Books published by Cascade Books

About the Contributor(s):Rabbi Edward Feld is the senior editor of Mahzor Lev Shalem (2010) and the author of The Spirit of Renewal: Finding Faith after the Holocaust (1994). He has served as Rabbi-in-Residence at the Jewish Theological Seminary and as Hillel Director and Chaplain to the College at Princeton University and Smith and Amherst Colleges. As the Educational Director of Rabbis for Human Rights he developed a curriculum for teaching "Judaism and Human Rights."

Description:This volume brings together for the first time the writings of Charles Wesley on the theme of justice for the poor and marginalized, drawing upon his sermons, manuscript journal, poetry, and a few letters. Most of his poems/hymns that address poverty and justice were left unpublished at his death. The author studies the theology of these texts for the first time in relation to relevant themes in his sermons, manuscript journal, and letters, and evaluates it in the light of its application and implementation in the eighteenth century and its viability for the twenty-first-century church and Christian. Charles's views of how Christians may "use divine grace divine" in seeking justice for the poor are indeed radical, for they advocate behavior that is often quite contrary to what is generally accepted as Christian practice. This volume makes clear that the radical grace he espouses is consistent with Holy Scripture and should indeed be practiced by Christians today.The liturgies and musical settings of some of the hymn texts that address the poor and marginalized at the end of the volume provide a pragmatic means for the worshipping community to integrate the principles of radical grace into their theology and praxis.Endorsements:"S. T. Kimbrough has provided serious Christians with yet another practical and useful work grounded in the Wesleyan heritage. In this readable book, he uses his expert grasp of Charles Wesley's poetry to explain and illustrate how the Wesleyan hymns demonstrate in a worshipful but explicit manner a central feature of the Christian life--that the poor and marginalized can bring the experience of radical grace into the daily lives of all of us through our exercise of God's presence and power. Historically grounded, theologically sound, and poetically illustrated, this study fits solidly into the current attempts to apply careful interpretations of the Wesleyan tradition to contemporary life."--Richard P. HeitzenraterThe Divinity School, Duke University"S T Kimbrough, Jr. has introduced us to Charles Wesley the great lyrical theologian. In this wonderful book, Radical Grace, he introduces us to Wesley the prophetic, poetic friend of the poor and the dispossessed. Here, in the genius of Wesley, we see poetry in service to a just and loving God. This book sings, and the song it sings is justice for the poor!"--Bishop William Willimon,United Methodist Church"Dr. Kimbrough's thorough and unique study of Charles Wesley's neglected hymns and perspectives on justice for the poor and marginalized also includes practical ways (contemporary musical settings and liturgies) for their teaching and use in the church and elsewhere."--Carlton R. YoungEditor, The United Methodist Hymnal"If Methodism, as I think is true for all mainstream churches, can regain an empowering vision of the future through intimacy with the poor, this book will be a valuable map of the Wesleyan devotion to what God is doing among the poor. Kimbrough artfully brings to light Charles Wesley's poetry, a poetry suffused by just the biblical and theological signposts we need to rediscover in a church looking for new directions."--M. Douglas MeeksVanderbilt University Divinity SchoolAbout the Contributor(s):S T Kimbrough Jr. is a Research Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition of Duke Divinity School and founder of The Charles Wesley Society. He is editor of its journal, Proceedings of The Charles Wesley Society, and author/editor of several books on Charles Wesley, including: The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley (3 vols.), The Manuscript Journal of The Reverend Charles Wesley, M.A. (2 vols.), and The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley: A Reader.

What can Christian theology in North America learn from the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s?This book explores an explosion of scholarship in recent decades that has reopened questions once thought to be settled about the relationships between Nazism, Liberalism, and Christianity. In the process of criticizing the retrospective fallacy and urging a properly hermeneutical historiography, its method in historical theology causes us to reflect back upon our tacit commitments, suggesting that we are closer to fascism than we are aware and that, although the devil never shows its face twice in exactly the same way, the particular hubris of grasping after ""final solutions"" along biopolitical lines--that is, the ""racially scientific"" version of fascism that was Nazism--is and remains near at hand today, within our horizon of possibilities unrecognized in just the ways that it was unrecognized by Germans before Auschwitz.The book takes a fresh look at the theology of Adolf Hitler and finds themes that are disturbingly familiar. It summons to the renewal of Christian theology after Christendom in the form of critical dogmatics, where the motif of the Beloved Community replaces the fallen idol descended from Charlemagne.

Description:"We tend to use words like miracle and mystery in the context of serendipity. In this frank and eloquent account of life transformed by cancer, Deanna Thompson explores these articles of faith as they are also wont to appear--on the hard edges of hope and the dark side of joy." --Krista Tippett, from the ForewordHoping for More is a story of a young religion professor with a stage IV cancer diagnosis and a lousy prognosis for the future. Amid the grief and the grace of her fractured life, this theologian--who is also a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend--searches for words adequate to express her faltering faith. More Anne Lamott meets Harold Kushner than the teller of a pious, God-saved-me-from-cancer tale, Thompson unpacks the messy realities that arise when faith and suffering collide. Told in shimmering prose, Hoping for More takes readers on an unsentimental journey through the valley of the shadow of cancer--beyond the predictable parameters of prayer, the church, even belief in life after death. What emerges is a novel approach to talking faith and accepting grace when hope is all you've got.Endorsements:"Deanna Thompson's honest and faithful book shows how healing happens in community, and how blessing is found amid doubt and pain. This is a book of grace."--Sara MilesAuthor of Take This Bread (2007) and Jesus Freak (2010)"I learned so much by reading this book, as a pastor, friend, and mother. Thompson's insights are for everyone who has ever struggled with serious illness or loved someone who has, which means that this book is ultimately for everyone. If you have ever wondered, "What do I say?" or "What do I do?" this book offers wise counsel, with humor, intellect, and, most of all, grace. In Hoping for More, you get to eavesdrop on the intimate thoughts of someone worth listening to. In the end, Thompson's deepest theological insights are not about cancer but about life itself."--Lillian DanielSenior Minister, First Congregational Church UCC, Glen Ellyn, IllinoisAuthor of This Odd and Wondrous Calling (2009) and Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony (2006)"Thompson stands in her cancer with rare, radical awakeness to its bracing truth . . . and gives us a moving, life-lived testimony to the graciousness of grace."--Serene JonesPresident of Union Theological Seminary"In Hoping for More, Deanna Thompson presents her extraordinary journey of diagnosis and treatment of stage IV breast cancer. Thanks to her strong personal voice, reading this book is like listening to a friend tell you about part of her life over a cup of tea. Of the many miracles in this book is Deanna's ability to reflect on her faith, illness, and loved ones at the same time. She quietly offers a systematic theology enriched by living with cancer--making this book a valuable resource for those interested in the intersection of medicine and faith."--Monica A. ColemanAssociate Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religions, Claremont School of TheologyAuthor of Not Alone: Reflections on Faith and Depression (2012)About the Contributor(s):Deanna A. Thompson is Professor of Religion at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and author of Crossing the Divide: Luther, Feminism, and the Cross. She lives with her husband and two daughters in St. Paul

About the Contributor(s):Lewis V. Baldwin is Professor of Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is the author or editor of eleven books on Martin Luther King, Jr., including The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr. (2010). Rufus Burrow Jr. is Indiana Professor of Christian Thought at Christian Theological Seminary. He has authored or coauthored three books on King, including Martin Luther King, Jr. for Armchair Theologians (2009).

Description:The church is broken and we cannot fix it. Faith in God is disconnected from churches. Mainline churches are deeply divided, and their budgets and congregations have diminished, with no agreement for recovery. So what shall we do? It is time to stop talking about the problems and to consider a new vision of the church for our time.This book is a celebration of the church as the community of new life in Christ. It assumes Christ intended to create a community on earth embodying grace and holiness. It begins with a new and inclusive definition of the church as a community enduring in time. It affirms the great variety of churches, all as valid expressions of the new life, and explains how and why churches are formed in different ways. The goal is for churches to celebrate the saving power of Christ and to see the glory of God revealed in the world in our time.Endorsements:"Is there an award for the ecclesiology book of the year? If so, Peter Schmiechen should receive it. He is lucid, theologically informed, pastorally minded, practical, and responsibly ecumenical. The Church, he argues, is not a voluntary society of the like-minded, but a community of God's gift and promise. The empirical Church is flawed, and church-dividing issues abound; yet, the Church remains a community of hope and an agent of transforming power."--Alan P. F. Sell, author of Convinced, Concise, and Christian "Peter Schmiechen wades into the current crisis of the church. He is peculiarly equipped to do so, deeply grounded in the ecumenical theology of Mercersburg and long situated in the matrix of dispute in his (and my) own church. He reflects upon the ways in which our pet notions have often reduced the gospel to manageable ideology, and the capacity and readiness of the gospel to take many forms, formulations, and practices. This is a sober and realistic, but powerfully hopeful invitation to rethink the faithfulness of the church in its great diversity."--Walter Brueggemann, author of The Prophetic Imagination"Though many today distance themselves from institutional expressions of religion, saying they are 'spiritual but not religious,' Peter Schmiechen argues convincingly that faithfulness to Christ necessarily involves an affirmation of the church and its institutional forms. Schmeichen believes we are at a place today where we can appreciate, without defensiveness, the diverse ways in which Christians have sought to embody the central Christian message. He draws on this diversity to propose a unified, inclusive, and transformative form of the church."--Jackson Carroll, author of As One With Authority"Peter Schmiechen boldly declares that the current malaise of North American Protestant churches is not a failure to develop new programs, worship styles, or evangelistic strategies. Rather, the problem is theological: it is a lack of clarity about the basic good news of Christianity. Schmiechen's proposal that churches need to incarnate the theme of new life in Christ in their institutional practices is both shockingly simple and richly provocative."--Lee C. Barrett, author of KierkegaardAbout the Contributor(s):Peter Schmiechen is President Emeritus of Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in Christian Theology from Harvard University and is the author of Saving Power: Theories of Atonement and Forms of the Church (2005) and Christ the Reconciler: A Theology for Opposites, Differences, and Enemies (1996). He lives with his wife, Janet, in Lancaster.

Description:Whitehead had a place for God in his comprehensive cosmological vision, and his theism has long attracted interest from some Christian theologians. But Whitehead's ideas have much wider use. Some Buddhists have found help in articulating their nontheistic vision and relating it to the current world of thought and action. In this book religious writers in seven different traditions articulate how they can benefit from Whitehead's work. So this volume demonstrates that various features of his thought can contribute to many communities. According to his followers, Whitehead shows that the deepest convictions and commitments of the major religious communities can be complementary rather than in conflict. Readers of this book will see how that plays out in some detail. A Whiteheadian Hindu can recognize the truth in a Whiteheadian Judaism, and both can appreciate the insights of Chinese Whiteheadians committed to their classical thinking. Perhaps a new day in interreligious understanding has come. Endorsements:"Cobb has assembled important essays from scholars representing the major world religions, some senior in their fields and others speaking with the voice of the future. These essays demonstrate the ever-increasing usefulness of Whiteheadian metaphysics for the intellectual life of religion today."--Robert Neville, Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology, Boston University"Religions in the Making brings a range of voices together to consider . . . how our religions can still surprise us, because our God is creative (of course!) and our future is unscripted. As I read I kept thinking, 'This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.' For both those new to process theology and those well-read, this book will be stimulating and enjoyable." --Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity "The essays in Religions in the Making are rich, thick, and deep. Cobb, whose persistent labor over the past half-century has been to interpret Christian faith and practice through a Whiteheadian-processive lens, has charted the way for the careful and excellent reflections of his essayists. In these chapters we encounter many of the creative ways Whitehead's vision of reality can inform visionary, yet faithful, religious reflection from within a wide variety of traditions."--Michael Lodahl, Professor of Theology and World Religions, Point Loma Nazarene University "This collection fulfills, amply and engagingly, the prediction Cobb makes in the preface: 'anyone who puts on Whiteheadian glasses will see the world in fresh and valuable ways.' Wearing such glasses, religious practitioners are enabled to understand, not only themselves, but also each other more deeply and creatively."--Paul F. Knitter, Professor of Theology, World Religions, and Culture, Union Theological SeminaryAbout the Contributor(s):John B. Cobb, Jr., now retired, taught theology at the Claremont School of Theology, cofounded the Center for Process Studies, and has been active in interfaith discussion. His books in that field include Christ in a Pluralistic Age and Beyond Dialogue, both available from Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Description:How can Christians live with a surprising God? How can we know and trust God without taming God or reducing God to an idol? Is knowing God the same thing as being open to God? Is God's freedom to act independently of our knowing him actually how we know him most genuinely and deeply? In Unexpected Jesus, Craig Hovey explores in depth the idea that the Christian gospel is a surprising encounter that calls for people to risk living with a God who shows up in unexpected ways.The Gospels often portray Jesus Christ as elusive and difficult to grasp. Hovey helps the reader to "un-expect" Jesus--to preserve Jesus's reality as a surprise rooted in the resurrection. As living and free, the joyous presence of Christ in the world is also unfathomable and uncontainable. Jesus's being free and surprising--unexpected--strengthens Christians' trust in God and helps them to live in God's world.Endorsements:"In a world overpopulated by studies that claim to explain the historical Jesus, Craig Hovey reminds readers of the surprise of Jesus in the gospel, in the story of the church, and in the lives of Christians today. Through flowing prose and pithy observations, Hovey challenges the church to take up the difficult task of living out the truly surprising life of Jesus."--C. A. Reeder, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Westmont College"This book surprised me! I expected, in some sense, a guide to Jesus and the Christian life. Instead, I found myself reading a book of deep and challenging theology. No, not instead! I found myself learning Jesus and the Christian life just as I was reading deep and challenging theology. It is the kind of book that might, for example, and by God's surprising grace, turn a senior seminar on Christology into an event of faith, an encounter with the unexpected Jesus. Don't miss it."--Douglas Harink, Professor of Theology, The King's University College "Craig Hovey has written a surprising book about the surprise of the gospel. He ranges easily and widely from the gospels to Plato to Nietzsche, always keeping his focus on how Christian convictions and practices shape daily life. Hovey's refreshing study will encourage believers to walk with a God who defies our expectations in his unswerving faithfulness."--Peter J. Leithart, Senior Fellow of Theology, New Saint Andrews CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Craig Hovey is Assistant Professor of Religion at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He is the author of Bearing True Witness: Truthfulness in Christian Practice (Eerdmans, 2011), Nietzsche and Theology (T&T Clark, 2008), To Share in the Body: A Theology of Martyrdom for Today's Church (Brazos, 2008), and Speak Thus: Christian Language in Church and World (Cascade, 2008).

Description:The Wendell Cocktail describes a major social problem, exemplified by the journals of a person with coexisting conditions--mental illness and addiction. Although there are resources for people with each of these conditions--psychiatry for mental illness and twelve-step programs for addiction--there are few effective resources for people with both. Since about half of the mentally ill medicate with an addiction, an increasingly large percentage of the American population is left without adequate care. Wendell's journals illuminate the complexity of a tormented mind that is nevertheless capable of exquisite enjoyment of music, natural beauty, and delight in the observation of birds and animals. The book's conclusion suggests approaches to understanding and better providing for persons with addiction and mental illness.Endorsements:"Margaret R. Miles is one of the most insightful religious thinkers of our time. The breadth of her historical understanding of Western thought and art, and her sensitive observations about the changing roles of women over time, have been clearly established in her other books. In this book she advances our understanding of mental illness and drug addiction."--Malcolm Young, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, California"Margaret R. Miles has crafted a narrative marked by honesty and wisdom. A sister's promise and devotion, added to a brother's pain and courage, are key ingredients for The Wendell Cocktail. The suffering and anger voiced in her brother's journal entries are palpable. They bear convincing witness to the struggles of those living with mental illness and addiction in a culture that does not deal well with either."--Flora Keshgegian, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Graduate Theological Union"This unusually personal volume is by turns painful, insightful, and disturbing, even occasionally beautiful and humorous, illuminating the dark corners of addiction and mental illness by skillfully interweaving the journals of an acute sufferer with the commentary of a compassionate observer--an observer who is also a distinguished historian and thinker. Deliberately avoiding neat lessons and pat answers, Margaret R. Miles nevertheless ensures that, through sharing her brother's story, his intense pain is not wasted."--Robert MacSwain, Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics, The University of the South"The Wendell Cocktail considers the fierce landscape of mental illness and addiction. By opening her own journal alongside those of her brother, Miles speaks not about but from the experience. . . . If you've ever wanted to get inside the head of someone with this condition, this book points the path. And if you've ever needed language to express your own experience, Wendell's journals, graciously edited and shared, give an account from a fellow-traveler."--Martha E. Stortz, Professor for Religion and Vocation, Augsburg CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Margaret R. Miles is Emerita Professor of Historical Theology, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Her most recent books are Augustine and the Fundamentalist's Daughter (2011) and Getting Here from There: Conversations on Life and Work (with Hiroko Sakomura, 2011).

Growing out of the work that the author did in preparing two major commentaries on Isaiah, these essays range from comprehensive to specific, and from popular to scholarly. They first appeared in biblical dictionaries, scholarly journals, and popular periodicals. Gathered here for the first time, they display in various ways how the author sees the various parts of Isaiah functioning together to give a coherent message to the church. The opening chapters lay out Oswalt's understanding of the overall message of the book of Isaiah. Subsequent chapters consider such themes as holiness and righteousness as they function in that larger structure. The concluding chapters look at selected sections of Isaiah in more detail, noting how those specific messages contribute to the overall whole.""The book of Isaiah is a long and winding road with many twists, turns, and about-faces. What does it all mean? John Oswalt is uniquely qualified to tell us. The Holy One of Israel compiles his reflections from a lifetime of research, and as such, helps readers understand Isaiah's beauty, majesty, and profound theology.""--Reed Lessing, Professor of Exegetical Theology, Concordia Seminary, Missouri""This work contains an amazing collection of essays by an eminent scholar who has spent over thirty years of his life devoted to the book of Isaiah. It summarizes several decades of studies on the book of Isaiah, collects articles on a wide range of topics, and puts them into a handy reference tool. This work should become a standard resource for those doing serious research in the book of Isaiah.""--Paul D. Wegner, Professor of Old Testament, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, California""Finally in one place, the learned reflections of a sage who consistently focused his exegetical gaze over the past four decades on one of the masterpieces of biblical literature. This collection opens up the riches of the book of Isaiah, providing historical, literary, and theological insights that cannot help but prompt further research and proclamation.""--Mark J. Boda, Professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Canada""For several decades, the work of Oswalt on Isaiah has commanded the respect of evangelical and mainstream scholars alike. This volume augments Oswalt's classic commentary with collected essays that offer mature reflection on some of the most crucial themes confronting any student of Isaiah. The reader will discover the careful balance of critical thought and spiritual sensitivity so characteristic of Oswalt's work. I'm grateful to Wipf and Stock for making these essays so readily accessible.""--John W. Hilber, Professor of Old Testament, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, MichiganJohn N. Oswalt is Visiting Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is the author of nine books, including The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39 (1986) and The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 (1998) in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, and The Bible among the Myths (2009).

In honor of what would have been Clarence Jordan's one hundredth birthday and the seventieth anniversary of Koinonia Farm, the first Clarence Jordan Symposium convened in historic Sumter County, Georgia, in 2012, gathering theologians, historians, actors, and activists in civil rights, housing, agriculture, and fair-trade businesses to celebrate a remarkable individual and his continuing influence. Clarence Jordan (1912-1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the author of the Cotton Patch versions of the New Testament and the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia. Roots in the Cotton Patch, Volume 1 contains Symposium presentations addressing Clarence's influence as a storyteller and contextual preacher and prophet, his pacifist witness in a violent and segregated South, and the contemporary meaning of his life's work in Christian community. Uniting these powerful essays is the obvious impact Jordan's life has had on so many. His life and work continue to inspire a new generation of activists, seminary students, and people in search of the meaning of Christian community.The world needs more Clarence Jordan--and this book helps accomplish that! The contributors to this fantastic volume add much depth and nuance to Jordan and the Koinonia community. I pray that this book will find its way into many hands, and then into many minds.--Brian Kaylor, author of Presidential Campaign Rhetoric in an Age of Confessional PoliticsIn a world filled with so much cynicism and callousness, Clarence Jordan reminds us that 'the life together' can be a more hopeful and compassionate alternative. This book echoes Jordan's call to be a prophetic demonstration plot in a world desperately in need of reconciliation.--Anton Flores-Maisonet, Alterna, GeorgiaBoth volumes of these books should come with a warning label. For years, Clarence Jordan has been both a gadfly and a mentor for me. These volumes, which consist of presentations delivered at a symposium of which I was privileged to be a part, reawakened in me the challenge to be a prophet of God, and not a false prophet of a church, and a disciple of Jesus, and not just an admirer.--Billy E. Vaughn, Spencer Baptist Church, North CarolinaClarence Jordan has long been one of my heroes. It is a delight to spend time with people who have incorporated his vision of a lived faith in God into their creative work. As a neighbor of Clarence Jordan's is quoted in Roots as saying of him, 'he gone now, but his footprint still here.' This fine book affirms that statement and gives me hope for all of our futures.--Martha Woodroof, author of Small BlessingsClarence Jordan's prophetic and Jesus-centered reading of the Bible is still relevant and can be seen in the voices collected in this book. They give his vision new life, necessary for healing the deep divisions found in humanity today.--Kelli Yoder, assistant editor/web editor for Mennonite World ReviewThis collection of essays witnesses to the Jesus-like figure of Clarence Jordan, as the books and letters in the New Testament testify to Jesus as the Christ. The love for and reverence of Clarence, combined with the stories of opposition to his ministry, confirm his Christ-likeness just as the crucifixion and resurrection confirmed Jesus as the Messiah.--Ronald H. Stone, author of Politics and FaithKirk Lyman-Barner received his Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is Director of U.S. Field Operations for The Fuller Center for Housing and pastor of Praxis Americus United Church of Christ. Cori Lyman-Barner holds an MA from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She coordinates a home school cooperative in Americus, Georgia. The Lyman-Barners consider it a privilege to live, work, and raise their three children in Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch.

Description:How will the world end? Doomsday ideas in Western history have been both persistent and adaptable, peaking at various times, including in modern America. Public opinion polls indicate that a substantial number of Americans look for the return of Christ or some catastrophic event. The views expressed in these polls have been reinforced by the market process. Whether through purchasing paperbacks or watching television programs, millions of Americans have expressed an interest in end-time events. Americans have a tremendous appetite for prophecy, more than nearly any other people in the modern world. Why do Americans love doomsday?In Apocalyptic Fever, Richard Kyle attempts to answer this question, showing how dispensational premillennialism has been the driving force behind doomsday ideas. Yet while several chapters are devoted to this topic, this book covers much more. It surveys end-time views in modern America from a wide range of perspectives--dispensationalism, Catholicism, science, fringe religions, the occult, fiction, the year 2000, Islam, politics, the Mayan calendar, and more.Endorsements:"We are indebted to Kyle for his outstanding survey of the end times. These concepts have developed over many centuries, but they have found fertile soil in our own land. Kyle deals with an astonishingly wide range of ideas with insightful and broad knowledge of the historical, religious, and contemporary contexts. This is by far the best guide to the fascinating and intricate world of the end times. Those who wish to understand our nation's psyche will find Apocalyptic Fever a must-read book."--Robert G. Clouse, Senior Research Scholar in Liberal Arts, Indiana State University "Apocalyptic enthusiasm rarely receives calm and thoughtful consideration. Kyle is a most welcome exception. His book is careful, nuanced, insightful, and charitable toward a subject that is usually treated as incredible, unbelievable, mad, or deadly certain. Apocalyptic Fever takes the temperature of a serious disease and provides just the right calming prescription for bringing the fever under control."--Mark Noll, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame"Apocalyptic Fever is one of those must-read books. Kyle, a veteran observer of radical evangelical and conservative religion in America, addresses the wide variety of end-time preachers, writers, and movements in the contemporary world . . . Such an explanatory work is sorely needed in an age where polemical treatises richly abound." --Richard V. Pierard, Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana State University About the Contributor(s):Richard G. Kyle is a Professor of History and Religion at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. He has authored nine previous books and ninety articles.

Description:Joseph A. Sittler (1904-1987) was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, distinguished for his pioneering work in ecology and for his preeminence as a preacher. He gave both the Beecher Lectures at Yale and the Noble Lectures at Harvard. As the "preacher's theologian," Sittler approached the interpretation of Scripture with a clear understanding of current critical scholarship, but also in the freedom of the gospel at the center of Scripture and with the humility of a theologian of the cross. In following the trajectory of the text into the preaching situation he gave a lively, timeless, and eloquent expression to the fact that the interpretation of texts is in the service of proclamation.This collection of readings from Sittler's rich legacy contains a great many presentations and sermons that have never before appeared in print. Theologically serious preaching, close attention to language, engagement with the best of sacred and secular culture, and a deep respect for the text, all characteristics of Sittler's work, are the sort of features that continue to edify. They remain as benchmarks for good preaching even as styles and contexts evolve.Endorsements:"This book is a trove for discerning preachers. The text comes from one of the premier American theologians of the twentieth century. His vast work has been sifted for us by two similarly significant theologians of the present century: Richard Lischer and James M. Childs. Through their careful editing, we see three great minds at play in the field of homiletics and theology. After reading all the how-to books on preaching, read this one for the 'why to' of preaching. It will fund both beginning and experienced preachers with theological purpose through a preaching career."--Clay Schmit, Provost, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary"A problem with the legacy of a life like Sittler's, devoted as it is to the spoken word, is it disappears when its sound waves have died. . . . Yet, this book by its very existence demonstrates, ironically, how valid and valuable written rhetoric is, can be, and as books like this one live on, will be."--From the foreword by Martin E. MartyAbout the Contributor(s):Richard Lischer is James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America (1995) and The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence (2005).James M. Childs Jr., formerly the Joseph A. Sittler Professor of Theology and Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, now serves there as Senior Research Professor. He is the author of Ethics in the Community of Promise: Faith, Formation, and Decision (2nd ed., 2006) and The Way of Peace: Christian Life in the Face of Discord (2008).

This work brings the critically realistic interpretation of Barth's dialectical theology into conversation with the modern dialogue between science and theology. Philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics and logic, and considerations of the problem of rationality raised in the science and theology dialogue are brought to bear upon Barth's theology in an attempt to explicate the rationality of his dialectical method. Its deep and abiding radical nature and character are lifted up, emphasized, and explored. The results of this study are then used to answer some long-standing criticisms of Barth. What emerges are an understanding of how Barth uses philosophy and why he declines to do philosophy. La Montagne opens the way for Barth scholars to enter into the dialogue between theology and science.

What is the task of theology in a complex religious and secular world? What are theologians called to contribute to society, the churches, and the academy? Can theology be both fully faithful to Christian tradition and Scripture, and fully open to the challenges of the twenty-first century? In this book, an international team of contributors, including some of the best-known names in the field, respond to these questions in programmatic essays that set the direction for future debates about the vocation of theology. David Ford, in whose honor the collection is produced, has been for many years a key figure in articulating and shaping the role of contemporary theology. The contributors are his colleagues, collaborators, and former students, and their essays engage in dialogue with his work. The main unifying feature of this exciting collection is not Ford's work per se, however, but a shared engagement with the pressing question of theology's vocation today.

Did Lucy know God? Could Neanderthals talk? Was Ardi self-conscious? These are the strange new breed of questions emerging as we discover more and more about our prehistoric origins--questions about knowing. While fossil digs and carbon dating tell a remarkable story about the bones and times of our ancient ancestors, we cannot help wondering what they knew, and when. Exploring such questions Original Knowing takes contemporary science as seriously as religious tradition and searches for the story behind this odd creature who senses more to the universe than meets the eye. In limestone bluffs and butterfly migrations, from Stone Age tool-making to Sumerian beer-making, clues are sought to better understand this strange mind that ponders the origins of its own existence. When do babies point, and why does it matter? What does throwing a Frisbee reveal about our distant ancestors? Is language the key to our minds as many believe? Or perhaps the heart of knowing rests in something more basic, in a smile, and the powerful social abilities at work allowing us to sense a depth to life--to our own lives--a depth that our minds help us glimpse if only through a glass darkly.

How important is childhood in the spiritual formation of a person? How do children experience God in the context of their lives as they grow? What does God do in the lives of children to draw them to himself and help them grow into a vital relationship with him? How can adults who care about children better support their spiritual growth and direct it toward relationship with God through Jesus Christ? These are critical questions that church leaders face as they consider how best to nurture the faith of the children God brings into our lives. In this book, over two dozen Christian scholars and ministry leaders explore important issues about the spiritual life of children and ways parents, church leaders, and others who care about children can promote their spiritual formation.

In this volume some of the outstanding Christian scholars of our day reflect on how their minds have changed, how their academic fields have changed over the course of their careers, and the pressing issues that Christian scholars will need to address in the twenty-first century. This volume offers an accessible portrait of key trends in the world of Christian scholarship today.Christian Thought in the Twenty-First Century features scholars from Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and Switzerland. The contributors represent a wide variety of academic backgrounds--from biblical studies to theology, to religious studies, to history, English literature, philosophy, law, and ethics.This book offers a personal glimpse of Christian scholars in a self-reflective mode, capturing their honest reflections on the changing state of the academy and on changes in their own minds and outlooks. The breadth and depth of insight afforded by these contributions provide rich soil for a reader's own reflections, and an agenda that will occupy Christian thinkers well into the twenty-first century.

How should followers of Christ live in a multi-religious world? This book argues that the example of Jesus has something fresh and helpful to say to those who ponder the question. It takes something old--the example of Jesus--to say something new to our pluralist world. Most of the book examines the meetings of Jesus with Gentiles and Samaritans. These are found in some of the most poignant and dramatic encounters and teaching passages in the Gospels: a synagogue address with near-murderous consequences; the healing of a pagan centurion's servant; the setting free of the afflicted child of a Gentile mother; a moving encounter at a Samaritan well; the unlikely story of a compassionate Samaritan--and more. This is a scholarly but accessible discussion of what it might mean to "have the same attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had" in our contemporary multi-religious world.

Moved by God to Act offers a fresh description of Christian moral action as a moment of connection between divine and human agency. Through an ecumenical consideration of a variety of resources, this book gives an accessible description of the work of God's grace not only in individual Christian agency but also within the dynamics of Christian community. Moved by God to Act brings the contemporary theological ethics of community into dialogue with the pneumatology of Thomas Aquinas. The ethic emerging from this dialogue lifts up the centrality of God's grace in Christian community while at the same time offering a detailed articulation of the human being as naturally and beautifully drawn into cooperation with God's grace in the ethical life. The book concludes by showing how Aquinas stands in substantial harmony with the contemporary authors discussed, offering a proper description of God's agency in individual Christian human agency and the dynamics of the "body" of the Christian community to which the contemporary discourse so rightly points. Moved by God to Act is an attempt to speak to the work of God in the life and day-to-day action of Christians and Christian communities as moved to act by the Holy Spirit.

Description:Cosmic Commons explores terrestrial-extraterrestrial intelligent life Contact. It uses a thought experiment to consider the ecological-economic-ethical-ecclesial impacts of Contact, analyzing incidents around the world described by credible witnesses (two of whom are interviewed for the book), including Roswell and the Hudson River Valley. It discusses government and academic efforts to use ridicule and coercion to suppress Contact investigations, supports a scientific method to research ETI reports in a field that should excite scientists, and calls on academics to publicly disclose their Contact experiences. It traces Earth ecological and economic injustices to the European Enlightenment and the Discovery Doctrine by which European nations rationalized invasion of distant continents, genocide, and seizure of the territories and natural goods of native peoples. It advocates a change in humans' Earth conduct to avoid replicating in space the policies and practices that wrought economic injustice and ecological devastation on Earth, provides an innovative cosmosociological praxis ethics theory and practice toward that end, and develops a Cosmic Charter, based on UN documents, to guide humankind in space and in ETI encounters. Permeated by a profound sense of the sacred, Cosmic Commons explores a positive relationship between religion and science as humankind ventures into space.

In honor of what would have been Clarence Jordan's one hundredth birthday and the seventieth anniversary of Koinonia Farm, the first Clarence Jordan Symposium convened in historic Sumter County, Georgia, in 2012, gathering theologians, historians, actors, and activists in civil rights, housing, agriculture, and fair-trade businesses to celebrate a remarkable individual and his continuing influence. Clarence Jordan (1912-1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the author of the Cotton Patch versions of the New Testament and the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia. Fruits of the Cotton Patch,Volume 2 contains Symposium presentations that interpret Jordan's storytelling and the meaning of his prophetic voice in the areas of peacemaking in the context of historical harms, the future of the affordable housing movement, and the direction of the New Monastic movement. These essays and others invite the curious, the student, and the teacher alike to experience the life and work of Clarence Jordan and its powerful connection to the present.""In a world filled with so much cynicism and callousness, Clarence Jordan reminds us that 'the life together' can be a more hopeful and compassionate alternative. This book echoes Jordan's call to be a prophetic demonstration plot in a world desperately in need of reconciliation.""--Anton Flores-Maisonet, Alterna, Georgia""Rarely does a book so artfully include humor, inspiration, creativity, and scholarship. Yet this volume does so in a manner that fittingly reflects the legacy of a man, who had a PhD but was well known for his down-to-earth stories, and who moved comfortably between the worlds of formal podiums and dirt farm fields. Read it to learn more about Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia community!""--Brian Kaylor, author of For God's Sake, Shut Up!""This collection of essays witnesses to the Jesus-like figure of Clarence Jordan, as the books and letters in the New Testament testify to Jesus as the Christ. The love for and reverence of Clarence, combined with the stories of opposition to his ministry, confirm his Christ-likeness, just as the crucifixion and resurrection confirmed Jesus as the Messiah.""--Ronald H. Stone, author of Politics and Faith""Both volumes of these books should come with a warning label. For years, Clarence Jordan has been both a gadfly and a mentor for me. These volumes, which consist of presentations delivered at a symposium of which I was privileged to be a part, reawakened in me the challenge to be a prophet of God, not a false prophet of a church, and a disciple of Jesus, not just an admirer.""--Billy E. Vaughn, Spencer Baptist Church, North Carolina""Clarence Jordan has long been one of my heroes. It is a delight to spend time with people who have incorporated his vision of a lived faith in God into their creative work. As a neighbor of Clarence Jordan's is quoted in Roots as saying of him, 'he gone now, but his footprint still here."" This fine book affirms that statement and gives me hope for all of our futures.""--Martha Woodroof, author of Small Blessings""Clarence Jordan's prophetic and Jesus-centered reading of the Bible is still relevant and can be seen in the voices collected in this book. They give his vision new life, necessary for healing the deep divisions found in humanity today.""--Kelli Yoder, Assistant editor/web editor for Mennonite World ReviewKirk Lyman-Barner received his Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is Director of U.S. Field Operations for The Fuller Center for Housing and pastor of Praxis Americus United Church of Christ. Cori Lyman-Barner holds an MA from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She coordinates a home school cooperative in Americus, Georgia. The Lyman-Barners consider it a privilege to live, work, and raise their three children in Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch.

Could we have imagined how much theological education would change in the new millennium? Shifting needs of students, classrooms, and churches have demanded constant revisions of the curriculum, course design, classroom technology, and pedagogical strategies.Saint Paul School of Theology felt the tide of change within our own walls and designed a project called ""Proleptic Pedagogy"" to address three distinct pedagogical challenges for the future of theological education. First, instead of fitting new technologies into old pedagogies, how are teaching and learning transformed by shifting needs of students who are ""digital natives,"" ""digital immigrants,"" or distance learners? Second, instead of reactive strategies, what pedagogy proactively eliminates ""accommodations"" because courses are designed with flexibility and openness to diverse learning styles, disabilities, and needs? Third, instead of engaging student diversity with the tools of the 1960s, what new teaching and learning strategies anticipate future student racial and ethnic demographics and interracial educational experiences?This volume of essays narrates our classroom stories, teases out pedagogical issues, examines pedagogical literature, reflects on theology of pedagogy, and constructs pedagogical proposals--with an open invitation for other theological educators to join our conversation about the future of theological education.""This book is an excellent example of the scholarship of teaching and learning, written by an astute and collaborative theological faculty. Their vivid descriptions of pedagogical challenges evoke experiences that are common throughout the theological landscape. Their responses are deeply thoughtful, profoundly hopeful, and thoroughly engaging. Give yourself the gift of learning with them!""--Mary Hess, Luther Seminary""Proleptic Pedagogy is an important book for faculty and administrators of theological seminaries and departments of theological teaching. Readers are invited into a faculty conversation as members from St. Paul School of Theology reflect on their teaching and how it contributes to the educational goals of the seminary. The format of each chapter is itself an exercise in practical theology, moving from specific classroom stories . . . to theological reflection and implications for practice. . . . This book will stimulate faculty conversation about theological teaching and learning goals."" --Jack Seymour, Garrett-Evangelical Theological SeminarySondra Higgins Matthaei is Professor of Christian Religious Education at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. She is author of Formation in Faith: The Congregational Ministry of Making Disciples (2008), Making Disciples: Faith Formation in the Wesleyan Tradition (2000), and Faith Matters: Faith-Mentoring in the Faith Community (1996).Nancy R. Howell is Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. She is author of A Feminist Cosmology (2000) and coeditor of Creating Women's Theology: A Movement Engaging Process Thought (Pickwick Publications, 2011).

Description:The Nonconformists of England and Wales, the Protestants outside the Church of England, were particularly numerous in the Victorian years. From being a small minority in the eighteenth century, they had increased to represent nearly half the worshipping nation by the middle years of the nineteenth century. These Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians, and others helped shape society and made their mark in politics. This book explains the main characteristics of each denomination and examines the circumstances that enabled them to grow. It evaluates the main academic hypothesis about their role and points to signs of their subsequent decline in the twentieth century. Here is a succinct account of an important dimension of the Christian past in Britain.Endorsements:"No one can understand the Victorians who does not appreciate the impact of a dynamic Christian counter-culture in their midst--Protestant Dissent. Nonconformity gave the age its pre-eminent preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, its most famous missionary, David Livingstone, one of the most respected women in all of British history, the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, recreational institutions such as the YMCA and Aston Villa football club, highly successful businesses such as Thomas Cook's tours and Cadbury's chocolate, and much more. David Bebbington is the greatest authority on Victorian Nonconformity working today and this book is the best introduction to this subject that has ever been written. There is no better place to start learning about the Free Churches in nineteenth-century Britain than with this learned, lucid, and accessible volume."Timothy Larsen, McManis Professor of Christian Thought, Wheaton College"It is a very good thing to see this new edition of David Bebbington's detailed, informative, and clearly outlined primer on the Nonconformist churches during the period when their national influence was at its height. The booklet is carefully detailed, unusually informative, and skilfully outlined. Its success in explaining who the Nonconformists were, how they differed from the Church of England (and among themselves), and why their fortunes rose and fell makes this an ideal beginning point for further study, both historical and theological."Mark A. Noll, McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame"This welcome reprint and light revision of Professor Bebbington's work reminds us that communities often caricatured as narrow and hypocritical were attempting to 'create a Christian counter-culture' which gave meaning to the lives of many ordinary people and influenced society at large. Combining critical analysis with engaging vignettes of individuals, this is an attractive, lucid and authoritative introduction to Victorian Nonconformity."Henry D. Rack, Honorary Fellow and former Bishop Fraser Senior Lecturer in Ecclesiastical History, University of ManchesterAbout the Contributor(s):David Bebbington has served since 1976 at the University of Stirling, where he is Professor of History. His books include Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (1989), The Mind of Gladstone: Religion, Homer and Politics (2004) and The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody (2005).

Description:University is a major way that our society prepares professionals and leaders in education, health, government, business, arts, church--all components of our communal lives. Although the beginnings of the first universities were Christian, academia has become more and more adrift from these foundations. We have lost not only the union, the interwovenness of theological and academic understandings, but also the relational and communal process of learning which teaches students to be other-centered in their practice.A Glimpse of the Kingdom in Academia tells the story of the social sciences department of a small Christian university that took seriously the mandate to prepare their students to be salt and light in a secular society. Here are stories of the transformation in students' lives, as well as description of classroom practices, and the epistemological theory behind those practices. The book explores academic knowing, Christian worldview, relational epistemology, inner knowing, and wisdom--all ways of knowing that a Christian university should teach. The process of transformation, the context of community, and the bigger picture of life's journey and changing images of God are identified as important aspects of kingdom life in academia. The institutional setting is also critiqued with the recognition that power practices need to align with the kingdom of the Christ who emptied himself.Endorsements:"This book is an invitation to another way of seeing, but it is also dense in alternative epistemological sources. . . . This book should be read by all those involved with student learning and administration. It can also be read by any teacher or administrator, school or institution hoping to make learning more open and transformational in any discipline or context."--Nicola Hoggard Creegan, Lecturer in Theology, Laidlaw College"[This] is not simply a how-to book. It is a book that will move you into a more profound way of reading and entering the gospel story. It is a book marked by a theology of the Kingdom or reign of God and a holistic vision of God's redemptive and healing purposes for our world. It is a book also shaped by the newer liberation and feminist theologies. Moreover, it is a book marked by profound spirituality. . . . It is my hope that this book will be a precursor of what is to come, that it will point the way for others to take the shape of their life in Christ into the public sphere."--From the Foreword by Charles Ringma, Emeritus Professor, Regent CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Irene Alexander is a psychologist and spiritual director. She lectures at Christian Heritage College and the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane, Australia, and in spiritual direction formation. She is the author of several books, including Dancing with God: Transformation through Relationship (2007) and Practicing the Presence of Jesus (2011).

Description:In this refreshingly unique book, Bruce Longenecker demonstrates that reading Luke's narrative is richly enhanced through attentiveness to what is tantalizingly left out of the Lukan narrative. In Hearing the Silence, the reader is invited to delve deeply into literary and theological dimensions of the Lukan narrative through an exploration of Jesus' strangely under-narrated "escape" in Luke 4:30. The options for interpreting the mechanics of that curious event are brought into dramatic relief by Longenecker's survey of the scene's reconstruction in Jesus-novels and Jesus-films, in which a variety of strategies have been employed to iron out the scene's narrative oddity. Against their backdrop, Longenecker's own constructive proposals bring the reader into direct contact with some of the most significant features of the Lukan Gospel and worldview. Endorsements:"'But the dog did not bark!' Sherlock noted. Now Bruce Longenecker, with a similar steely detective-like resolve, explores one of the most perplexing silences in the Gospel of Luke. Specifically, what actually happened to Jesus on the edge of a hill in Nazareth, that he was able to walk away scot free from an angry mob? With literary sensitivity, Longenecker demonstrates how the silence of details actually speaks volumes . . . God is at work to reveal the liberating power of the kingdom of God by preserving the messianic deliverer in the midst of evil. An engaging read!"--Michael BirdProfessor of Theology and Bible, Crossway College, Brisbane, AustraliaAuthor of Colossians and Philemon: A New Covenant Commentary (Cascade, 2009)"This is an entertaining book with a serious point. Longenecker takes his readers on a captivating journey from the absurd to the sublime. Focusing on a single 'gap' in the text of Luke's Gospel, he starts with novelistic attempts at filling it (the absurd) and ends with deft reflections on how Luke crafts a narrative Christology (the sublime). With this highly innovative approach, Longenecker deepens our appreciation of Luke's Gospel, while also bearing testimony to the mystery of Christ."--George HunsingerHazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological SeminaryEditor of Thy Word Is Truth: Barth on Scripture (2012)"Longenecker proposes a 'christological arc' for hearing Luke's narrative as a whole: the one who undergoes the eucatastrophic 'escape' from the enraged townsfolk of Nazareth and is 'taken up' by divine custody from his death by his nation to fill out the greater, overarching blessing to Israel and the nations. The author's wit and imagination for filling in the 'gap' of Luke 4:30 through the . . . 'arc' of Psalm 91 outsmarts even the most creative Jesus novelists . . . in making sense of Jesus' mysterious 'passing through their midst'--stimulating, provocative, a delight to read!"--David P. MoessnerA. A. Bradford Chair of Religion for Biblical Studies, Texas Christian University, Fort WorthAbout the Contributor(s):Bruce W. Longenecker is Professor of New Testament and the W. W. Melton Chair of Religion in the Department of Religion at Baylor University, Texas.