"Does theology have any relevance to the problem of life and death?" According to John Heywood Thomas the answer is an unequivocal yes. A largely personal expression of this conviction precedes the argument's exposition, which is then stated first of all quite generally–that nothing human is alien to theology's concern. Three main issues are considered: the unborn life, death as an event in life, and the possibility of global deat ...
Created in Delight challenges the church to take seriously the relationship of human beings with the earth and their fellow creatures. It challenges communities of faith to construct youth and young adult ministry through an ecological hermeneutic. Van Meter includes narratives from his youth work and teaching as well as ecological theology and an exploration of contemporary ecological concerns. He challenges youth and young adult ministers to s ...
Remarkably, as many as sixty-six thousand churches are in conflict at this moment, and one-third of those will experience permanent damage. Though Christ commanded his followers to forgive, we often don't, and that lack of forgiveness poisons all of our relationships. Churches are particularly vulnerable to unforgiveness for a simple reason–no one has taught us what forgiveness actually is, how it benefits the forgiver and the forgiven, and ...
Consumerism is a problem. It deforms individual character, our sense of obligation to one another, and our concern for future generations and the environment. Even in the aftermath of the worst economic downturn in seventy years, it remains a defining feature of Western cultures. But, beyond this assessment, neither Christian theologians and ethicists nor secular economists and sociologists have understood what drives consumerism or what can be ...
This revised edition of The Family Metaphor in Jesus' Teaching examines the family metaphors for God (Father) and for believers («children,» «brothers») that Jesus chose to use. Jesus not only held up a child as an example of receptivity, but he defended actual children, warning against despising «one of these little ones.» Using current discussions of the «equal-regard family» and of the importance of «human fathering,» Stephen Finlan expl ...
This book is the follow-up volume to Pentecostalism and Christian Unity: Ecumenical Documents and Critical Assessments. The first volume documented the history and ecumenical engagement of Pentecostals during the twentieth century. This new collection traces the ecumenical developments, narratives, and conversations during the first decade of the twenty-first century. The ecumenical community and Pentecostals have consistently lamented the absen ...
Blessed is a collection of dramatic monologues that engage the gospel narratives surrounding Mary, the mother of Jesus, through the experiences of contemporary women. Bridging proclamation and protest through theater, the pieces invite the reader to stand at the intersection of faith and doubt alongside women giving birth to the Word in the world, women like Mary–broken and blessed. ...
This ethnographic study focuses on the religious imagery and practices of a sample of Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques in the greater Los Angeles area. As a way of expanding interfaith dialogue, it is framed as a conversation between the largely Christian researchers and the seventy-five respondents, who were asked about the images, space, and practices of their religious experience. From the respondents in their various religious settings, i ...
Healing the Divide is a bold call to understand Jesus according to the earliest lineage of Christian Mystics–a call to transform our dualistic minds and heal a divided Church. This book is a must-read if you find yourself –frustrated by the fundamentalist and new age polarization of twenty-first-century Christianity; –bewildered by religious pluralism; –searching for Christianity's elusive mystic core. Twenty-first ...
