Books published by Cascade Books

Becoming God's Beloved in the Company of Friends offers a fresh perspective and invites persons to develop a personal and communal Christian spirituality. It offers a way to deepen commitment to live as a disciple of Jesus personally and with others. It bridges the gap between a first-century biblical text and twenty-first-century readers who hunger for genuine spirituality today. Each chapter focuses on a few stories and a few teachings to illustrate a particular characteristic of becoming a disciple.

How can we speak about God without assuming that God is nothing but our own speaking, nothing but our culture's effort to name what cannot be named? How can we deny that our speaking of God is always culturally located? To answer these questions, we need to pay close attention to what we mean by culture, and how we use this very complex term both in our everyday language and especially in the language of faith. Culture is an exceedingly complex term that nearly everyone uses, but no one is sure what it means. This work examines various uses of the term culture in theology today.

Care for the environment is an ever more pressing concern in today's world in which narrow self-interest has blinded us to the growing pollution of atmosphere and seas and the destruction of animal species caused by our indifference and neglect. Christianity has been blamed in part for this because of a misunderstanding of the Biblical call to ""have dominion"" over creation. Our spiritual tradition has indeed so focused on human salvation that the Earth has been seen simply as a transient environment that will be left behind in the end. In response, this little book highlights another spiritual tradition within Western Christianity that affirms that creation itself will also be transformed with humanity through the self-emptying love of God. God's dominion, after all, is service rather than despotic control, the raising up of the lowly of this Earth and of the Earth itself as part of a cosmic community. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are examined in this light as a call not only to join Christ in redeeming humanity, but also in extending Christ's care and love to ""all creation"" that longs ""for the freedom of the children of God.""

The desert fathers wanted to get away from a church co-opted by empire and a Christian faith grown cold and listless. They retreated to the desert to do battle against demons and against their own worst desires. They had no intention of being famous; yet ironically their Sayings have inspired millions of imitators over the centuries. This guide is meant to accompany a reading of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, in hopes that readers with lives quite different than those third- and fourth-century dwellers of the Egyptian desert might nevertheless come to imitate their lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience; and more importantly, that readers might grow more imaginative and passionate in their following of the same Lord.

An international array of twenty-six scholars contributes twenty-one essays to honor Ziony Zevit (American Jewish University), one of the foremost biblical scholars of his generation. The breadth of the honoree is indicated by the breadth of coverage in these twenty-one articles, with seven each in the categories of history and archaeology, Bible, and Hebrew (and Aramaic) language.

Studying the early church can feel like entering a maze of bishops, emperors, councils, and arcane controversies. This book introduces early Christian theology by focusing on one particularly influential figure, Basil of Caesarea (ca. AD 330-378). It views Basil against the backdrop of a Roman Empire that was adopting Christianity. In Basil's day, Christians were looking for unity in the teaching and practice of their faith. This study acquaints the student with Basil's brilliant--and often neglected--theological writings. In particular, Saint Basil's reflections on the Trinity emerge from these pages as fascinating and illuminating testimonies to the faith of early Christians.

How do our current notions of the workings of the universe fit with our deepest convictions about its meaning and value? From religion, we grasp the world as created, given, gift. From science, we apprehend it as evolving, in process, changing. How do we bring these apprehensions together? Or can we? Is our impulse to find the two complementary: creation and evolution? Or is it to find them contradictory: creation or evolution? The way in which we answer these questions carries personal and intellectual consequences. It will constitute the first piece in a worldview within which we order our religious beliefs and scientific judgments."" --from the Preface

An international array of twenty-six scholars contributes twenty-one essays to honor Ziony Zevit (American Jewish University), one of the foremost biblical scholars of his generation. The breadth of the honoree is indicated by the breadth of coverage in these twenty-one articles, with seven each in the categories of history and archaeology, Bible, and Hebrew (and Aramaic) language.

The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the few Christian classics that is still widely read in the secular academy. Yet, oddly enough, it is not often read in the manner Augustine appears to have intended and in which the church read it for centuries: as a model of conversion, devotion, friendship, and the love of God. This book is a companion for any reader of the Confessions--whether in an academic, ecclesial, or devotional context--informed by the latest scholarship yet always directed toward pushing the reader, with Augustine, toward God.

The poems in Phases are as interested in the creeping penumbral edge of language as they are in the shadowy fact of faith. Playful experiments with form swing to the conceptual ring's apogee, while a colloquy across history and place center the proverbial orbit.

The Gospel of John: Theological-Ecumenical Readings brings together leading Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical theologians to read and interpret John's Gospel from within their ecclesial tradition, while simultaneously engaging one another in critical dialogue. Combining both theological exegesis and ecumenical dialogue, each chapter is uniquely structured with a main essay by a Catholic, Orthodox, or Evangelical theologian on a section of John's Gospel, followed by two responses from theologians of the other two traditions. The chapter concludes with a final response from the main author. Readers are thus provided with not only a deep and engaging reading of the Gospel of John but also the unfolding of a rich theological-ecumenical dialogue centered on an authority for all Christians, namely, the Gospel of John.

Most academics agree with Peter Berger that pluralism theory appears more accurate than secularization theory in accounting for the societal changes that accompany modernization. Yet Berger's earlier book Many Altars of Modernity gives limited attention to the implications of the pluralist paradigm for religious discourse, in particular for evangelicals. According to Berger--who wrote the first chapter in this book--while pluralism leads to less certainty about faith and creates ""secular spaces,"" it also, more positively, clarifies the importance of trust in God, highlights the nature of religious institutions as voluntary associations rather than birth rights, and challenges Christians to know what they believe in. Subsequent chapters respond to the first. Four responses are theoretical (e.g., challenging the concept of secular spaces, exploring social constructionism) and four are contextual (e.g., describing anti-pluralist forces in India, challenging feminists to pluralism, examining women's responses to pluralism, and exploring values in Brazil and China). The ideas are easily accessible to the lay reader and are intended to initiate a much-needed conversation about the implications of pluralist theory. We conclude that pluralism is challenging for Christian faith but, as Peter Berger says, in most ways it is ""good for you.""""With a skilled blend of appreciation and criticism, Faith in a Pluralist Age engages Peter Berger's celebrated declaration that pluralism, not secularity, is modernity's companion. From the risks posed by cognitive contamination of immigrant value-systems, to the 'gender bargain' faced by evangelical women in Brazil, contributors engage Berger and the pluralist conditions he theorizes. Christians grappling with a world in which 'everyone is disestablished' will be well served by this timely volume.""--Timothy Sherratt, Professor of Political Science, Gordon College, Author of Power Made Perfect? Is There a Christian Politics for the Twenty-First Century?""Kaye Cook brings together a robust and much-needed debate about the implications of pluralism for Christian engagement in today's world. For Christians who find themselves in a social environment that increasingly resembles that of the early church, this volume provides a refreshing perspective. The overall discussion is particularly relevant to China, where a growing Christian community continues to negotiate the terms of its engagement in a society that struggles between pluralism and politically imposed orthodoxy.""--Brent Fulton, President, China SourceKaye V. Cook is Professor of Psychology at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She is the author of Man and Woman, Alone and Together (1992) and Chaotic Eating: A Guide to Recovery (1992).

What are the relevant conceptualities and terminologies marking the coupling of religion and medical interpretations of illness in different religions such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity? How do religious orientations influence courses of a disease? How do experiences of illness change images of the divine in late modernity? This collection of essays from a symposium held at the International Research Institute of the University of Heidelberg examines connections between religious and medical interpretations of illness in different cultures in order to suggest criteria for coupling religion and medicine in ways that enhance rather than diminish life. By discerning which relationships between religion and medicine appear to be beneficial and which harmful, the book as a whole proposes criteria that are not limited to a single scientific approach, cultural tradition, or time period (such as the present). The book has four parts, which deal with Islamic medicine, Chinese medicine, and the relationship between religion and medicine in both Jewish and Christian traditions. All chapters cover from antiquity to the present.""Finally a cross-disciplinary scholarly compendium on religion and illness in a breathtakingly rich selection of texts, contexts, and topics. Invaluable as a resource for all interested in a more integrative approach towards medicine at the intersection of health and the holy, body and spirit, healing and theology.""--Brigitte Kahl, Professor of New Testament, Union Theological Seminary (New York) ""Illness is a pressing topic of today--and of the past, too. This book gives valuable insights into different religions and their ways of interpreting and coping with illness. The contributors write in a hermeneutic, reflecting, and transdisciplinary way, so they research understandings of illness transcending the limits of the scientific worldview.""--Christian Grethlein, Faculty of Protestant Theology, University of Munster""Weissenrieder and Etzelmuller tell us about the concept of illness, ancient and modern, to be sure. But more than that, they and their contributors tell us how to think about our body. Actually, if we are our body, then they aid us in thinking about our self. A must for the serious student of historical and self-understanding.""--Ted Peters, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological UnionAnnette Weissenrieder is Professor of New Testament at San Francisco Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union. She is author of Images of Illness in the Gospel of Luke: Insights of Ancient Medical Texts (2003).Gregor Etzelmuller is Professor of Systematic Theology at Osnabruck University (Germany). He is author of Was geschieht beim Gottesdienst? (2014).

Values are culturally specific. This handbook explains select biblical social values in their Mediterranean cultural contexts. Some examples of values are altruism, freedom, family-centeredness, obedience, parenting, and power. Though the English words for the values described here would be familiar to readers (e.g., altruism) the meanings of such words differ between cultures. In the Mediterranean world, for instance, altruism is a duty incumbent upon anyone who has surplus. It is interpersonal and group specific. In the West, especially in the United States, altruism is impersonal and universally oriented generosity that operates in a highly organized context. This handbook not only presents the Mediterranean meanings of these value words but also contrasts those meanings with Western ones.""An already useful resource is strengthened in this third edition. New entries (e.g., ''Collectivism''; ''Mouth-Ears'') and an updated bibliography for many of the entries make the Handbook an up-to-date reference work. This book will be valuable for undergraduates, for seminarians and pastors, and for laypeople who seek to better understand the values of the ancient Mediterranean world embedded in the pages of the Bible, without which modern readers are sure to misunderstand the writings contained in it.""--Eric Stewart, Associate Professor of Religion, Augustana College (Illinois)""This volume is a tested cultural and social-scientific resource without parallel. Here is a hugely informative and reliable guide to the motivating worldviews and values of the biblical authors and their communities; an ideal handbook for both the pulpit and the classroom; and an essential resource for preachers, scholars, and visitors to the biblical world."" --John H. Elliott, Professor emeritus, University of San Francisco""The Handbook of Biblical Social Values, 3rd Edition is a fitting tribute to John J. Pilch (1937-2016), a pioneer in social-scientific interpretations of the Bible. This updated and expanded edition is a must-have for any serious exegete of the Scriptures. It provides users with cross-cultural scripts for reading the Bible in its originating social contexts, provokes new and surprising understandings of seemingly familiar passages, and challenges the way we apply sacred texts today."" --Ritva H. Williams, Independent Scholar, St. Stephen''s Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, IAJohn J. Pilch has been a visiting professor in the Odyssey Program at Johns Hopkins University since 2011. Previously he was professorial lecturer of biblical studies at Georgetown University. He is the author of many articles and books on the culture of the Bible, including The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible (1999), A Cultural Handbook to the Bible (2012), and The Cultural Life Setting of the Proverbs (2016). Bruce J. Malina is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Creighton University. He is the author, coauthor, and editor of numerous influential books on the New Testament. These include The Social Gospel of Jesus (2001), The New Testament World (3rd ed., 2001), and Social-Science Models for Interpreting the Bible (edited with John J. Pilch, 2007).

Centered upon the lives of employees at a Manhattan advertising firm, the AMC television series Mad Men touches on the advertising world''s unique interests in consumerist culture, materialistic desire, and the role of deception in Western capitalism. While the subject matters of the chapters in this collection have a decidedly socio-historical focus, the authors use basic topics as starting points for philosophical, religious, and theological reflections. The authors show how Mad Men reveals deep truths concerning the social trends of the 1960s and early 1970s in American life and deserves a significant amount of reflection from philosophical, religious, and theological perspectives. Some of the chapters go beyond mere reflection and make deeper inquiries into what these trends say about American cultural habits, the business world within Western capitalism, and the rapid social changes (gender, race, and sexuality) that occur during this period. Chapters examine paradigms of masculinity and femininity as well as the presentation of motherhood, fatherhood, sexuality, and childhood. This collection shows how social change represents the undercurrent of the interpersonal dramas of the characters on Mad Men, from the staid and conventional early seasons to the war, assassinations, riots, and counterculture of later seasons.""This exciting volume joins the growing scholarly chorus calling us to take popular culture seriously--artistically and politically, to be sure, but more daringly as vernacular philosophy and theology. In the acclaimed television series Mad Men this volumes strikes gold, which its authors mine with skill, humor, and great insight. It''s a book that belongs on the shelf of every student of religion and popular culture.""--Matthew S. Hedstrom, Associate Professor, Religious Studies and American Studies, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia""Duncan and Goodson have assembled a brilliant collection of essays that combine keen theological and philosophical insight into Mad Men. This book is a rare combination of outstanding scholarship and delightful reading. Of course, it''s about Mad Men, but it''s also about God, love, relationships, work, ethics, and life in the modern world. It is, in short, about everything that matters.""--David O''Hara, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Classics, Chair of the Department of Religion, Philosophy, and Classics, Augustana UniversityAnn W. Duncan (PhD, University of Virginia) is Associate Professor of Religion at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the coeditor of Church-State Issues in America Today (2007). Jacob L. Goodson (PhD, University of Virginia) is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. He is the author of Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence (2015).