Books published by Cascade Books

In this succinct, inviting volume, four Balkan theologians probe their contextual ways with the theology of Jurgen Moltmann, whose classic The Crucified God influenced novel theological approaches around the globe, most recently the emerging postwar Christian theology in the Balkans. The authors engage with the prevailing culture of ethnic and religious exclusivism within their context and present us with a range of theologically pertinent issues resulting from a wider discussion on religion and politics. The book offers a fresh and provocative reading of Christian faith that pins its hopes on the person and work of the Crucified and sets the ground for possible contextual contribution of Balkan theology to a World Church.Following Moltmann''s invitation to see the Cross, and the crucified Christ, as an inner criterion of all theology, this book sheds theological light on the situation in the Balkans. The Cross of that region can be described as a ""Cross of the crossroads,"" since different religions, ethnic and national communities, memories, and cultures have always been sources of profound contact but also of deep division and violence. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of The Crucified God, this collection can be read as a continuation of Moltmann''s theological project, which calls for a courageous descent into ""circles of death""--places of spiritual and physical imprisonment, without false comforts and premature hopes.""Post war societies need theological thought that does not negate the past but is able to reformulate its own tradition in order to develop adequate and relevant theologies. Until now, the Balkan area, flooded with blood, was not able to create a theology out of experiences of war and vicious nationalisms. Zoran Grozdanov and the other authors of this book manage to fill the gap by critically reflecting on the devastating consequences of misusing faith by blending it with nationalistic identities. In an original contribution, Jurgen Moltmann, whose seminal study on The Crucified God inspired the volume, reflects back on his own personal context and the contexts in which his work had its impact. I strongly recommend this work to anyone interested in understanding the relevance of theology--within and beyond the Balkan countries.""--Regina Ammicht Quinn, Catholic theologian; Professor of Ethics; Director of the Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities, The University of Tuebingen, Germany""Jurgen Moltmann''s theology has motivated a group of theologians from the region of former Yugoslavia to develop a contextual, continental, political theology. They urge Christian theology to break away from its own ideologies and become the motor of a post-war political socialization. The memory of the regional war, the concern about the current political situation in Eastern Europe, and the commitment to theology make the book a painful, yet indispensable reading for anyone interested in political theology.""--Hille Haker, Richard McCormick Endowed Chair of Catholic Moral Theology, President of Societas Ethica, Loyola University Chicago, LSC""A contribution in its own right to living in the multiple conflicts of today, in a globalized world marked by contending particular universalisms that often turn violent.""--Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and CultureZoran Grozdanov is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Protestant Theology Matthias Flacius Illyricus, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Among his publications are God in Front of the Cross: Essays in Honour of Jurgen Moltmann (2007) and Religion and Identity in Post-Conflict Societies (Concilium 1 [2015]).

In 2017 Christians around the world will mark the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. In the midst of many appeals for reformation today, a growing number of theologians, scholars, and activists around the world believe Reformation celebrations in 2017 and beyond need to focus now on the urgent need for an Eco-Reformation. The rise of industrial, fossil fuel-driven capitalism and the explosive growth in human population endanger the fundamental planetary life-support systems on which life as we know it has evolved. The collective impact of human production, consumption, and reproduction is undermining the ecological systems that support human life on Earth. If human beings do not reform their relationship with God''s creation, unspeakable suffering will befall many--especially the weakest and most vulnerable among all species. The conviction at the heart of this collection of essays is that a gospel call for ecological justice belongs at the heart of the five hundredth anniversary observance of the Reformation in 2017 and as a--if not the--central dimension of Christian conversion, faith, and practice into the foreseeable future. Like Luther''s Ninety-Five Theses, this volume brings together critical biblical, pastoral, theological, historical, and ethical perspectives that constructively advance the vision of a socially and ecologically flourishing Earth.""Five hundred years ago, the Reformation shook European society''s foundations by challenging a corrupted religious order. In recent decades, Protestant churches have joined those who care for the earth, aiming to shake the foundations of our hyper-capitalist, technocratic world order that violates the integrity of creation on a titanic scale. These essays, from leading voices from within the Protestant eco-reformation, issue the challenge and inspiration we all need to hear."" --Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith ""In the footsteps of the religious reformer Martin Luther, who called attention to the spiritual urgencies of his day, the authors in this timely volume express a critical and an expansive Lutheran voice for the urgent care of creation and the common good. The essays make a compelling point that honoring and choosing life in its different forms belongs at the center of the re-orientation and paradigm shifts with the Reformation legacy."" --Kirsi Stjerna, Lutheran History and Theology, Chair, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University""It is refreshing to see the power of argument and of organizing inherent in these words. For people of faith these questions could not be more real or timely."" --Bill McKibben, from the ForewordLisa E. Dahill is Associate Professor of Religion at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California. From 2005 to 2015 she served on the faculty of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. She is a scholar and translator of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the author of Reading from the Underside of Selfhood: Bonhoeffer and Spiritual Formation (Pickwick, 2007) and many other works on spirituality, worship, eco-theology, and the larger ecological expression of Christian life. James B. Martin-Schramm is Professor of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He is an ordained member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and holds a doctorate in Christian ethics from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is the author or coauthor of several publications, including Climate Justice: Ethics, Energy, and Climate Policy (2010) and Earth Ethics: A Case Method Approach (2015).

Karl Barth was one of the most important Christian theologians of the twentieth century, but his political views have often not been taken sufficiently into account. Beginning with a representative early essay by Karl Barth, this volume proceeds with essays by Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt, Helmut Gollwitzer, Hermann Diem, Dieter Schellong, Joseph Bettis, and George Hunsinger. These contributions engage both the relationship of Barth's theology to his socialist politics as well as Marquardt's analysis. This new edition expands upon the earlier one by adding three new essays by Hunsinger on Barth's theology and its relevance for human rights, liberation theology, and the theories of Rene Girard on violence and scapegoating. Hunsinger has extended the discussion as well as deepened our insight into how theology can speak meaningfully about fundamental issues of human need.

Since the dawn of science, ideas about the relation between science and religion have always depended on what else is going on in a society. During the twentieth century, daily life changed dramatically. Technology revolutionized transportation, agriculture, communications, and housework. People came to rely on scientific predictability in their technology. Many wondered whether God's supposed actions were consistent with scientific knowledge. The twenty-first century is bringing new scientific research capabilities. They are revealing that scientific results are not totally predictable after all. Certain types of interaction lead to outcomes that are unpredictable, in principle. These in turn may lead to a whole new range of potential interactions. They do not rule out the reality of a dynamic God who can act in the world without breaking the known principles of science. God may in fact work with ""the way things really are."" Human experience of God may accurately reflect this reality. Interactive World, Interactive God illustrates such new understandings in religion and science by describing recent developments in a wide range of sciences, and providing theological commentary. The book is written for intelligent readers who may not be specialized in science but who are looking for ways to understand divine action in today's world.

CONTENTSPART 1: THE ORIGINS OF ANCIENT ISRAELEarly Israel as an Anti-Imperial CommunityThe Origins of Israel as a TextualModels for Envisioning Early IsraelTriumphalist versus Anti-Triumphalist Versions of Early Israel: A Response to Articles by Lemche and DeverHistorical Description versus Historical Representation and SymbolThe Interplay of Religion and Ethnicity in Ancient IsraelProto-Globalization and Proto-Secularization in Ancient IsraelRevisiting the Tribes of Yahweh after Twenty-five YearsPART 2: THE POLITICS OF ANCIENT ISRAELReligion and Politics: Early Israel and JudaismThe Puzzling Politics of Ancient IsraelThe Role of Biblical Politics in Contextual TheologiesPART 3: REVIEW AND REFLECTIONSForward to Jeremy Young, The Violence of God and the War on TerrorReflections on R. S. Sugirtharajah's Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism. Contesting the Interpretations and The Bible and the Third Way: Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial EncountersReview of Stephen L. Cook, The Social Roots of Biblical YahwismReview of Marty E. Stevens, Temples, Tithes, and Taxes: The Temple and the Economic Life of Ancient IsraelReview of Philip R. Davies, The Origins of Biblical IsraelPanel Presentation on Joshua A. Berman, Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought