Books published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Did our modern understanding of just war originate with Augustine? In this sweeping reevaluation of the evidence, Phillip Wynn uncovers a nuanced story of Augustines thoughts on war and military service, and gives us a more complete and complex picture of this important topic. Deeply rooted in the development of Christian thought this reengagement with Augustine is essential reading.

Gerd Theissen describes the emergence of the New Testament canon out of the wide variety of early Christian literature, drawing on Max Webers discussion of the evolution of religious organizations. Theissen describes a series of phases in the life of the early Christian movement: the charismatic, the pseudepigraphic, the functional, and the canonic

Samuel DeWitt Proctors voice is essential to understanding the black social gospel. Proctor brought a black middle class understanding of America to his preaching and had a notion of faith that presented an alternative reality to the pervasive racism in the United States and sought to honor the inherent dignity of all humanity.

Fresh translations of early Jewish texts 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, written in the decades after the Judean War, which saw Jerusalem conquered, the temple destroyed, and Judaism changed forever.This handy volume makes these two important texts accessible to students, provides expert introductions, and illuminates the interrelationship of the texts through parallel columns.

Pastoral care in rural communities is different from care in other locales. Despite these differences, rural churches and communities also hold a particular wisdom from which the rest of the church might benefit. Small towns and rural areas have particular challenges, and in seeking to live out the Christian life in the midst of those, local churches have unique and useful insights into what it means to care for one another.

Sexual health is an essential part of maintaining professional relationships in ministry. Focusing on implications for the practice of ministry, this book engages all dimensions of theological education and academic disciplines. Each chapter includes an analysis of common ministry situations, discussion questions, practical guidelines, and resources for further study. The volume is ideal for use in courses on professional ethics for ministry, advanced leadership training, and continuing education for clergy.

This supplemental theology text prepares students for the real task of understanding and articulating their Christian beliefs in a religiously and culturally diverse world.

John Dominic Crossan and Ben Witherington III, along with a group of diverse scholars, explore points of agreement and disagreement on the message of Jesus. The book shows how each presents his position in light of the others, as well as their responses to selected questions. The balance of the book is comprised of substantive essays on various facets of the topic from a diverse set of scholars.

Fear is hardwired into our brains and is a common biblical theme. To be afraid and to act on that fear is to remember that something in life is worth living for. Whitehead helps readers find the roots of hope in the soil of our fears so that we can form lives and communities of hope in the midst of fear.

One of the remarkable developments in the contemporary study of Paul is the dramatic interest in his thought amongst European philosophers. This collection of leading scholars makes accessible a discussion often elusive to those not already conversant in the categories of European philosophy. Each scholar addresss systematically what major philosophers have made of Pauland why it matters.

With over twenty years in the classroom, Gail Ramshaw frames this new introduction to Christianity survey text around the basic questions students ask. Taking a broad social-scientific approach and integrating historical context, she anchors each chapter in phenomenological theory and teases out the answers to each chapters question by surveying the history, doctrine, practices, and convictions of Christianity.Written for students with little to no background in Christianity, the book contains student-friendly learning helps including chapter summaries, photos and charts, I am a Christian statements that illustrate the diversity of practice and belief, study questions, suggestions for further exploration in both books and film, a glossary, and an index.

The most vital questions about Judaismpresent and futureare prefigured, says Marc Ellis in the work of Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Hannah Arendt, and Emmanuel Levinas. Ellis encounters each thinker to contemplate biblical, theological, and philosophical insights so to foster Jewish empowerment and to ensure a Jewish future.

"First publication: L'uomo Gesu: giorni, luoghi, incontri di una vita. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., 2008"--T.p. verso.

In the last several years, Walter Brueggemann's writingshave directly addressed the situation of Christiancommunities in today's globalized context, with itsconsumerist lifestyles, vast inequalities, and near-imperialexercises of power. His insights, forged in rugged encounterswith the texts of the Old Testament, are sharp, painful, andindispensable. In the People of Israel Brueggemann finds amodel of an alternative community - anchored in YHWH, ever exploring new possibilities, and prophetically bentagainst empire.Part I: The Word Redescribing the WorldPart II: The Word Redefining the PossiblePart III: The Word Shaping a Community of Discipleship

The most concerted account yet of how the churches' practice might organize theological inquiry as a whole. Browning has opened up important lines of inquiry that merit further investigation." --Craig L. Nessan Southeast Missouri State University "Don Browning manifests a masterful interaction with the current literature on the burgeoning field of practical theology. This book is indispensable reading for anyone engaged in the question of theology's relationship to thought and action today." --Mary Ellen Sheehan Toronto Journal of Theology

In this third edition of Mark as Story, Rhoads, Dewey, and Michie take their treatment of the Gospel of Mark to new levels. While retaining their clear and thorough analysis of Mark as a narrative, they now place their study of Mark in the context of orality. The new preface explains the role of Mark in a predominantly oral culture. Throughout the study, they refer to the author as composer, the narrator as performer, the Gospel as oral composition, and the audience as gathered communities. The conclusion hypothesizes a performance scenario of Mark in Palestine shortly after the Roman-Judean War of 66 to 70 CE.The new edition also highlights the dimensions of Mark that stand in contrast to imperial worldviews and values. The authors argue that the performance of Mark itself was a means to draw audiences into a non-imperial world based on mutual service rather than hierarchical domination. In so doing, they shift the Gospels center of gravity from the end of the story to the beginning, configuring it not as "a passion narrative with an extended introduction" but as "the arrival of the rule of God with an extended denouement."Performing Mark: The appendices for students at the end of the book that offer exercises to interpret the narrative of Mark now also include "Exercises for Learning and Telling Episodes" from the Gospel of Mark by heart as part of the learning process.

This volume in Luther's Works contains writings of Luther directed for the most part against the fanatical front on the left. In denying the reality of the church, the validity and need of the office of the ministry, the fanatics relegate the sacraments to a secondary position, thus bypassing the Word as God's means of communication to men.