Through All the Plain
We kill. We come home. We move on. But the violence haunts. And then it questions. Was I justified in Iraq? Is there meaning in violence? For some, the answer comes easily. For others, one question leads to many–the answers seen through all the plain. Benjamin John Peters invites you to accompany him on his harrowing journey through Marine Corps Recruit Training, a violence-riddled Iraq, the questions and doubts of seminary, and the pursuit of reparations in Cambodia. Retold in poignant detail, Through All the Plain chronicles the difficulties of war, of coming home, and of searching for meaning in violence. Peters approaches this topic with both sensitivity and vulnerability in a book that is sure to provoke questions about the nature of faith, violence, and justice in a complex world.
A Double-Edged Sword
On first consideration, one might not be inclined to view Adolf Hitler and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in relation to Jehanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), but Brenda E. Novack does just that. She demonstrates how these three prominent figures who influenced world history all acted in accordance with what they claimed or perceived to be divine sanction of their participation in violence. Taking the reader on a unique exploration of their lives and deaths, Novack identifies significant similarities and differences in notions of divine call and human response conveyed by these personalities and determines how they align or fail to align with the biblical prophetic tradition. Taking Jehanne d'Arc as her foundational study, the author engages important theological issues such as the nature of revelation, evil, and morality. The process culminates in the construction of a model of righteous warfare and human agency presented as a tool for evaluating claims to divinely sanctioned violence and as a potentially effective alternative to an outmoded and currently inadequate just war model. Case studies of Hitler and Bonhoeffer tentatively establish the model's ability to steer humanity away from unnecessary destruction toward justice, compassion, and peace.
No Man’s Land
No Man's Land is a book of poems of searching, longing, and belonging overlaid by the ancient struggle with home, family, and God. These poems are often confessional, persistent, and speak to the interior journey of our lives. They acknowledge the paradox of this journey, which often leaves us empty-handed and with more questions than answers, yet they still offer praise and gratitude, however faint.
Christ’s Miracles in Poems
Christ's Miracles in Poems will inspire its readers through a greater understanding of Christ's miracles as revealed in the New Testament of the Bible. These poems in rhyme reflect the divine power demonstrated by Jesus Christ.
Philo of Alexandria
Philo of Alexandria was a few years older than Jesus of Nazareth and lived longer. He belonged to a wealthy and cultured family, prominent in the Jewish community in Alexandria. Philo had contacts with the highest level of Roman authorities. He was on a risky diplomatic mission to Caligula on behalf of the persecuted Jews of Alexandria during what turned out to be Caligula's last days. Herod Agrippa was a friend in Rome during Philo's hour of greatest need.
Philo is a sympathetic source on what sounds very much like a contemporary Jewish monastic movement. He is also one of the creators of the allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Some of his exegesis is reminiscent of Pythagorean numerology. It has been argued that Philo, who was well educated in Greek thought, was the founder of medieval philosophy.
St. John seems to adapt Philo's thoughts about the Logos, the Word, in the prologue to his Gospel. There are also close ties between Philo's thinking and the Letter to the Hebrews.
Jean Danielou, a paradigm of scholarship and clarity, makes Philo speak to us in his own voice. Anyone interested in patristics, exegesis, or simply Christian beginnings will benefit by reading Danielou's treatment of Philo.
The Hebrew Prophets after the Shoah
The Shoah is without question the defining moment in modern history, and it has transformed the manner in which the Bible is read and how God is understood. Questions that hitherto were rarely posed publicly must now be posed, and the human drama born out of exile, bondage, and genocide must be reckoned with in a new light.
These are issues that are predicated on a faithful God to whom challenging and even unanswerable questions must be voiced. So, how might the Hebrew prophets address such contemporary issues as imperial militarism, eminent domain, trust and trauma, hunger and power, memory and shame, blame and self-critique, madness and exceptionalism?
The daring words of the Hebrew prophets must have voices of testimony and witness in our time. This book speaks to that challenge.
The topos of Divine Testimony in Luke-Acts
In this study James McConnell addresses the concept of authoritative testimony in Luke-Acts. Specifically, he argues that particular elements in the narrative of Luke-Acts can be understood as instances of the topos of divine testimony through utterances and deeds, considered in some ancient rhetorical handbooks to be the most authoritative form of testimony when seeking to persuade an audience. McConnell claims the gods' testimony was used in ancient law courts and political speeches to persuade a judge of a defendant's guilt or innocence, and in attempts in public forums to convince others of a particular course of action. Similarly, the topos is used in ancient narratives and biographies to legitimate certain characters and discredit others. The instances of the topos of God's speech (both oral and through OT citations) and deeds in Luke-Acts are functioning in the same way.
Good Friday’s Good News
This book is a collection of seven Good Friday homilies by the late Rev. Dr. Eric W. Gritsch. Due to the fact that this respected historian, writer, teacher, and preacher rarely wrote his sermons, this book of printed meditations will be a treasured addition to any library. Here Gritsch captures the essence of Christian theology, highlighting the concepts with his understanding of human history and human foibles. The insights and wit for which this beloved teacher is known abound in this small volume. In this collection, the seven last words of Christ from the cross are made relevant for those in the twenty-first century who live the daily experiences of their lives trying at all times to be faithful Christians. Page by page the good news of Good Friday is made real!
Finding Grace with God
Finding Grace with God: A Phenomenological Reading of the Annunciation engages in an interweaving of phenomenology, mystical theology, and feminist philosophy to unfold a theopoetic interpretation of the narrative of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke. It begins with a discussion of the foundational phenomenologies of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger and then moves to the more recent work of several French phenomenologists, including Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Louis Chretien, and Michel Henry. The interpretation is then expanded through the philosophies of Luce Irigaray, Jean-Luc Marion, and Jacques Derrida. Finally, the phenomenologies of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger provide a means to interpret the Annunciation through theopoetics, as a text that is infused with possibility. Mary, filled with grace, is beckoned by the divine into possibility; responding in grace, she in turn beckons the divine into possibility. Transgressing the limits of language, this possibility slips into apophasis–into a moment of Gelassenheit, a mutual «letting-be» or releasement of Mary and the divine into a mystical union of love, a love that becomes manifest through a gift of life.
Hope’s Daughters
This volume throws out a lifeline to all who are running low on hope–those going under, losing their grip, slipping away, falling, failing, listing, losing, lost–as well as to those looking to enliven and embolden their hope. Hope's Daughters takes a comprehensive, 360-degree approach to hope, drawing inspiration from nature, history, poetry, science, philosophy, religion, psychology, fiction, art, biography, sports, children, and current events. This hope «reader» is deeply personal, drawing on the author's thirty years spent in hospital chaplaincy plumbing the depths with patients, their families, and their caregivers. Willis writes not from some ivory tower, but out of the hot caldron of human suffering. As «a lover of words, quotations, and stories, and one who aspired to serve others as a hope-prompter,» Willis packs every page with a two-minute drill to jumpstart hope each day. For hurried people, this book removes life's husk and gets straight down to the kernel. As a cornucopia of wisdom and hope, Hope's Daughters is an eminently practical gift for those seeking to keep hope alive and well.