In response to the recent critiques made against Balthasar's interpretation of Christ's descent into hell on Holy Saturday, this book argues that Balthasar does not intend to present a radical reinterpretation of the doctrine in contrast to the traditional teachings but rather intends to fully appreciate the in-betweenness of Holy Saturday as the day of transition from the cross to the resurrection, from the old aeon to the new. The bo ...
David Trementozzi contends that conservative-traditional Christianity has uncritically adopted an intellectualist (i.e., rationally-driven) view of faith in its understanding and practice of salvation. Throughout, he maintains that an intellectualist soteriology should be rejected because it prioritizes the rational over other behavioral and affective aspects of faith. An intellectualist rendering of salvation is incomplete because human experie ...
Among the dizzying array of approaches to reading the Bible, the oldest, most revered interpretive tool rises above the rest: the Rule of Faith. Faithful interpretation of Scripture in the postmodern context has much to learn from this ancient principle. Deeper engagement with the sacred text flourishes with the assistance of the Rule of Faith. That engagement in turn renews the Body of Christ. This book explores the interpretive practices o ...
Out on the barren margins of Babylonian exile, the great Psalmist suggests their captors are actually asking for a song of joy. Imagine that. Is it possible to sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? Christians today find themselves caught up in the massive sweep of secularizing culture. Do we have a joyful song to sing anymore? Do we know what our song has been throughout history? Could we possibly sing as a mighty choir, just perhaps igni ...
We can make Jesus look very small if we are not careful. Your Jesus Is Too Small explores how a trivialized Jesus contributes to a collapsed Christian moral character. The 2016 election exposed the truth that for many Christians character does not count, or is a very low priority. Eighty-one percent of white evangelicals voted for President Trump, not known as a man of high moral character. This collapse of character is especially troubling sinc ...
This book is for both evangelicals and ecumenicals interested in a holistic approach to the Christian vision of social transformation. The author compares Richard Mouw's Reformed political theology and Nam-dong Suh's Minjung theology to suggest a vision of transformation that is theologically more cogent and politically more engaged. In general, Minjung theology understands transformation in terms of political liberation and Reformed ...
Some reputable sociological research indicates that a surprising number of evangelical churchgoers are living out a version of the Christian life that's more informed by the values of the surrounding culture than by the discipleship teachings of Jesus and his apostles. Viewing the cause of this disturbing trend in the church to be a «discipleship deficit» that's exacerbated by a «pneumatological deficit,» Gary Tyra has written a book t ...
The Reverend Stirling McCutcheon is a Scottish Presbyterian minister who has been called to serve as senior pastor at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. As one who has placed in juxtaposition Dostoyevsky's notion that «there is nothing lovelier than the Savior» alongside Grunewald's grotesque portrayal of the Crucified Christ, McCutcheon defines his own identity as a devotee of fractured beauty, an identity that ri ...
Is the Christian concept of grace anathema to the social structure of merit-making found in Buddhist karmic communities? Are all Buddhist forms of merit-making purely for religious purposes to assuage cosmic consequences or are there other reasons? Are there not Christian churches who operate under a legalistic view of God's divine wrath and are in essence living as karmic communities of the Christian type? The result of discussions about t ...