LITMIR.BIZ

Christianity must be understood not as a religion of private salvation, but as a gospel movement of universal compassion, which transforms the world in the power of God's truth. Amid several major global crises, including the rise of terrorism and religious fundamentalism and a sudden resurgence of political extremism, Christians must now face up fearlessly to the challenges of living in a «post-truth» age in which deceitful politicians present their media-spun fabrications as «alternative facts.» This book is an attempt to enact a transformative theology for these changing times that will equip the global Christian community to take a stand for the gospel in an age of cultural despair and moral fragmentation. The emerging post-Christendom era calls for a new vision of Christianity that has come of age and connects with the spiritual crisis of our times. In helping to make this vision a reality, Searle insists that theology is not merely an academic discipline, but a transformative enterprise that changes the world. Theology is to be experienced not just behind a desk, in an armchair, or in a church, but also in hospitals, in foodbanks, in workplaces, and on the streets. Theology is to be lived as well as read.

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If living with a deep awareness of God in our lives is important, how do we do it without moving to a monastery? How do we discern and respond to God amidst the places, routines, and relationships of our everyday lives? In this book, we go in search of God's presence in homes and neighborhoods, supermarkets and sporting arenas, workplaces and weekends. Along the way we look for practices that can lead us more deeply into the way of Jesus: activities like cooking and laundry, walking and sleeping, shopping and conversation with friends. Throughout, we want to better understand how to make God a central part of our lives, and to hear Jesus' call to «follow me» more clearly in the world around us.

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This volume provides enough information about each story in the Gospel of Mark and about the gospel as a whole, in order to afford an informed understanding of the gospel. The evangelist was not writing a book for submission to a committee for inclusion in the Christian Bible. Rather, he was collecting existing oral and written tradition into a coherent narrative to promote, for his own Christian community, an understanding of the «good news» of Jesus the Messiah. The church to which the evangelist was writing, probably in Antioch of Syria, was likely already familiar with many of the stories from the church's evolving liturgy. Christians gathered in people's homes; there were no «churches» as we understand that word as a specific building for Christian worship. It was in such gatherings in homes that stories were told, perhaps as the basis for a message delivered by an elder of the church. Such stories illustrated some truth about Jesus or addressed an issue of importance to the church. In other words, these individual stories were developed to serve the needs of the Christian community. Historical accuracy was not a concern of the evangelist. Proclaiming Jesus as Messiah was his primary purpose.

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Using the method of intertextuality, Adrian Leske has traced the growth of the prophetic vision from Amos to the Exile, demonstrating how, after the Exile, the dominant influence on that vision down to the time of Jesus is the positive and new message of Deutero-Isaiah. With opposition from the Zadokite priesthood, and exploitation from foreign rulers, the prophetic and Levite communities find refuge in Upper Galilee and surrounding areas. Using the Gospel of Matthew, the most Jewish of the Gospels, Leske demonstrates how that vision impacted the teaching of Jesus to these communities and how he perceived his mission as the Servant/Son of man. Understanding this prophetic vision and the Jewish nature of Matthew's Gospel brings new insights to Matthean Christology, as well as the authorship and date of that Gospel in relation to the other Gospels.

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There is no more important topic for inquiry today than the meaning and message of Jesus, for in this quest lies the solution to human discontent and despair. Examining an array of titles for Jesus found in the New Testament, expressions ranging from rabbi and messiah to Wisdom of God, Word of God, and Lord, this study explores why Christology is not simply the study of Jesus Christ but also of the highest and best in us all.
Who is Jesus Christ, and what is his significance for today? Was he fully human, the perfect human, God in disguise, or somehow all of these simultaneously? The key is to begin where the first Christians began, with their experience of Jesus, and then to press forward with the development of that understanding in our experience of Christ.
While The Scandal of Divine Love is designed for Christian believers (survivors), it embraces skeptics and seekers alike, mindful that within each of us are multiple voices, sometimes affirming, sometimes questioning, occasionally even denying. Whether you consider yourself primarily as skeptic, seeker, or believer, this study encourages you to listen, appreciate, and cultivate each voice. This volume, ideal for individual and group study, will help you discover anew the magnificence of the life and person known to us as Jesus of Nazareth, as guide, exemplar, and Lord.

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This interdisciplinary study focuses upon two conflicts within early Christianity and demonstrates how these conflicts were radically transformed by the Greco-Roman rhetorical and compositional practice of mimesis–the primary means by which Greco-Roman students were taught to read, write, speak, and analyze literary works. The first conflict is the controversy surrounding Jesus's relationship with his family (his mother and brothers) and the closely related issue concerning his (alleged) illegitimate birth that is (arguably) evident in the gospel of Mark, and then the author of Matthew's and the author of Luke's recasting of this controversy via mimetic rhetorical and compositional strategies. I demonstrate that the author of our canonical Luke knew, vehemently disagreed with, used, and mimetically transformed Matthew's infancy narrative (Matt 1-2) in crafting his own. The second controversy is the author of Acts' imitative transformation of the Petrine/Pauline controversy–that, in Acts 7:58–15:30, the author knew, disagreed with, used, and mimetically transformed Gal 1-2 via compositional strategies similar to how he transformed Matthew's birth narrative, and recast the intense controversy between the two pillars of earliest Christianity, Peter and Paul, into a unity and harmony that, historically, never existed.

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FINALLY, a scholarly description of the development of Black preaching in the United States that is accessible to the average reader, but also contributes to the academic conversation about both style and theological content. Written from the perspective of a seasoned practitioner and tenured practical theologian, Thomas surveys Black preaching as it has responded to various social and historical time periods. Starting with the brutality of chattel slavery, early formations in segregated Southern life, rapid migration to and urbanization in Northern cities, and various events throughout the post-civil rights era, the book gives convincing details and examples of how the Black preacher helped to guide and sustain the masses of African American people through the wilderness of social change. At the heart of the book, three prime examples are presented as models of the real «genius» of Black preaching. The reader will never again think about Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson in the same way. A special chapter is devoted to the contributions of Black women preachers along with a closing chapter that makes new proposals for the future. The book is a provocative and critical analysis of why Black preaching still matters.

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Venus and Virtue are a match made in heaven. While popular culture often tends to think of Christianity as negative about sexuality and sexual pleasure, the fact is that Christians have the best of reasons to joyfully celebrate sex as a gift. Unfortunately, there is as much confusion about sex in Christian circles as there is in the culture at large. The authors of this book believe that this confusion can only be adequately addressed by drawing from the deep wells of biblical truth and traditional theology. The writers, however, are not only experts in biblical scholarship, theology, and philosophy, but also pastoral ministry, counseling, pop culture criticism, and women's issues. This book is not sexy in the typical sense of that word, but by situating sexuality within the cosmic drama of biblical revelation, the true beauty and goodness of sex most clearly emerges. And as that beauty emerges, we can begin to see why Christian morality not only makes profound sense, but also why it positively enriches the meaning of sex in ways that far outstrip the sexy secular alternative.

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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 book further argues that this awareness of the «in-betweenness» can be detected throughout Balthasar's theological corpus and provides a clue to interpret his thoughts on Christian discipleship and suffering. After all, the Christian existence is also characterized by the transition from the old aeon to the new, from suffering to victory. The Christian believes that their victory is already here and not here yet. In this sense, the Christian still lives in Holy Saturday. Eventually, we can deepen our understanding of Christian discipleship and suffering in the light of Holy Saturday. In short, we could patiently endure our Holy Saturday because of Christ's Holy Saturday in hell.

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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 experience is neither abstract nor gnostic–it is embodied and experientially relevant. An intellectualist soteriology simply cannot account for the dynamic and transforming possibilities of saving grace. Salvation in the Flesh offers an innovative perspective on the embodied nature of faith and the centrality of the Holy Spirit in the Christian doctrine of salvation. Drawing from the cognitive neurosciences and psychology, Trementozzi argues for a holistic awareness of cognition to better inform an embodied understanding of faith. In dialogue with the cognitive sciences, he appropriates Jonathan Edwards' theology of religious affections, early church practices, and pentecostal spirituality to highlight the soteriological significance of orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy for a renewal soteriology of embodiment. In doing so, Trementozzi offers a vision of salvation that more thoroughly accounts for the multifarious ways God's saving grace interacts with human flesh and blood.

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