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Too often the negative characterization of "others" in the biblical text is applied to groups and persons beyond the text whom we wish to define as the Other. Otherness is a synthetic and political social construct that allows us to create and maintain boundaries between "them" and "us." The other that is too similar to us is most problematic. This book demonstrates how proximate characters are constructed as the Other in the Acts of the Apostles. Charismatics, Jews, and women are proximate others who are constructed as the external and internal Other.

Martin Luther and Buddhism: Aesthetics of Suffering carefully traces the historical and theological context of Luther''s breakthrough in terms of articulating justification and justice in connection to the Word of God and divine suffering. Chung critically and constructively engages in dialogue with Luther and with later interpreters of Luther such as Barth and Moltmann, placing the Reformer in dialogue not only with Asian spirituality and religions but also with emerging global theology of religions.""After reading I put this book down with great surprise and decided to encourage students and anyone interested in theology in Europe, America and Asia to urgently and repeatedly read it."" --Jurgen Moltmann, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tubingen.""Dr. Chung is engaged in a deeply theological reflection about Buddhism and Protestantism. His work is original and profound."" --John B. Cobb, Jr., Ingraham Professor Emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology ""Of all the ''turns'' in Luther studies, the turn to Asia, so eloquently and powerfully heralded by Paul Chung, might end up being the most significant one both ecumenically and theologically. As a scholar fully conversant with both the best of Western and Asian traditions, Dr. Chung is uniquely qualified for helping us read not only in Buddhist context but also in a wider contextual and global horizon. This is the direction of international systematic-hermeneutical theology for the third millennium!"" --Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Docent of Ecumenics, University of Helsinki.""The primary goal of interreligious dialogue is mutual creative transformation. For this reason alone, Martin Luther and Buddhism deserves the attention of both Christians and Buddhists."" --Paul O. Ingram, Professor Emeritus, Pacific Lutheran University""The book on Martin Luther and Buddhism by Paul Chung is a fascinating attempt to develop an emancipation theology of religions in the Asian context of poverty and suffering as well as of religious plurality."" --Ulrich Duchrow, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Heidelberg ""Paul S. Chung''s response to the challenge of religious pluralism is bold, timely, and provocative, as he engages Buddhism in Asia--with its notion of dukkha (suffering)--Luther''s theology of the cross, and Karl Barth''s accent on the universal reign of Jesus Christ."" --Winston D. Persaud, Professor of Systematic Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary""Bringing together Luther''s theology with Buddhist understanding as embedded in Asian culture is a huge challenge. Dr. Chung takes on this challenge with a far-ranging breadth of knowledge and creative insight, especially for interfaith dialogue."" --Karen L. Bloomquist, Director for Theology and Studies at the Lutheran World Federation and Adjunct Professor of Theological Ethics, Wartburg Theological Seminary Paul S. Chung is Assistant Professor of Lutheran Witness and World Christianity at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.

This work is a fresh, unusually lucid approach to Christian theology and interfaith dialogue from India. Its basic aim is to examine ""the Christian consciousness of God''s work in history""--redemption history within the entire history of the world. It uses Christian Faith by Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) as its main text, so as to view this theme ""in a reversed order from the way it is presented there."" This approach, which centers on God''s ""new creation"" in Christ, leads to an incisive understanding of Christianity''s relation to other modes of faith. Throughout, Dr. Kunnuthara compares the thought of another Indian Christian leader steeped in Hindu thought, Pandippedi Chenchiah (1886-1959), to enable renewed interfaith dialogue across a wide spectrum.""Abraham Kunnuthara has written a well conceived and creative book, offering a reading of the Christian Faith that presents its theology ''in reverse''--beginning not from the Introduction but from the theme of redemption in Christ as presented later in Part Two. This strategy opens novel access to the Christological and historical character of Schleiermacher''s dogmatics, insofar as it highlights the point that Christian consciousness of God''s work in history is identical with God''s work in Jesus. The book is an insightful achievement. I will recommend it to students as a solid resource for engaging Schleiermacher.""--Thomas E. Reynolds, author of The Broken Whole: Philosophical Steps Toward a Theology of Global Solidarity ""Kunnuthara innovatively and skillfully crosses boundaries in order to profoundly illuminate Christian experience of divine providence. He creatively works between Indian and Western Christianity, between academic and practical theological discourses, and between doctrinal and experiential starting points. This carefully written book convincingly demonstrates the power of cross-cultural examination of doctrines to enlarge and to refine Christian faith''s self-understanding.""--Catherine L. Kelsey, Dean of the Chapel and Spiritual Life, Iliff School of Theology and author of Thinking About Christ with Schleiermacher and Schleiermacher''s Preaching, Dogmatics, and Biblical Criticism""As the advisor of Kunnuthara''s research, I am happy to commend his work as an Indian professor who is involved in East-West dialogue. He examines Schleiermacher as a bridge to understanding other ways of faith. Using Chenchiah as well, he enables dialogue that is necessary in the contemporary world.""--Lanier Burns, Dallas Theological SeminaryAbraham Varghese Kunnuthara is an East-West trained theologian from the Marthoma Church in South India. He teaches at the Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, Maharashtra, India, a major graduate school serving many smaller denominations there, including those of the lower castes.

Description:Bathsheba is undeniably a minor character in the biblical plotline, appearing in only four chapters in Samuel and Kings combined, and even therein saying and doing very little. Thus she is often ignored or mentioned merely parenthetically. When Bathsheba has been considered, she has been depicted in a myriad of ways on the spectrum from helpless victim to hapless seductress. In fact, with so many different interpretations of her throughout the centuries, it is easy to find oneself asking, along with the anonymous informant in 2 Sam 11:3, ""Isn''t this Bathsheba?""This study argues that while she is a minor character, Bathsheba is complex and positive, and shows development from when she first appears in Samuel to when she fades out of the story in Kings. Koenig compares close and careful reading of Bathsheba in the Masoretic Text with the story as it appears in the versions of the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Targum of Jonathan. In those versions, Bathsheba''s characterization as a complex, generally positive individual and as a character who shows development remains consistent with the Masoretic Text: not in spite of the changes from the Hebrew into Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic, but because of them. This study also considers how Bathsheba is portrayed in early Jewish interpretations from Josephus, the Talmud, and rabbinic Midrash. Even there, the portrayal of Bathsheba is rich and positive. Studying Bathsheba''s character has implications for a broader understanding of how texts are read, how meanings are gathered, and how characters are built.Endorsements:""Was the biblical Bathsheba an evil seductress who manipulated her way from wife of Uriah to powerful queen mother alongside King David and Solomon? Or was Bathsheba simply an innocent, naïve, and helpless victim controlled by more powerful men? Sara Koenig''s insightful Isn''t This Bathsheba? argues persuasively that neither view captures the full, complex, and changing biblical presentation of Bathsheba''s character. Koenig''s reading offers a rich and compelling study of an often neglected and misunderstood woman.""--Dennis OlsonPrinceton Theological Seminary""For many readers, David''s larger-than-life personality can easily overshadow Bathsheba. Yet, through an incisive study of one of the Hebrew Bible''s most famous stories, Koenig brings Bathsheba to life in all her depth and complexity. Koenig''s fascinating book reminds us that minor biblical characters are only as flat and uninteresting as our interpretations of them.""--Jeremy SchipperTemple University ""A minor but very well-known character in the biblical story, Bathsheba''s place as a complex and evolving figure in the account of David and Solomon is uncovered in a wide-ranging and fulsome manner. Koenig delves deeply into the biblical text to make us aware of dimensions often missed in a quick reading of the Bathsheba texts. She also widens the picture to include ways in which from the earliest days the tradition has both followed and departed from the story as it first comes to us. I know of no treatment of this biblical woman that compares with what we have in Sara Koenig''s masterful and learned presentation.""--Patrick D. MillerPrinceton Theological SeminaryAbout the Contributor(s):Sara M. Koenig is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Seattle Pacific University.

Description:This essay on Søren Kierkegaard and economic matters from a theological perspective is well grounded in the Dane''s journals. In these writings, the late nineteenth-century thinker shows his solidarity with rural residents (90 percent of the population) and urbanite menial workers. Topics include the option for the poor; the ideology of impotence; the denouncing of a competitive society; the correlation of wealth and poverty; media, church, university, and theater as social institutions shaping reality; Christendom; and the retribution doctrine.A Vexing Gadfly develops the theological themes within the timeframe of ""Golden Age Denmark"" (1800-1860), which includes the period of Denmark''s colonial activities. The historical approach adds flesh to the bones of abstract thought and ahistorical doctrines. Contrary to common belief, Kierkegaard did articulate economic issues through structural categories such as the age, the pyramid, the building, the external revolution, ""the Fire Chief,"" and his diagnosis of society. Ironically, the domestication of Kierkegaard''s economic thought took place from the time of his death on November 11, 1855. His eulogy took place at the most important church of the country, the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen; his burial at Assistens Cemetery was with full pomp; and by 1971, his statue joined the select club of Mynster, Martensen, Grundvigt, et al., as they surround the wealthy Marble Church.Endorsements:""Finally! After decades of reading and interpreting Kierkegaard as the solitary--and somewhat eccentric--knight of faith, Pérez Álvarez calls our attention to a different Kierkegaard, one deeply engaged in the economic and social issues of his time. In presenting a hitherto discounted and almost unknown Kierkegaard, this book not only corrects much of our traditional understanding, but also leads one to wonder why in the twentieth century we became so enamored with what was clearly a truncated view of the great Danish theologian.""--Justo L. González, author of A History of Christian Thought""A Vexing Gadfly is an extraordinary presentation of the radical economic, social, and political views of the later Kierkegaard as he prophetically and vehemently castigated the nineteenth-century Danish church, state, and their theology and ideology. Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Álvares captures Kierkegaard''s penetrating critique of the social-economic oppression of the marginalized with its relevance for contemporary theology. The cutting irony of a nineteenth-century Dane becomes a powerful voice through a twenty-first-century liberation theologian.""--Mark Thomsen, Lutheran School of Theology at ChicagoPérez-Álvares presents us with a Kierkegaard that is little known: a theologian connected to his time of profound social changes, which takes the side of poor people and produces keen theological reflections regarding economy. Our time is also marked by crises and economic changes that affect the lives of millions of persons. What does Christian theology have to say to the world today? This book is a valuable contribution in the elaboration of this response.--Jung Mo Sung, author of Desire, Market and ReligionAbout the Contributor(s):Eliseo Pérez-Álvarez is Associate Professor of Contextual Theology and Praxis at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest in Austin. He is the author of We Be Jammin: Liberating Discourses from the Land of the Seven Flags, The Gospel to the Calypsonians: the Caribbean, Bible and Liberation Theology, and Comentario de Marcos

Description:Christians have sometimes professed that the church ought to be ""in the world but not of it,"" yet the meaning and significance of this conviction has continued to challenge and confound. In the context of persecution, Christians in the ancient world tended to distance themselves from the social and civic mainstream, while in the medieval and early modern periods, the church and secular authorities often worked in close relationship, sharing the role of shaping society. In a post-Christendom era, this latter arrangement has been heavily critiqued and largely dismantled, but there is no consensus in Christian thought as to what the alternative should be. The present collection of essays offers new perspectives on this subject matter, drawing on sometimes widely disparate interlocutors, ancient and modern, biblical and ""secular."" Readers will find these essays challenging and thought-provoking.Endorsements:""''Let the Church be the Church!'' In early ecumenical debates, this was a guiding principle. Churches tried to define a new, critical role in society, after having failed to speak up for victims of violence and injustice. Descendents of the Radical Reformation--represented in this volume--confront us with that challenge anew. In dialogue with philosophy, history, sociology, and even the arts, a political theology for an exilic church (or exile-church) is inspired. This holds the potential to make a real difference--and renew the church''s self-understanding.""--Fernando EnnsThe Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamAbout the Contributor(s):Paul G. Doerksen is assistant professor of theology at Canadian Mennonite University. He is the author of Beyond Suspicion: Post-Christendom Protestant Political Theology in John Howard Yoder and Oliver O''Donovan (Wipf & Stock, 2010).Karl Koop is professor of history and theology at Canadian Mennonite University. He recently published Confessions of Faith in the Anabaptist Tradition, 1527-1660 (2006).

About the Contributor(s):Associate Professor Mark R. Lindsay is Director of Research at MCD University of Divinity. He is the author of two earlier books on Karl Barth--Covenanted Solidarity: The Theological Basis of Karl Barth''s Opposition to Nazi Antisemitism and the Holocaust (2001), and Barth, Israel and Jesus (2007)--as well as numerous chapters and articles on Barth, Bonhoeffer, and post-Holocaust theology.

Description:Where did Paul find leaders for his new churches? How did he instruct and develop them? What processes took place to stabilize the churches and institute their new leadership? This book carves a fresh trail in leadership studies by looking at leadership development from a group-dynamic, social identity perspective. Paul engages the cultural leadership patterns of his key local leaders, publicly affirming, correcting, and improving those patterns to conform to a Christlike pattern of sacrificial service. Paul''s own life and ministry offer a motivational and authoritative model for his followers, because he embodies the leadership style he teaches. As a practical theologian avant la lettre, Paul contextualizes key theological themes to strengthen community and leadership formation, and equips his church leaders as entrepreneurs of Christian identity. A careful comparison of the Corinthian and Ephesian churches demonstrates a similar overall pattern of development. This study engages Pauline scholarship on church office in depth and offers alternative readings of five Pauline epistles, generating new insights to enrich dogmatic and practical theological reflection. In a society where many churches reflect on their missional calling, such input from the NT for contemporary Christian leadership formation is direly needed.Endorsements:""In this highly readably text, Jack Barentsen rises to the challenging task of using the latest thinking on the psychology of leadership to provide a thoroughgoing, fresh, and highly convincing analysis of leadership in early Pauline communities. The result is not only an excellent theological monograph, but also a model of integrative scholarship that is much more than the sum of its theological and psychological parts. Indeed, as a forensic case study of leadership this is very hard to beat--and there is more to be learned from this volume than in the greater part of the vast managerial literature on this topic.""--Alexander HaslamSchool of PsychologyUniversity of Exeter""This volume offers a thorough account of the history of Pauline scholarship of local church leadership, together with the most extensive and detailed investigation into the development of such leadership across two ancient cities associated with the Pauline mission: Corinth and Ephesus. It concludes by offering a consistent portrait of leadership development, together with some wide-ranging implications both for this very important historical field, but also for modern-day church leaders. This is a most welcome study.""--Andrew ClarkeDivinity and Religious StudiesUniversity of Aberdeen""Jack Barentsen''s Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission fills a large gap in our current understanding of the organizational arrangements and leadership models utilized by the first followers of Jesus. This impressive monograph is well researched, erudite in formulation, and provocative in its conclusions. I believe that it will become a standard text for students of organizational leadership in the early Church.""--Corné J. BekkerProfessor of Biblical and Ecclesial LeadershipRegent UniversityAbout the Contributor(s):Jack Barentsen, born and raised in the Netherlands, served as missionary church planter in his native country and now serves as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and New Testament at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit at Leuven, Belgium (www.etf.edu). He also serves as Secretary of the Institute of Leadership and Ethics at ETF, speaking on leadership and offering consulting services to church leadership teams.

The eighteenth-century Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards has become popular again in contemporary theological discussion. Central to Edwards'' theology is his concept of beauty. Delattre wrote the standard work on this topic half a century ago. However, Delattre approaches Edwards mainly as a philosopher, and he does not address how Edwards employs the concept of beauty to explain and defend traditional Reformed doctrines. Recent writings by McClymond, Holmes, and others have shown that defending the Reformed tradition is a fundamental concern of Edwards. This work reveals how Edwards, starting with the common notion that beauty means the appropriate proportional relationship, develops a theological aesthetic that contributes to a rational understanding of major doctrines such as the Trinity, Christology, and eschatology. It shows that Edwards is both an innovative speculative theologian and a staunch defender of Reformed orthodoxy.""The Beauty of the Triune God will prove to be a major contribution. It shows convincingly the significance of doctrinal orientation in Edwards'' aesthetics as much as the centrality of aesthetics in his doctrinal articulation, weaving his Trinitarian, christological, and eschatological perspectives together to unfold an aesthetics that is truly theological and holistic.""--Carver Yu, President, China Graduate School of Theology""Louie''s study reveals the ways in which Edwards'' account of beauty does not emerge as an epiphenomenon of his theological system or as a side-concern. . . . The embeddedness of beauty in the doctrines of the Christian faith . . . is thus a central feature of Edwards'' theology, and one that is admirably displayed in this study. This is an important contribution.""--From the foreword by David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh""Without an understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic dimension of Edwards'' theology, the reader will inevitably miss or misunderstand the most important points Edwards has to make. This general point has been recognized by many scholars . . . [but] the fully theological nature of Edwards'' aesthetics has been largely ignored. . . . Louie''s work seeks to correct this lacuna in Edwards scholarship. And, in my opinion, he does a superb job.""--From the foreword by Samuel Logan, The World Reformed FellowshipKin Yip Louie is Assistant Professor of Theology at China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong. He is the author of various articles in the CGST Journal and other Chinese publications.

Description:J├╝rgen Moltmann and others contend that Christian theology and the church face a dual crisis--one of relevance and the other of identity. Despite making this pronouncement nearly forty years ago, the church in the West continues to struggle with this crisis. Several proposals have been espoused, from the way of wisdom to the way of ecclesial praxis. Yet, little attention is given in Protestant theological discourse to the role God''s beauty plays in bringing theology and ethics together. By neglecting God''s beauty for theological discourse, we risk diminishing Christian worship, witness, and wisdom.God''s Beauty-in-Act addresses these issues, in part, by arguing that the redemptive-creative suffering and glorious resurrection of Christ are the nexus of God''s being, beauty, and Christian living. God''s beauty, understood as the fittingness of the incarnate Son''s actions in the Spirit to the Father''s will, radiates God''s glory and draws perceivers into the dramatic movements of God''s triune life. These movements serve as the patterns that shape the imagination, enabling participants to perform their parts creatively and fittingly in God''s drama of redemption. In doing so, human beings flourish as they jettison false identities and realities of their own making that are incommensurate with God''s purpose found in Christ by the Spirit.Endorsements:""Garrett''s book is an altarpiece with two panels and a hinge, a fitting structure for a work that depicts the cross as the enactment of God''s beauty. . . . This study of Trinitarian theology presents the Son as the expression of the Father''s glory, and the Spirit its impression. God''s Beauty-in-Act describes how Christ''s cross transforms our imaginations, enabling the church to participate in the dramatic movement that defines the beat of God''s own heart.""--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School""Stephen Garrett has provided us with a deftly constructed and compellingly argued case for the centrality of beauty for a faithful doctrine of God, and indeed for the whole theological project.""--Samuel Wells, Visiting Professor of Christian Ethics, King''s College, London""Stephen Garrett presents a thoughtful Protestant appropriation of the work of Balthasar, which stresses the supreme importance of imagination in the contemplative reception and ethical imitation of the beauty revealed in the cross of Christ. Of particular value is the deeply scriptural and resolutely Trinitarian context of Garrett''s reflections. This work is rich in ecumenical potential and makes a significant contribution to the task of shaping Christian ethics in light of the beauty ''ever ancient, ever new.''""--Francis Caponi, Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova UniversityAbout the Contributor(s):Stephen M. Garrett, PhD, is an Academic Fellow with the International Institute for Christian Studies and Lecturer/Researcher of Public Theology and Philosophy of Religion in the Social Communications Institute at Lithuania University of Educational Sciences.

Description:Pentecostals are known for an experiential spirituality that emphasizes immediate encounters with God through the Holy Spirit. But how should such experience be understood? Is it, in fact, quite so immediate?Neumann argues that Pentecostal experience of God is mediated by the Spirit''s work through Scripture, the Christian tradition, and the broader cultural context. Using the work of three contemporary Pentecostal theologians--Frank D. Macchia, Simon K. H. Chan, and Amos Yong--the book demonstrates that a mediated view of experience of God is forging a more mature Pentecostal theology. As further evidence of this maturation, Neumann engages these Pentecostal theologians in ecumenical dialogue with leading representatives from Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant traditions.Endorsements:""The maturation of pentecostal theology and scholarship, Neumann''s analysis shows, also brings with it the conflict of pentecostal interpretations. Welcome to the contestations!""--Amos Yong, Regent University""Finally, a sustained engagement of the most essential feature of pentecostal-charismatic spirituality: transformative encounters with God . . . Pentecostal Experience will become a standard reference for future discussions of experience in Pentecostalism, and [it will] serve as a testament to the maturation of pentecostal theology.""--Kenneth J. Archer, Southeastern University""Neumann demonstrates the high level of theological reflection and sophistication undertaken by pentecostal theologians in examining the constructive role of experience. He is mindful of the role of experience in contemporary Christian theology and the plurality that already exists among the leading lights. With the publication of this book, Neumann himself will rank within that company.""--Ralph Del Colle, Marquette University""In Pentecostal Experience, Neumann challenges Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal alike. With laser-sharp theological precision he critiques traditional Pentecostal self-understanding of the experience of the Holy Spirit. But he casts his net wide to capture ecumenical voices, which he sets in dialogue with the best current, Pentecostal thinking. This book is a must-read for anyone hoping to theologically engage a new generation of global Pentecostals.""--David A. Reed, Wycliffe College""Neumann has given us a helpful exploration into how pentecostal theologians deal with the role of experience . . . Those interested in pentecostal theology, or broader issues concerning the role of experience in theological method, will find a feast of insight in this book.""--Frank D. Macchia, Vanguard University of Southern CaliforniaAbout the Contributor(s):Peter D. Neumann (PhD, University of St. Michael''s College, Toronto School of Theology) is the Assistant Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Master''s College and Seminary, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Description:What does it mean to be created in the image of God? How can the existence of evil be explained if we believe in a good and loving God? What is the precise meaning of the notion of original sin? How can God transfer the guilt of humanity to one innocent individual, or should we rather dispense with the notion of penal satisfaction? The first part of Created in the Image of God grapples in a concise manner with these and other elusive and controversial theological and anthropological issues. The second part proceeds to address societal issues that relate to dignity, equality, and freedom. How can human dignity and the dignity of the environment be reconciled? Are the values of freedom and equality natural enemies? When does theology become a tool of oppression? How should we evaluate neo-liberalist economic theory after the greatest recession since the Depression? This book cautiously attempts to provide some answers that might help modern society to re-invent itself in a tumultuous age.Endorsements:""After decades in which quandaries dominated the field of ethical deliberation in an often depressing way, there is now a growing interest in the anthropological dimension of morality. Nico Vorster offers an attractive contribution to this approach by combining the discussion of theological themes like man as the image of God, and sin, with perspectives on values such as dignity, freedom, and equality. This is promising!""--Gerrit de KruijfProtestant Theological University, The Netherlands""In this timely and thorough-going study, Nico Vorster probes some of the core doctrines of Reformed theology-especially the relationship between God and humanity as established by the imago Dei, thwarted by sin, and restored by atonement. He not only comes up with some creative proposals for relating these classical doctrines to the contemporary scientific worldview, but also convincingly shows how the resulting theological anthropology is able to deal constructively with some of the most pressing ethical challenges of our time. This book is a must-read for everyone with an interest in Reformed theology as a living tradition of ongoing relevance.""--Gysbert van den BrinkVU University, Amsterdam""Nico Vorster draws deeply from the rich wells of scripture, reformed theology, and ethics as he reworks perennial topics in ways that are open to new understandings from the natural and social sciences and are creatively relevant to pressing issues of our time. This would be an excellent textbook for courses in theology, ethics, or theological ethics.""-Douglas J. SchuurmanSt. Olaf CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Nico Vorster is Extraordinary Professor of Systematic Theology at the Theological Faculty of the Northwest University in South Africa. He is the author of Restoring Human Dignity in South Africa (2007).

Description:What would a comparative study of prayer look like? If the human impulse is to survive by thinking and acting religiously, Reinhart says religion is born on the day prayer first finds breath. He discusses prayer as a discourse since that first day that is speech out of brokenness or suffering is expressed in the hope of something more. Through his engagement with theorists of language and memory (Habermas, Derrida, Metz, Ricoeur, and others), Reinhart develops a framework that sustains an innovative approach to apocalyptical thought that also lays the foundation for a new field: the comparative study of prayer.Endorsements:""Prayer as Memory blends theory and theology to explore how prayer--at once a religious performance and an enactment of moral imagination--is rooted in ''the loam of memory,'' a fertile ground that locates prayer within a collective, historically situated context. Theoretically astute and theologically insightful, this book will be of interest to readers who want to know more about the perduring effects of collective memory on everyday religious practice.""--Elizabeth Castelli, Professor of Religion, Barnard College""Prayer as Memory is an astute and foundational essay in theologia prima. By bringing together the contrasting, contemporary philosophical scenarios and the theological insights of the likes of Barth and Metz, this book is an eloquent elucidation of prayer as an apocalyptic genre that offers a theoretical frame and practical guidance to understand and engage a devotional life. This book deserves praise for daring originality, interdisciplinary acumen, and pastoral relevance."" --Vítor Westhelle, Professor of Systematic Theology, Lutheran School of Theology""Asserting that prayer is a form of discourse, Reinhart explores the multifaceted ethical dimensions and functions of prayers, as they relate to self-understanding, memory, awareness of others'' suffering, apocalyptic sentiments, redemption, and reconciliation. Eloquently written, and drawing upon a wide range of important thinkers, including Jacques Derrida and Jürgen Habermas, this book is an illuminating and fascinating exposition of prayer as a practice with continuing relevance.""--Yuki Miyamoto, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University""In prayer we remember the woundedness of our communities while enacting the eschatological hope for how the world ought to be. Reinhart presents a nuanced argument for both the rationality and mystery of prayer, in which the experience of otherness overwhelms ideological fixation. This work brings a fresh perspective to the debate on prayer in the public sphere.""--Björn Krondorfer, Professor of Religious Studies, Martin-Springer InstituteAbout the Contributor(s):David Reinhart is Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. He has lived in Chicago almost all of his life, previously teaching at DePaul University and Richard J. Daley City College.

Description:This book articulates a contextual pneumatology from a perspective of the Eastern idea of ch''i (ki in Korean). Rather than understanding the Spirit from a Westernized philosophical perspective, this book utilizes East Asian categories rooted in the I Ching and Asian religions in dialogue with such prominent Western theologians as Barth, Pannenberg, Moltmann and Harvey Cox. The result is an exciting interaction between the Bible, traditions of the West, and experiences of the Spirit rooted in East Asia. Yun argues that the formal dimension of the Spirit (sangjeok) is present and active in all cultures and religions while the material dimension of the Spirit (muljeok) is categorically revealed and embodied through the life of Jesus Christ, the event of Pentecost, and Charisms given to the church. In making his case, he mediates a creative balance between countercultural and exclusivist models on the one hand, and pluralistic and anthropocentric models on the other. Endorsements:""Koo Dong Yun''s work is simply brilliant and beautiful! It is written by an author who accurately knows both Western and Eastern theology and philosophy. I applaud it sincerely. Yun''s work escaped many perils of ''post-colonial'' theology and has opened a promising new way to move ahead with a genuinely Korean Christian theological vision. This is an authentic contextual theology rooted in the East Asian soil. Instead of trying to write something ''universal'' and ''totalitarian'' that stands against the post-modern era, Yun has created something that is really ''chiological'' and original. If I teach my seminar here on Asian theology or Pentecostalism again, I will surely make use of this book.""-Harvey CoxHollis Research Professor of DivinityHarvard University""Although numbers of different kinds of ''contextual'' approaches to the theology of the Holy Spirit are emerging at the beginning of the third millennium, Professor Koo D. Yun''s constructive ''chiological'' pneumatology stands out as distinctive and has the capacity to give leadership and inspiration to many such explorations to come. In this highly creative and constructive work, ancient and contemporary Chinese, Korean, and other East Asian philosophico-religious resources are put into a mutual dialogue with biblical, historical, and systematic Christian theological voices. The end result is a feast of theological, philosophical, and religious insights highlighting the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit through the lens of Ch''i and related Asian ways of conceiving the ''divine spirit/essence.''""-Veli-Matti KärkkäinenProfessor of Systematic TheologyFuller Theological Seminary""Constructing a transcultural theology of the third article based on the Spirit and Ch''i (Qi), Dr. Yun''s book is a truly astonishing and groundbreaking work, which will establish him as one of his generation''s leading Asian theologians. Dr. Yun paves a new way toward hermeneutically configuring an intersection of the Holy Spirit in Judeo-Christian tradition with East Asian philosophy of Taoism and Confucianism through his astute interpretation and extensive knowledge. This book is an original, creative, and extraordinary attempt to conceptualize a new pneumatology in intercultural studies of the Spirit in parallel with my construction of irregular-minjung theology. This is the first full monograph dealing solely with the Holy Spirit and Ch''i written in English by an author who accurately grasps three horizons: 1) the Bible, 2) traditional Western theologies (especially in regard to Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg), and 3) East Asian philosophy of Ch''i in classic Taoism and Confucianism. Finally, the contextual, irregular pneumatology rooted in the East Asian soil for which we have been waiting with excitement has emerged in this book.""-Paul S. ChungAssociate Professor of Mission and World ChristianityLuther Seminary""Professor Yun''s book represents a groundbreaking work in the study of pneumatology.

Description:Much of the emerging Protestantism of the sixteenth century produced a Reformation in conscious opposition to formal philosophy. Nevertheless, sectors of the Reformation produced a spiritualizing form of Platonism in the drive for correct devotion. Out of an understandable fear of idolatry or displacement of the uniquely redemptive place of Christ, Christian piety moved away from the senses and the material world--freshly uncovered in the Reformation.This volume argues, however, that in the quest for restoring ""true religion,"" sectors of the Protestant tradition impugned too severely the material components of prior Christian devotion.Larry Harwood argues that a similar spiritualizing tendency can be found in other Christian traditions, but that its applicability to the particulars of the Christian religion is nevertheless questionable. Moreover, in that quest of a spiritualizing Protestant ""true religion,"" the Christian God could shade toward the conceptual god of the philosophers, with devotees construed as rationalist philosophers. Part of the paradoxical result was to propel the Protestant devotee toward a denuded worship for material worshipers of the Christian God who became flesh.About the Contributor(s):Larry D. Harwood is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Viterbo University in Wisconsin and has authored numerous articles and a few short stories. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Lisbon in Portugal in 2008 and is presently at work on a book on Bertrand Russell and religion.

Description:"". . . that you may become partakers in the divine nature"" 2 Peter 1:4""The theme of deification intimately touches on human identity and the actualization of humanity''s ultimate purpose. It is predominantly an anthropological and soteriological expression of Christian theology. At the same time, it testifies to the identity of a Christian God, divine universal design, and God''s economy, where the trinitarian and christological apprehension receives the central place. Theosis, both on an individual and cosmic scale, is not exiguous in its eschatological perspective, either. The testimony of theosis is testimony to the inexplicable mystery of divine intimacy. Deification penetrates all spheres of human existence, and can be seen as an answer to most pending ultimate questions. It is essentially practical in its manifestation and uplifting in its content, but nevertheless, always evasive and arcane in its comprehension.""From the IntroductionThis book contains biblical and historical-theological essays that offer innovative approaches to the issue of theosis. The interconnections between the theology of deification and the doctrines of the Trinity, Christology, anthropology, protology, hamartiology, soteriology, and eschatology are made manifest in these fascinating new studies. It is aimed both at those who are already students of theosis and at those who are looking for an introductory text. It also contains a comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography for those seeking further resources on the theme.Endorsements:""Theosis is back, and it is here to stay--no longer as the focus solely of one stream of the Christian tradition, but as a fully biblical and ecumenical account of salvation. Vladimir Kharlamov, with his colleagues, offers us another volume of significant essays on theosis/deification in the Christian tradition, from the evangelists to contemporary Baptists. They add to the burgeoning literature on the central reality of Christian faith: transformative participation in the very life of the Triune God.""--Michael J. GormanThe Ecumenical Institute of Theology, St. Mary''s Seminary & University, Baltimore, MD""Vladimir Kharlamov has successfully gathered a lively collection of studies covering foundational aspects of the ancient concept of theosis. The chapters range from the teachings of Jesus and the Fathers, to contemporary attempts to appropriate the notion today (its relevance to the Reformed tradition, its importance to Christian ecology). The book is an exciting example of the energy that still exists in putting the ancient tradition in discussion with the pressing concerns of the world.""--V.Revd. Dr. John A. McGuckinNielsen Professor of Ancient & Byzantine Christian HistoryUnion Theological Seminary, New York""Vladimir Kharlamov has assembled a rich and remarkable volume that will offer profound gifts to the church''s theological reflection. Whether one is already a student of the doctrine of theosis or is seeking an introduction to its riches, s/he will do well to take this volume and read it carefully."" --Philip E. ThompsonProfessor of Systematic Theology and Christian HeritageSioux Falls Seminary, Sioux Falls, South Dakota""A well-researched,  carefully edited, and welcomed volume on the amazing, engaging, enduring, bold, and bewildering notions of deifying grace in Scripture, historical theology, ecumenical discussion, and contemporary reflection.Vladimir Kharlamov, as editor, expertly navigates students of Scripture and seasoned scholars through the complexities of theosis, from East to West, from historical to contemporary contexts, and succeeds in connecting esoteric ideas, Eastern Orthodox spirituality, and Baptist theologies in one volume.""Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D, co-editor of Partakers of the Divine Nature: Deification in the Christian Traditions, and Affiliate Associate Professor of Theology at Drew University.About the Contributor(s):Vladimir Khar

Perichoresis (mutual indwelling) is a concept used extensively in the so-called Trinitarian revival; and yet no book-length study in English exists probing how the term actually developed in the "classical period" of Christian doctrine and how it was carefully deployed in relation to Christian dogma. Consequently, perichoresis is often used in imprecise and even careless ways.This path-breaking study aims at placing our understanding of the term on firmer footing, clarifying its actual usage in relation to doctrines of God, Christ, and salvation in the thought of John of Damascus, the eighth-century theologian, monk, and hymn writer who gave it its historically influential application.Since John summed up a whole theological tradition, this work provides not only an introduction to his theological vision but also to the key themes of Greek patristic thought generally and thereby lays an essential foundation for those who would dig deeper into the present-day usefulness of perichoresis.

Description:This book constitutes the second volume of a three-volume study of Christian testimonies to divine suffering: God''s Wounds: Hermeneutic of the Christian Symbol of Divine Suffering, vol. 2, Evil and Divine Suffering. The larger study focuses its inquiry into the testimonies to divine suffering themselves, seeking to allow the voices that attest to divine suffering to speak freely, then to discover and elucidate the internal logic or rationality of this family of testimonies, rather than defending these attestations against the dominant claims of classical Christian theism that have historically sought to eliminate such language altogether from Christian discourse about the nature and life of God. This second volume of studies proceeds on the basis of the presuppositions of this symbol, those implicit attestations that provide the conditions of possibility for divine suffering-that which constitutes divine vulnerability with respect to creation-as identified and examined in the first volume of this project: an understanding of God through the primary metaphor of love (""God is love""); and an understanding of the human as created in the image of God, with a life (though finite) analogous to the divine life-the imago Dei as love. The second volume then investigates the first two divine wounds or modes of divine suffering to which the larger family of testimonies to divine suffering normally attest: (1) divine grief, suffering because of betrayal by the beloved human or human sin; and (2) divine self-sacrifice, suffering for the beloved human in its bondage to sin or misery, to establish the possibility of redemption and reconciliation. Each divine wound, thus, constitutes a response to a creaturely occasion. The suffering in each divine wound also occurs in two stages: a passive stage and an active stage. In divine grief, God suffers because of human sin, betrayal of the divine lover by the beloved human: divine sorrow as the passive stage of divine grief; and divine anguish as the active stage of divine grief. In divine self-sacrifice, God suffers in response to the misery or bondage of the beloved human''s infidelity: divine travail (focused on the divine incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth) as the active stage of divine self-sacrifice; and divine agony (focused on divine suffering in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth) as the passive stage of divine self-sacrifice.Endorsements:""Pool''s book provides a probing study of the meaning of suffering and evil in the light of the Christian revelation. This second volume of a trilogy offers a depth of analysis of a perennial subject that contemporary theologians will value.""--Chester GillisGeorgetown University""Jeff Pool''s God''s Wounds provides one of the most carefully written discussions of the relationship between evil and divine suffering. This deeply theological book offers a sustained treatment of a theme that many Christians invoke but few can discuss with any clarity: the meaning of divine suffering and its role in liberation from all forms of oppression. It ought to be read by anyone concerned with the contemporary meaning of the drama of sin and redemption.""--Stephen J. PopeBoston College""The second volume of Jeff Pool''s trilogy interprets the core of our Christian heritage as a story and message of divine suffering in loving response to the miseries of creaturely cupiditas. Consistent in his method and in his critical approach, while painstakingly careful in dealing with both the Bible and the flood of relevant studies, the author offers his readers a coherent and challenging construal of the biblical view of the universe and its destiny.""--Petr Macek, Charles University in PragueAbout the Contributor(s):Jeff B. Pool is Associate Professor of Religion, College Chaplain, and Director of the Campus Christian Center, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.

For both Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662) and Jurgen Moltmann (b. 1926), understanding what it means to be human springs from a contemplative vision of God. This comparative study explores surprising parallels between the theological anthropology of the seventh-century Byzantine monk and the contemporary German Protestant. Bingaman argues that Maximus and Moltmann root their understanding of the human calling in their Trinitarian and christological reflection, in contrast to many modern theologies that tend to devise an account of human being first, and then try to find ways in which Christ and the Trinity are somehow relevant to this human being.In this constructive work, Bingaman demonstrates the intrinsic connection between Maximus' and Moltmann's views of human being, Christ and the Trinity, the church, and the human calling in creation. Illustrating the richness of these ancient and postmodern theologies in conversation, All Things New lays out future trajectories in theological anthropology, patristic ressourcement, ecologically attuned theology and spirituality, and Orthodox-Protestant dialogue.

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.

Description:"". . . that you may become partakers in the divine nature"" 2 Peter 1:4""The theme of deification intimately touches on human identity and the actualization of humanity''s ultimate purpose. It is predominantly an anthropological and soteriological expression of Christian theology. At the same time, it testifies to the identity of a Christian God, divine universal design, and God''s economy, where the trinitarian and christological apprehension receives the central place. Theosis, both on an individual and cosmic scale, is not exiguous in its eschatological perspective, either. The testimony of theosis is testimony to the inexplicable mystery of divine intimacy. Deification penetrates all spheres of human existence, and can be seen as an answer to most pending ultimate questions. It is essentially practical in its manifestation and uplifting in its content, but nevertheless, always evasive and arcane in its comprehension.""From the IntroductionThis book contains biblical and historical-theological essays that offer innovative approaches to the issue of theosis. The interconnections between the theology of deification and the doctrines of the Trinity, Christology, anthropology, protology, hamartiology, soteriology, and eschatology are made manifest in these fascinating new studies. It is aimed both at those who are already students of theosis and at those who are looking for an introductory text. It also contains a comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography for those seeking further resources on the theme.Endorsements:""Theosis is back, and it is here to stay--no longer as the focus solely of one stream of the Christian tradition, but as a fully biblical and ecumenical account of salvation. Vladimir Kharlamov, with his colleagues, offers us another volume of significant essays on theosis/deification in the Christian tradition, from the evangelists to contemporary Baptists. They add to the burgeoning literature on the central reality of Christian faith: transformative participation in the very life of the Triune God.""--Michael J. GormanThe Ecumenical Institute of Theology, St. Mary''s Seminary & University, Baltimore, MD""Vladimir Kharlamov has successfully gathered a lively collection of studies covering foundational aspects of the ancient concept of theosis. The chapters range from the teachings of Jesus and the Fathers, to contemporary attempts to appropriate the notion today (its relevance to the Reformed tradition, its importance to Christian ecology). The book is an exciting example of the energy that still exists in putting the ancient tradition in discussion with the pressing concerns of the world.""--V.Revd. Dr. John A. McGuckinNielsen Professor of Ancient & Byzantine Christian HistoryUnion Theological Seminary, New York""Vladimir Kharlamov has assembled a rich and remarkable volume that will offer profound gifts to the church''s theological reflection. Whether one is already a student of the doctrine of theosis or is seeking an introduction to its riches, s/he will do well to take this volume and read it carefully."" --Philip E. ThompsonProfessor of Systematic Theology and Christian HeritageSioux Falls Seminary, Sioux Falls, South Dakota""A well-researched,  carefully edited, and welcomed volume on the amazing, engaging, enduring, bold, and bewildering notions of deifying grace in Scripture, historical theology, ecumenical discussion, and contemporary reflection.Vladimir Kharlamov, as editor, expertly navigates students of Scripture and seasoned scholars through the complexities of theosis, from East to West, from historical to contemporary contexts, and succeeds in connecting esoteric ideas, Eastern Orthodox spirituality, and Baptist theologies in one volume.""Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D, co-editor of Partakers of the Divine Nature: Deification in the Christian Traditions, and Affiliate Associate Professor of Theology at Drew University.About the Contributor(s):Vladimir Khar

Description:Despite the voluminous and ever-growing scholarly literature on Karl Barth, penetrating accounts of his theological method are lacking. In an attempt to fill this lacuna, Todd Pokrifka provides an analysis of Barth''s theological method as it appears in his treatment of three divine perfections--unity, constancy, and eternity--in Church Dogmatics, II/1, chapter VI. In order to discern the method by which Barth reaches his doctrinal conclusions, Pokrifka examines the respective roles of Scripture, tradition, and reason--the ""threefold cord""--in this portion of the Church Dogmatics. In doing so he finds that for Barth Scripture functions as the authoritative source and basis for theological critique and construction, and tradition and reason are functionally subordinate to Scripture. Yet Barth employs a predominantly indirect way of relating Scripture and theological proposals, a way in which tradition and reason play important ""mediatory"" roles. Barth''s approach to theology involves the humble yet serious attempt to ""redescribe God,"" that is, to say again on a human level what God has already said in the divine self-revelation attested in Scripture.Redescribing God features an original conceptual framework for the analysis of Barth''s method and an extensive application of that framework in the context of close readings of portions of the Church Dogmatics. Through this process it draws from, critiques, and complements a wide variety of Barth scholarship on topics such as the role of Scripture and theological exegesis in Barth, the role of tradition in Barth, the meaning and role of ""reason"" in Barth, and the nature of Barth''s doctrine of divine perfections. The book also provides a fruitful basis for those who wish to learn from Barth''s distinctive way of constructing the Christian doctrine of God as an attempt to obey God''s self-revelation. Endorsements:""A thoroughly up-to-date and well-researched account of how Barth deploys Scripture, especially in doctrinal statements concerning God''s character. Pokrifka moves resolutely and carefully through the secondary literature and offers his own fresh appraisal.""--Christopher R. SeitzWycliffe College, University of Toronto""One fundamental problem for Barth was to find a mode of interpretation faithful to the final form of the biblical text that yet was amenable to critical reason. One way in which Barth did this was to argue that the doctrines on divine unity, constancy, and eternity were themselves part of this mode of interpretation. Pokrifka makes good in showing how this was so.""--Neil B. MacDonaldRoehampton UniversityAbout the Contributor(s):Todd Pokrifka is Lecturer in Theology at Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA).

In this innovative study, Anna Miller challenges prevailing New Testament scholarship that has largely dismissed the democratic civic assembly--the ekkl¿sia--as an institution that retained real authority in the first century CE. Using an interdisciplinary approach, she examines a range of classical and early imperial sources to demonstrate that ekkl¿sia democracy continued to saturate the eastern Roman Empire, widely impacting debates over authority, gender, and speech. In the first letter to the Corinthians, she demonstrates that Paul's persuasive rhetoric is itself shaped and constrained by the democratic discourse he shares with his Corinthian audience. Miller argues that these first-century Corinthians understood their community as an authoritative democratic assembly in which leadership and "citizenship" cohered with the public speech and discernment open to each. This Corinthian identity illuminates struggles and debates throughout the letter, including those centered on leadership, community dynamics, and gender. Ultimately, Miller's study offers new insights into the tensions that inform Paul's letter. In turn, these insights have critical implications for the dialogue between early Judaism and Hellenism, the study of ancient politics and early Christianity, and the place of gender in ancient political discourse.