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Reclaim the Psalms for true worship, as well as prayer, as you learn how to approach God with the emotional intensity of the ancient psalmists. Denise Dombkowski Hopkins combines the insights of scholarship on the Psalms with artwork, liturgy, song, and poetry, to give us a new way to use the Psalms in our life of faith together, to empower our corporate identity and revitalize our worship. She examines how the Psalms formed the worship of ancient synagogues and the earliest churches and how they can do the same for our churches today. Reflective questions bring worship leaders and individuals alike to a new awareness of the power of the Psalms to enrich public worship and private devotions with an honesty that does not turn away from the realities of suffering and anger.

Introduction to the Psalms: A Song from Ancient Israel seeks to provide the reader with a solid introduction to the Hebrew Psalter, one that is informed by an interest in its shape and shaping. The author, Nancy deClaisse-Walford, provides an up-to-date study on the poetic style of the psalms in the Psalter, their Gattungen or genres, the broad shape of the book, and the history of its shaping. She introduces each of the five books of the Psalter, providing a detailed examination of those individual psalms that are either key to the shaping of the Psalter or interesting studies in poetic style. In the final chapter, deClaisse-Walford draws conclusions about the shape of the Psalter and about its story and message. She proposes a way to read the Psalms as a unified whole and in relationship to one another rather than as individual pieces, giving an inclusive, all-encompassing shape to the Psalter. Included are two appendices that provide a listing of the superscriptions and Gattungen of the psalms in the Hebrew Psalter and an explanation of many of the technical terms found in their superscriptions.

The purpose of this handbook is to introduce the reader to Christian concepts from the perspective of U.S. marginalized communities. It explores the interrelationship between religion, community, and culture in the social context of marginalized groups rooted in African American, Amerindian, Asian American, feminist, gay/lesbian, and Hispanic experiences, and their impact on the development of U.S. theologies of liberation. The handbook gives attention to the history, nature, sources, and development of these theologies and the theologians who contributed to their formation. Of particular interest is how the handbook distinguishes both the differences and similarities between these U.S. theologies and their Latin American counterparts. The handbook is divided into thematic essays that provide general overviews of theological themes from the perspectives of different groups and contextual essays that focus on contributions of scholars from various racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds.

Sandra Hack Polaski introduces readers to the letters and world of Paul, encouraging a critical appreciation of Paul and his writings that does not require a choice between commitment to the scriptures and integrity as a modern feminist. In conversation with the leading interpreters of Paul and considering possible responses to Paul?conformist, resistant, rejectionist, and transformational?Polaski forges her own theory of how to interpret Paul. She reads, emphasizes, and reinterprets overlooked, neglected, misintegrated, or differently interpreted Pauline texts, making visible the invisible and challenging the accepted readings. Polaski uncovers both the ideologies behind the text and the ideologies the text seeks to suppress. She traces the trajectories toward which the texts point even if Paul did not fully follow the trajectories to their logical end. Such a program leads Polaski to find God's New Creation as the operative center of Pauline thought.

God is love. Consequently, shouldn't love exist at the center of Christian theology? When love is at the center, theology is understood differently than it has typically been understood. Some theologians have placed faith at the center, others God's sovereignty, still others-the Church, but Dr. Oord places the emphasis on love. God's love for us, revealed in Christ, in the Church, and in creation, and our love for God and others as ourselves-must be afforded its rightful place. Beginning with the foundation of "e;love"e; is what differentiates the Christian faith from others...a loving God. Dr. Oord defines love as: "e;To love is to act intentionally, in sympathetic/empathetic response to God and others, to promote overall well-being."e; Is this not what has defined Christians throughout history?

Many people shy away from those who have terminal illnesses or have suffered other tragedies or losses, because they do not know what to do or to say. They want to be helpful, to show their concern, but they feel awkward and afraid their actions or words will be inappropriate. Call Me If You Need Anything...and Other Things Not to Say can help even the most unsure provide care and comfort to others during the challenging times of their lives. With insights from personal experience, Cathy Peterson turns good intentions into real help and encouragement for the patient and family. She provides sensible advice, not philosophical rhetoric, on everything from sending cards to bringing food, to spending time, to sharing condolences. Peterson even includes guidance on what not to do or say. Call Me If You Need Anything...and Other Things Not to Say is straightforward guidance on how to show that you really do care.

EXPANDED EDITION. This landmark work, originally published in 1992, traces the various stages of spiritual development and discusses how developmental change can be fostered in individual and congregational settings.

Carey presents an introduction to the elements of apocalyptic discourse in the Hebrew Bible, the intertestamental texts of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and the Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts. He seeks to help modern readers perplexed by the rampant and somewhat outrageous depiction and interpretation of apocalyptic literature to see apocalyptic discourse as a flexible set of resources that early Jews and Christians could employ for a variety of persuasive tasks. Examining each of the literary works that exhibit apocalyptic discourse, Carey briefly introduces the date and language of each text and shows its basic contents. He examines the particular topics and purposes of the work and concludes by showing a way to read particular examples of apocalyptic discourse as a whole in its own setting with its own purposes.