on Exodus--a profound journey back to the very roots of our tradition and a clarion call to let ourselves be freed and chosen for God's work today."--Robert A. Ludwig, Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago"In this lyrical, powerful, and dangerous reading of the second book of Moses, Daniel Berrigan does more than explicate or comment upon the text. Instead, heinvites us to fulfill the text through our own questions, reverence and, as Berrigan says, indignation. To read Exodus is to truly participate in the mystery of Scripture. A beautiful, challenging, and invigorating work by one of our most fearless and tenacious contemporary prophets."--Karin Holsinger Sherman, author of A Question ofBeing: The Integration of Resistance and Contemplation in James Douglass's Theology of NonviolenceAbout the Contributor(s):Daniel Berrigan is an internationally known voice for peace and disarmament. A Jesuit priest, an award-winning poet, and the author of over fifty books, he has spoken for peace, justice, and nuclear disarmament for nearly fifty years. He spent several years in prison for his part in the 1968 Catonsville Nine antiwar action and later acted with the Plowshares Eight. Nominated many times for the Nobel Peace Prize, he lives and works in New York City.
Description:What is the nature and purpose of the Black Church? What is the relationship of the scholar of religion to the Black Church? While black churches have been a major component of the religious landscape of African American communities for centuries, little critical attention has been given to these questions outside an apologetic stance. This book seeks to correct this trend by examining some of the major issues facing black churches in the twenty-first century. From a challenge to traditional ways of addressing sexism within black churches to African American Christianity's relationship to popular culture, this set of reflections seeks to offer new perspectives on what it might mean to be Black and Christian in the United States.Endorsements:"Anthony Pinn's volume seeks to critically understand and sympathetically transform the Black Church. Carrying on in the tradition of William R. Jones, Pinn's perspective on the Black Church is suspicious, loving, critical, committed, exasperating, and exhilarating. One may not always agree with his conclusions, but one cannot ignore his penchant for ferreting out the truth. This book is a passionate yet balanced argument which must be heard by anyone who is interested in the future of the black church." --James H. Evans Jr.Robert K. Davies Professor of Systematic Theology Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School"Pinn is required reading in every Black Church Studies department and theological curriculum that seeks self-understanding, healing, and transformation; and an indispensable interlocutor in the broader public conversation about the American dilemma and its democratic possibilities."--Walter Earl FlukerCoca-Cola Professor of Leadership StudiesMorehouse CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Anthony B. Pinn is Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. He is also the executive director of the Society for the Study of Black Religion. Pinn is the author/editor of eighteen books.
New Testament scholarship lacks an overall interpretive framework to understand Judean identity. This lack of interpretive framework is quite acute in scholarship on the historical Jesus, where the issue of Judeanness (""Jewishness"") is most strongly debated. A socio-cultural model of Judean ethnicity is developed, being a synthesis of (1) Sanders' notion of covenantal nomism, (2) Berger and Luckmann's theories on the sociology of knowledge, (3) Dunn's ""four pillars of Second Temple Judaism"" and his ""new perspective"" on Paul, (4) cultural or social anthropology in the form of modern ethnicity theory, and, lastly, (5) Duling's Socio-Cultural Model of Ethnicity. The proposed model is termed Covenantal Nomism. It is a pictorial representation of the Judean ""symbolic universe,"" which as an ethnic identity, is proposed to be essentially primordialist. The model is given appropriate content by investigating what would have been typical of first-century Judean ethnic identity. It is also argued that there existed a fundamental continuity between Judea and Galilee, as Galileans were ethnic Judeans themselves and they lived on the ancestral land of Israel. Attention is lastly focused on the matter of ethnic identity in Q. The Q people were given an eschatological Judean identity based on their commitment to Jesus and the requirements of the kingdom/reign of God.[K.C. edited this down for the back cover. Leave the longer synopsis for the website.]
The Gospel of Matthew recounts several interactions between Jesus and ""marginal"" women. The urban, relatively wealthy community to which Matthew writes faces issues relating to a number of internal problems including whether or how it will keep Jesus's inclusive vision to honor rural Israelite and non-Israelite outcast women in its midst.Will the Matthean community be faithful to the social vision of Jesus's unconventional kin group? Or will it give way to the crystallized gender social stratification so characteristic of Greco-Roman society as a whole? Employing social-scientific models and careful use of comparative data, Love examines structural marginality, social role marginality, ideological marginality, and cultural marginality relative to these interactions with Jesus. He also employs models of gender analysis, social stratification, healing, rites of passage, patronage, and prostitution.
""By them we have been carried away out of our own land, as into a Babylonian captivity, and despoiled of all our precious possessions."" Martin Luther, 1520""Their goal is our deracination, which is 'detachment from one's background (as from homeland, customs, traditions).' Thus women and other Elemental creatures on this planet are rendered homeless, cut off from knowledge of our Race's customs and traditions."" Mary Daly, 1984What is this land, this world of which these two theologians are speaking? Why do the two statements above sound similar in the authors' longing for a true home, for our own land? And who is this ""them"" who carries us away and cuts us off? Could it be possible that Martin Luther and Mary Daly, different in almost every way, are saying something similar? Why do these key figures in the Christian theological tradition, who come from different times, places, and politics, engage in such a parallel task? How is this possible? This book examines a series of surprising parallels between two key reforming figures in the Christian theological tradition and suggests that the two are in fact engaged in the same task: political theology. Applying a new label to familiar theologians enables readers to see both of them as well as their reformations in a new light. The sixteenth-century Reformation and second wave feminism are viewed through the pioneering work of Luther and Daly here to further establish the political content and consequence of these theologians.
About the Contributor(s):David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University, and the author/editor of fifteen books in Christian ethics. He is widely considered one of the leading moral thinkers in evangelical Christianity.
Description:The Bible is not a Western book, and the world of the New Testament is not our world. The New Testament world was preindustrial, Mediterranean, and populated mostly by nonliterate peasants who depended on hearing these writings read aloud. Only a few of the literate elite were part of the Jesus movement, and they knew nothing of either modernity or the Western culture we inhabit today. This means that for all North Americans, reading the New Testament is always an exercise in cross-cultural communication.Travelers, diplomats, and exchange students take great pains to bridge the cultural gaps that cloud mutual understanding. But North American readers habitually suspend cross-cultural awareness when encountering the Bible. The result is that we unwittingly project our own cultural understandings onto the pages of the New Testament.Rohrbaugh argues that to whatever degree we can bridge cultural gaps between ourselves and New Testament writers, we learn to value their intentions rather than the meanings we create from their words. Rohrbaugh's insightful interpretations of Gospel passages go a long way toward helping to span distances between the New Testament world and the present.Endorsements:"Rohrbaugh's diagnosis of the ills of so much Western Bible reading is incisive; his prescription of hermeneutics as 'cross-cultural encounter' is healthy; and his own use of that hermeneutic offers many new and persuasive understandings of the Gospels."--Catholic Biblical Quarterly"Rohrbaugh's sensitivity to the social dynamics of Mediterranean cultures allows him to read familiar stories in an unfamiliar and yet highly convincing manner. He repeatedly exposes the ethnocentric nature of many modern interpretations, and illustrates how a knowledge of Mediterranean anthropology casts an entirely different light on the significance of the parables and sayings of Jesus. Clearly written and argued, The New Tesament in Cross-Cultural Perspective can serve also as a primer for Mediterranean anthropology."--John S. Kloppenborg, Professor of Religion, University of Toronto"This collection of significant articles by Richard Rohrbaugh is very welcome. Published through many years and in many different places, they have been major ways into social-science interpretation and cross-cultural understanding for many readers. Now they are accessible together in this book, which will take its place among the most important tools for raising issues of cultural difference in biblical interpretation."--Carolyn Osiek, Charles Fischer Catholic Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity SchoolAbout the Contributor(s):Richard L. Rohrbaugh is Paul S. Wright Professor of Christian Studies Emeritus at Lewis and Clark College. He is the coauthor of Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John, and the editor of The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation.
Description:This collection of essays, sermons, and prayers urges the church today to "be the sort of community that sustains a vigorous and continuing conversation within itself as to who has called it into being, to whom it is responsible, and what it is called to be and to do." Jones reminds the church that it is an alternative political community called into being by the Gospel. This collection explores what it means to be such an alternative community in "tumultuous times," in times when it is tempting to look to the world for answers, and to confuse loyalty to the nation-state with loyalty to God. A theme throughout all the writings is that "the church is the necessary context for becoming and being a Christian."Endorsements:"Joe Jones is the best unknown theologian in America. That he is unknown has nothing to do with the quality of his work, but rather with the integrity by which he works. He has never hurried but ra ther has attended to the difficulty of theological speech patiently, taking the time to attend to how to say things rightly. His great two-volume systematic theology, A Grammar of Christian Faith, is here complemented by wonderful essays in theology as well as timely interventions dealing with the current cultural challenges before the church. We are all richer for the work done in this book and in particular that Jones has given us sermons and prayers. One of the remarkable things about the book is the interrelation that Jones helps us to discover just to the extent we see good theology is prayer and prayer is theology. I heartily recommend this book." --Stanley Hauerwas author of Disrupting Time"With his provocative and challenging use of subjects, ideas, and language, Jones passionately serves the church as he dares her to be true to her call as the Body of Christ on earth. Throughout all his work, Jones consistently asks one question: Will the Body live the Gospel call of faithfulness to Christ for the benefit of the world and the glory of God? In this time of doctrinal battles, identity confusion, and cultural fragmentation, Jones's question and his responses are most timely and critical for all Christians--clergy and laity--everywhere." --Rev. Janet Hoover Emerson Avenue Baptist Church"These essays and sermons underscore what was already obvious in Jones's earlier systematic theology: this is a brilliant theologian. But more than that, they evidence a theologian willing to take risks, willing to engage the most contentious issues of the day. This is theology that is relevant without being trendy, prophetic while being compassionately connected to real, everyday life. What a wonderful feast of theological reflection!" --Mark Thiessen Nation, Eastern Mennonite Seminary"Jones's A Grammar of Christian Faith: Systematic Explorations in Christian Life and Doctrine is one of the most interesting and important systematic theologies in print today. It is a must read. Now with this publication we have both the rich background for that systematic theology as well as a stand-alone volume on ecclesiology. He offers us a refreshing theological alternative. On Being the Church of Jesus Christ in Tumultuous Times does not sidestep the difficult and perilous situation of the church today, but neither is it alarmist. Jones offers us insightful theological analysis that will be of tremendous use for the church and the academy." --Steve Long Garrett-Evangelical Theological SeminaryThe brilliant clarity, profound insight, and passion of Joe Jones' classroom teaching has led many mainstream Protestant seminarians to adopt an explicitly Trinitarian Christ-centered theology. The publication in 2002 of his 'The Grammar of Christian Faith and Doctrine' extended Jones' influence beyond his stud
With a Bible and guitar, Bob Marley set out to conquer the world of popular music. Rising from humble origins to international stardom, he worked tirelessly to spread a dual message of resistance and redemption--a message inspired by his reading of scripture. Marley's constant reliance on the Bible throughout the stages of his artistic and spiritual paths is an integral part of his story that has not been sufficiently told--until now.This is the first book written on Bob Marley as biblical interpreter. It answers the question, What light does biblical scholarship shed on Marley's interpretation, and what can Marley teach biblical scholars?Focusing on the parts of the Bible that Marley quotes most often in his lyrics, MacNeil provides a close analysis of Marley's interpretation. For students of Marley, this affords a deeper appreciation and understanding of his thought and his art. For students of scripture, it demonstrates the nature of Marley's unique contribution to the field of biblical interpretation, which can be appreciated as an excellent example of what R. S. Sugirtharajah calls ""vernacular interpretation"" of scripture.
In this thoroughly revised edition of his classic work, James A. Sanders introduces the reader to canonical criticism. Tracking the various developments of biblical literature and their acceptance by the communities of faith, Sanders tackles the tough questions. He discusses the differences between the parts of the canon, the editing of the texts by later generations, the diversity of canons used in different communities, how the Dead Sea Scrolls raise new questions for canonicity, and the differences between how Jews and Christians have interacted with their canons. In addition to all the updates and revisions, Sanders provides a new introduction and bibliography.
Description:How does one deal with doubt? Are faith and doubt irreconcilable? Does one's understanding of God affect the answers to these questions? Christian Kettler investigates these questions from a christological perspective, drawing implications from the Scottish theologian T. F. Torrance and his doctrine of "the vicarious humanity of Christ." If we take the humanity of Christ seriously, should we not speak of the faith of Jesus as a vicarious faith, believing for us and in our place when it is difficult if not impossible to believe? How Christians know God ("Jesus Knows God for Us and in Our Place"), who God is ("Who is the God Whom Jesus Knows?"), and how to believe in God in a world of suffering and evil ("Providence, Evil, Suffering, and the God Who Believes") receive new insight in light of this christological exploration. Wendell Berry's poignant novel of a humble country barber, 'Jayber Crow,' adds an incarnational context to a discussion with important pastoral and existential dimensions. In the vicarious faith of Christ we are not left, as James Torrance cautions us, to be thrown back upon ourselves, but called to participate by the Spirit in the faith of Jesus.Endorsements:"This relentlessly honest encounter with evil, which refuses to take comfort in the traditional theological bromides, finds no answers anywhere except in Jesus Christ. Written in an engagingly personal style, Kettler's heartfelt book shows how the doctrine of the vicarious humanity of Christ can function as an effective theodicy." --Dale Allisonauthor of Jesus of Nazareth"Kettler has a keen eye for the quest for faith in contemporary literature and a profound grasp of the mediating power of the vicarious humanity of Christ as the One who assumed doubting humanity in order to create faithful humanity in his own person. This is a book that fills the emotional void left untouched by most evangelical theology and provides a muscular Christology to cover the bare bones of post-liberal theology." Ray S. Anderson author of The Soul of God: A Theological Memoir"Christians and non-Christians alike will find many of their theological convictions challenged, overturned, and even corrected when the light of the vicarious humanity of Christ is focused upon those convictions. A must read!" Charles Hughes Associate Professor of Religious Studies Chapman University"Especially well-suited for college and seminary professors, as well as for church pastors, who wish to benefit from a trinitarian-incarnational and pastorally-oriented theology, written by one who has deeply felt what he has creatively conceived." Todd H. Speidell, author of Confessions of a Lapsed Skeptic"Most of us live our lives between faith and doubt. Chris Kettler is a theologian that dares to enter that world in his book, "The God Who Believes." More importantly, Dr. Kettler reminds us that God enters that world for us and with us in Jesus Christ. This is a must read for anyone who is tired of the pat answers and yearns for a robust and Reformed approach to faith and life." --Rev. Dr, Rob Erickson, Pastor,Covenant Presbyterian ChurchAbout the Contributor(s):CHRISTIAN D. KETTLER is Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Director of the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry program at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is the author of The Vicarious Humanity of Christ and the Reality of Salvation, and co-editor (with Todd H. Speidell) of Incarnational Ministry: The Presence of Christ in Church, Society, and Family: Essays in Honor of Ray S. Anderson.
Description:"Hope expresses more than an area of concentration in Ellul's thought; it is the central idea that binds his disparate elements together. Ellul believed that at this moment of history, the world since 1945, hope must preoccupy our thinking and lives. "To understand hope we must first comprehend its absence. This entails discerning what causes the absence of hope, namely the world's embrace of technique and the abandonment of God. Ellul also rejected these as a positive affirmation. He wanted to make a firm distinction between reality and truth. He affirmed modern abandonment as a realistic fact, as an accurate analysis of the present condition, not as an affirmation of the truth. Hope is truth in Jesus Christ, but truth must be asserted against these harsh facts. He used facts to incite hope in believers, to shake their complacency and to realize their actual condition in the world . . . . The idea of hope in the thought of Jacques Ellul can only be properly understood in light of dialectic struggle between negatives, which amount to factual representations of the modern world, and positives, through which hope exerts itself in the face of these facts. From this tension will issue personal resolve. Technique has brought the world to great collective heights and achievements, but this has come at the expense of personal ends and meaning. Ellul attempted to bridge this gap by asserting individual meaning against the aggregated progress of technique without destroying the gains made by collective advance. This represents the central dilemma in Ellul's thought--how does one maintain meaning and personal aims in a world founded on corporate necessity?" --from the IntroductionAbout the Contributor(s):Lawrence J. Terlizzese is Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has also taught Comparative Religion and Philosophy of Religion at Texas Woman's University.
Description:Barbara Crooker's new book Gold focuses on one of the most profound life-altering experiences possible: losing one's mother. This collection is an elegy, not just to the speaker's mother, but to a lost Eden that cannot be reclaimed. Beginning with a series of lyrics set in autumn, the poems become more narrative, recounting the long illness of Crooker's mother, her death, and the profound journey along the shores of grief. Throughout, Crooker is aware of the complexity and strength of the mother/daughter relationship and the chasm that this loss opens. The book includes other themes: poems about aging and the body, the loss of friends, the difficulties and joys in a long-term marriage, and always, the subtle ways faith influences the way Crooker experiences life. Her work has great scope, spanning the globe from rural Pennsylvania to Ireland, and reaching not just within herself but also outside of herself, to ekphrastic poems on the paintings of Gorky, Manet, Matisse, and others. This is the book of a mature writer, one who demonstrates an awareness of our own impermanence, our brokenness, and one who knows that if our parents go before us, we will have to learn to live with loss. In this book, we see the redemptive power of poetry itself to heal and to console.
About the Contributor(s): Kerry Walters is William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Gettysburg College. He is the author of thirty books in philosophy, peace studies, theology, and history. He has also edited After War, Is Faith Possible? (Cascade, 2008) and with Robin Jarrell, Blessed Peacemakers (Cascade, 2013).
Weaving the threads of U2's lyrics, scripture, and theology into one cord, this book tracks the Irish rock band's theological insights and perspectives through their poetry. Along this lyrical path we encounter the characters of the Drowning Man, the Wanderer, and the Sojourner. Though seemingly different, they are one and the same, and they represent each of us. If you're a U2 fan, a theologian, or both, "Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective" will offer a different angle of popular culture and theology.
From the Introduction: "The approach of this text will be multidisciplinary: psychologists, philosophers, theologians, and ethicists grappling with what it means to be a person. This volume will not attempt to provide a comprehensive history of psychology but will instead focus on selected representatives of various paradigms of psychology: from the first systematic psychologist, Aristotle, through psychology's development as an empirical science, and to recent developments in family systems theory. It will especially emphasize a social-relational-spiritual view of the self: namely, human relations to God and to others are essential to humanity."
About the Contributor(s):Samuel Wells is dean of Duke Chapel, Duke University.
No question is more central to Christian living, preaching, and theology than Jesus' question to his disciples: Who do you say that I am? Some would have it that pastors and theologians, biblical exegetes and historians, dogmatic and moral theologians, Catholic and Evangelical have more differences than similarities in the way Christians with such diverse vocations respond to Jesus' question. And there is little doubt that there sometimes seem to be unbridgeable gulfs between the way historians and believers, Internet gossipers and preachers, classical christological debates and present-day praying and pastoral care implicitly or explicitly address the Lord's question. But the authors here address these and other issues in ways that are remarkably convergent, as if a ""Catholic and Evangelical theology"" for proclaiming and following Jesus today has emerged, or is indeed emerging.""This book circles around Jesus's perennial question: 'who do you say that I am?' It is a question we can never be done with, because it confronts us ever anew, continually calling us to account. Here is a book with an all-star lineup of Christian scholars, led by Carl Braaten, that will edify all those who know they are summoned to answer faithfully, not only with their lips but also with their lives.""--George Hunsinger, Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary""'Who do you say that I am?' If we believe the one who spoke these words is dead, we can bury him and be done with it. If we confess him to be alive, it makes our own lives more complicated--but also interesting. Happily, the contributors to this volume are willing to reckon with such complication. They offer theologically creative, unsentimental reflections on who Jesus Christ is and what he asks of us.""--Joseph Mangina, Professor of Theology, Wycliffe CollegeMichael Root is Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America and Executive Director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He was formerly the Director of the Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France.James J. Buckley is Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland. He is a member of the North American Lutheran Catholic dialogue and an associate director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He contributed to and edited The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism (2008).
Like other evangelical kids, Jesse James DeConto felt called to shine the light of truth into the world. His job as a journalist and his young marriage, though, would radically change him. First, he learned that Christians have no corner on truth: Working out in the world, trying to be the ""Roaring Lamb"" he'd been trained to be, he met atheists and agnostics who seemed to do better at embodying Christian love than many Christians did. Confessing the church's failures was one thing, but the author had to face his own weakness the hard way, when the cheap threads that held his marriage intact finally snapped.Jesse found himself at the end of his twenties with a broken bank account, a broken body, and a broken family. In the midst of that pain, he discovered his brokenness better equipped him to share God's grace than his striving ever had. He learned to say with theologian Karl Barth that ""his importance may consist in his poverty, in his hopes and fears, in his waiting and hurrying, in the direction of his whole being toward what lies beyond his horizon and beyond his power.""
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