LITMIR.BIZ

Hedrick contends that parables do not teach moral and religious lessons; they are not, in whole or part, theological figures for the church. Rather, parables are realistic narrative fictions that like all effective fiction literature are designed to draw readers into story worlds where they make discoveries about themselves by finding their ideas challenged and subverted–or affirmed. The parables have endings but not final resolutions, because the endings raise new complications for careful readers, which require further resolution. The narrative contexts and interpretations supplied by the evangelists constitute an attempt by the early church to bring the secular narratives of Jesus under the control of the church's later religious perspectives. Each narrative represents a fragment of Jesus's secular vision of reality. Finding himself outside the mainstream of parables scholarship, both ecclesiastical and critical, Hedrick explored a literary approach to the parables in a series of essays that, among other things, set out the basic rationale for a literary approach to the parables of Jesus. These early essays form the central section of the book. They are published here in edited form along with unpublished critiques of a thoroughgoing literary approach and his response.

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There are three main positions that people adopt within the abortion debate: pro-life, muddled middle, and pro-choice. Jesus v. Abortion critiques the pro-choice and muddled middle positions, employing several unusual angles:
(1) The question «What would Jesus say about abortion if he were here today?» is given very substantial treatment.
(2) The abortion debate is usually conducted using moral and metaphysical arguments; this book adds in anthropological insights regarding the function of violence in human culture.
(3) Rights language is employed by both sides of the debate, to opposite ends; this book leads the reader to ask deep questions about the concept of «rights.»
(4) The use of historical analogies in the abortion debate goes both directions, in the sense that both sides accuse the other of being similar to the defenders of slavery; this book contains what is probably the most sophisticated and sustained analysis of the meaning and legitimacy of such analogies.
(5) Many important thinkers are brought into this conversation, such as Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, Julien Benda, Simone Weil, Kenneth Burke, Richard Weaver, Rene Girard, Philip Rieff, Giorgio Agamben, Chantal Delsol, Paul Kahn, and David Bentley Hart.

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This anthology of sermons is compiled from a sixty-year practice of preaching. Reuben Swanson's "prophetic poetic prose, as it has been called, has developed through the faithful discipline of preparing written sermons. Readers will travel through the Christian year surprised and blessed by sermons from Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and Pentecost.

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The Living Legacy is a resource for spiritual formation that involves original Christian poetry, theological analysis, and spiritual formation exercises following the lectio divina. Following the seasons of the Church Year, Witherington and Hare provide a guide to help those of us on spiritual journeys as we seek to explore 'the living legacy,' which is our faith in the biblical God.

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One Lord, One Faith is a plea and plan to re-envision the Church as a broad, cross-denominational community with a shared faith in the Christ of the Gospel. It both affirms the place and inevitability of individual denominational traditions, and also provides a grid from which to distinguish those denominational traditions from the core of historical orthodoxy shared by the entire Christian community. The book seeks to distinguish denominationalism from sectarianism, and identifies sectarianism as the true enemy of historic catholicity.

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The Image of GOD we have in our soul has the potential of enhancing our life. This happens when the image of GOD is one of goodness, justice, and encouragement. The opposite is also true. A GOD image can be destructive, inflict guilt, cause insecurity, and foster condemnation of self and others. In a refreshing and life-giving way the two authors, Rosemarie Kohn and Susanne Sonderbo, present a slideshow of insights: Kohn as the Biblical theologian, Sonderbo using developmental psychology. They address how a «Toxic Faith» can poison and writhe a person's life into absolutism. This happens, they note, when one image of GOD becomes dominant and exclusive of all other images. A section of the book is devoted to an analysis of the homosexuality debate inside and outside the Norwegian church. Using over 1400 letters from the «Sunde Case» in 1999 they uncover a variety of GOD images: rigid and judgmental, warm and comforting, some based on Scripture and others on a broad range of human experiences hoping in a gentle and loving GOD. Kohn and Sonderbo have through their work met many people with a GOD image causing much hurt and pain. It is the authors' hope that the book will be a helpful tool in reflection on and perhaps reconstruction of the GOD image to which the reader has grown accustomed. They advocate lifelong growth in faith. The book also provides pastors and therapists with a key to understanding. Both authors plead a case for images of GOD that focus on inclusivity, love, and friendship–offering inner strength and hopeful living. They also make a strong case for how our image of GOD is not so much about theology but rather about growth and development in our personal lives. How we imagine GOD says a great deal about how we look at ourselves and others.

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The New Testament opens with four Gospel accounts that introduce the reader to Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, the redemptive drama moves toward the cross. The final week of Jesus's life, Passion Week, takes up nearly 40 percent of the entire narrative. The canonical Gospels provide four different perspectives on the life of Jesus. He is portrayed in this fourfold account as King and covenant keeper (Matthew), as obedient Son-servant (Mark), as the perfect Man among men (Luke), and as the eternal Son of God (John), the only person ever born whose central purpose in living is to die. The Gospels are Passion narratives with extended introductions. This is the governing principle of the present work as Jesus moves toward the culmination of his saving mission. From early adumbrations to deepening shadows to direct predictions and finally to the detailed narratives of Passion Week, the Gospels follow the Lord's inexorable journey to the cross. This synthetic study, which follows the life of Jesus in a chronological sequence while attempting to preserve the unique contribution of each of the four Gospel accounts, draws upon the long-established tradition of harmonies of the Gospels, dating back to Tatian's Diatessaron (AD 170). The ordering of the data follows, with minor rearrangements, The NIV Harmony of the Gospels edited by Robert L. Thomas and Stanley N. Gundry. In The Passion of the Servant, eighteen chapters with thirteen maps trace the geographical context of Jesus's ministry. Biblical quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) except where otherwise noted. The chronology adopted in this work, one that assumes a spring AD 30 date for the crucifixion, is appended, along with a brief bibliography of works that have been particularly helpful to the author. The front cover is a portrait of the risen Lord instructing the two disciples near Emmaus that the events surrounding his death and resurrection fulfilled the sacred prophecies of the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27).

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This second volume of sermons, appearing after Believing, is organized according to Davies's journey in time and space and his first-hand experience of the troubled world on three continents: Word War II in England and Germany, race relations in South Africa, and the need for Human Rights in America. In addition to history, literature, psychology, and lore, the sermons mainly use argumentation to console the heart and show the way to compassion and justice in the name of Christ.

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This study looks at the formation of theology as it emerges out of biography. Indeed, the biography of the theologian is the key to unlocking the meaning of his or her writings, and a valuable tool for a thorough investigation of their work. There will be a focus on the biography of Karl Barth and how this relates to his theological writings. Attention will then be turned on a group of North American theologians to analyze how Barth's theology has influenced their personal experiences and corresponding theologies.
The personal experience of the theologian provides the background to the theological judgments she or he makes, and therefore provides valuable insight into what she or he has written. Experiences in the theologian's life determine how she or he forms and communicates the ideas that the experiences have given rise to. Indeed, theologians profoundly connect with readers as they write theology as an expression of their experiences of faith. Therefore, this book contends that there is a necessary connection to be made between the theologian as a person and the theology that emerges out of her or his unique biography. Indeed, it will be argued that theology is born out of the lived encounters of the theologian that develop into the kind of personal convictions, passions, concerns, questions, and a motivation to connect with others that is evident in her or his writing. Consequently, theology and theologian are inseparable.

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In Unafraid, selections from nearly thirty years of timeless, straightforward sermons are grouped according to the church year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) beginning with Christmas 1939. Reconstructed from Harald Ibsen's sermon notes by his daughter Joy, each sermon is followed by a listener's story (some autobiographical, some fictional) showing the relationship of the message to that person's life. To experience «The Living Word» between pew and pulpit creates a heightened awareness of the critical dynamic between pastor and parishioner, teacher and student, author and reader. The Ibsen sermons and the stories serve as a spiritual dialogue addressing questions such as: What is the truth about our lives? What is the main task of parenting? How does one respond to evil? Why do we continue to engage in warfare? Did God want Jesus (and now us) to suffer? How do we know when the Holy Spirit is present? What is the downfall of official religion? Listeners' stories begin when the author, a «replacement child,» is in her mother's womb, and extend to church members confronting huge personal issues: career choices, marriage difficulties, child-rearing problems, addiction, financial crises, war, terminal illness, grief, pride, jealousy, regret, loss of faith, etc. Thoughtful, honest interpretation of Scripture as it relates to everyday life is essential if we are to live in a community, «unafraid,» enjoying «a simple life, a merry heart.» What could be richer? At a time when church membership is dwindling and ethnic identity alternately wanes and flourishes, Unafraid increases awareness of the significance of the Church in the lives of its members.

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