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The plot thickens--in novels and our lives--forcing us from the fairy tale into a bewildering, even heartbreaking narrative. We look at the god we're holding, and find it too fragile, too brittle to meet reality. Cling tighter? Move on godless? In fact, rejecting a god image (or as C. S. Lewis puts it, allowing God to smash our limited god) opens space for deeper faith in the midst of painful life experience. In OMG, Mary Ellen Ashcroft invites readers to look over her shoulder as she traces her god growth, beginning with a capricious childhood god. The loving savior who embraced her when she was eighteen, followed her into strict fundamentalism, while the god she met in an Anglican seminary shocked her by caring more about poverty than a seven-day creation, but then called her to a South Africa tipping toward revolution. An interweaving of narrative theology and creative nonfiction, OMG invites readers to grow into deeper faith, retelling their stories in the light of the biblical one, dropping inadequate gods to grasp a mysterious, awesome one.

Luther was fundamentally a preacher-pastor, ""a care-taker of souls,"" whose ingenuity lies in his usage of the biblical message as a source of pastoral encouragement. This book seeks to capture the often-overlooked pastoral side of the Reformer through an examination of his sermons on John's gospel.The sermons on John show the intrinsic, close, and causal link between doctrine and consolation. They are an exercise of his vocation as a pastor, or more precisely, as a theologian of the cross who seeks to inculcate the good news of justification by faith in his people, leading them to experience it within the dialectic of law and gospel. St. John, said Luther, ""is the master in the article of justification."" Luther's theological method, namely, his theology of the cross, permeates and governs the exposition of the text, and all major themes of his theology-- Christology, Trinity, and soteriology--appear in his exegesis of John.

Empowering English Language Learners showcases strategies of those who teach English as a second language in pre-schools, graduate schools, secular public schools, and private Christian schools. What makes this book unique is the way each teacher evaluates teaching strategy through personal experience. This book explains what works and what doesn't.With additional contributions from:Dean BorgmanJulia DavisJean DimockCherry GortonSeong ParkOlga SolerVirginia D. WardGemma Wenger

Several years before his death, Augustine of Hippo reviewed his published works, commenting on his purpose in writing each, and correcting, from his present perspective, the mistakes he noticed. Inspired by Augustine's Retractationes, Miles's Recollections and Reconsiderations undertakes a similar project, a critical review of almost fifty years of her publications. Rereading and rethinking in chronological order effectively bonds life and thought into a corpus, a body of work with consistent values and interests. Such a review would be an illuminating project for any longtime scholar/student--both rewarding and humbling, an exercise in self-knowledge. Informed by a lifetime of studying Christian traditions, Miles concludes by describing both endemic problems with Christianity, and what she sees is its essence and beauty.

The Torah was recognized as a unit before the separation between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. This book challenges established biblical scholarship derived from two assumptions of the Wellhausen Fallacy: a) Deuteronomy could not have been written before the time of Josiah (650 BCE); b) The existence of a group of redactors in the fifth century BCE or later. The first premise is based on the mistranslation of the biblical text. The second is based on the unlikely assumption that the scribes of the Second Temple era felt free to edit old documents or to ascribe their own writings to Mosaic times. The Samarian version of the Pentateuch is virtually identical to the traditional (Masoretic) text. It is preposterous to assume that the Samarians would accept a fictitious Torah composed by Judean exiles of the Persian period or later as authoritative. Neither Samarians nor Judeans copied the Pentateuch from each other. The biblical text and the Samarian texts are merely different editions of the same document.

A motion picture chronicling the last adventures of bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), Public Enemies was met with much bafflement upon its 2009 release. Director Michael Mann's terse storytelling and unorthodox use of high-definition digital cameras challenged viewers' familiarity with Hollywood's historical gangland elegance while highlighting Public Enemies' own place in a medium--and culture--undergoing sweeping technological change. In Off the Map, Niles Schwartz immerses us in Mann's representation of Dillinger, a subject increasingly aware of his own role as a romanticized frontier folk hero, in flight from an enveloping bureaucratic system. The cultural issues of Dillinger's 1930s anticipate the 21st century watershed moment for the moving image, as our relationship with the pictures surrounding us increasingly affects our own sense of identity, historical truth, and means of relating to each other. Mann's follow-up, the hacker thriller Blackhat (2015), reflects a world where Public Enemies' abstract surveillance state has since colonized the firmament of our everyday lives. Yet in this virtual labyrinth of surplus images, cinema may inwardly illuminate a transformative path for us. Off the Map places Mann's late works in deep focus, exploring our present relationship to cinema on a backdrop that swings from the blockbuster spectacle of Avatar to the curious intimacy of Moonrise Kingdom, ultimately suggesting the mysterious space between the viewer and the screen may yet become a sanctuary of deep spiritual reflection.

Why do so many feel so lonely today? Are our friendships in breakdown mode, or are they just changing? Why are we burdened with the creeping sense that our communities are falling apart? Sociologists report that in recent decades the number of Americans who have no one in whom to confide may have tripled. Likewise, church attendance, participation in local clubs and groups, even the number of times we invite one another over to supper are all in decline. Meanwhile, some of us have more ""friends"" than ever on social media. The question of friendship, its definition, virtue, and quality, is not a new one to the church or the culture in which Christianity was birthed. Greco-Roman ethicists were fascinated by the virtue of friendship. Taking a cue from Jesus, the New Testament authors transformed Greco-Roman friendship notions to express visions of Christian community that were spiritually fulfilling, sustainably flourishing, and socially just. This book traces the New Testament transformation of friendship in specific passages in Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Philippians, and James, and connects them to contemporary issues and cutting-edge experiments in Christian community. It is New Testament Theology for the twenty-first century.

The author of Acts is a wonderful catechist and pastoral leader, an exciting person who demonstrates a creative responsibility for the faith and approaches critical issues with insight. At a major turning point in the history of early Christianity, Luke interprets Jesus's message for new times and new conditions. Thus, he provides an example for present-day communities to follow in their constant efforts to be faithful while presenting Jesus's message in ways that are relevant to changing times and cultures. Acts is a wonderful book to read for any disciple but especially for anyone involved in the ongoing renewal of church life today.

In The End of Captivity?, Tripp York addresses how we talk about the good of other animals in light of a stark impossibility: their freedom from us. While all of us in the animal (and plant) kingdom are interdependent upon one another, humans are unique in that we are the only animals who keep other animals captive. We keep animals in zoos, sanctuaries, circuses, conservatories, aquariums, research facilities, slaughterhouses, and on our farms and in our homes. York asks what such forms of captivity say about us, and how animal captivity shapes what we imagine to be the purpose of other animals. What does the fact that elephants, tigers, and horses perform in circuses say about how we see the world? What does the reality of zoological parks say about the people who create, support, decry, protest, and patronize them? How important is wildlife conservation for the good of the earth? What does "who" we put on our plate say about how we understand the theological role of other animals? These are just a few questions York tackles as he weaves through the convoluted politics surrounding the captive animals in our midst.

Based on linguistic and thematic links in the narrative, The Turning Point in the Gospel of Mark argues that the twin pericopae of Peter's confession (8:27-38) and the Transfiguration (9:2-13) together function as the turning point of the Gospel and serve in a Janus-like manner enabling the reader to see the author's main focus: the identity of Jesus and the significance of that reality for his disciples. Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah faces backward toward the Prologue (1:1-13) and functions as a mid-course conclusion. The declaration by God on the mountain faces forward and foreshadows the end-course conclusion (14:61-62; 15:39; Son of God). Jesus, in response, teaches that the Son of Man must suffer and die before being raised from the dead (8:31). Christologically, the images of Messiah, Son of Man, and Son of God converge and present Jesus, the crucified, as king, ushering in the kingdom of God in power (9:1 acting as the key swivel between the twin pericopae). When one is confronted with this Jesus, though there remains something elusive about him and the kingdom of God in the narrative, the only wise decision (after calculating the costs, 8:34-38) is to follow.

The Practice of the Body of Christ begins a conversation between "apocalyptic" interpretations of the Apostle Paul and the contemporary revival in "virtue ethics." It argues that the human actor's place in Pauline theology has long been captive to theological concerns foreign to Paul and that we can discern in Paul a classical account of human action that Alasdair MacIntyre's work helps to recover. Such an account of agency helps ground an apocalyptic reading of Paul by recovering the centrality of the church and its day-to-day Christic practices, specifically, but not exclusively, the Eucharist. To demonstrate this Miller first offers a critique of some contemporary accounts of agency in Paul in light of MacIntyre's work. Three exegetical chapters then establish a "MacIntyrian" rereading of central parts of the letter to the Romans. A concluding chapter offers theological syntheses and prospects for future research.

Few people have any extensive knowledge of the life and witness of the Protestant churches in the former Portuguese colonies of southern Africa. Yet these communities of faith played a significant role in the liberation struggles that led to the independence of both Mozambique and Angola and subsequently to the independence of Zimbabwe and the ending of apartheid in South Africa. In Mozambique, Eduardo Mondlane emerged from the Swiss Mission to become the first president of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO). This book examines Mondlane's role in challenging the churches both in Mozambique and globally to support the struggle for independence through a renewed understanding of the missio Dei, God's liberating mission in the world. Mondlane maintained a strong connection with the World Council of Churches and was a key player in bringing about its Programme to Combat Racism after the 1968 Assembly in Uppsala before his assassination in 1969. This connection was to have important implications for the WCC's complex relationship with Mozambique and its Protestant churches following independence.

Teaching preaching, like preaching itself, is a noble endeavor. After nearly four decades of teaching, Richard Lischer has sent legions of preachers across the world to preach gospel. This volume pays tribute to his faith-filled life of preaching and teaching. The contributors, some of whom were taught by Lischer, have received many laurels themselves, so readers will find in these pages wisdom for preaching from many quarters. Some authors include sermons with helpful commentary about the preaching exercise; some offer essays to illuminate the task of sermon writing; all acknowledge the influence of Richard Lischer on their preaching and teaching endeavors.

Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http: //thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Contributing Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

They were seeking religious freedom and the Second Coming of Christ in Central Asia. They found themselves in the care of a Muslim king. During the 1880s, Mennonites from Russia made a treacherous journey to the Silk Road kingdom of Khiva. Both Uzbek and Mennonite history seemed to set the stage for ongoing religious and ethnic discord. Yet their story became an example of friendship and cooperation between Muslims and Christians.Pilgrims on the Silk Road challenges conventional wisdom about the trek to Central Asia and the settlement of Ak Metchet. It shows how the story, long associated with failed End Times prophecies, is being a recast in light of new evidence. Pilgrims highlights the role of Ak Metchet as a refuge for those fleeing Soviet oppression, and the continuing influence of the episode more than twelve decades later.

La buena noticia (euangelion) del Mesias crucificado y resucitado fue proclamada primero a los judios en Jerusalen y luego a los de toda la tierra de Israel. En Jerusalen crucificada, Jerusalen resucitada, Mark Kinzer sostiene que este publico inicial y el entorno geografico del euangelion son inseparables de su contenido escatologico. Aunque la buena noticia es universal en su preocupacion y cosmica en su alcance, nunca pierde su conexion particular con el pueblo judio, la ciudad de Jerusalen y la tierra de Israel. El Mesias crucificado participa en el futuro sufrimiento de su pueblo en el exilio y, con su resurreccion, ofrece una garantia de la redencion proxima de Jerusalen. Basandose en una lectura del Evangelio de Lucas y Hechos de los Apostoles, Kinzer propone que el mensaje biblico requiere de sus interpretes que reflexionen teologicamente sobre los hechos de la historia posbiblica. Considera asi la aparicion temprana del judaismo rabinico y los fenomenos, mucho mas tardios, del sionismo y el judaismo mesianico, ofreciendo sobre estos acontecimientos historicos una perspectiva teologica arraigada en la Biblia, atenta a las tradiciones judeocristianas y moderada en las restricciones teologicas que impone a la resolucion justa del conflicto politico de Oriente Medio.

The late Second Temple period in Judaism and the early Christian era witnessed the rise of apocalyptic literature, its zenith being the New Testament book of Revelation. Among its prominent features are the disparity between this world and the next, a vision of God as coming judge at history's culmination, and the call to perseverance during times of adversity. Bazyn's poems are introduced by an elaborate fantasy of what heaven might be like, citing a number of Christian writers throughout the centuries as well as sources from other world religions. Then you'll encounter verse on the macabre dance of death; Orwellian tremors of totalitarianism; premonitions of madness; visits from an alien world; a house of the Lord utterly destroyed; lingering ambivalence regarding a loving, but holy, God; a triumphant baaing lamb; the cavortings of a holy fool; a final gaze at earthly life from eternity's shore; believers undergoing continuous divinization.Bright 35mm color slides deepen the surreal atmosphere, enabling you to feel the thin boundary between the ephemeral and eternal. Qualms of conscience and mortality take center stage as the entire book turns into a searching exercise for the reader's spiritual formation.

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.

Description:How do we undergird Christian enthusiasm with Christian substance? Brief Christian Histories combines biblical and ecclesial history in a single volume, taking readers through 4000 years of our religion''s history using four themes of interest: WHO has led us? HOW have we been guided ethically?WHAT have been our faith practices and pieties?WHERE have we interacted with culture, and to what effect? Reading any one chapter will give readers a feel for the Christian narrative as a whole. Reading two or more narratives will broaden readers'' understanding of where we have come from--all to help understand this big religion of ours, deepen ourselves in it, and keep our faith fresh and moving forward. We move for God''s New Order (basileia)--about which Jesus taught, for which he taught us to pray, and into which he invites our enthusiastic, substantive sojourning.