Bøger udgivet af Sopher Press

During the fifth century BCE, the Persian Empire ruled Jerusalem and the province of Yehud. In these years, the Jerusalem priesthood constructed a rhetoric about divorce in Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah 10 and 13. Herbert Robinson Marbury shows that these priests deliberately presented vastly different messages to the Persian imperial authorities and the community of the Second Temple. At political, cultic, and economic levels, the rhetoric's meanings both affirmed the empire and participated in countercultural resistance. Marbury explains how the divorce rhetoric of Ezra-Nehemiah forms counter-narratives of resistance for literate elites as they maintain the religious and cultural integrity of the Second Temple community.

What is the current state of Asian American theology? Fumitaka Matsuoka's lifetime work has circled around this question. In numerous books and throughout his leadership, he has offered an answer that he encapsulates here: "Theology is uniquely accountable to the past and to the future, not simply to the present. Theology encompasses both memory and hope. The creation of a larger memory is at the same time our pursuit of hope, or for Christians, our faith in and living out the signals of the promised humanity that was revealed in the Christ event. Theological construction is about learning that molds a lifetime, learning that transmits the heritage of millennia, learning that shapes the future in light of this promise. Asian North American theological communities are stewards of this living tradition where learning and knowledge are pursued because they define what has over centuries made the faithful pursue a larger memory of who we are as human." In honor of Fumitaka Matsuoka, this book is visionary in its direction and audacious in its moves. It aims not only to take account of the accomplishments and continuing struggles of Asian North Americans but also articulates strategic and creative responses to new challenges. Because the sociopolitical-religious space that Asian North Americans navigate is wide, involving multiple forms of negotiation and subject-agents and demanding interfaith and interdisciplinary approaches, this book addresses a wide range of topics: contextualization, empire and geopolitics, diaspora and racial minority formation, sexuality, class, gender, Asian North American theologies, postcolonialism, biblical studies, mission and ministry, pedagogy, interfaith relations, transnationalism, and more. In the spirit of companionship and dialogue, this book also has a section devoted to African American, Latino/a, and Native American voices. Contributors include Patrick S. Cheng, Miguel A. De La Torre, Eleazar S. Fernandez, Wonhee Anne Joh, David Kyuman Kim, Nami Kim, Kwok Pui-lan, Boyung Lee, James Kyung-Jin Lee, Fumitaka Matsuoka, Anthony B. Pinn, Lester Edwin J. Ruiz, J. Jayakiran Sebastian, Jonathan Y. Tan, Sharon Tan, James Treat, and Amos Yong.

We have here nothing less than a theology of life-life in the intensity of its postcolonial ecology, rippling through the creaturely interconnections of our planetary process, yet at the same time grounded in the beautiful local metaphors of an Asian counter-history. Jea Sophia Oh's luminous book is a must-read for all who care about the global socio-ecology, about process theology, about eco-femnism, about comparative theology-singly and together. -Catherine Keller, author of On the Mystery and Face of the Deep This exciting book begs classification as a second-generation exercise in postcolonial theology. It exceeds first-generation exercises in the sheer audacity of its eclecticism. Postcolonial theology fuses with ecotheology, and that amalgam combines in turn with comparative theology, transnational feminism, and contextual theology. It's enough to make one believe that theology may have a future after all in the twenty-first century. -Stephen D. Moore, author of Empire and Apocalypse and co-editor of Postcolonial Biblical Criticism and Planetary Loves: Spivak, Postcoloniality, and Theology Jea Sophia Oh promises and delivers a book on a multifaceted ethics that is a timely addition to the genre because it opens a scholarly space for rethinking an appropriate relationship among all living things. She bridges postcolonialism and ecotheology with the use of Salim as the philosophical underpinning for the argument that all forms of life are equal and divine. As we look at the physical and spiritual suffering and degradation caused by oppression of those that we deem to be subaltern, we say a resounding YES ! to the message of Hanul -becoming together. There is a poetic quality to the book which, like all poetry must be read carefully and thoughtfully. The reader will find that it is well worth the effort. -Melodie M. Toby, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Kean University This book is a great introduction to eco-religious becoming and a great work of comparative theology in the context of Korean religious life. It will definitely introduce many readers to such concepts/terms as Donghak, salim, bab, hanul, and teum, which are not only contextually relevant for Korean theology but conceptually heavy-lifting in terms of "postcolonial eco-theology." Such a post-colonial hybrid ecotheology calls out for what the author describes as an ecocracy in place of the andro/anthropocentric notion of democracy and "globalization as usual." -Whitney A. Bauman, author of Theology, Creation, and Environmental Ethics: From Creatio ex Nihilo to Terra Nullius

Christian mission is much more than a sermon from the church addressed to the world. This book shows that mission must recognize that God is present in the world, calling all of God's people to witness to and participate in God's reconciliation, healing, and transformation of all parts of life. This is holistic mission for a postmodern world. Postcolonial Mission includes chapters from Steve de Gruchy, Roderick Hewitt, Paul Isaak, Namsoon Kang, Jooseop Keum, Sam Kobia, Marjorie Lewis, Rogate Mshana, Sarojini Nadar, Isabel Apawo Phiri, and Des van der Water.