Books published by Cascade Books

The short pieces assembled in Salvation in My Pocket are miniature experiments in Christian joy. They are attempts at describing the difference God makes to ordinary experience, and to discover glimpses of God's light in everyday life. If there is any thread that holds these haphazard reflections together, it is just the conviction that beneath the surface of things there lurks an invitation, gentle and alluring; that even in sadness and misfortune there is always rising up, as if from hidden wells, the promise of peace; and that the final word spoken over this world, and over each human life, will be a word of joy.

Embracing Solitude focuses on the interior turn of monasticism and scans the Christian tradition for women who have made this turn in various epochs and circumstances. New Monasticism is a movement assuming diverse forms in response to the turn to classical spiritual sources for guidance about living spiritual commitment with integrity and authenticity today. Genuine spiritual seeking requires the cultivation of an inner disposition to return to the room of the heart. The lessons explored in this book from women spiritual entrepreneurs across the centuries will benefit contemporay New Monastics--both women and men. The accounts will inspire, challenge, and guide those who follow in the footsteps of the renowned spiritual innovators profiled here.

Richard Froude wrote in 1833 to John Henry Newman that "the present state of things in England makes an opening for reviving the monastic system." Seemingly original words at the time. Yet, monasticism is one of the most ancient and enduring institutions of the Christian church, reaching its zenith during the High Middle Ages. Although medieval monasteries were regularly suppressed during the Reformation and the magisterial Reformers rejected monastic vows, the existence of monasticism has remained within the Reformation churches, both as an institution and in its theology. This volume is an examination of Protestant theologies of monasticism, examining the thought of select Protestant authors who have argued for the existence of monasticism in the Reformation churches, beginning with Martin Luther and John Calvin and including Conrad Hoyer, John Henry Newman, Karl Barth, and Donald Bloesch. Looking at the contemporary church, the current movement known as the "New Monasticism" is discussed and evaluated in light of Protestant monastic history.

Philosophy is the quest for a life that is fully alive. Drawing on the insights of philosophers through the ages, The Way of Philosophy clarifies what it means to live life intensely. It exposes the shallowness of conventional wisdom by asking such questions as¿ Can science know everything?¿ Should we do it if it feels good?¿ Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?¿ Is life about creating ourselves?¿ Is love supposed to be selfless?¿ Can we ignore death?¿ If God exists, why is he hiding?Philosophers invite us to go down deep and live a life in light of truth, goodness, and beauty. If we tread this path, we can discover for ourselves the hidden source of the philosophical life in the unending wellspring of wonder."This work is a call to wonder! Professor Engelland has reflected deeply on the questions that move the human heart--love, beauty, goodness, truth. These pages thus serve as a form of spiritual exercise for thinkers, aiming to arouse us from our various levels of psychic torpor and to bring us to see the marvels of existence at all levels."--David Meconi, Professor of Theology, Saint Louis University; Editor, Homiletic and Pastoral Review "This is a beautiful little introduction to philosophy, which, with its humor, provocative observations, and clever anecdotes and examples, will draw students in before they know what's happening. Engelland does a marvelous job of speaking plainly and directly to students without diluting philosophical content, and of opening up classical themes in a fresh and unpretentious way."--D. C. Schindler, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Metaphysics, John Paul II Institute; author of The Perfection of Freedom and The Critique of Impure ReasonChad Engelland is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. He is the author of Ostension (2014).

This book offers two things in particular: first, these are papers that have been commented on and re-worked in the context of a set of lively sessions from (International) SBL conferences from 2012 to 2014 (Amsterdam, St. Andrews, Vienna). Second, they offer an insight into the origins of the discipline as one which became conscious of itself in the early modern era and the turn to history and the analysis of texts, to offer something exegetical and synthetic. The fresh wind that the enterprise received in the latter part of the twentieth century is the focus of the second part of the volume, which describes the recent activity up to the present ""state of the question."" The third part takes a step further to anticipate the way forward for the discipline in an era where ""canon""--but also ""Scripture"" and ""theology""--seem to be alien terms, and where other ideologies are advanced in the name of neutrality. Biblical Theology will aim to be true to the evidence of the text: it will not always see clearly, but it will rely on the best of biblical criticism and theological discernment to help it. That is the spirit with which this present volume is imbued.""Questions of biblical theology are, at heart, questions about the understanding of the Bible in contemporary Christian thought and life. This collection of essays is a good guide to many of the key issues in contemporary debate about these questions."" --Walter Moberly (University of Durham)""We are in the debt of editors Walsh and Elliott for a volume that is historically informed (from Gabler on), engaged with all the relevant secondary literature of the past century, and thoughtfully undertaken. I have wondered if a contribution of B. S. Childs was simply his ability to keep an eye on biblical theology and interpretation at widest possible scholarly range, and to evaluate it on those comprehensive terms--the danger being that the discipline would otherwise break up into tribes of special interest or self-reference. The editors and contributors to this volume have kept that same goal in mind and have done so with fine scholarship and focused attention. The uncluttered title, Biblical Theology, is just right.""--Christopher Seitz, Senior Research Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto; Author, Joel: The International Theological Commentary ""This outstanding book will introduce the reader into the questions that currently animate the field of Biblical Theology. One cannot say enough good things about the comprehensive character of the essays as whole, the consistent brilliance of their execution and even energy which bubbles underneath the various contributions. Highly recommended!"" -- Gary A. Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre DameMark Elliott is Professor of Divinity (Historical and Biblical Theology) at the University of St. Andrews. He is author of Engaging Leviticus (2012) and Providence Perceived (2015).Dr. Carey Walsh is Professor of Old Testament at Villanova University. She is the author of The Fruit of the Vine (2000), Exquisite Desire (2000) and, most recently, Chasing Mystery: A Catholic Biblical Theology (2013).

This book offers two things in particular: first, these are papers that have been commented on and re-worked in the context of a set of lively sessions from (International) SBL conferences from 2012 to 2014 (Amsterdam, St. Andrews, Vienna). Second, they offer an insight into the origins of the discipline as one which became conscious of itself in the early modern era and the turn to history and the analysis of texts, to offer something exegetical and synthetic. The fresh wind that the enterprise received in the latter part of the twentieth century is the focus of the second part of the volume, which describes the recent activity up to the present ""state of the question."" The third part takes a step further to anticipate the way forward for the discipline in an era where ""canon""--but also ""Scripture"" and ""theology""--seem to be alien terms, and where other ideologies are advanced in the name of neutrality. Biblical Theology will aim to be true to the evidence of the text: it will not always see clearly, but it will rely on the best of biblical criticism and theological discernment to help it. That is the spirit with which this present volume is imbued.""Questions of biblical theology are, at heart, questions about the understanding of the Bible in contemporary Christian thought and life. This collection of essays is a good guide to many of the key issues in contemporary debate about these questions."" --Walter Moberly (University of Durham)""We are in the debt of editors Walsh and Elliott for a volume that is historically informed (from Gabler on), engaged with all the relevant secondary literature of the past century, and thoughtfully undertaken. I have wondered if a contribution of B. S. Childs was simply his ability to keep an eye on biblical theology and interpretation at widest possible scholarly range, and to evaluate it on those comprehensive terms--the danger being that the discipline would otherwise break up into tribes of special interest or self-reference. The editors and contributors to this volume have kept that same goal in mind and have done so with fine scholarship and focused attention. The uncluttered title, Biblical Theology, is just right.""--Christopher Seitz, Senior Research Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto; Author, Joel: The International Theological Commentary ""This outstanding book will introduce the reader into the questions that currently animate the field of Biblical Theology. One cannot say enough good things about the comprehensive character of the essays as whole, the consistent brilliance of their execution and even energy which bubbles underneath the various contributions. Highly recommended!"" -- Gary A. Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre DameMark Elliott is Professor of Divinity (Historical and Biblical Theology) at the University of St. Andrews. He is author of Engaging Leviticus (2012) and Providence Perceived (2015).Dr. Carey Walsh is Professor of Old Testament at Villanova University. She is the author of The Fruit of the Vine (2000), Exquisite Desire (2000) and, most recently, Chasing Mystery: A Catholic Biblical Theology (2013).