"Scripture" is no longer an absolute. In the last two centuries, as Westerners have become more keenly conscious of the flatly historical character of their own biblical documents, they have also realized the normative function of scripture in other traditions. W. C. Smith's vastly erudite work asks how it is that certain texts have so seeped ......
This highly acclaimed and widely used volume now in its third edition, is a collaborative presentation of the chief Christian doctrines in light of their traditional theological formulations, their historical development, and contemporary challenges. Joined by David Tracy, Langdon Gilkey, Edward Farley, Sallie McFague, and many others, Hodgson and ......
Not so much as a movement or school as an emerging consensus about philosophical criteria of truth and reality, nonfoundationalism is the critical impulse associated with the work of Richard Rorty, Richard Berstein, and others. Increasingly its critique of the search for sure and impregnable foundations shapes the fundamental commitments that gird ......
Questions of pacifism and just war, which have preoccupied Christian thinkers from time to time over the past 1700 years, are given distinctive treatment in this book as it discusses biblical sources for the questions, builds on historical examples both of just war theory and of pacifism, and shows how Christian pacifism is a live option in many ......
Walt Kallestad talks about leadership in the sense of influence, asserting that such virtues as love, grace, and an affirming spirit are more powerful tools than authority and command.
English text with Spanish, German, and French translations. This volume presents the policy statement on ecumenical commitment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted in 1991 by the ELCA's second churchwide assembly.
Through deft use of available data and texts, Wagner brings the enigmatic second century to life. Selecting five fateful challenges--issues of Creation, human nature, Jesus' identities, roles of the church, and Christians in society--he shows what was at stake for emerging Christianity and how its five key players responded. Map; glossary; ......
Aware that pastors and church members need a new vision for evangelism in small towns and rural areas, Ruffcorn presents lively suggestions and new understandings gleaned from his workshops on rural evangelism and his own experience. He emphasizes the need for congregations to dwell on both the inward and outward aspects of nurturing their own ......
This collection of freshly translated texts leads to a new appreciation of the richness and variety of the religious world within which Christianity emerged as a powerful new force. Bringing together for the first time under a single cover documents from Jewish, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Syrian, and little-known early Christian sources, the material ......
