Bøger udgivet af Baylor University Press

Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years, especially during the Trump era. Middle Eastern Christians are often portrayed as a homogeneous, helpless group ever at the mercy of their Muslim enemies, a situation that only Western powers can remedy. The Politics of Persecution revisits this narrative with a critical eye.Mitri Raheb charts the plight of Christians in the Middle East from the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 to the so-called Arab Spring. The book analyzes the diverse socioeconomic and political factors that led to the diminishing role and numbers of Christians in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan during the eras of Ottoman, French, and British Empires, through the eras of independence, Pan-Arabism, and Pan-Islamism, and into the current era of American empire. With an incisive expose of the politics that lie behind alleged concerns for these persecuted Christians-and how the concept of persecution has been a tool of public diplomacy and international politics-Raheb reveals that Middle Eastern Christians have been repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of Western national interests. The West has been part of the problem for Middle Eastern Christianity and not part of the solution, from the massacre on Mount Lebanon to the rise of ISIS. The Politics of Persecution, written by a well-known Palestinian Christian theologian, provides an insider perspective on this contested region. Middle Eastern Christians survived successive empires by developing great elasticity in adjusting to changing contexts; they learned how to survive atrocities and how to resist creatively while maintaining a dynamic identity. In this light, Raheb casts the history of Middle Eastern Christians not so much as one of persecution but as one of resilience.

For centuries into the Common Era, Christians faced social ostracism and suspicion from neighbors and authorities alike. At times, this antipathy erupted into violence. Following Christ was a risky allegiance: to be a Christian in the Roman Empire carried with it the implicit risk of being branded a traitor to cultural and imperial sensibilities. The prolonged experience of distrust, oppression, and outright persecution helped shape the ethos of the Christian faith and produced a wealth of literature commemorating those who gave their lives in witness to the gospel.Wolfram Kinzig, in Christian Persecution in Antiquity, examines the motivations and legal mechanisms behind the various outbursts of violence against Christians, and chronologically tracks the course of Roman oppression of this new religion to the time of Constantine. Brief consideration is also given to persecutions of Christians outside the borders of the Roman Empire. Kinzig analyzes martyrdom accounts of the early church, cautiously drawing on these ancient voices alongside contemporary non-Christian evidence to reconstruct the church's experience as a minority sect. In doing so, Kinzig challenges recent reductionist attempts to dismantle the idea that Christians were ever serious targets of intentional violence. While martyrdom accounts and their glorification of self-sacrifice seem strange to modern eyes, they should still be given credence as historical artifacts indicative of actual events, despite them being embellished by sanctified memory.Newly translated from the German original by Markus Bockmuehl and featuring an additional chapter and concise notes, Christian Persecution in Antiquity fills a gap in English scholarship on early Christianity and offers a helpful introduction to this era for nonspecialists. Kinzig makes clear the critical role played by the experience of persecution in the development of the church's identity and sense of belonging in the ancient world.

Open theism paints the picture of a flexible God who engages in a dynamic history with his free creatures, a history in which the future is not yet definitely known to God but rather unfolds as a range of open possibilities. As one might expect, this position has proven fractious. Though much of the noise surrounding the issue of God's predestination and humanity's freedom has quieted in recent years, the conversation is ongoing and a continual source of contention in evangelical circles. God in Motion is the first in-depth analysis of the biblical-hermeneutical questions driving the heated open theism debate. Unlike previous books on the open view of God, Manuel Schmid's work does not take sides. Rather, God in Motion offers a qualified and critical look at the standard arguments of both the proponents and critics of open theism and suggests new perspectives.Schmid proposes an alternate path to understanding what is at stake in this debate, bringing open theism into conversation with weighty representatives of German-language theology such as Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Jurgen Moltmann. God in Motion shows ways out of the theological dead ends that have characterized the debate, especially regarding the biblical grounding of open theism, by giving careful consideration to lessons learned from the controversies of current theological discourse. In all of this analysis, Schmid conveys a passion for serious pursuit of a biblically, theologically, and philosophically coherent Christian doctrine of God for the twenty-first century.Those wrestling with questions about biblical theology and eager to gain a more nuanced conception of God out of the richness of biblical texts and traditions will greatly benefit from God in Motion, as they follow Schmid past the polemics of theological controversy to fresh and challenging insights.

The two volumes of The Evangelical Quadrilateral address different aspects of the Evangelical movement. The first volume deals with issues in the movement as a whole, and the second volume examines features of particular denominational bodies within Evangelicalism.

The two volumes of The Evangelical Quadrilateral address different aspects of the Evangelical movement. The first volume deals with issues in the movement as a whole, and the second volume examines features of particular denominational bodies within Evangelicalism.

Gathers select articles from the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion that not only highlight the journal's wide-ranging and diverse scope, but also advance the field through a careful arrangement of topics with ongoing relevance, all treated with scientific objectivity and the respect warranted by matters of faith.

Depression is difficult to define. It is commonly described as a chemical imbalance, a subjective experience of despondency, or even a semiotic construct. The various theories of depression-biochemical, psychological, cultural-often reflect one's philosophical anthropology. How one defines the human person is telling in how one defines mental disorder. Philosophy and the sciences tend to offer reductive explanations of what it means to be human, and such approaches rarely consider that we may be spiritual beings and so fail to entertain a theological approach.Peter J. Bellini invites us to reimagine the person in light of the image of God in Christ, the divine enfleshed in human weakness. The Cerulean Soul responds to real challenges in the sciences and philosophy and offers a relational theological anthropology shaped by a cruciform framework that assumes and affirms human contingency, limitation, and fallenness. With reference to Christ's incarnation, Bellini reveals how depression is inexorably tied to our relationship with God as his created beings: original, fallen, and renewed. Despondency serves as a biosocial and spiritual marker for our human weakness, brokenness, and spiritual struggle for meaning and wholeness. Further, it is a call to grow, to be restored, and to be made holy in the image of God in Christ. What emerges is a therapeia of the imago for depression that fills the gaps in our present attempts to determine the malady's etiology and treatment.Taking the missio Dei of union with the risen Christ as its goal, The Cerulean Soul opens up the perennial problem of human despondency to an eschatological trajectory of hope and peace, redemption and transformation, given freely in Christ through the healing and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Christoformity, informed by the subversive kingdom of God, gives new form to all persons, "e;abled"e; and "e;disabled."e;

Despite autism's prevalence and impact, the church has been slow to adapt, with responses that are often poorly informed and irresponsible. In Autism and the Church Grant Macaskill provides a careful, attentive, and sustained analysis of the reality of autism within the church and how this should be approached theologically.

By discerning an elegant analogy among some late modern Baptist preachers, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Baptist founders, and early patristic theologians, Curtis Freeman narrates the Baptist story as a community that grapples with the convictions of the church catholic.

Grounded in unflinching analysis and encompassing both theological and moral implications, Ayres examines actual religious practices of food justice, discovering in the process a grounded theology for food. Ayres challenges people of faith to participate in communal initiatives that will make a real difference.

Presents the text of virtually every significant US Supreme Court decision concerning religious freedom and separation of church and state. Also included are essays interpreting the historical background and legal issues involved in each case, beginning with the principal events leading to the adoption of the First Amendment.

The first book to explore in a comprehensive way the ""afterlives"" of the parable tradition - how people have interpreted, been influenced by, and applied Jesus' enigmatic and compelling parables in a multitude of ways, perspectives, eras, contexts, and media.

Understanding Woodrow Wilson's approach to international relations requires acknowledgment of his Protestant faith. In Statecraft and Salvation, Milan Babik delivers a fresh analysis of Wilson's progressive international political thought by examining it within the broader context of the American liberal tradition.

A study guide to Scot McKnight's Reading Romans Backwards that helps teachers and students work through the McKnight's text in an engaging and interactive way. Becky Castle Miller has carefully created and designed a range of learning activities, from simple to complex, for all levels of students and all learning styles.

Argues that evangelicalism sometimes wrongly assumes a biblical warrant for some of its more popular beliefs, and, further, Ben Witherington pushes the reader to engage the larger story and plot of the Bible to understand these central elements of belief.

The theology of John Wesley has proven exceedingly influential in the religious and spiritual lives of Wesley's followers and his critics. However, Wesley did not leave behind a written doctrine on scripture. This collection presents an array of diverse approaches to understanding John Wesley's charge to read and interpret the Bible as scripture.

Explores how the celebrated King James translation of the Bible repeatedly influenced the language of politics, statecraft, and English literature while offering Christians a unique resource for living the faith. This collection highlights the most notable facets of the King James Bible, and reflects on its relevance to the modern world.

A pioneering study at the intersection of religion and media, Small Screen, Big Picture treats television as a virtual meeting place where Americans across racial, ethnic, economic and religious lines find instructive and inspirational narratives.

Examines the theological relationship between creation and creativity in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Hart and Khovacs provide a fresh reading of important themes in Tolkien, and the result captures the multi-faceted nature of the author's own vivid theology and literary imagination.

Liberation theology emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed. As a part of Christian theology, it has been most frequently associated with the Catholic Church in Latin America. This groundbreaking book identifies how the theological concepts of liberation theology might be manifested within other faith traditions.

Featuring essays by prominent social scientists, this is the first book-length, systematic examination of the relationship between religion and social capital and what effects religious social capital has on democratic life in the United States.

As America becomes increasingly pluralistic, with more and more groups contributing to the nation's religious mosaic, new religious movements may well play an increasing role in the course of religious liberty in America. This book explores the problems and possibilities posed by new religious movements for religious liberty in America.

Literature critic and theologian Timothy Basselin consults Flannery O'Connor's life and work to illustrate the profound connections existing between the theme of the grotesque and Christian theology.

Dale Andrews and Robert Smith combine the voices of constructive theologians, practical theologians, and those ministering in black churches to craft a rich and expansive black practical theology.

Addresses a cluster of questions and issues found at the nexus of globalization and religion. This unique volume examines various religious - especially Christian - evaluations of and responses to globalization. In particular, the book considers the links among globalization, capitalism and secularization.

When Cone wrote Black Theology and Black Power, he liberated the Gospel of Christ from its institutionalized forms. This book continues Cone's theme of power in the public realm and examines the economic, political, cultural, gender, and theological implications of black faith and black theology.

Sketches the many portraits of the Pharisees that emerge from ancient sources. Based upon the Gospels, the writings of Paul, Josephus, the Mishnah, the Tosefta, and archeology, the volume profiles the Pharisees and explores the relationship between the Pharisees and the Judaic religious system foreshadowed by the library of Qumran.

Brings together eight studies of the Edwards Plateau. The aim is to provide an introduction to the vegetational landscape, including representative photographs, specific research about the history of vegetation patterns, and quantitative information on current structure and succession.

Hispanic Protestants have been one of the most rapidly growing demographic groups in the United States over the last few decades. Sociologists have written about the cultural and political identities of this group, and theologians have reflected on theology and ethics from Hispanic Protestant perspectives, but considerably less attention has been paid to the predicadores/preachers in Hispanic Protestant congregations and the messages they proclaim on a weekly basis.In Predicadores: Hispanic Preaching and Immigrant Identity, Tito Madrazo explores the sermons of Hispanic Protestant preachers within the context of their individual and communal journeys. Formed by overlapping experiences of migration and calling and rooted in their own bilingual and bicultural realities, the first-generation preachers who collaborated in this study interpret and proclaim Scripture in ways that refuse easy characterization. What is certain is that their preaching-which incorporates both traditional and liberative elements-resonates deeply with their immigrant congregations. Madrazo contends that the power of these preachers lies in how they consistently proclaim the characteristics of God that have been most significant to them in their own migrations. Based on four years of collaborative ethnographic research, Predicadores reveals the richness of everyday preaching in local Hispanic Protestant congregations. Madrazo utilizes contemporary sociology, history, and theology in order to situate this study's preachers within broader discourses. The witness of Hispanic Protestant predicadores is a reminder of the homiletical importance of understanding and proclaiming the gospel from within particular cultures.