Bøger udgivet af William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

"A nonpartisan case for the importance of religious liberty in US society"--

"A fascinating history of dispensationalism and its influence on popular culture, politics, and religion In The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism, Daniel G. Hummel illuminates how dispensationalism, despite often being dismissed as a fringe apocalyptic movement, shaped Anglo-American evangelicalism and the larger American cultural imagination. Hummel locates dispensationalism's origin in the writings of the nineteenth-century Protestant John Nelson Darby, who established many of the hallmarks of the theology, such as premillennialism and belief in the rapture. Though it consistently faced criticism, dispensationalism held populist, and briefly scholarly, appeal-visible in everything from turn-of-the-century revivalism to apocalyptic bestsellers of the 1970s to current internet conspiracy theories. Measured and irenic, Hummel objectively evaluates evangelicalism's most resilient (and contentious) popular theology. As the first comprehensive intellectual-cultural history of its kind, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism is a must-read for students and scholars of American religion"--

The Landscape of literary theory during the last four decades has been a chaotic and rapidly changing scene, with many rival voices clamoring for attention. Recognizing that there is a disturbing dearth of Christian literary theory, Clarence Walhout and Leland Ryken have compiled this volume of essays in order to explain several predominantly secular theories and assess them from a Christian perspective.

A compelling novel-in-verse about mental illness, family relationships, and the power of art. -YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee -NYPL Best Book -Bank Street Best Books -Paterson Prize Honor Book > In 1960s Oregon, fifteen-year-old Laura just wants a quiet, regular life: drawing in her sketchbook, hanging out with her best friend, maybe going on a date with Dennis from school. But Laura has a secret--her mother is mentally ill. When Mother has a breakdown while painting, Laura's confusion and anger start to build. What if art can't keep her safe from becoming like her mother? What if Laura's life will never be close to normal? Stirring and eloquent, Crazy follows Laura as she navigates fears about her mother's--and her own--mental health. This new tenth anniversary edition includes discussion questions, recommended resources for teens, and an interview with author Linda Vigen Philips.

A theologically and scientifically engaged exploration of modern mental health care The current model of mental health care doesn't see people: it sees sets of symptoms that need fixing. While modern psychiatry has improved many patients' quality of life, it falls short in addressing their relational and spiritual needs. As a theologian and practicing psychiatrist, Warren Kinghorn shares a Christian vision of accompanying those facing mental health challenges. Kinghorn reviews the successes and limitations of modern mental health care before offering an alternative paradigm of healing. Based in the theology of Thomas Aquinas, this model of personhood affirms four truths: We are known and loved by God. We are creatures made of earth who are formed in community. We are wayfarers on a journey. We are called not to control, but to wonder, love, praise, and rest. Drawing on theological wisdom and scientific evidence, Kinghorn reframes our understanding of mental health care from fixing machines to attending fellow wayfarers on the way to the Lord's feast. With gentle guidance and practical suggestions, Wayfaring is an essential resource for pastors and practitioners as well as for Christians who seek mental health care.

Where do Christians fit in a two-party political system? The partisan divide that is rending the nation is now tearing apart American churches. On one side are Christian Right activists and other conservatives who believe that a vote for a Democratic presidential candidate is a vote for abortion, sexual immorality, gender confusion, and the loss of religious liberty for Christians. On the other side are politically progressive Christians who are considering leaving the institutional church because of white evangelicalism's alliance with a Republican Party that they believe is racist, hateful toward immigrants, scornful of the poor, and directly opposed to the principles that Jesus taught. Even while sharing the same pew, these two sides often see the views of the other as hopelessly wrongheaded--even evil. Is there a way to transcend this deep-seated division? The Politics of the Cross draws on history, policy analysis, and biblically grounded theology to show how Christians can protect the unborn, advocate for traditional marriage, promote racial justice, care for the poor, and, above all, honor the gospel by adopting a cross-centered ethic instead of the idolatrous politics of power, fear, or partisanship. As Daniel K. Williams illustrates, both the Republican and Democratic parties are rooted in Christian principles, but both have distorted those principles and mixed them with assumptions that are antithetical to biblical truth. Williams explains how Christians can renounce partisanship and pursue policies that show love for our neighbors to achieve a biblical vision of justice. Nuanced, detailed, and even-handed, The Politics of the Cross tackles the thorny issues that divide Christians politically and offers a path forward with innovative, biblically minded political approaches that might surprise Christians on both the left and the right.

Learn how restorative justice can offer healing to survivors of sexual abuse in your faith community Clara was five years old the first time she was raped by her father. The trauma stifled Clara's self-esteem, ability to trust others, and emotional regulation well into adulthood. But after an encounter with a repentant man who had committed the same crime against his own daughter--through a guided victim-offender dialogue--Clara was finally able to breathe. In Enough Silence, Cheryl Miller draws on more than two decades working with survivors of abuse to create the composite character of Clara. Her story represents countless real people in our faith communities living with a personal history of sexual trauma. Clara's story illustrates how restorative justice practices--implemented with care--can transform the lives of survivors. These practices include - holding offenders accountable, - lending direct voice to survivors, offenders, and members of the community, - taking into account all those with stakes in incidents of sexual abuse, - clarifying the organization's values, and - establishing a safe and structured environment for survivors. >Enough Silence issues a call to pastors, clergy, nonprofit professionals, and other leaders to dismantle patriarchal systems that perpetuate rape culture. By embracing restorative justice practices, faith communities can imitate Christ in ministering to survivors and those who love them.

"Two pastors share their experiences with serious illness-and their candid, darkly humorous prayers for making it through. Samantha Vincent-Alexander almost died from a septic leg infection. Elizabeth Felicetti underwent aggressive treatment for both breast and lung cancer in the space of a few months-and then the cancer came back. As Episcopal priests, they know well the typical prayers offered in times like these. But when you're seriously sick, you need more than psalms and sentimentality. You need to tell God how you really feel. With vulnerability and wry humor, Felicetti and Vincent-Alexander share the prayers they wish they had when they were ill: thanksgiving for one-size-fits-all hospital underwear, curses against Tylenol, frustrated appeals when well-wishers call you brave or inspiring. At once faithful and brutally honest, these prayers offer readers a more candid way of communicating with the God who understands human suffering with an incarnational intimacy. Talking to God when you're fighting serious illness can feel impossible. But God can bear our doubt, anger, anxiety, and grief. This unconventional prayerbook helps readers access a deeper relationship with God in raw times-and offers them a place of solidarity and spiritual rest"--

""If you see me at a party and I'm speaking, you need to come rescue the person I'm talking to, because they are not having a good time. Or better yet, I would like to invite you, the reader, into the corner with me to talk about the story I write over and over again: People are suffering." In her career as a journalist, Bekah McNeel has encountered (and written about) a lot of suffering. After all, the most polarizing topics in US politics all revolve around suffering. But when confronted with these stories of suffering, many people respond not with action, but by offering counterstories that justify their lack of compassion. This set Bekah wondering: Whose suffering do we try to alleviate? Whose do we ignore? And how should our faith guide how we approach these debates? In This Is Going to Hurt, Bekah analyzes the narratives surrounding six hot-button issues-immigration, COVID, abortion, critical race theory, gun violence, and climate change. For each topic, she exposes how "us versus them" thinking leads us to turn a blind eye to injustice. She also offers an alternative perspective on each issue, based on a sensitive reading of the gospel. Amid culture wars that goad us to take up arms, Bekah reminds us that Christ calls us to take up our cross. Humorous and insightful, This Is Going to Hurt offers a breath of fresh air for readers seeking a nuanced and authentically Christian mode of political engagement"--

"Scott Coley exposes the inner workings of the religious right's propaganda-and how Christians can resist it. Good evangelical Christians are Republican. It seems like it's always been this way. That means the propaganda is working. Scott Coley trains a critical eye on the fusion of evangelicalism and right-wing politics in Ministers of Propaganda. This timely volume unravels rhetoric and biblical prooftexting that support Christo-authoritarianism: an ideology that presses Christian theology into the service of authoritarian politics. Coley's historically informed argument unsettles evangelical orthodoxy on issues like creation science or female leadership-convictions not as unchanging as powerful religious leaders would have us believe. Coley explains that we buy into propaganda because of motivated reasoning, and when we are motivated by perceived self-interest, the Christian message is easily corrupted. But if we recover Jesus's commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, right-wing propaganda will lose its power. Any reader troubled by American evangelicals' embrace of racism, misogyny, and other unchristian views will find answers and hope in these pages. "--

Do you want to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at your institution, but you don't know where to start? In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a small Catholic secondary school erupted in controversy. Students and alumni took to social media to share stories of their own experiences with racism on campus. It was clear that the school's culture needed to change. Enter Sr. Colleen Mary Mallon, who joined the high school as the director of mission formation. Pursing grassroots institutional reform, Sr. Colleen found a new meaning of theological education. In this candid volume, Sr. Colleen reflects on the challenges of molding her Dominican school to embody its charism of veritas. This commitment to truth required her school and her Dominican sisters to recognize their complicity in white supremacy and to center the concerns of marginalized communities. Educating faculty, staff, administrators, and parents in Catholic Social Teaching equipped them to bring their actions--and the culture of the school--into alignment with their professed values. Sr. Colleen's story offers one example of how schools can implement antiracist and antibias reforms. With its wealth of practical insights and discussion questions, Inclusivity and Institutional Change will guide readers in effecting cultural change in their own institutions.

"Meet the real John the Baptist. For many, John the Baptist is a footnote in the gospels-Jesus's unkempt forerunner. But if we look closer, John emerges as a fascinating and influential religious leader in his own right. Esteemed New Testament scholar James F. McGrath turns his critical eye to overlooked details in Scripture and long-neglected sources to discover who John the Baptist really was. McGrath covers the well-known events of John's life, from his miraculous conception to his execution at the hands of Herod Antipas. Along the way, he introduces key context about John's social and religious world that fleshes out John's character. John becomes a rebel son of a priest. An innovator of ritual. A mentor of Jesus. McGrath also explores John's far-reaching impact on the history of religion. Aside from his influence on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, John is also revered by the Mandaeans, the last extant gnostic sect, who consider themselves John's faithful disciples. This fresh look at the life of John the Baptist will fascinate any reader interested in John, Jesus, and their dynamic world. "--

What difference does it make to identify Mark's gospel as an ancient biography?Reading the gospels as ancient biographies makes a profound difference to the way that we interpret them. Biography immortalizes the memory of the subject, creating a literary monument to the person's life and teaching. Yet it is also a bid to legitimize a specific view of that figure and to position an author and his audience as appropriate "gatekeepers" of that memory. Biography was well suited to the articulation of shared values and commitments, the formation of group identity, and the binding together of a past story, present concerns, and future hopes. Helen Bond argues that Mark's author used the genre of biography to extend the gospel from an earlier narrow focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus so that it included the way of life of its founding figure. Situating Jesus at the heart of a biography was a bold step in outlining a radical form of Christian discipleship patterned on the life - and death - of Jesus.

"Cutting-edge social science research into what young adults want out of a faith community Purpose and meaning, healing and growth, community and fellowship-these values have traditionally been found in church. Though they are leaving the pews in droves, young adults are still seeking these spiritual benefits. How can churches entice them to return? Jeffrey F. Keuss thinks that's the wrong question to ask. Instead, his multigenerational team of scholars investigated how faith communities can make themselves more hospitable to the next generation of Christians. Backed by five years of qualitative and quantitative research, the Pivot NW research team offers practical recommendations for involving young adults in the community, including: loosening demands for church membership involving young adults in leadership earlier addressing the economic difficulties of millennials understanding religious trauma Defiant Hope, Active Love encourages church leaders to let go of nostalgia for old ecclesiological norms and embrace something new, inclusive, and authentic. With thorough research and incisive analysis, this groundbreaking book contains a wealth of resources to promote the health of faith communities"--

"The first volume of Michael Horton's magisterial intellectual history of "spiritual but not religious" as a phenomenon in Western culture. Discussions of the rapidly increasing number of people identifying as "spiritual but not religious" tend to focus on the past century. But the SBNR phenomenon and the values that underlie it may be older than Christianity itself. Michael Horton reveals that the hallmarks of modern spirituality-autonomy, individualism, utopianism, and more-have their foundations in Greek philosophical religion. Horton makes the case that the development of the shaman figure in the Axial Age-particularly its iteration among Orphists-represented a "divine self." One must realize the divinity within the self to break free from physicality and become one with a panentheistic unity. Time and time again, this tradition of divinity hiding in nature has arisen as an alternative to monotheistic submission to a god who intervenes in creation. This first volume traces the development of a utopian view of the human individual: a divine soul longing to break free from all limits of body, history, and the social and natural world. When the second and third volumes are complete, students and scholars will consult The Divine Self as the authoritative guide to the "spiritual but not religious" tendency as a recurring theme in Western culture from antiquity to the present. "--

"Are the miracle stories in the Bible actually true? Christians and skeptics alike may doubt the veracity of Jesus's miracles. Preachers often rely on a dry, literal interpretation of his healings and wonders, or else try to tame them and explain them away rationally. Both approaches, in their obsession with historical accuracy, miss the truth behind these stories. Frank G. Honeycutt draws out the deeper truths in the weird incidents in the Bible. In a warm, conversational style, Honeycutt reads iconic miracle stories-from the wedding at Cana to demonic exorcisms-to enrich the life of faith. Digging into these "unbelievable" stories can widen our spiritual imaginations and point to the promise of Christ's new world. Pastors seeking thoughtful resources and any inquisitive reader will find a wealth of pastoral insight and scriptural wisdom in Miracles for Skeptics"--

"The Letter to the Hebrews is one of the most enigmatic and distinctive documents in the New Testament. It is also an important window, along with the Gospels and the letters of Paul, into how the earliest Christians understood Jesus in light of the religious texts and practices of Israel. As such, it is a vital source for Christian life and thought today. In this volume Amy Peeler mines the riches of the Letter to the Hebrews for insight into Christian formation in today's world"--

"Rethinking politics in the light of God When we think about politics we often think about the privileged vying for power. Alternatively, we might think about gridlock, about frustration, or about how little our voices seem to matter. Our obsession with statecraft can both paralyze us and lead us to duplicate the tactics of this exasperating form of politics when we lead our church communities. Ross Kane has good news for us: church politics doesn't have to work this way! In fact, it can even become a spiritual practice. Drawing on his work as a pastor in the DC area, Kane shows how localized action by churches can make a real difference in their neighborhoods. Kane combines Scripture, political theology, and personal experience to reframe politics around shaping our common life. From community service to advocacy, congregations can practice politics in ways that embrace our loving interdependence as members of the body of Christ. Church leaders, whether lay or clerical, will find The Good News of Church Politics an uplifting guide to modeling God's reign in our world by loving our neighbors"--

"A balanced, accessible, and thorough history of Jingjiao, the first Christian church in China. Many people assume that the first introduction of Christianity to the Chinese was part of nineteenth-century Western imperialism. In fact, Syriac-speaking Christians brought the gospel along the Silk Road into China in the seventh century. Glen L. Thompson introduces readers to the fascinating history of this early Eastern church, referred to as Jingjiao, or the "Luminous Teaching." Thompson presents the history of the Persian church's mission to China with rigor and clarity. While Christianity remained a minority and "foreign" religion in the Middle Kingdom, it nonetheless attracted adherents among indigenous Chinese and received imperial approval during the Tang Dynasty. Though it was later suppressed alongside Buddhism, it resurfaced in China and Mongolia in the twelfth century. Thompson also discusses how the modern unearthing of Chinese Christian texts has stirred controversy over the meaning of Jingjiao to recent missionary efforts in China. In an accessible style, Thompson guides readers through primary sources as well as up-to-date scholarship. As the most recent and balanced survey on the topic available in English, Jingjiao will be an indispensable resource to students of global Christianity and missiology"--

"The autobiography of Catherine Meeks, describing her journey from the sharecropping fields of her father to the academy and beyond"--

"A collection of C. Kavin Rowe's essays on the purpose and practice of New Testament studies"--

The first critical biography of J. Gresham Machen, examining the full arc of his intellectual career J. Gresham Machen is known as a conservative hero of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. But was he always so staunchly antimodernist? In this sweeping new biography, Richard E. Burnett examines the whole of Machen's life and career--from his early years at Princeton, to his experience in the First World War, to his founding of Westminster Theological Seminary . Burnett pays special attention to topics that have received little attention from biographers, like Machen's crisis of faith and his support for historical criticism of Scripture. Incorporating all of Machen's major works as well as his previously unpublished private correspondence, Burnett crafts a nuanced narrative of Machen's intellectual journey from enthusiastic modernist to stalwart conservative. Nuanced and thorough, Machen's Hope will challenge scholars' assumptions about Machen and his dynamic era.

A comprehensive and orthodox guide to biblical origins and interpretation How did we get the Bible? How do we interpret it? And what does it mean for our lives today? Michael B. Shepherd introduces undergraduates and seminarians to these crucial questions in this reliable and thorough new textbook. Shepherd covers textual criticism, formation of the canon, and history of translation, all while remaining committed to Scripture's ultimate purpose--inviting us to salvation through Jesus Christ. Showing how the Bible directs its own interpretation, Shepherd encourages learners to listen to the Word of God, rather than twisting it to fit their own ends. His section-by-section treatment of the Bible encourages students to view the Bible as cohesive, while remaining sensitive to its diverse genres. Thorough and accessible, this textbook goes beyond typical historical introductions to spiritually form students learning to understand Scripture. An Introduction to the Making and Meaning of the Bible is the serious, evangelical introduction your students need and will reference for years to come.

Doug Meijer reveals the real challenges he's faced and the life lessons he learned along the way. Doug Meijer is best known as the cochairman of the superstore chain Meijer. In this candid memoir, he pulls back the curtain on his seemingly happy image to share his struggles with family, work, and health--and what they taught him about life. Within one week in November 2011, Doug's marriage ended, his father passed away, and he was diagnosed with cancer. Alongside these crises, he struggled with intensifying depression leading eventually to treatment at an in-patient program. As he has healed, he's come to realize some straightforward wisdom: There is no secret to survival. Ask for help. Practice gratitude. In addition to sharing the challenges he's faced, Doug also tells the story of how he left behind his athletic aspirations to follow in his father's footsteps. Through the family business, he found purpose and meaning through philanthropy. But Behind the Smile isn't about what it takes to succeed in business. It's about the problems that can affect any of us and how one man has persisted through them. With refreshing vulnerability and warmth, Doug extends a hand of empathy and a message of hope for healing and wholeness.

"A brief, accessible inquiry into the wideness of God's mercy in Reformed theology How broad is the scope of salvation? To explore this question, Richard J. Mouw draws on Scripture and a rich heritage of Calvinist theology. Mouw brings voices like the old Princeton theologians, Kuyper, and Bavinck into conversation with more recent voices such as David Engelsma on pertinent topics, including: The salvation of unbaptized infants God's wrath and love for sinners Problems with universalism The number of the elect Learned yet approachable, Mouw explains how Christians can affirm God's justice while holding hope for the wideness of his saving mercy. Congregations today face pressing questions about how to reconcile orthodoxy with empathy in increasingly pluralist neighborhoods and communities. For Reformed pastors, students, and interested laypeople, Divine Generosity serves as a biblically based, doctrinally sound guide. "--

"The 2021 Gifford Lectures by Oliver O'Donovan evaluate the state of ethics as a discipline and its relationship to theology"--

"Cait West's memoir shares her upbringing as a stay-at-home daughter and her eventual escape from Christian patriarchy"--

"Rick Ostrander narrates his extensive career in Christian higher education, reflecting on the transformations and future of the field"--

"An evangelical commentary on the book of Micah"--