No one purposefully chooses to become an idolater. No one consciously abandons the living God to fall prey to a pantheon of earthly gods. Yet idolatry has a way of subtly seeping into the cracks of human life.
Parkland. Las Vegas. Dallas. Orlando. San Bernardino. Paris. Charleston. Sutherland Springs. Newtown. These cities are now known for the people who were shot and killed in them. More Americans have died from guns in the US in the last fifty years than in all the wars in American history. With less than 5% of the world's population, the people of the US own nearly half the world's guns.
Throughout the ages, adherents of religious traditions from around the world have set apart certain writings and teachings as special, calling them scriptures, sacred texts, or classics. And they have developed particular approaches to reading these texts.
A dynamic reading of Paul’s faith language, outlining its subtle nuances as belief, trust, and faithfulness.
A timely and compelling new look at three key women in the biblical narrative
This collection features sixty sermons by Walter Brueggemann, preached mostly in the last five years. For his final public appearances, he preached at various churches and the Festival of Homiletics, including his last address there in 2018. Most of these are based on lectionary texts, with numerous sermons on Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter texts. Preachers will find inspiration in the handful of sermons covering special occasions or themes, including confirmation, evangelism, and funerals.
Jesus cared for the least, but did Paul?
The Passion narratives contain painful anti-Semitic tropes--particularly the Gospel of John, which is read world-wide every Holy Week. These readings have been used over the centuries to brand the Jewish people as "Christ-killers" and to justify discrimination and violence. Here, religious scholars and writers address the historical, theological, and exegetical considerations to be addressed by every Christian in order to move beyond this toxic history. Contributors include Walter Brueggemann, Mary Boys, Richard Lux, Wes Howard-Brook, Massimo Faggioli, Bishop Richard J.
What does it look like to read the texts we now call the gospels like first- and second-century readers? There is no evidence of anyone regarding the gospel as a book published by an author until the end of the second century. So, put differently, what does it mean to read the gospels "before the book"? For centuries, the ways people discuss the gospels have been shaped by later ideas that have more to do with the printing press and modern notions of the author than ancient writing and reading practices.
This book is written in the conviction that the church is called into being and nourished by the Word of God that comes through Scripture. But how can Scripture offer any specific guidance for hearers lives today? What are modern readers to make of the dragons and slaughtered lambs in the book of Revelation? What are we to make of a man who turns water into wine while comparing himself to bread? Can people today know what the Bible says and means?
LITERACY
UNDERSTANDING
DIALOGUE
