As the world watched the biggest global epidemic in history evolve, many anticipated that Christians would embrace those who were affected just as Jesus during his time embraced those who were sick and dying. Mostly, the Christian church stood back and observed. Sometimes Christians responded with stigma and discrimination. Many who sought refuge in the churches–churches where they had served the sick and the poor–were turned away as they now sought refuge for themselves and their children.
Individual authors address the critical issues related to the HIV epidemic, women, and the Christian church: how the HIV epidemic affected so many women and children; what the Old and New Testaments teach about our responsibility to the poor, the needy, the sick, the widow, and the orphan; and how difficult it should be for Christians to ignore these teachings.
The HIV epidemic continues, and millions of women and children bear a disproportionate share of the pain and suffering without a refuge. Although HIV is a specific disease, it serves as a paradigm for all Christians to ask what other needs they may be ignoring.
Should women be priests? Should women submit to their husbands? Is premarital sex okay?
Inflammatory questions such as these have splintered Christianity and polarized the church. In Sex, Gender, and Christianity, a cadre of seasoned college professors offers the modest proposal that honest, fruitful conversations about these questions will take place only if we develop the ability to deal with sex, gender, and the Christian faith with the academic rigor and perspectives of our various disciplines. This volume contributes an unprecedented collection of first-rate articles from a variety of disciplines–from the social sciences to history, from literary criticism to theology–that will challenge college administrators, professors, and students to address fractious questions in an atmosphere of scholarly inquiry.
Joseph A. Sittler (1904-1987) was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, distinguished for his pioneering work in ecology and for his preeminence as a preacher. He gave both the Beecher Lectures at Yale and the Noble Lectures at Harvard. As the «preacher's theologian,» Sittler approached the interpretation of Scripture with a clear understanding of current critical scholarship, but also in the freedom of the gospel at the center of Scripture and with the humility of a theologian of the cross. In following the trajectory of the text into the preaching situation he gave a lively, timeless, and eloquent expression to the fact that the interpretation of texts is in the service of proclamation.
This collection of readings from Sittler's rich legacy contains a great many presentations and sermons that have never before appeared in print. Theologically serious preaching, close attention to language, engagement with the best of sacred and secular culture, and a deep respect for the text, all characteristics of Sittler's work, are the sort of features that continue to edify. They remain as benchmarks for good preaching even as styles and contexts evolve.
In his autobiography Joseph Turmel (1859-1943) has left an intensely personal account of his struggles to reconcile his Catholic faith with the results of historical-critical methods as those impacted biblical exegesis and the history of dogma. Having lost his faith in 1886, he chose to remain as a priest in the Church, even while he worked to undermine its teachings. He did so initially in writings published under his own name and, as his conclusions became increasingly radical, under a veritable team of pseudonyms. He was excommunicated in 1930.
His account of his life is less a discussion and defense of his ideas than it is a moral justification of his conduct. Turmel is associated with the left wing of Roman Catholic Modernism along with Albert Houtin, Marcel Hebert, and Felix Sartiaux
The Ministry of Vincent Van Gogh in Religion and Art surveys the historical venues where Van Gogh's life and work unfolded–Aldersgate, England, Amsterdam, Au Borinage, Antwerp, Asnieres-sur-Seine, Arles, Auvers-sur-Oise–culminating in an assessment of his legacy. Arguing that he is a painter-evangelist, a man of authentic religious calling, it demonstrates a novel thesis that theological spirituality is the genius of both his religious ministry and his art.
John Goldingay is an internationally renowned biblical scholar, teacher, and theologian whose writings have impacted Christians across the globe. In Conversations at the Edges of Things, Francis Bridger and James Butler bring together a wide-ranging collection of essays from John's friends and colleagues throughout his career and around the world in honor of his seventieth birthday and his lifetime's service to the church and the academy.
Contributors: Roger Bowen Francis Bridger Colin Buchanan James T. Butler Graham Buxton George Carey Christopher Cocksworth Vivienne Faull Kathleen Scott Goldingay Sarah Goldingay Athena Gorospe Philip Jenson Robert King Anne Long Nancey Murphy Gordon Oliver Tom Smail Marianne Meye Thompson Stephen Travis
Lesslie Newbigin was one of the most significant missionary strategists and theologians of the twentieth century. With the breakdown of confidence in some of the central philosophical and theological paradigms that have been shaped and sustained by the culture of modernity, Newbigin's approach to a genuinely missionary theology offers fresh insights and approaches, providing something of a prophetic model for the global Christian community in new and challenging times.
In this collection of essays, scholars and practitioners from around the world engage with aspects of Newbigin's continuing legacy. They explore Newbigin's approach to theological method, his theological and philosophical account of Western culture in the light of the gospel, and some of the implications of his thought for global mission in the third millennium.
This collection is essential reading not just for Newbigin enthusiasts but also for all who are concerned to develop a genuinely missionary encounter with contemporary culture.
Contributors: Ian Barns, John G. Flett, Michael W. Goheen, Kenneth D. Gordon, Eleanor Jackson, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, David J. Kettle, J. Andrew Kirk, Mark Laing, Murray Rae, Jurgen Schuster, Wilbert Shenk, Jenny Taylor, Geoffrey Wainwright, Ng Kam Weng, and Paul Weston.
Wonder has often occupied a place of unique importance across a variety of human practices and intellectual activities. At different times and historical periods, it has been hailed as the beginning of philosophy and as the end that philosophy should aspire to pursue; as the motive force of scientific quests and their fruit; as the aim of art and the means art uses to accomplish its aims; and as the religious experience par excellence and the hallmark of a deeper spiritual life. Yet despite the special relationship it has borne to many of our most highly valued intellectual and spiritual practices, wonder remains a neglected and understudied notion. This volume aims to redress this neglect, bringing together a collection of essays drawn from different disciplines to consider the sense of wonder from a number of complementary perspectives. What is wonder? What role has it historically played in philosophy, science, art and aesthetics, and the religious or spiritual life? Can wonder be dangerous? Is wonder an experience in which we should, or indeed could, aspire to dwell? Why, among human experiences, should it be prized?
Contributors: Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Stephen Mulhall, Sylvana Chrysakopoulou, Derek Matravers, Michel Hulin, Alexander Rueger, Robert Fuller, David Burrell, Claude-Olivier Doron & Sophia Vasalou.
The nineteenth-century Scottish theologian and church leader Edward Irving has been the subject of a remarkable resurgence of interest among historians and theologians in recent decades. A friend of Thomas Carlyle and a household name in his lifetime, Edward Irving became involved with a group headed by the scion of Drummonds Bank who were convinced there was to be an imminent second coming. Irving became caught up in this idea, and it not only changed his life but resulted in his expulsion from the Scottish Presbysterian Church. His life journey, including his personal loves and losses and early death in 1834, we can trace from his short diary, kept as a young man, and his letters, published here for the first time.
Whitehead had a place for God in his comprehensive cosmological vision, and his theism has long attracted interest from some Christian theologians. But Whitehead's ideas have much wider use. Some Buddhists have found help in articulating their nontheistic vision and relating it to the current world of thought and action. In this book religious writers in seven different traditions articulate how they can benefit from Whitehead's work. So this volume demonstrates that various features of his thought can contribute to many communities.
According to his followers, Whitehead shows that the deepest convictions and commitments of the major religious communities can be complementary rather than in conflict. Readers of this book will see how that plays out in some detail. A Whiteheadian Hindu can recognize the truth in a Whiteheadian Judaism, and both can appreciate the insights of Chinese Whiteheadians committed to their classical thinking. Perhaps a new day in interreligious understanding has come.