Deconstructing Your Faith Without Losing Yourself by 
A Quilted Life : reflections of a sharecropper's daughter by
"The autobiography of Catherine Meeks, describing her journey from the sharecropping fields of her father to the academy and beyond
Reformation and Everyday Life by
The European reformations meant major changes in theology, religion, and everyday life. Some changes were immediate and visible in a number of countries: monasteries were dissolved, new liturgies were introduced, and married pastors were ordained, other more hidden. Theologically, as well as practically the position of the church in the society changed dramatically, but differently according to confession and political differences. This volume addresses the question of how the theological, liturgical, and organizational changes changes brought by the reformation within different confessional cultures throughout Europe influenced the everyday life of ordinary people within the church and within society. The different contributions in the book ask how lived religion, space, and everyday life were formed in the aftermath of the reformation, and how we can trace changes in material culture, in emotions, in social structures, in culture, which may be linked to the reformation and the development of confessional cultures.
Living Christ : a spiritual reading of the gospels by
In Living Christ, Peter Feldmeier explores the Gospels as the premier revelation of the person, ministry, and salvation of Jesus Christ. Uniting biblical scholarship with a deep spiritual engagement with the Gospels, Feldmeier shows how the biblical word can access the prophetic words and saving work of Jesus to make them one's own. Each Gospel provides a unique interpretation of Christ and a distinctive expression of Christian discipleship. Feldmeier takes the reader slowly through each text so that they may richly engage the truths witnessed by the evangelists and become opportunities for interior transformation. Drawing on traditional and modern commentaries, as well as his own reflections, Feldmeier shows how the Gospels are essential in their own ways in coming to an intimate relationship with Christ and an authentic appropriation of biblical discipleship.
Food Faiths: diet, religion, and the science of spiritual eating by 
Real Forgiveness by
Victims of wrongdoing are often advised not to harbour resentment or seek revenge. Instead, they are encouraged to forgive and move on. Forgiveness is described as a generous gift that heals the rifts created by wrongdoing. It is the path to happiness, the way to escape bitter cycles of revenge and retribution. Yet in some situations it seems that it would be unwise, even dangerous, to forgive. We might worry that victims who forgive unrepentant perpetrators are letting them off the hook and facilitating further wrongdoing. These moral disputes about when we ought to forgive are complicated by the fact that it is unclear exactly what we are talking about when we use the word 'forgiveness'. The supposed experts make wildly divergent claims about what forgiveness is supposed to be. Some say that forgiveness is purely an emotional change in which the victim's anger and resentment are replaced with goodwill. Others say that forgiveness is primarily a behavioural change in which the victim withholds any further blame and punishment. Still others think that forgiving is actually a mental commitment, or even that it is a performative speech act similar to making a promise or cancelling a debt. In Real Forgiveness, Luke Russell identifies the underlying tensions in our thinking about forgiveness, and shows how these tensions have led to mass confusion. Many of us assume that forgiveness is permissible whenever it is possible, and that forgiveness is available to every victim, and that forgiveness results in peace. But forgiveness cannot be all of these things simultaneously, so we must decide which one of these assumptions we will reject. Russell argues that real forgiveness is powerful and appealing precisely because it removes conflict between victims and wrongdoers. Yet sometimes victims ought to remain in conflict with wrongdoers in order to protect themselves and other vulnerable members of the community, so sometimes is it morally wrong to forgive.
The life of solitude = (De vita solitaria) by 
Film and Faith : modern cinema and the struggle to believe by 
Glorification and the Life of Faith by
"Two renowned theologians address the key soteriological theme of glorification, showing students how to integrate theology into the life of faith and how the practices of Christian worship influence theological thinking"--
The dialectics of discipleship : Karl Barth, sanctification and theological ethics by
Interrogating Barth's discipleship-shaped vision of sanctification, this book investigates both Lutheran and Calvinian source material to develop an account that differs markedly from other Lutheran and Calvinist perspectives. Highlighting the robustly theological and Christ-centred character of Barth's account, Chris Swann demonstrates that, far from merely valorising human activity, Barth advances an understanding of human moral agency, action, and suffering that is real but relative to the agency of God in Christ to which it corresponds analogously. With a focus on the role the image of discipleship plays in giving conceptual structure and shape to Barth's distinctive account of the correspondence between divine agency and sanctified human agency, this book evaluates the ramifications of his discipleship-shaped vision of sanctification. In doing this, it gives special attention to Barth's own personal mixed record with regard to Christian discipleship. Ultimately, Swann retrieves a number of important resources for contemporary theological ethics from Barth's theology of discipleship.
Profiling Saints: images of modern sanctity in a global world by
Profiling Saints" follows and expands the papers presented at the homonym online international conference (December 2021), which focused on cultural, theological, artistic, and social aspects of models of sanctity and their importance in the modern world up to the post-revolutionary period. This volume aims thus to shed light on the cultural value of canonizations and models of sanctity as models of Christian perfection, including the role of iconography and artworks, in the broader context of modern, global Catholicism. The topics presented by the authors include veneration to, and canonization and representations of, saint theologians, missionaries, martyrs, mystics, and reformers, men and women. "Profiling Saints" looks at modern sanctity and saints from multidisciplinary perspectives, ranging from liturgy, theology, and Church history up to history of ideas, cultural history, history of emotions, and art history, and contributes to shed light on such a complex phenomenon of Christian history in its modern developments.
Scenes with My Son : love and grief in the wake of suicide by
A celebration and an elegy, Scenes with My Son sensitively renders the terrible privilege of grief in the wake of suicide. After years of battling clinical depression exacerbated by autism, Auggie Hubbard died by suicide at the age of 19. In this poignant tribute to his son, Robert Hubbard--a theatre scholar and actor--stages Auggie's life in a series of vivid and tender scenes: Auggie's insatiable hunger for Accelerated Reader points. His tireless lightsaber practice in the local park. His sonorous tuba practice in the ward of his inpatient program. Through these anecdotes of Auggie's life and the days following his death, readers journey with a family shaken by mental illness and share in their hard-won joys in defiance of depression. Refusing easy answers and clichés about "God's plan," Hubbard unflinchingly asks: Does faith matter amid such tragedy? What do you do when awareness isn't enough? When you've tried so hard to keep your child safe, but your efforts fail? His honesty and vulnerability--and his tender portrait of Auggie--are gifts to all who live with their own questions in the wake of a loved one's death.
This Here Flesh : spirituality, liberation, and the stories that make us by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the "necessary rituals" that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation. "This is the kind of book that makes you different when you're done."--Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter "Reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through."--Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and Caul Baby ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Root, Library Journal "From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning." So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself. Writing memorably of her own childhood and coming to self, Arthur Riley boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith: How can spirituality not silence the body, but instead allow it to come alive? How do we honor, lament, and heal from the stories we inherit? How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation, noise, and unrest? In this indelible work of contemplative storytelling, Arthur Riley invites us to descend into our own stories, examine our capacity to rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair, and find that our humanity is not an enemy to faith but evidence of it. At once a compelling spiritual meditation, a powerful intergenerational account, and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently to anyone who suspects that our stories might have something to say to us.
God, I'm Angry!: anger, forgiveness, and the psalms of vengeance by
Is it a sin for Christians to be angry? After all, didn't Jesus teach his disciples to forgive unconditionally? Rev. Dr. Maggie Low answers both of these questions with a resounding "No!" Debunking unhealthy assumptions about anger and forgiveness, God, I'm Angry! lays the groundwork for a biblical understanding of righteous anger, conditional forgiveness, and unconditional love. Low thoroughly engages both Old Testament and New Testament texts to demonstrate that biblical forgiveness is always reliant upon repentance. Examining the psalms of vengeance in their original context, she also establishes that there is such a thing as a healthy, and holy, expression of anger - a way to "do anger" with God that makes space for healing and restored relationship. Alongside profound theological insight, this book provides a step-by-step guide for application in pastoral counseling contexts and includes real-life examples from Low's extensive ministry experience. It is a source of practical wisdom for spiritual and emotional growth towards freedom, wholeness, and fullness of life.
In thought, word, and seed : reckonings from a Midwest farm by
"A collection of literary essays that reveals connections between culture, landscape, faith, and literature"-
Ethic of Christian Freedom and Discipleship by
Ethics of Christian Freedom and Discipleship is written for teachers and students of Christian ethics within the English-speaking world. It demonstrates the basis of Christian ethics in Christian theology. Twenty-nine years ago, before leaving the Nigerian theological college where the author had been teaching, Between Two Worlds: An Ethic of Christian Freedom was privately printed. In Kenya, at what became St. Paul's University, the author primarily used copies of this book for eleven years of teaching Christian ethics. Ethics of Christian Freedom and Discipleship manifests continuity with the author's earlier book, but is a distinctly different work.
Hope Today (Pro ecclesia series ; 11) by
Hope is not about uncertain possibility. There is a robust sense of hope: something has happened, and it has happened in a certain way. This volume addresses the question: What is the way of Christian hope? What does it mean to act with hope? And in particular, what does it mean to act, to live, with hope in our churches and in society today?
Leading Faithful Innovation: following God into a hopeful future by 
Belonging: five keys to unlock your potential as a disciple by
Ministry leaders and other Christians find a deeply personal pathway to discern what discipleship means for them in Belonging by Karoline Lewis.What does it look like for you to belong to Jesus Christ? Not your colleague, or your professor, or your neighbor, or the leaders of your denomination, but you? How might your one-and-only life be patterned differently, to more truly align you with Christ? What pretense might you give up? What potential might open up for you as a leader and disciple?Belonging:5 keys to Unlock Your Potential as a Disciple helps readers to understand and live out Christian discipleship in a way that is most deeply authentic for themselves. It's for the leader who is exhausted from trying to live by other people's templates, who wants to figure out what it looks like to live & lead as only they can. It's for the student or layperson desiring to follow Christ with integrity, to be themselves fully as a disciple.This book is scholarly but accessible for pastors, students, ministry leaders, and laypersons. Karoline Lewis structures it around the story of the Samaritan woman and guides the reader to discover deep connection with biblical characters who lead to self-discovery. Questions for reflection throughout the book evoke deep insights about self, theology, and discipleship.Belonging is excellent for clergy development and ministry leader development in any setting and can be read and studied alone or in groups. Pastors and other congregational leaders can work their way through the book together, in order to lead the church with greater integrity.
Humility: rediscovering the way of love and life in Christ by 
Human Flourishing in a Technological World: a theological perspective by
"Human Flourishing in a Technological World addresses the question of human identity and flourishing in the light of recent technological advances. The chapters in Part I provide a philosophical-theological evaluation of changing major anthropological assumptions that have guided human self-understanding from antiquity to modernity: How did we move from a religious and mostly embodied anthropology of the person to the idea that we can upload human consciousness to computing platforms? How did we come to imagine that machines can actually be intelligent, or even learn in human fashion? Moreover, what metaphysical changes explain our mostly uncritical embrace of a technological determination of being and thus of how reality "works"? In Part II, the focus turns to the practical implications of our changing understanding of what it means to be human. Covering some of the most pressing current concerns about human flourishing, these chapters deal with the impact of technology on education, healthcare, disability, leisure and the nature of work, communication, aging, death, and the nature of wisdom for human flourishing in light of evolutionary biology. The volume includes the text of a lecture by virtual reality engineer and computer scientist Jaron Lanier, and a discussion between Lanier and other contributors." --
Eight Million Exiles : missional action research and the crisis of forced migration by 
Hopeful Lament : tending our grief through spiritual practices by
We need to rediscover lament to heal and hope again. We've lost the practice of lament. Most people don't know how to process personal or communal mourning and instead struggle to honor their tears, vulnerability, and the full weight of these disillusioning times. But tending our grief might be exactly what we need to reimagine a way forward. Tracing her difficult experiences of a catastrophic home fire, a threat to her child's well-being, and other devastating losses and upheavals, Terra McDaniel offers a clear framework for expressing heartache and burdens. McDaniel says, "Lament is surprisingly hopeful. As strange as that may sound now, I promise it's true. It's an act of trust both that we can face pain and survive, and that God cares about our anger, confusion, doubt, grief, and fear. Lament refuses to bury pain or, just as dangerous, to give in to despair." Hopeful Lament makes space for the powerful act of crying out before a loving God and offers provoking reflection questions, embodied practices, and applications for families with children. Learn how to journey gently through suffering.
Perfect in Weakness: disability and human flourishing in the new creation by
One of the central and novel convictions of the early Christian movement compared to the existing Greco-Roman beliefs was the dogma of bodily resurrection. The Stoics esteemed temperance, disciplining the body to curb the flesh; the Epicureans embraced pleasure, indulging their worldly desires. However, Paul?s letters to the Corinthians convey a countercultural idea: what you do with your body matters because it will still be with you in the resurrection. But when many contemporary Christians consider the new creation, they imagine the new Jerusalem filled with unblemished people living with normalized and idealized resurrected bodies: "healing" is assumed as a fundamental reality of the resurrection. In Perfect in Weakness, Maja I. Whitaker develops the proposition that people with disabilities might retain their diverse embodiment in the new creation?that the resurrected body might still be "disabled." This theological claim is based in the accounts of the resurrected Christ appearing with the stigmata, and it is supported by the intuitions of those persons with disabilities who consider that their unique embodiment is identity-forming and entirely unproblematic in itself. If the human person is an essentially embodied metaphysical unity, then there may be features of our particular bodies that must be continuous through the transformation of resurrection for personal identity to be secured. However, this "retention view" has faced conceptual objections on the grounds of theological anthropology, continuity of identity, and biblical conceptions of flourishing human life. Whitaker confronts these objections, integrating philosophical, biblical, and theological methodologies in order to present a reasonable and coherent defense of the retention view. The possibility of persons with diverse embodiment enjoying fullness of life in the new creation can expose negative attitudes towards disability and unlock a critique of ableist bias in Christian thought and practice in the modern church. Moreover, it can function as an eschatological parable to subvert the powers of this age that idolize success, mastery, and autonomy to the neglect of theologies of weakness, limitation, and dependency. In this way, Perfect in Weakness is important not only in the realm of disability studies but also in the wider Christian community that is mired within the cultural ideologies of our time.
Called to discipleship : reflections on the Gospel of Mark by
Drawing on Jesus's example in the Gospel of Mark, this book offers an in-depth exploration of the nature of discipleship. A tool to help readers draw close to Jesus, it presents discipleship as a way of life centred on the journey back to God - a journey that integrates the quest for salvation, wholeness, and human fulfilment. Ultimately, the invitation to discipleship is an invitation to live in obedience to God and commitment to our fellow human beings, as Christ calls his followers not only to their own transformation but to participate in the transformation of others. At a time when secular culture is rediscovering the benefits of discipleship, this book invites readers into a powerful experience of identity formation based on the values of Christ and his kingdom.
The Lived Experience of Forgiveness: phenomenological and psychological perspectives by 
Falling Upward : a spirituality for the two halves of life (Revised and Updated) by 
Meaning in the Moment: how rituals help us move through joy, pain, and everything in between by
Life has its ups and downs, and it can feel like we're always in the middle of a transition. Whether it's a painful end, an uncertain middle, or a joyful beginning, Amy Davis Abdullah has found something that helps: rituals. In Meaning in the Moment, she shows why we need rituals to survive and even thrive through various seasons of life. She also provides practical guidance for creating our own meaningful rituals.
Art, Desire, and God: phenomenological perspectives by
Bringing together thinkers from philosophy of religion, religious studies, music, art, and film, while drawing on a wealth of phenomenological resources and methods, a team of renowned scholars provide new vantages on the question of how art is an expression of the human desire for God. In three interrelated parts, chapters employ phenomenological tools to propose new ways for speaking of the desire for God. Scholars first draw upon music, sculpture, film, and painting to develop ways of expressing diverse philosophical and religious aspects characteristic of aesthetic experience. The discussion then opens up to examine the mystical and wounded aspects of embodied interface with God. The final part investigates embodied aesthetic praxis in philosophy of religion and religious studies. With several contributions engaging with the embodied, aesthetic experience of underrepresented voices, Art, Desire, and God offers constructive phenomenological bridges across divides of disciplines, aesthetic experiences, and embodied actions.
Unexpected Abundance : the fruitful lives of women without children by
Meet 25 women who generated life without giving birth In many Christian communities today, women are expected to have children--to "be fruitful and multiply." To be childless is to be less of a woman, less of a Christian, or so it can feel. Elizabeth Felicetti is deeply familiar with this pressure as an Episcopal priest who never had the children she imagined would be part of her life. But in the landscape of her childhood in Arizona Felicetti found fresh eyes. If she's "barren," so is the desert--and if you look closely, the desert teems with unexpected life. This is also true of women throughout history. Biblical women like Mary Magdalene, medieval mystics like Julian of Norwich, and modern activists like Rosa Parks did not have children, yet their lives bore fruit in their communities and in the church at large. In reflecting on her own experience alongside those of these remarkable women, Felicetti deepens our understanding of the many ways to be fruitful. Women without children--by choice or chance--who have felt frustrated or voiceless in the church will find solidarity and inspiration in the pages of Unexpected Abundance.
Sacred Self-Care : daily practices for nurturing our whole selves by 
Sacred Pregnancy : birth, motherhood, and the quest for spiritual community by
Sacred Pregnancyis part a retrospective on changing paradigms of and feminist discourse on motherhood, part sociological study of changing religious demographics and understandings of religious experience in the United States, and part exploration of the spiritual movements and spiritually guided reproductive health services that bring all these themes together. Resting on the premise that motherhood in general and pregnancy specifically should not be brushed aside as beneath intellectual inquiry or as settled subjects, Ann Duncan explores a new form of religious community: a growing number of diverse movements that blend business with a spiritual approach to the reproductive health of women. This new mode of spiritual ritual is centered not around a particular conception of the divine but by the shared experience of pregnancy and birth as sacred rites of passage and women's reproductive health as an avenue toward spiritual experience, community, and even economic opportunity. These spiritual birth movements are an invitation to further investigate and understand not only the social construction of motherhood and the cultural understanding and practice of pregnancy, but also the life-changing experiences of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood and the concomitant desire for religious ritual in the lives of American women.
What Matters Most: conversations on the art of living by
The ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus insisted that philosophy should be concerned with nothing less than τo τιμιώτατον (to timiotaton), generally translated as "what matters most". This collection of philosophical conversations by many of the world's leading thinkers seeks to honour Plotinus' vision by addressing questions related to the art of living. When thinking about the art of living, we may conjure up ideas of therapy, meditation, peace, happiness, and so on. However, this collection aims to expand the scope of this idea, foregrounding social and political questions, alongside more traditional existential ones. How are we to think about the art of living together, of living with technology, of living under oppression, of living in the end times? These engaging and urgent conversations invite us to think anew about the complexities and challenges involved in living a good life in a world characterized by uncertainty and change.
Freedom and Imagination : trusting Christ in an age of bad faith by
We suffer today from a crisis not of confidence, but of trust. With the constant barrage of lies, untruths, and alternative facts, all words are dubious, all deeds are debatable, and all motives are suspect. To tell the truth in such a world requires fortitude. To believe the truth demands even more. In Freedom and Imagination, S. D. Giere recovers the idea of faith as trust and of faith in Christ as trusting what God has done through him. Tending to faith is like tending to the heart and, thereby, the health of the whole. By trusting Christ, one is free to live without the fear of sin and death, free to live in love toward the friend, the neighbor, and even the enemy. Faith reveals the cosmos as it is: a world reconciled to the Triune God. Yet, that freedom frequently conflicts with experience. Only faith can bend the imagination towards seeing the world in and through Christ. Freedom and Imagination recovers faith as the theological heart of the human being's participation in the life of God, and imagination as faith's interpretive lens. Three areas of ministry and life are explored through the imagination of faith: biblical interpretation, proclamation, and Christian freedom.
Reconstructing Prayer: beyond deconstructing your faith by 
Guerrillas of Grace : prayers for the battle by
For four decades, this classic collection of tough, beautiful, and earthy prayers has lightened hearts and dared spirits to soar.
Soul Boom: why we need a spiritual revolution by
**New York Times Bestseller** Comedic actor, producer, and writer Rainn Wilson, cofounder of the media company SoulPancake, explores the problem-solving benefits that spirituality gives us to create solutions for an increasingly challenging world. The trauma that our struggling species has experienced in recent years--because of both the pandemic and societal tensions that threaten to overwhelm us--is not going away anytime soon. Existing political and economic systems are not enough to bring the change that the world needs. In this book, Rainn Wilson explores the possibility and hope for a spiritual revolution, a "Soul Boom," to find a healing transformation on both a personal and global level For Wilson, this is a serious and essential pursuit, but he brings great humor and his own unique perspective to the conversation. He feels that, culturally, we've discounted spirituality--faith and the sacred--and we need profound healing and a unifying understanding of the world that the great spiritual traditions provide. Wilson's approach to spirituality--the non-physical, eternal aspects of ourselves--is relatable and applies to people of all beliefs, even the skeptics. Filled with genuine insight--not to mention enlightening Kung Fu and Star Trek references--Soul Boom delves into ancient wisdom to seek out practical, transformative answers to life's biggest questions.
Lest We Lose Love: rediscovering the core of Western culture by
Few are aware that since antiquity, there has always been the philosophy of love at the core of Western culture. It articulates what makes life meaningful and worthwhile, and how we can live a good life together through an ethic of love. This book fills this significant gap, not only reconnecting the reader with such important wisdom, and more crucially, also reorienting our socio-economic institutions and collective actions towards more loving and caring, and more concerned with the qualities of our lived experiences. By re(dis)covering the gifts of love, we may challenge the existing systemic dehumanisation, and draw from knowledge and understanding already present in our culture. This is timely because the global crises we are facing are catastrophic, especially when it comes to climate change. Therefore we must respond from a place of love rather than fear. Whether it is reducing the use of fossil fuels, lowering greenhouse emission, choosing the right food to eat, or advocating for structural transformation, our concerted endeavours start with an appropriate appreciation of the nature of our well-being which includes the planet's well-ness. This book highlights a clear pathway forward: to ensure collective healing and co-flourishing with nature, we must practise the art of loving.
Lived Vocation: stories of faith at work by
Lived Vocationis a collection of short reflective essays based on stories of contemporary work. Together these reflections offer a window into the struggle to find meaning at work today. These stories explore how we come to our work and jobs, the hardship and "toil" of our working lives, and the surprisingly small but powerful ways in which God may nonetheless be at work in these stories. Author Tim Snyder asks: What if vocation were less about being certain that you're following God's master plan for your life and more about noticing the presence of God as we tell our stories from everyday life? The book challenges congregational leaders to listen to the stories of actual Christians putting their faith into action. It offers ordinary Christians the assurance that they are not alone in their struggle to make sense of faith in everyday life. The book provides congregational leaders with an accessible window into the lives of ordinary Christians trying to put their faith into action at work. It helps such leaders empathize with the difficulties of integrating faith in everyday life today and inspires them to listen to and tell more stories of their own.