Books published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

In this daring meditation, Jèurgen Moltmann interrogates dying, the nature of death, and the hope of eternal life. For Moltmann, the living soul that awakens to eternal life is not a ghost in a machine, but the Lebensgestalt, the shape and story of a life. Seasoned readers will find here a capstone to Moltmann's career of theological exploration, while those new to his thought will find a concise and elegant entry point into his work.

"In Pilgrim Letters, Curtis Freeman takes disciples on a contemporary journey into an ancient faith. The book is a series of letters written by "Interpreter" to "Pilgrim" that provide "instruction in the basic teaching of Christ" for candidates preparing to be baptized. The letters are framed by a short catechism based on the six principles enumerated in Hebrews 6:1-2--(1) repentance, (2) faith, (3) baptism, (4) laying on of hands, (5) resurrection, and (6) eternal judgment. The letters lead Pilgrim (the disciple/catechumen/baptismal candidate) step by step through the basics of Christian faith. Each letter explores one of the principles by providing a simple explanation and setting the practice within a broad biblical, historical, and theological context. The theological tenor of the letters is evangelical-catholic, free church-ecumenical, and ancient-future. A set of discussion questions follows each letter as does a short bibliography for further reading. Each letter begins with an image from William Blake's illustrations of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and exemplifying the subject of the letter, followed by an epigraph from the story that fits into the themes of the catechism."--Publisher

Until his untimely death, Vitor Westhelle's incisive scholarship shaped a generation. As a continuation of that legacy, presented here for the first time in English is a collection of Westhelle's Portuguese-language essays. In this collection, he addresses the most important issues of our day, including the cross and death, the ecological crisis, the ecumenical movement, the church's misuse of power, Luther's law-gospel dialectic, and the role of European theology in the conquest of the Americas.

Schwarz offers a sweeping survey of views of the problem of evil, beginning with the world's major religious traditions before focusing on the major views across the broad span of Christian history. --Book cover.

Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry builds on experience and wisdom developed through The Naming Project, a ministry created at the intersection of youth, faith, and LGBTQ identity. Ministry cofounder Ross Murray shows congregations how to examine their values and create a program that affirms LGBTQ youth in their faith and their identity, accepts and welcomes diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, and equips future leaders for the church and the LGBTQ community.

How to Read Paul provides an incisive, yet brief, examination of Paul as a writer and theologian steeped in the cultural, intellectual, and religious crossroads of the ancient world. Through an analysis of Paul's undisputed letters, Yung Suk Kim explores and explains Paul's key theological concepts and situates them in their proper cultural context. By placing Paul in the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds that informed his thinking, this book reexamines familiar themes in his letters, such as gospel, righteousness, and faith. In so doing, How to Read Paul provides teachers, students, and interested lay readers with a clear, user-friendly portrait of the apostle, informed by a critical, yet appreciative, integration of the new perspective on Paul, emphasizing the faithfulness of Christ as well as believers' participation in Christ. The first few chapters give an overview of Paul and his letters, while the remaining chapters deal with key theological concepts and their cultural contexts. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter help students focus their reading and reflection on central elements, features, and themes. How to Read Paul is an ideal textbook for both undergraduate and seminary classrooms and a helpful guide for professors, clergy, and lay readers.

This book brings together a diverse and unique set of writers who span literary styles, genres, and time periods--but who are united in their search for spirit in the wild. Through them we discover the tension between our understanding of the wilderness as both a fearful and a sacred space, which makes it particularly apt for capturing the unknown and surprising elements of belief.

Over the last twenty years spiritual director, teacher, and pilgrim Tracy Balzer has made more than a dozen transatlantic visits to Scotland's Isle of Iona, welcoming the hallowed spaces of the island to sculpt, bend, and sustain her spiritually. ""It might be said that Iona has been my spiritual director,"" says Balzer, for with each visit she is freshly confronted by key questions of faith: Where is God? Who am I? What can I offer the world?Set against the backdrop of Iona's deep Christian history and exquisite natural beauty, A Journey of Sea and Stone explores these questions, prompting each of us to reach for meaning in our daily lives and to consider the myriad ways God might be inviting us into something new. Tapping our innate desire to seek and find, to encounter God in creation and in the history of faithful people, Balzer guides us in our own journeys to cultivate and find sustenance and connection in sacred spaces.Deep passages of reflection are complemented by rich illustrations reflecting the island's stunning terrain and Celtic heritage, providing spiritual seekers and armchair travelers a fresh entr,e into the world of the sacred, wherever they may be.

The heart is where the human soul and God meet. This is what teachings from Scripture and the mystics reveal: the heart is the temple of God within us and within the heart we hold the power to live a truly divine life. But how do we harness the tremendous love the heart is capable of generating? In Eternal Heart, Carl McColman, author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, invites us to create an optimistic, visionary, and imaginative path to personal happiness and fulfillment. Weaving together teachings from the biblical tradition, literature of the mystics, and Buddhism, McColman engages us in profound, practical exercises for cultivating fuller, more abundant, and more satisfying lives. The path of Christian Mysticism is a path of action. By unlocking the mysteries in our hearts, we discover a source of power deep within us: a power for spiritual growth, and for creating meaningful relationships and working together to change the world for the better.

Are you a perfectionist, a workaholic, a people pleaser? Do you feel stuck in the try-hard cycle? McGraw shows readers how they can free themselves from the weight of expectations, and encourages them to live their lives forward without apology. She provides a wakeup call to jolt use out of our martyr mentality, and inspire us to move in new, positive directions. -- adapted from back cover

"After decades of bouncing between hope and despair, Evangelical, Baptist-raised Julie Rodgers found herself making a powerful public statement that her former self would have never said: ""I support same-sex marriage in the church."" When Rodgers came out to her family as a junior in high school, she still believed that God would sanctify her and eventually make her straight. Wanting so intensely to be good, she spent her adolescent and early adult years with an ex-gay ministry, praying for liberation from her homosexuality. In Outlove Rodgers details her deeply personal journey from a life of self-denial in the name of faith to her role in leading the take-down of Exodus International, the largest ex-gay organization in the world, to her marriage to a woman at the Washington National Cathedral. Through one woman's intimate story, we see the larger story of why many have left conservative religious structures in order to claim their truest identity. Outlove is about love and losses, political and religious power-plays, and the cost to those who sought to stay in a faith community that wouldn't accept them. Shedding light on the debate between Evangelical Christians and the LGBTQ community--a battle that continues to rage on in the national news and in courtrooms across the country--this book ultimately casts a hopeful vision for how the church can heal."--Provided by publisher.

What does pressing pause look like? In Reclaiming Rest, Kate H. Rademacher explores the gifts pf solitude, stillness and Sabbath rest in a world of motion and noise. Ultimately, Rademacher claims, pausing for sacred rest pierces our illusions of self-reliance and control - and that's good news. What if keeping the Sabbath is not only a command to obey but a gift to reclaim?

"In the The Conscious Enneagram Abi Robins offers a rich, insightful guide for those seeking to move from patterns to promise. Through practical, easy-to-understand coaching, storytelling, and personal inquiry, Robins explores three main ways for getting from where we are to where we could be: Practice, Lineage, and Community. These make up the three-legged stool of the inner and outer work required to radically change the way we think, feel, and move through the world. This book will show you how to cultivate each of these legs in your life in meaningful, enriching ways that are tailored to your type"--