Books published by Westminster/John Knox Press,U.S.

Curriculum as described by Maria Harris's book is viewed as an activity, the practice of Christian education. It includes community, service, worship, proclamation, and instruction for all the members of the church from birth to...

In this compelling and hard-hitting book, respected preacher and teacher Thomas Long identifies and responds to what he sees as the most substantive theological forces and challenges facing preaching today. The issues, he says, are fourfold: the decline in the quality of narrative preaching and the need for its reinvigoration; the tendency of...

Westminster John Knox Press is proud to present this special collection of fourteen of Karl Barth's World War I-era sermons--the only English language collection of Barth's sermons preached between 1917 and 1920 when he was a parish pastor in Safenwil, Switzerland. This volume offers a fascinating glimpse into Barth's interpretation of...

The prophets of the Old Testament include such well-known characters as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Hosea. There are, however, many other prophets, both in the biblical books that bear their names and in the other histories and stories of ancient Israel. Carolyn Sharp offers a brief introduction to each of the Bible's prophets and their...

Probing into numerous questions about gender and sexuality, Dale Martin delves into the biblical texts anew and unearths surprising findings. Avoiding preconceptions about ancient sexuality, he explores the ethics of desire and marriage and pays careful attention to the original meanings of words, especially those used as evidence of Paul's...

This pedagogically astute introduction to the Hebrew Bible is designed specifically for undergraduates. It begins with the most basic questions: from where and when did the Hebrew Bible originate, how was it written, and how did people read it? In focusing on the fundamental question of the canon--Who are we?--it first gives much attention to...

This latest volume in the ever-popular WJK Armchair series turns its sights on contemporary theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). Born in Breslau, Germany, Bonhoeffer led quite an intriguing life. This book, with dozens of illustrations by artist Ron Hill, highlights Bonhoeffer's background and theological education; his time at Union...

In this, the first overview of biblical theology in nearly thirty years, James K. Mead addresses the core issues of biblical theology essential to both Old Testament and New Testament study. Can we draw theological principles from Scripture? What methods will give useful results for theological exploration of biblical texts? Aptly synthesizing...

In this engaging treatment of the Gospel of Mark, Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm combines biblical scholarship with a close reading of the Gospel text to meet the needs of preachers today. Swift and purposeful, the Gospel of Mark proclaims God's reign and urges the participation of all God's people in the witness of the good news that God has transformed...

Success, as it is currently defined, usually depends on winning--beating the competition--which often places incredible pressures on business professionals. With engaging writing and a lack of jargon, this book navigates executives, managers, and supervisors through the ethical decisions they must make every day. Street-Smart Ethics is divided...

Challenging the traditional meaning of Scripture is not easy, even in the face of issues that call into question those traditional interpretations. In these reflections, Walter Brueggemann says that the Bible, as the live word of the living God, will not submit to the accounts we prefer to give it. The Bible's inherent, central evangelical...

The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

This dictionary not only identifies terms and biblical figures but also examines them from the perspective of "reception history"--the history of the Bible's effect on its readers. Biblical books, passages, and characters certainly played important roles in the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but they also influenced other...

Building on the belief that the task of exegesis is to understand the divine-human intention locked within the biblical text, Gordon Fee provides a lucid step-by-step analysis of exegetical procedures that has made New Testament Exegesis a standard textbook for nearly two decades. Now more than ever, with an updated, newly integrated...

In this book, William May considers the images that shape the convictions and daily practice of the physician--images that can order experience and present the practitioner with imperatives by which to live. This updated edition will once again challenge physicians, students, and teachers of medical ethics to reach a deeper understanding of the...

These eighty-four practical devotions offer an accessible look into the enduring theology of John Calvin.

Dissatisfied with what he regarded as evasive answers given by theologians and scholars about the nature of the resurrection of Jesus, Gerd Ludemann subjected the New Testament traditions to a thorough investigation. In particular, Ludemann was concerned with the story of the empty tomb and the subsequent appearance stories first related by...

Klaus Berger offers a clearly written and highly understandable introcuction to the controversy surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls. He insightfully examines the relationship between the Judaism of the Qumran community and Christianity in its formative period. The picture that emerges proves to be interesting and provocative. An ideal starting...

In this book, Wayne Oates defines luck as a secular faith, examining the ways in which the idea of our experiences being based on luck dominates much of our thinking about how and why our lives develop as they do. According to Oates, this secular "faith in luck" is unhealthy and should be countered with faith in...

The Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer are at the heart of the New Testament and the key to the message and life of Jesus. In this book, Rudolf Schnackenburg provides a clearly written and easy-to-understand exegesis of the Sermon on the Mount in light of the Lord's Prayer. By doing so, he demonstrates that the strenuous requirements for...

This book addresses the organizational character of American religious history and points to a tentative but significant conclusion: The Presbyterian Church has been undergoing an organizational revolution, and the roots of this revolution seem to have preceded the dramatic membership decline that began in the mid-1960s.Through its examination...

This fresh, insightful book explores the nature and function of biblical authority for Christian feminism. Johanna van Wijk-Bos demonstrates, from a Reformed/Calvinist context, the importance of sola scriptura for feminist biblical studies. She illustrates the ways in which biblical authority undergirds and expands feminist perspectives. The...

In this book, Carnegie Samuel Calian, who was baptized in the Eastern tradition and raised a Protestant, promotes greater dialogue and exchange among Christians of the East and West. He seeks to make Christians aware of the diversity of faith and offers suggestions and insight to this...

In this excellent book, Harry Cole interviews many people involved in caring for loved ones who are critically or terminally ill. He provides practical guidance and suggestions for others coping with similar problems and...

In this study of church growth and membership retention, Donald Smith argues that if a church is to survive, it must concentrate on keeping its present members as well as attracting new ones. He interviews people from six hundred churches of various sizes and reviews the causes of membership decline and retention in those churches. He provides...

In Saying Yes and No: On Rendering God to Caesar, Robert McAfee Brown confronts the delimma that exists when offical government policies seem to clash with ideas about God's kingdom of peace and justice. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite readers to make their own responses to the book's central question--a conflict of...

This revised and enlarged edition of a classic in Old Testament scholarship reflects the most up-to-date research on the prophetic books and offers substantially expanded discussions of important new insight on Isaiah and the other...

This one-volume history of Christian ethics is the only comprehensive resource currently available to survey major thinkers, movements, and issues from the early church to the present. Topics discussed are: the legacies of Christian ethics, the ethics of early Christianity, the Reformation and Enlightenment, eighteenth and nineteenth-century...

The idea of hell can haunt dreams and disturb sleep. Many wonder at the justice (or injustice) of it all, feeling confounded by a God who deems it necessary to send the majority of humanity to burn there forever. Seventy percent of Americans believe in hell, as do ninety-two percent of those who attend church every week. Clearly, it's a hot...

United Methodist pastor Elise Erikson Barrett draws on her own painful experiences, as well as on interviews with others who have gone through the devastation of miscarriage, in an effort to help women grieve and, in time, to think theologically about pregnancy loss. Barrett also offers some much-needed practical advice about breaking the news...