Books published by Wipf and Stock Publishers

A unique book about a unique life chronicles a persistent journey from an isolated Appalachian area mired in deep poverty. Illegal bootleggers and nasty mountain villains haunt the young man's family. A fundamentalist preacher condemns the young man to hell. As a four-year-old first-grader, he perseveres to academic excellence. Numerous episodes in his misspent youth ring outrageous with an abundance of original sin. The young man frantically struggles to find acceptance and eventually receives a surprise calling. Driven to find meaning in life, he battles against a social anxiety disorder and eventually speaks to audiences of thousands. He is the founder of a first-of-its kind publication for clergy and a clergy conference that renowned theologian Walter Brueggemann calls ""a major piece of work that will stand when the history of the U.S. church is written. It must be providential that you were led from your start to that great work."" Experience the epic travels from hillbilly obscurity to encounters with fame and the sacred. Paths cross with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights activists, U.S. senators, and world-famous musicians.

The book of Psalms, today taken by most to be a collection of pious poems and soothing hymns, came into existence against a background of extreme factional violence, competing schools of spiritual enterprise, and a struggle for political prominence that lasted for centuries. Jerusalem Ghosts tells the (fictional) story of a double murder inquiry undertaken by ancient Israel's best-known and most successful sleuth, David ben Simon, an investigation that played itself out against the larger political and spiritual tensions of the day and which laid bare the lengths to which people on both sides of the struggle would go to defeat their enemies and bequeath their own version of ancient Judaism to the ages as the authentic faith of Israel.

Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) was arguably one of the most noted, productive, and provocative Christian theologians in North American evangelical Christianity in the late twentieth century. Considering how challenging he is to classify and yet how significant his work has been, Pinnock should be widely studied today. However, for many, their first introduction to Pinnock's writing is facilitated through various critical sources. For too long, Pinnock's theology has been stuck within the confines of tired stereotypes and overly simplistic summaries. Andrew Ray Williams, then, gives Pinnock a fresh and fair hearing, outlining some of his major themes while also providing an accessible point of entry into his theology. In doing so, this book is usable and profitable for both longtime fans as well as critics of Pinnock, while also offering first-time readers of Pinnock an open-minded position from which to read him.

With all the turmoil and unrest in our nation, it seems many have turned our eyes away from the prize we began this race to win. We have forgotten we are not running for a corruptible crown that will fade away. We have forgotten we chose to run this race because we desired to win the incorruptible crown.Our cross of self-denial has become too cumbersome and our race too arduous, too demanding. We have become more concerned with enjoying this life instead of running for the prize of the future. Because we are centered on the now and not the future, we have lost the desire to persevere. As we focus upon this life, we are daily enticed to meander onto the wide and broad path.This book is written to ignite the fire in us to persevere and focus on our eternal glory and not this life. We will be encouraged to keep running as we remember our light afflictions of this life are for a season, whereas winning our incorruptible crown is forever.

Apologetics? What is that? Isn't that for theologians and pastors?These are the rebuttals one might receive when encouraging Christians to learn and engage in apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith. This book isn't about apologetics per se. Instead, it reviews the many benefits for Christians engaging in apologetics and learning about it. Dr. Almodovar reviews what aspects of the field helped strengthen her own faith and brought excitement in bringing the good news of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ as she spoke with those who aren't Christians. Over the past years, Dr. Almodovar has actively engaged in encouraging Christians to actually do apologetics and many have come back to her saying it not only helped them answer the questions of non-believers but strengthened their own faith knowing now the great amount of evidence there is for the Christian religion. If you've never engaged in defending the faith, now is the time to learn how it will benefit you in your walk with Christ and perhaps excite you to dig a little deeper so you too can answer their questions about Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of all our sins.

A new understanding is developed in this book about the relationship between the Christian faith, modern science, and the world religions. The authors call their new position Evolutionary Pluralism. By combining the Christian faith with modern science and the global growth of religious diversity, Evolutionary Pluralism provides Christians with an alternative to current interpretations such as Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, Intelligent Design Creationism, and Evolutionary Creationism. This new understanding stands solidly within the history and traditions of the Christian faith and builds on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

The beginning of the twentieth century evolved out of an era of Freethinking atheists and agnostics who challenged the Protestant hegemony of the day. Key among these mavericks was author and filmmaker Rubert Hughes, uncle to Howard Hughes. In 1922, Hughes published Souls for Sale, his wickedly playful satire of the Bible belt and Hollywood, offering a mischievous snapshot of the film industry as it struggled against a conservative Zeitgeist. The novel follows the prodigal adventures of a clergyman's daughter as she stumbles into the movie industry and finds it to be a new and liberating moral universe. Hughes's adaptation of his sly work challenged the religious hierarchy of his day, but ultimately fell by the wayside, even with the support of Hollywood icons like Eric von Stroheim and Charlie Chaplin. Souls for Sale offers a glimpse into the emerging Jazz age of moviemaking against the backdrop of a country moving from its traditional roots into the kinetic ways of Hollywood.