LITMIR.BIZ

This anthology addresses the topic of «fundamentalism and gender» from inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives. By referring to three major themes–"Literalism, Religion, and Science," «Nation, State, and Community,» and «Body, Life, and Biopolitics»–the book focuses on the analytical diversification of the term «fundamentalism» and on intersections between religion, gender, sexuality, race, and nation. International scholars in cultural history and theory, religious studies, Christian theologies, Islamic studies, history, social sciences, anthropology, comparative literature, and women and gender studies examine the historical and current specifics of religious as well as of secular forms of fundamentalism. They also take a critical look at the Western discourse about religious fundamentalism and the ambivalent role feminism plays in this context, considering questions such as, Why do all religious fundamentalisms claim normalizing definitions of sexuality, gender roles, and intergender relations? In what way do gender and sexual politics play a role in secular criticism of religious fundamentalism? And how are forms of secular fundamentalism characterized by gender constructs and sexual politics?

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In this work Dr. Brand seeks to contribute a unique complementarian expression of Reformed spirituality, in order to stimulate a spiritual renewal in the contemporary Reformed tradition. Using a distinctively feminine approach, in a theological arena largely monopolized by male theologians, the author anchors corporate and personal spirituality upon the unio mystica, so returning to a Calvinistic appreciation of the Christian life.
Grounding Reformed spirituality on the «marital union» between Christ and the church, a corporate portrait of the church is explored. Critical of the neglect of women in Reformed church life and practice, the author calls the tradition to reform; proposing an intentional complementarian use of women that can practically and spiritually profit the whole church body. The book culminates with an initial tracing of a «Reformed feminine spirituality» which is pastorally relevant to women, as well as encouraging a renewed experiential enjoyment of Christ for both men and women.

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In recent philosophy, theology, and critical theory, postmodern thought has been much criticized on specifically ethical and political grounds. In particular, it has been argued that postmodernism has induced passivity and is impotent in the face of the challenges presented by the hegemonic global market. In response numerous thinkers have called for the «return of the metanarrative» or have insisted on the necessity of the domain of the «universal.» In this book, Gavin Hyman accepts the diagnosis, while contesting the cure. Through detailed engagements with the work of Alain Badiou, Slavoj Žižek, and John Milbank–as well as discussions of the work of Simon Critchley, Michael Hardt, and Antonio Negri–Hyman argues that many contemporary thinkers merely invert the problems intrinsic to postmodernism and therefore do not effectively escape them. He argues that the ethical and political are best preserved and perpetuated through the negotiating of an ongoing tension between the domains of the universal, the particular, and the singular. To proceed thus would be to traverse the terrain of the middle–ethically, politically, and religiously.

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Servantship is essentially about following our Lord Jesus Christ, the servant Lord, and his mission–it is a life of discipleship to him, patterned after his self-emptying, humility, sacrifice, love, values, and mission. Servantship is humbly valuing others more than yourself, and looking out for the interests and wellbeing of others. Servantship is the cultivation of the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: making yourself nothing, being a servant, humbling yourself, and submitting yourself to the will and purposes of the triune God. Since servantship is the imitation of Christ, it involves an unreserved participation in the missio Dei–the Trinitarian mission of God.
In this pioneering work, sixteen servants describe the four movements of radical servantship. Servantship is the movement 1.from leadership to radical servantship; 2.from shallowness to dynamic theological reflection; 3.from theories to courageous practices; and 4.from forgetfulness to transforming memory.
Servantship recognizes, in word, thought, and deed, that «whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.»

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This book explores how Christian spirituality and the political ethic of Christianity's founder, Jesus of Nazareth, might contribute to the most looming emergency of our day–ending human misery while reducing the planet's woes. It advances the new ethical paradigm of sustainability that bespeaks the longings of this remarkable Jewish peasant who elbowed his way into a world filled with social misery, shame, and land exploitation. Donning the mantle of a prophet/lawgiver, he disgraced the justifying ethic of the prevailing Roman oligarchies that finds its active counterpart in today's political landscape. He offered a different political path–a Progressive one–that led to respecting Creation and all its inhabitants. Jesus helps us to cherish humane values and he urges us all–Democrats and Republicans, Independents and Greens, religious and nonreligious–to be united in fulfilling them. Jesus Goes to Washington celebrates the international Earth Charter, the most significant moral document of our generation. Given the urgency of world calamity, the charter implores us to muster every spiritual force at our disposal for immediate action. Being history's most influential moral authority, Jesus provides the needed impetus for achieving a just and sustainable global society.

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What does theology have to do with sociology? Do the social sciences in general provide helpful assistance to theologians? Does theology have anything to contribute to social theory?
This compendium of essays attempts to address such questions. In so doing, it confronts assumptions about how academic disciplines are best articulated, whether within their own airtight frames or in dialogue with one another. The essays in the first half of the book accomplish this from historical and methodological perspectives, while the remaining essays present case studies or constructive proposals for how theology might engage the social sciences in productive ways.
For those particularly interested in the ongoing development of theologies of liberation, this book will be timely. The essays, reflecting a definite international flavor, are written in honor of Lee Cormie, a long-standing advocate of what he calls the «new voices» in theology that have irrupted in the wake of Vatican II. Cormie has spent over three decades teaching theologies of liberation at the Toronto School of Theology on the campus of the University of Toronto. This book continues the many conversations that his teaching has provoked.

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The idea that covenant theology is profoundly influential in John Wesley's theological thought sounds dissonant. What would an evangelical Arminian have to do with a theological framework that historically belongs to a Reformed understanding of salvation? How could this possibly square with his ongoing controversy with the Calvinism of his day? On the basis of compelling evidence from his sermons and correspondence, this investigation dares to push through the impulse to dismiss the idea that covenant theology belongs to the infrastructure of Wesley's thought. The resulting discovery of its role in shaping his narrative of the way of salvation is surprising and intriguing. Wesley is not only informed and fluent with respect to covenant theology, but thoroughly committed to it. This study demonstrates that, with theological precision and discernment, Wesley appropriates covenant theology in a way that is consistent both with its primary theological features and with his Arminianism. His distinctive view of «the gradual process of the work of God in the soul» supplies valuable grist for further reflection, especially by those charged with the care of souls in the twenty-first century

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This collection of forty-eight sermons, most of which have not been previously published, discloses the integration of vocation and imagination in the work of one of the greatest of Free Church theologians, P. T. Forsyth. At a time of fragmentation, when theological study has become too much removed from the task of the preacher, Forsyth's work can remind us of the invigorating power of Christian doctrine interpreted and expounded in situations of pastoral and political exigency. Its capacity for the renewal of the church is evident again from this rich and timely anthology, compiled and introduced by Jason Goroncy.

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Edwin Hatch provided a colorful portrait of the religious world to which Justin Martyr belonged: «The main subject-matter of . . . literary education [amongst the pagans] was the poets. . . . They were read as we read the Bible. They were committed to memory. The minds of men were saturated with them. A quotation from Homer or from a tragic poet was apposite on all occasions and in every kind of society» (The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity, 1957). So when some of these pagans converted to Christianity in Justin's day, is it reasonable to assume that they simply «forgot» these mythical narratives in which they had been reared from childhood? Re-appropriating «Marvelous Fables» sets out to argue that this was hardly the case. Rather, Justin in 1 Apology can be seen taking full advantage of this mythical framework that still loomed large in the minds of fledgling Christian believers and students in his care–masterfully re-appropriating this popular form of religious discourse for the purpose of solidifying their newfound faith.

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This book criticizes three basic concepts in Reinhold Niebuhr's social thought: his views of human nature, interest, and power. Attention is directed especially at the way Niebuhr's concepts lack sufficient historicity, obscure social and political dynamics, and, finally, lack adequate descriptive power. An alternative to each of these concepts is offered and used as a way to open up social thought to more complex analysis, more concrete and material uses, and a discussion of implications for alternative direction and action.

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