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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > Christian social thought & activity
An impressive study that prompts the reader toward philosophical
reflection on the hermeneutics of melancholy in its relation to
maturing theological understanding and cultivation of a profound
self-consciousness. Melancholy has been interpreted as a deadly sin
or demonic temptation to non-being, yet its history of
interpretation reveals a progressive coming to terms with the dark
mood that ultimately unveils it as the self's own ground and a
trace of the abysmal nature of God. The book advances two
provocative claims: that far from being a contingent condition,
melancholy has been progressively acknowledged as constitutive of
subjectivity as such, a trace of divine otherness and pathos, and
that the effort to transcend melancholy-like Perseus vanquishing
Medusa-is a necessary labor of maturing self-consciousness.
Reductive attempts to eliminate it, besides being dangerously
utopian, risk overcoming the labor of the soul that makes us human.
This study sets forth a rigorous scholarly argument that spans
several disciplines, including philosophy, theology, psychology,
and literary studies.
Something is wrong in our society. Deeply wrong. The belief that
all lives matter is at the heart of our founding documents--but we
must admit that this conviction has never truly reflected reality
in America. Movements such as Black Lives Matter have arisen in
response to recent displays of violence and mistreatment, and some
of us defensively answer back, "All lives matter." But do they?
Really? This book is an exploration of that question. It delves
into history and current events, into Christian teaching and
personal stories, in order to start a conversation about the way
forward. Its raw but hopeful words will help move us from apathy to
empathy and from empathy to action. We cannot do everything. But we
can each do something.
Can Christian clergy - supposedly men of peace - also be warriors?
In this lively and compelling history D.S. Chambers examines the
popes and cardinals over several centuries who not only preached
war but also put it into practice as military leaders. Satirised by
Erasmus, the most notorious - Julius II - was even refused entrance
to heaven because he was 'bristling and clanking with bloodstained
armour'. Popes, Cardinals and War investigates the unexpected
commitment of the Roman Church, at its highest level of authority,
to military force and war as well as - or rather than -
peace-making and the avoidance of bloodshed. Although the book
focuses particularly on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a
notoriously belligerent period in the history of the papacy,
Chambers also demonstrates an extraordinary continuity in papal use
of force, showing how it was of vital importance to papal policy
from the early Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Popes,
Cardinals and War looks at the papacy's stimulus and support of war
against Muslim powers and Christian heretics but lays more emphasis
on wars waged in defence of the Church's political and territorial
interests in Italy. It includes many vivid portraits of the warlike
clergy, placing the exceptional commitment to warfare of Julius II
in the context of the warlike activities and interests of other
popes and cardinals both earlier and later. Engaging and
stimulating, and using references to scripture and canon law as
well as a large range of historical sources, Chambers throws light
on these extraordinary and paradoxical figures - men who were
peaceful by vocation but contributed to the process of war with
surprising directness and brutality - at the same time as he
illuminates many aspects of the political history of the Church.
Attitudes towards divorce have changed considerably over the past
two centuries. As society has moved away from a Biblical definition
of marriage as an indissoluble union, to that of an individual and
personal relationship, secular laws have evolved as well. Using
unpublished sources and previously inaccessible private
collections, Holmes explores the significant role the Church of
England has played in these changes, as well as the impact this has
had on ecclesiastical policies. This timely study will be relevant
to ongoing debates about the meaning and nature of marriage,
including the theological doctrines and ecclesiastical policies
underlying current debates on same-sex marriage.
This book is the product of dialogue between a group of leading
British Muslim and Christian scholars concerned about the alleged
danger to the 'West' of Islamic 'fundamentalism'. It analyses the
ethical and legal principles, rooted in both traditions, underlying
any use of armed force in the modern world. After chapters on the
history, theology and laws of war as seen from both sides, the book
applies its conclusions to (a) the 1990-91 Gulf War and (b) the
Bosnian Conflict. It concludes that Huntington's 'Clash of
Civilisations' thesis is a dangerous myth.
Christianity and Culture in the City: A Postcolonial Approach
offers an introduction to the broad diversity of contemporary
Christianities in a rich, complex, changing, and challenging city
context. Cruz focuses upon a variety of changing communities with
dynamic and striking cultural experiences, and the volume provides
both scholarly and practical insights as to how Christianities in
the city relate to and transform city institutions and communities
that are undergoing dramatic shifts and invite opportunities for
intentional study. This book offers a provocative interdisciplinary
examination to shed light upon the ways in which diverse city
communities appropriate Christianity to better engage their
economic, cultural, political, and religious environment. A
post-colonial theoretical framework will help inform how
Christianity serves to empower and reinvent fragmented, oppressed,
and struggling city populations. The reader is offered various
conceptual, theoretical, and pragmatic insights and knowledge for
better interpreting, affirming, and engaging diverse Christianities
in the city in a postcolonial era.
This book is an important contribution for all United Methodists
concerned that their denomination is approaching irrelevance.
Within its pages Dr. Lavender offers a Biblical, Wesleyan and
means-tested approach that both saves the lives of millions of
orphans and vulnerable children and inspires evangelical hope for
the church.
"I no sooner perceived myself in the world," wrote English
philosopher John Locke, "than I found myself in a storm." The storm
of which Locke spoke was the maelstrom of religious fanaticism and
intolerance that was tearing apart the social fabric of European
society. His response was A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689),
arguably the most important defense of religious freedom in the
Western tradition. In God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for
Religious Freedom in the West, historian Joseph Loconte offers a
groundbreaking study of Locke's Letter, challenging the notion that
decisive arguments for freedom of conscience appeared only after
the onset of the secular Enlightenment. Loconte argues that Locke's
vision of a tolerant and pluralistic society was based on a radical
reinterpretation of the life and teachings of Jesus. In this, Locke
drew great strength from an earlier religious reform movement,
namely, the Christian humanist tradition. Like no thinker before
him, Locke forged an alliance between liberal political theory and
a gospel of divine mercy. God, Locke, and Liberty suggests how a
better understanding of Locke's political theology could calm the
storms of religious violence that once again threaten international
peace and security. To read an interview with the author about the
book on Patheos.com, see here:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2015/01/10/under-locke-and-key/
Africa has seen many political crises ranging from violent
political ideologies, to meticulous articulated racist governance
system, to ethnic clashes resulting in genocide and religious
conflicts that have planted the seed of mutual suspicion.The masses
impacted by such crises live with the past that has not passed. The
Healing of Memories: African Christian Responses to Politically
Induced Trauma examines Christian responses to the damaging impact
of conflict on the collective memory. Troubled memory is a recipe
for another cycle of conflict. While most academic works tend to
stress forgiving and forgetting, they did not offer much as to how
to deal with the unforgettable past. This book aims to fill this
gap by charting an interdisciplinary approach to healing the
corrosive memories of painful pasts. Taking a cue from the
empirical expositions of post-apartheid South Africa, post-genocide
Rwanda, the Congo Wars, and post-Red Terror Ethiopia, this volume
brings together coherent healing approaches to deal with traumatic
memory.
How have Christian theologies of religious superiority underwritten
ideologies of white supremacy in the United States? According to
Hill Fletcher, the tendency of Christians to view themselves as the
"chosen ones" has often been translated into racial categories as
well. In other words, Christian supremacy has historically lent
itself to white supremacy, with disastrous consequences. How might
we start to disentangle the two? Hill Fletcher proposes educational
strategies that will help foster racial healing in America, the
first of which is to demand of white Christians that they accept
their responsibility for racist policies and structural
discrimination in America.
2014 Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year ("Also Recommended,"
Justice) Slavery didn't end in 1833, when William Wilberforce's
decades-long campaign finally resulted in the Slavery Abolition
Act. It didn't end in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. It didn't end in 1949, when the United
Nations declared trafficking "incompatible with the dignity and
worth of the human person." The sad truth is, slavery never ended.
It just went underground, where it continues to exploit powerless
men, women and children in horrific ways throughout the world. Now
for the good news: you have power. In Refuse to Do Nothing,
"Abolitionist Mamas" Shayne Moore and Kimberly Yim share their
stories of coming to terms with the power available to them in
their normal, everyday lives to illuminate the shadows where those
who traffic in people hide compel corporations to fight slavery in
how their products are made motivate politicians to fight for human
dignity mobilize friends and strangers alike to fight slavery at
home and throughout the world Slavery doesn't end without a fight.
But get to know Shayne and Kimberly and their abolitionist friends,
and you'll find the power God grants to all who fight for the
powerless, and the joy awaiting those who refuse to do nothing.
Vroue speel nog altyd 'n sentrale rol in ons samelewing. Hul rol as versorgers word erken, maar wat van oa in die kerk of sakewêreld? Het die vrou se rol oor die jare verander? Bettina Wyngaard ontleed die kwessie in 'n gesprek tussen toeka en nou en Bybel en grondwet. Sy gaan kyk na die sogenaamde "text of terrors" en hoe die eerste vroue bygedra het tot die vryheid wat vroue vandag het in alle sfere van die samelewing geniet. Maak nie saak hoe stadig hul vorentoe beweeg nie, hul beweeg.
Is it possible to disagree politically and love unconditionally?
The reaction of evangelicals to political and cultural shifts in
recent years revealed what they value most. Lurking beneath our
Bible-laced rhetoric, faith claims, books, and sermons is a
relentless drive to WIN! But the church is not here to win. By
every human measure, our Savior lost. On purpose. With a purpose.
And we are his body. We are not in it to win anything. We are in it
for something else entirely. That something else is what this book
is about. You'll discover: How to take a stand the right way.
You'll learn how to make your case with a posture of humility and
understanding, rather than being fueled by the fear of losing
something. How to view politics through the lens of faith. Learn
curiously, listen intentionally, and love unconditionally. How the
life of Jesus and his teaching applies to modern-day challenges in
a fresh way. The "biblical" stand may not be what we've been
taught. Jesus never asked his followers to agree on everything. But
he did call his followers to obey a new command: to love others in
the same way he has loved us. Instead of asserting our rights or
fighting for power, we need to begin asking ourselves: what does
love require of me?
Taking inspiration from the Spanish word for
retirement--jubilacion-- veteran minister Bruce Epperly challenges
and empowers clergy to see retirement as a celebration of new
possibilities and not an inexorable diminishment towards
irrelevance. Similar in spirit to the Jubilee year described in
scripture, retirement can be a time of transformation and
exploration, of freedom to try on new versions of yourself and new
paths of service. In that spirit, clergy can embrace creative
transformation in their relationships, neighborhoods, religious
communities, and politics. No longer tethered to the politics and
administrative duties of congregational leadership, they can now
freely commit themselves to relational, intellectual, and spiritual
growth. They can also focus on personal, community, and planetary
healing and transformation. Retired clergy can become sages and
wisdom givers sharing their insights and energy with seminarians
and novice pastors, congregations, and communities. Bringing
together the fruits of conversations with more than 100 retired
clergy, theological reflection, and spiritual practices, this text
provides a way forward for clergy considering retirement and
retired clergy. Based on interviews from persons from diverse
denominations, theological perspectives, and ethnic and racial
backgrounds, this text garners wisdom from pastors on their
retirement journeys, from personal preparation and public
announcement to first steps following retirement and long-term
adventures.
Part narrative, part wartime dispatch, Hope for Ukraine transports you
into the gritty reality of war-torn Ukraine--and the front lines of
faith, survival, and miraculous intervention. From scrambling to escape
the bombs leveling their neighborhoods to fleeing sex traffickers in
the chaos of border crossings to rescuing orphans trapped by Russian
tanks, these stunning firsthand accounts tell the stories of real
Ukrainians enduring terrible hardships with grit and grace.
Join bestselling writer Kyle Duncan and his co-author Esther
Fedorkevich--both with deep family ties to Ukraine--as they take you
inside the conflict with dramatic boots-on-the-ground stories and
eyewitness accounts of Ukrainian refugees, aid workers, soldiers, and
families affected by the conflict.
As the world holds its collective breath, these stories reveal the
unbreakable spirit of a nation under siege. Even amid the chaos and
tragedy of Europe's largest war since World War II, God is indeed at
work in redemptive ways.
Proceeds will go to helping Ukraine's refugees.
In the beginning, David's confinement to the cave of Adullam was
out of desperation, as he lived in hiding from Saul, who sought to
kill him. But this once cold, damp, and dark shelter became a place
of earnest supplication for David. The Man Cave will explore how
David turned his man cave into a "Center for Life Development" that
God used to change not only his personal life but the lives of
thousands.
Every year, an estimated 1.6 million Americans participate in
short-term mission trips, spending over one billion dollars figures
that have increased exponentially in the last two decades. About
one third of U.S. congregations sponsor such trips each year. While
they are referred to as mission trips, many trips focus not on
conversion or evangelism, but on service projects building a
playground, providing medical care, or serving free meals to the
poor. Short-term mission participants have a genuine desire to
transform conditions of poverty, yet they don't always know how to
go about it; many people involved in short-term mission work
virtually reinvent the wheel when they design and plan their
service projects. Here is a guide for leaders of such trips
presenting clear insight and research from anthropologists and
development professionals that will help them have a greater impact
on the communities they are serving. The framework for planning
short-term mission trips outlined here provides a firm foundation
for maximizing their effectiveness. Laurie A. Occhipinti draws in
her reader with personal anecdotes, using case studies to
illustrate her points, and engages them with thoughtful analysis of
the work that is done during short-term missions. Filled with
practical suggestions for creating effective volunteer
opportunities, this handbook is a vital resource for any potential
mission volunteer."
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