Books published by Cascade Books

Description:John''s gospel does not record "Thomas''s doubt," as later generations of Christians have branded the story. Rather, John presents Thomas''s faith. In this work, Robert H. Smith approaches Thomas as one who believes in the reality of incarnation: God has a body. Too often, Smith argues, Christians read John''s gospel for its lyrical discourses. The resulting portrait of Jesus is a "cross-less Christ," a portrait that contributes powerfully to Christian triumphalism. In contrast, Smith finds that the evangelist always has the cross in view. Smith reads John "backwards," through the eyes of Thomas. In so doing, he demonstrates the centrality of a wounded Lord in the theology of the gospel. But this book does not end with hermeneutics. Smith advances his discussion into the life of discipleship. Anyone dwelling in Christ''s body will be similarly marked. What does it mean to live in the world as the marked body of Christ? Everyone who poses the question will want to read this book. Martha E. StortzProfessor of Historical Theology and EthicsPacific Lutheran Theological Seminary/The Graduate Theological UnionBerkeley, CaliforniaEndorsements:"Always an innovative teacher and writer, Smith trumps all that in his final book. He finds in Thomas''s plea to see Jesus''s wounds precisely what John''s Gospel wants us to see: a God who became incarnate in Jesus, wounds and all. This gospel is not saying, according to Smith, ''Jesus is like (the almighty) God'', but that ''God is like this wounded Jesus.'' When I used Robert''s ideas recently to end a gospels course, one student said, in effect, ''You have kept the best teaching until now.''"--Everett R. KalinChrist Seminary Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley"In Wounded Lord we find Robert Smith''s last testament, a meditation on his favorite gospel. Renouncing all moralizing, ethnocentrism, and religious triumphalism, Smith focuses on Jesus''s self-sacrificing love as the clue to God''s nature and as power to heal all divisions. This is a book for everyone to reencounter John''s Jesus, whose glory was to give self away so that all humanity might even now be one with him ''in the lap of the Father.''"--Gary PencePacific Lutheran Theological Seminary"From the beginning of my pastoral ministry, I have relied on Robert H. Smith for cogent, pertinent, and deep reflection on Christian scriptures . . . Is he correct that the whole of the book needs to be refracted through the Thomas story, that the risen Christ always and necessarily bears the wounds of crucifixion? I believe so, and you ought to read the book to consider the question yourself. It will bless your devotional practice, your teaching and preaching, and your understanding of God''s suffering for and with us."--Rev. Brian Stein-WebberTrinity Lutheran Church, Oakland, CaliforniaAbout the Contributor(s):Robert H Smith (1932-2006), was professor of New Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and served as a member of the core doctoral faculty of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is the author of Apocalypse: A Commentary on Revelation in Words and Images (2000), and Easter Gospels: The Resurrection of Jesus According to the Four Evangelists (1983) He has published commentaries on Matthew (1989), Acts (1970), and Hebrews (1984). He co-authored several books with Paul Fullmer, Read Greek by Friday (Wipf &Stock, 2004), Read Greek by Friday: The Gospel of John & 1 John (Wipf & Stock, 2005), Greek at a Glance (Wipf & Stock, 2007).

Homiletics is taking a theological turn. But what does the preaching task look like if we think of it not so much as a mastery of technique, but an exercise in theological method? Homiletical Theology in Action: The Unfinished Theological Task of Preaching tries to envision the work of homiletics as theological in root and branch. By placing theological questions at the center of the process, the authors, some of the leading lights of the field of homiletics, try to show how their work as preachers and homileticians is a thoroughgoing theological activity. By beginning with troublesome texts and problematic doctrines, they seek to show how preachers and homileticians engage in theology, not as consumers, but as producers--and in the thick of the kinds of questions that preachers have to ask. Practitioners and theological educators alike will catch a glimpse of how they too are residential theologians in their own preaching praxis.""Scholars and preachers alike will want this new contribution to homiletical theology. The homiletical theology movement explores how preaching is itself a form of doing theology, and not just a consumer of the work of systematic theologians. The preacher can be a creative theologian and not just one who applies the theologies of academic theologians. In this fast-moving volume, seven eminent scholars of preaching--all of whom are gifted in theology--think in exciting and critical ways about homiletical theology in three modes: description, confessional, and analytical.""--Ronald J. Allen, Professor of Preaching and Gospels and Letters, Christian Theological Seminary ""Preachers describe, confess, and analyze a multitude of theologies. Like Jacob, we wrestle with a vast and powerful presence until we receive a word that may be painful, provisional and unfinished, but also a deep blessing. Homiletical Theology in Action graciously urges us to name God again and again into our cultures and communities. This book is an invitation to join a theological conversation that will shape the future of homiletics."" --Sarah Travis, Minister-in-Residence, Knox College""After decades of emphasis on rhetorical methodologies, the scholarly pendulum is now swinging back toward more directly theological considerations. This provocative, diverse, and rewarding collection of essays contributes significantly to a new definition of preaching as an intrinsically theological activity."" --Michael Knowles, G. F. Hurlburt Chair of Preaching, McMaster Divinity College""Homiletic Theology in Action: The Unfinished Task of Preaching is the second in a series of books that seeks to rekindle an appreciation for homiletics as an inherently theological act and to expand that perspective in response to new questions raised within a changing context. In this volume, scholars do the work of describing the process of theological reflection that results in proclamation, examining how the theological ''confessions'' of certain faith traditions give shape to that process of theological reflection in preaching, and questioning long-held assumptions about the interplay of scripture, tradition, rhetoric, and human situation in a move toward homiletical theology in the contemporary context. These scholars bring years of experience in practicing theology through preaching. As preachers wrestling with issues of context, tradition and text, each one walks us down her or his own homiletic pathway to demonstrate theology in action. This book moves the discussion of homiletical theology to a more practical level, giving students and practitioners new ways of thinking about what happens each time a preacher takes on the task of proclaiming gospel to the world through preaching. This text is for anyone who wants to join the ongoing conversation about homiletic theology or who hopes to deepen their awareness of how the act of preaching remains a complex theological task."" --Mary Lin Hudson, Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics, Memphis The

The Spirit of Adoption explores many of the complexities inherent in adoption and its relationship to spirituality, challenging us to move beyond the common mythologies about adoption to consider the more difficult questions adoption raises about the nature of God, family, culture, loss, and joy. Rather than hearing from experts in adoption, this collection uses the narratives of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees themselves, bearing witness to the ways adoption shapes its participants' spiritual lives. By allowing others to narrate their spiritual journeys through adoption, we hope to proclaim that adoption can be a wonderful, powerful, hopeful experience, and one that is difficult, painful, despairing--and that these paradoxes of adoption might be held together in God's hand.

This groundbreaking volume highlights the contemporary relevance of Jacques Lacan (1901-1981), whose linguistic reworking of Freudian analysis radicalized both psychoanalysis and its approach to theology. Part I: Lacan, Religion, and Others explores the application of Lacan's thought to the phenomena of religion. Part II: Theology and the Other Lacan explores and develops theology in light of Lacan. In both cases, a central place is given to Lacan's exposition of the real, thereby reflecting the impact of his later work. Contributors include some of the most renowned readers and influential academics in their respective fields: Tina Beattie, Lorenzo Chiesa, Clayton Crockett, Creston Davis, Adrian Johnston, Katerina Kolozova, Thomas Lynch, Marcus Pound, Carl Raschke, Kenneth Reinhard, Mario D'Amato, Noelle Vahanian, and Slavoj ¿i¿ek. Topics traverse culture, art, philosophy, and politics, as well as providing critical exegesis of Lacan's most gnomic utterances on theology, including "The Triumph of Religion."

Description:Because of Luke's unique literary achievement in the Gospel of Luke and Acts, these two works raise a variety of interesting and important issues for the exegete. In this important collection of essays, Tannehill demonstrates why he has been in the forefront of Luke-Acts research for more than three decades. His nuanced approach to the intersection of literary, theological, and social features in the texts marks these as required reading for any interpreter of the gospels.ContentsPart I: Theology, Poetry, Rhetoric1 The Mission of Jesus according to Luke 4:16-302 The Magnificat as Poem3 What Kind of King? What Kind of Kingdom?4 The Lukan Discourse on Invitations5 The Story of Zacchaeus as Rhetoric6 Repentance in the Context of Lukan SoteriologyPart II: Luke and the Jews7 Israel in Luke-Acts: A Tragic Story8 The Story of Israel within the Lukan Narrative9 Rejection by Jews and Turning to Gentiles: The Pattern of Paul's Mission in ActsPart III: Acts as Narrative10 The Functions of Peter's Mission Speeches in the Narrative of Acts11 The Composition of Acts 3-5: Narrative Development and Echo Effect12 Paul outside the Christian Ghetto: Intercultural Conflict and Cooperation in Acts13 The Narrator's Strategy in the Scenes of Paul's DefensePart IV: Hermeneutical Experiments14 Should We Love Simon the Pharisee? Reflections on the Pharisees in Luke15 Freedom and Responsibility in Scripture Interpretation16 "Cornelius" and "Tabitha" Encounter Luke's JesusAbout the Contributor(s):Robert C. Tannehill is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. He is also the author of 'The Sword of His Mouth,' 'Dying and Rising with Christ,' and 'The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts.'

For the last two centuries biblical interpretation has been guided by perspectives that have largely ignored the oral context in which the gospels took shape. Only recently have scholars begun to explore how ancient media inform the interpretive process and an understanding of the Bible. This collection of essays, by authors who recognize that the Jesus tradition was a story heard and performed, seeks to reevaluate the constituent elements of narrative, including characters, structure, narrator, time, and intertextuality. In dialogue with traditional literary approaches, these essays demonstrate that an appreciation of performance yields fresh insights distinguishable in many respects from results of literary or narrative readings of the gospels.

An international cast of theologians come together in this volume to offer essays in tribute to the late Stanley J. Grenz, one of the leading theologians of his generation. Accordingly, the volume includes timely explorations in some of the most exciting areas in contemporary theology. It is only fitting that these very explorations revolve around the key motifs of Grenz's theology (Trinity, community, eschatology) and the key sources from which he drew for theology's construction (Scripture, tradition, culture). While engaging key features seen in Grenz's work, some of the essays here interact with Grenz's own writings, reflecting on his theological journey and his contributions to evangelical theology. In these ways, this volume highlights the kind of evangelical theology that so many have experienced in recent years and of which Stan Grenz was a leading proponent. Revisioning, Renewing, Rediscovering the Triune Center, then, makes a significant contribution to discussions in contemporary theology while itself setting out to honor the life and work of an eminent theologian who did so much for evangelical theology.

Mainline Protestant congregations face a profound adaptive challenge. In the midst of significant social, cultural, and technological change, the denominations they represent generally abandoned a view of education capable of maintaining and renewing their faith traditions through their children and youth. New curriculum resources and innovative pedagogical strategies appropriated from the marketplace of religious education options have not met the challenge.A transformation of consciousness is required in congregations seeking a future through their children. It involves the exercise of an ecclesial imagination to reclaim a view of education rooted in the revitalization of their religious traditions in the past and re-envisioning the congregation as a catechetical culture of faith formation.

The Hermeneutics of Tradition presents the latest scholarship on tradition as a concept and reality in the development of Christian cultures. One aim is to show that traditions are upheld, communicated, and developed within a recognizable set of interpretive guidelines (or rules) and that analysis of these sets both requires and reveals a "hermeneutics of tradition." The work of the authors included here presents the precarious integrity of traditions and the often tenuous hold upon those traditions exercised by the hermeneutics that drive dynamics of preservation and change. As scholars and religious worshippers continue ancient traditions of receiving strangers with generous hospitality, the coherence of tradition serves conversations about where our true differences lie.

Jesus' best-known mandate--after perhaps the mandate to love God and neighbor--was given at the Last Supper just before his death: "Do this in memory of me." Indeed, a case can be made that to "do this" is the source and summit of the way Christians carry out Jesus' love-mandate. Of course, Christians have debated what it means to "do this," and these debates have all too often led to divisions within and between them--debates over leavened and unleavened bread, reception of the cup, real presence and sacrifice, "open" or "closed" communion, this Supper and the hunger of the world. These divisions seem to fly in the face of Jesus' mandate, causing some to wonder whether this is "really" the Lord's Supper we celebrate (compare 1 Corinthians 11). Everything turns on just what it means to "do this." The purpose of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology's 2012 conference was to address at least some of the many aspects of this question--to address them together, as Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox pastors and theologians, and all participants in the Supper.

The theology of Karl Barth has been a productive dialogue partner for evangelical theology. For too long, however, the dialogue has been dominated by questions of orthodoxy. The present volume seeks to contribute to the conversation through a creative reconfiguration of both partners in the conversation, neither of whom can be rightly understood as preservers of Protestant Orthodoxy. Rather, American evangelicalism is identified with the revivalist forms of Protestantism that arose in the post-Reformation era, while Barth is revisited as a theologian attuned both to divine and human agency. In the ensuing conversation questions of orthodoxy are not eliminated, but subordinated to a concern for the life of God and God's people. This volume brings together seasoned Barth scholars, evangelical theologians, and some younger voices, united by a common desire to rethink both Karl Barth and evangelical theology. By offering an alternative to the dominant constraints, the book opens up new avenues for fruitful conversation on Barth and the future of evangelical theology.