Books published by Cascade Books

More often than not it's a class in the social sciences that challenges the faith of students, not a class in biology. Does critical understanding of our religious traditions, institutions, and convictions undercut them? Or can a modern social scientific approach deepen faith's commitments, making us full participants in today's intellectual culture? In these conversations with eminent sociologists Robert Bellah and Christian Smith, leading scholars probe the religious potential of modern social science--and its theological limits.

Over the last four decades, the focus of M. Douglas Meeks' work has placed him at the center of many of the most important developments in theological reflection and education. As a political, ecclesial, and metaphorical theologian, Meeks has given witness to the oikonomia of the triune God, the Homemaker who creates the conditions of Home for the whole of creation, in critical conversation with contemporary economic, social, and political theory.The essays of this volume were written to honor Meeks, professor of theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School, by addressing the theme of God's economy of salvation from biblical, historical, ecclesial, and theological perspectives. In an age of ecological devastation and economic injustice, Meeks teaches us how to place our hope--as disciples of Jesus, as members of local congregations, as stewards of institutional life, and as global citizens--in God's power for life over death through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. These essays will serve to enliven and clarify this hope for the sake of the world God so loves.CONTRIBUTORS: Jurgen Moltmann, Timothy Reinhold Eberhart, Matthew W. Charlton, Walter Brueggemann, Josiah Young, Kendall Soulen, Patout Burns, John Cobb, Michael Welker, Nestor O. Miguez, Charles M. Wood, and Sondra Wheeler.

North American study of the Christian Apocrypha is known principally for its interest in using noncanonical texts to reconstruct the life and teachings of Jesus, and for its support of Walter Bauer's theory on the development of early Christianity. The papers in this volume, presented in September 2013 at York University in Toronto, challenge that simplistic assessment by demonstrating that U.S. and Canadian scholarship on the Christian Apocrypha is rich and diverse. The topics covered in the papers include new developments in the study of canon formation, the interplay of Christian Apocrypha and texts from the Nag Hammadi library, digital humanities resources for reconstructing apocryphal texts, and the value of studying late-antique apocrypha. Among the highlights of the collection are papers from a panel by three celebrated New Testament scholars reassessing the significance of the Christian Apocrypha for the study of the historical Jesus. Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier demonstrates the depth and breadth of Christian Apocrypha studies in North America and offers a glimpse at the achievements that lie ahead in the field.

In The End of Captivity?, Tripp York addresses how we talk about the good of other animals in light of a stark impossibility: their freedom from us. While all of us in the animal (and plant) kingdom are interdependent upon one another, humans are unique in that we are the only animals who keep other animals captive. We keep animals in zoos, sanctuaries, circuses, conservatories, aquariums, research facilities, slaughterhouses, and on our farms and in our homes. York asks what such forms of captivity say about us, and how animal captivity shapes what we imagine to be the purpose of other animals. What does the fact that elephants, tigers, and horses perform in circuses say about how we see the world? What does the reality of zoological parks say about the people who create, support, decry, protest, and patronize them? How important is wildlife conservation for the good of the earth? What does ""who"" we put on our plate say about how we understand the theological role of other animals? These are just a few questions York tackles as he weaves through the convoluted politics surrounding the captive animals in our midst.""A warm-hearted and sensible look at the reasons for and against keeping animals captive in zoos, parks or sanctuaries, and the reasons against keeping them in factory farms in which those who speak out against zoos and the like are challenged to consider their own involvement in far worse forms of captivity. York is an intelligent and compassionate friend of the animals involved, and of their human keepers."" --Stephen R. L. Clark, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Liverpool; Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Theology, University of Bristol; Associate Editor, British Journal for the History of Philosophy ""As we face what is being called the Sixth Mass Extinction, the topic of captivity is becoming ever more pressing. In this thoughtful--and what will undoubtedly be considered controversial--book, York explores the complexities of holding others captive. In a world where ''it is no longer clear where any of us belong,'' this exploration is paramount.""--Lori Gruen, Editor of The Ethics of Captivity; William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Professor of Environmental Studies, Wesleyan UniversityTripp York, PhD, teaches in the Religious Studies Department at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including The Devil Wears Nada, Third Way Allegiance, and the three-volume series The Peaceable Kingdom.