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Jerusalem, with its turbulent history, is without doubt one of the best-known cities of the world. A long line of foreign powers have ruled over it, from as far back as biblical times. But the city owes its importance not to them but to the fact that it is the birthplace of monotheism. Othmar Keel sketches in broad brush strokes the development of Israelite-Jewish monotheism and its integration of polytheistic symbols and perceptions. Abundant maps and illustrations enhance the volume.

Paul did not write his letter to the Romans primarily out of doctrinal concerns. Paul B. Fowler argues that rhetorical questions in Romans 3?11 structure the argument, not as responses to criticism, but as Pauls careful guiding of the reader, and that these chapters, like the paraenesis in Romans 12?15, address specific circumstances in Rome tensions between Jew and Gentile that aggravate the already precarious situation of the Roman congregation. The book includes an appendix on rhetorical devices and another on epistolary formulas in Pauls letters.

Gift and Promise shows that the theology of the Augsburg Confession is a gift for the world today. This volume establishes the hub of the Augsburg Confessionjustification by faith alonewhich is traced to its source in Luthers theology of the cross. The remainder demonstrates how that central hub is articulated in the various articles of faith that comprise the Ausgburg Confession. Written by expert theologians, historians, and scholars, this book aims to present the crucial and practical message of the Christian life in the Augsburg Confession for all.

The Holy One in Our Midst: An Essay on the Flesh of Christ aims to defend the doctrine of the extra Calvinisticumthe doctrine that maintains the Son of God was not restricted to the flesh of Christ during the incarnationby arguing that it is logically coherent, biblically warranted, catholically orthodox, and theologically useful. It shows that none of the standard objections are devastating to the extra, that the doctrine is rooted in the claims of Christian Scripture and not merely a remnant of perfect being philosophical theology, and that the doctrine plays an important role in contemporary theological discussion. In this way, James Gordon revives an important Catholic doctrine that has fallen out of favor in contemporary theology. Also, this project aims to integrate biblical, philosophical, and systematic theology by showing that the tools and methods of each distinct discipline can contribute to the goals and aims of the others.

Into the Far Country is an investigation of Karl Barth''s response to modernity as seen through the prism of the subject under judgment. By suggesting that Barth offers a form of theological resistance to the Enlightenment''s construal of human subjectivity as "absolute," this piece offers a way of talking about the formation of human persons as the process of being kenotically laid bare before the cross and resurrection of Christ. It does so by reevaluating the relationship between Barth and modernity, making the case that Barth understands Protestantism to have become the agent of its own demise by capitulating to modernitys insistence on the axiomatic priority of the isolated Cartesian ego.Conversations are hosted with figures including Fyodor Dostoevsky, Rowan Williams, Gillian Rose and Donald MacKinnon in the service of elucidating an account of the human person liberated from captivity to what Barth names "self-judgment," and freed for creative participation in the super-abundant source of life that is the prayerful movement from the Son to the Father in the Spirit. Therefore, an account of Barth''s theology is offered that is deeply concerned with the triune God''s revelatory presence as that which drives the community into the crucible of difficulty that is the life of kenotic dispossession.

In Exploring the Bible, preseminarians and other students about to begin training in ministry join scholars Eric D. Barreto and Michael J. Chan on a journey through Scripture. More than simply a practical guide to reading the Bible, this book will help readers claim their unique interpretive perspective. Barreto and Chan invite us to bring our full, authentic selves to a text that will affirm and challenge us, confirm and transform us, delight and concern us. There, God speaks, and we can hear Gods word in a new way.

The Reformation-era writings that make up the Lutheran Confessions remain lively resources for Christian ministry and mission today. Because each of the documents within the Book of Concord was written with a specific context and rhetorical purpose in mind, each has its own compelling story and objectives. Luther''s catechisms present the faith for daily life at the grass-roots level, with teaching elements that we might now view as typical of social media and multimedia. The Augsburg Confession and its Apology provide an adaptable foundation for preaching, teaching, church organization, and dialogue that is rooted in the promise of Christ, received through faith. Fifteen years after the Diet of Worms, the Smalcald Articles reveal yet another "Here I stand" moment for Luther. Finally, the Formula of Concord shows how the next generations of Lutherans used collaboration and consensus as they wrestled with important themes of faith and life. In summary, as these texts engage us with their stories, they invite us to consider what is most important about our journeys of faith and Christian witness in today''s twenty-first-century contexts.

Each volume of the Understanding World Christianity series analyzes the state of Christianity from six different angles. The focus is always Christianity, but it is approached in an interdisciplinary mannerchronological, denominational, sociopolitical, geographical, biographical, and theological.Short, engaging chapters help readers understand the complexity of Christianity in the region and broaden their understanding of the region itself. Readers will understand the interplay of Christianity and culture, and will see how geography, borders, economics, and other factors influence Christian faith.In this exciting volume, Dyron B. Daughrity and Jesudas M. Athyal offer an introduction to Indian Christianity that has been desperately needed by scholars, students, and interested readers alike. Rich in experience and knowledge, Daughrity and Athyal introduce readers to the vibrancy of Indian Christianity like no other authors have done before.

Reading the Proverbs as timeless observations and recommendations regarding human nature, valid for all cultures and places, blunts their cultural relevance, argues John J. Pilch. Similar in approach and format to the Social-Science Commentary on the New Testament volumes that he authored with Richard L. Rohrbaugh and Bruce J. Malina, this volume explores and describes the cultural matrix of the Mediterranean world from which the Proverbs come and of which they are descriptive. A list of social-science scenarios provides ready reference to particular aspects of the larger Mediterranean culture.

In this volume, E. P. Sanders presents five studies that re-examine the nature of Jewish law in the second Temple period. He considers how serious the legal issues discussed between Jesus and his opponents would have been, had they been authentic; explores whether the Pharisees had oral law, and whether they ate ordinary food in purity; examines ho

Stars Beneath Us brilliantly shows Gods presence in the ever-evolving cosmos. Relying on his upbringing as a Baptist, his doctoral work in experimental nuclear physics and gamma-ray astronomy, and his ordination to the gospel ministry, Paul Wallace weaves a book unlike any other in faith-and-science literature. This is a call to courage for those who fear a true encounter with the cosmos will distance them from God. Stars Beneath Us will inspire readers to engage with the natural world in new ways and find God, as it turns out, everywhere.

In this novel of Martin Luther's life, teen readers (and more than a few adults!) will be introduced to the life and adventures of Martin Luther.

In this latest installment of the Homebrewed Christianity series, Eric E. Hall approaches the question of God from various perspectives. The classical conception of God is like the famously stoic-yet-lethal Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid. Competing versions of God include Your Hippie Aunt, St. Joan of Arc, and even the muscle-headed goons from Jersey Shore. At the end of this romp through history and pop culture, Hall argues that the God you need may be the very God you rejected years ago.

With great detail, Kirsi I. Stjerna introduces and annotates Luthers Large Catechism, in which the reformer set out to offer a new compass for religious life. He believed all Christian peoplelaity and clergyneeded a guide to comprehend the basic biblical, creedal, and sacramental teachings. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, Volume 2. Each volume in the series contains extensive annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luthers context and to interpret his writings for today.

Timothy J. Wengert shows Luthers Treatise on Good Works to be one of the clearest introductions to Luthers reforming work and theology. Luthers goal was to commend a new, down-to-earth piety to all Christians through a radically different meaning of good works that would transform the way believers practiced their faith. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, Volume 1. Each volume in the series contains new introductions, annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luthers context and to interpret his writings for today.

With great clarity and insight, James M. Estes illuminates Luthers call to secular authorities to help with the reform of the church in this important 1520 treatise. To combat Romes intransigent opposition to reform of any sort, Luther appealed to secular rulers to intervene and clear the way for ecclesiastical reform. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, Volume 1. Each volume in the series contains new introductions, annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luthers context and to interpret his writings for today.

In his The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Martin Luther set forth a reconsideration of the sacramental Christian life that centered on the word. His thesis is that the papacy had distorted the sacraments with its own traditions and regulations, transforming them into a system of control and coercion. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, Volume 3. Each volume in the series contains annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luthers context and to interpret his writings for today.

In autumn 1525, Luther wrote The Bondage of the Will as a response to humanist and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam, who had criticized Luthers teachings in the diatribe On Free Will. Luthers argument on the matter of the bound and free will poses a challenge and an invitation for constructive contemporary theology. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, Volume 2. Each volume in the series contains annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luthers context and to interpret his writings for today.

Challenging the common notion that Augustines Confessions lacks literary unity, You Made Us for Yourself approaches the Confessions in light of what Augustine himself would have considered most fundamental: creation, understood in a broad sense. Creation, for Augustine, is an epiphany, a light which reveals who God and man are. It is, Ortiz argues, the light within which Augustine wrote the Confessions and can account for the often despaired of meaning, structure, and unity of the Confessions.

So much theology is confusing and intimidating. The concepts themselves are given weighty-sounding names, such as incarnation and justification, and the explanations of the concepts sometimes can be more confusing than the names.Captivating, entertaining, and highly informative, Crazy Talk helps readers navigate their way through that complexity and offers a vocabulary that dares (and equips!) its readers to embrace their own faith in a new, well-informed way.The purpose of Crazy Talk, says editor Rolf A. Jacobson, is to render the heart of our Christian theology in a form that is accessible and appealing to everyone. The format of the book is similar to that of a dictionary of theological terms, but with a twist of humor! Each entry includes the name of the theological term, an ironic definition of the term, and a short humorous essay offering a fuller explanation of the term. In making the term understandable, Jacobson concentrates on the big theological issue that is at stake in the term and why it matters.This revised and expanded edition includes new and expanded entries and all new images.

Kent Dobson climbed Mount Sinai in search of the God who had eluded him. Instead he got bitten by a camel. The senior pastor of one of the most prominent churches in America, Dobson was growing disillusioned with his faith. One Sunday, he preached, I dont know what the word God means anymore. He left the church, but his quest for God became more intense than ever. On the foundation of Jesus and the Bible, Dobson reconstructs a faith that is life-giving and truetrue to himself and true to God.

Building on his previous work on embodied liturgy, Frank C. Senn explores the relationship between the sacramental body and blood of Christ, the ecclesial body of Christ, and the body of the communicant. Drawing on the richness of the eucharistic prayer traditions and his own life experiences, this book expands our understandings of the Eucharist to include a life of gratitude (anaphora), cosmology and praise (preface), body and remembrance (anamnesis), Spirit and community (epiclesis), orthodoxy and world view (doxology), presence and union with Christ (communion), and initiation and reconciliation (fencing the table).