Books published by William B Eerdmans Publishing Co

Foreword by Richard V. PierardAfterword by Paul JenkinsIn the historical literature on mission, this book stands out for its detailed examination of the organizational dynamics that gave shape -- andbrought enduring success -- to the Evangelical Missionary Society at Basel.A first-rate account of the early Basel Mission on the Gold Coast of WestAfrica (present-day Ghana), this volume takes readers inside the missionitself, revealing its dynamic, though sometimes contradictory, methodsof motivation and discipline and how they impacted effective evangelismboth at home and abroad. Working from archival records, Jon Millerdetails the collaboration across class lines that made the mission possible, and he shows how basic pietist beliefs about authority and obediencewere the source of both the mission's strengths and its most serious internal weaknesses. Also included are two dozen photographs, a foreword byRichard V. Pierard, and an afterword by Paul Jenkins.

Over the last three decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Modernity's eclipse by postmodernity is characterized in large part by the loss of hope for a future substantially better than the present. Old optimism about human progress has given way to uncertainty and fear. In this book scholars from various disciplines - theology, the social sciences, and the humanities - explore the move from a "culture of optimism" to a "culture of ambiguity," and they seek to infuse today's jaded language of hope with a new vitality.The Future of Hope offers a powerful critique of today's stifling cultural climate and shows why the vision of hope central to Christian faith must be a basic component of any flourishing society. The first section of the book sets the context with telling cultural criticism of modernity. The second section focuses on affinities between premodern Christian visions of hope and twentieth-century thought. The final section of the book examines the relationship between postmodern thought, Christian tradition, and biblical hope, addressing how Christians in a postmodern world can best articulate their faith.Written by truly profound thinkers, these chapters are diverse in their content, methodologies, and temperament, yet they are united by a deep engagement with both the Christian tradition and the larger cultural and intellectual climate in which we live and work. The Future of Hope can thus be read not just as an attempt at retrieval of hope for today but as itself one small act of hope in an age when people too seldom take time to think critically and hopefully.Contributors: David Billings Robert Paul Doede Kevin L. Hughes Paul Edward Hughes Daniel Johnson William Katerberg John Milbank Jürgen Moltmann James K. A. Smith Miroslav Volf Nicholas Wolterstorff

I Am the Lord Your God explores anew the place of the Ten Commandments in contemporary civil society, their relation to natural moral law, their relevance for Christian instruction, and their pertinence to ethical issues such as abortion, killing, homosexuality, lying, greed, and the like.Written by an outstanding group of ethicists, theologians, and Bible scholars from various church traditions - Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist - this timely work argues unequivocally for the divine authority and permanent validity of the Ten Commandments in both church and society. While including the Judge Roy Moore controversy in Alabama and other pertinent current issues in their discussion, the authors above all call the church to remain faithful to its heritage - ultimately to the Lord God - amid our postmodern culture at large.Contributors: Markus Bockmuehl Carl E. Braaten William T. Cavanaugh David Bentley Hart Reinhard Hütter Robert W. Jenson Gilbert Meilaender Thomas C. Oden Ephraim Radner R. R. Reno Christopher R. Seitz Philip Turner Bernd Wannenwetsch Robert Louis Wilken

Petition has always stood at the heart of the manner in which evangelicals pray. But why is petitionary prayer important? Grenz presents petitionary prayer as a crucial aspect of the coming of God's kingdom on Earth and challenges the contemporary church to recapture what it means to be a church that prays.

Black Church Beginnings provides an intimate look at the struggles of African Americans to establish spiritual communities in the harsh world of slavery in the American colonies. Written by one of today's foremost experts on African American religion, this book traces the growth of the black church from its start in the mid-1700s to the end of the nineteenth century.As Henry Mitchell shows, the first African American churches didn't just organize; they labored hard, long, and sacrificially to form a meaningful, independent faith. Mitchell insightfully takes readers inside this process of development. He candidly examines the challenge of finding adequately trained pastors for new local congregations, confrontations resulting from internal class structure in big city churches, and obstacles posed by emerging denominationalism.Original in its subject matter and singular in its analysis, Mitchell's Black Church Beginnings makes a major contribution to the study of American church history.