The essays collected here, prepared by a think tank of the Elijah Interfaith Academy, explore the challenges associated with sharing wisdom-learning, teachings, messages for good living-between members of different faith traditions. In a globalized age, when food, music, and dress are shared freely, how should religions go about sharing their wisdom? The essays, representing six faith traditions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist), explore what wisdom means in each of these traditions, why it should be shared-internally and externally-and how it should be shared. A primary concern is the form of appropriate sharing, so that the wisdom of the specific tradition maintains its integrity in the process of sharing. Authors reflect on specific wisdoms their tradition has or should share, as well as what it has to receive from other faiths. Special emphasis is placed on the themes of love and forgiveness and how these illustrate the principles of common sharing. Love and humility emerge as strong motivators for sharing wisdom and for doing so in a way that respects the tradition from which the wisdom comes as well as the recipient. This book offers a theory that can enrich ongoing encounters between members of faith traditions by suggesting a tradition-based practice of sharing the wisdom of traditions, while preserving the integrity of the teaching and respecting the identity of the one with whom wisdom is shared.

Jrgen Moltmann's distinctive insights in trinitarian theology - especially about the relations within God and God's presence in creation - are revolutionary for theology and set the stage for these further explorations. The esteemed group of contributors in this volume probes new ways of understanding the triune character of God. Among the contributors are: Nicholas Constas Sarah A. Coakley Harvey G. Cox Jr. Lyle Dabney David Fergusson David H. Kelsey Daniel Migliore Gerald O'Collins John Polkinghorne William Schweiker Dirk Smit Bryan D. Spinks Kathryn Tanner Ronald F. Thiemann Miroslav Volf John Webster Nicholas Wolterstorff

Joy is crucial to human life and central to God's relationship to the world, yet it is remarkably absent from contemporary theology and, increasingly, from our own lives! This collection remedies this situation by considering the import of joy on human flourishing. These essays - written by experts in systematic and pastoral theology, Christian ethics, and biblical studies - demonstrate the promise of joy to throw open new theological possibilities and cast fresh light on all dimensions of human life. With contributions from Jurgen Moltmann, N. T. Wright, Marianne Meye Thompson, Mary Clark Moschella, Charles Mathewes, and Miroslav Volf, this volume puts joy at the heart of Christian faith and life, exploring joy's biblical, dogmatic, ecclesiological, and ethical dimensions in concert with close attention to the shifting tides of culture.Convinced of the need to offer to the world a compelling Christian vision of the good life, the authors treat the connections between joy and themes of creation, theodicy, politics, suffering, pastoral practice, eschatology, and more, driven by the conviction that vital relationship with the living God is integral to our fullest flourishing as human creatures.

These essays reflect on the future of Christian theology in light of the contributions Jurgen Moltmann has made in his prolific career as one of the world's foremost theologians. They are not a prediction of what is coming in the future of theology, since God's own actions, and human history, for that matter, are not predictable. Expressed here is hope for what future theology should take seriously from Moltmann's work. Moltmann broke the mold of 19th and 20th century theology by focusing consistently on God's promises of a new heaven and a new earth. The result was a theological imagination that is utterly realistic, delighting in the creative tension of theology that lives in an unfinished, open field of negations and possibilities. Hope for the promised future of God casts its light on present sufferings that contradict that future. The prominent themes here focus on the contradictions of God's promises and God's justice. The essays see clearly the human domination that leads to the oppression of nature, the hatred of the poor, the dominance of one gender over the other, the migration of those who find no home in their homeland, and the wounds of neocolonialism. For Moltmann, these sufferings do not belong simply to ethics but to the heart of theology. The doctrines of creation, redemption, and new creation are fully engaged in the political, economic, ecological, and social problems of this time. Here lies the way ecumenism will be reborn in the future. The essays argue that theology should not turn aside from Moltmann's main theme of the resurrection of the Crucified One and of the presence of God's future in the present. Hope opens our eyes to the work of God's Spirit of Life and the affirmation of eternal life in the present. The future of Christian theology should not miss the theme of joy in the face of sin, death, and evil and the celebration of God's cosmic, all-inclusive future in which God will be at home in God's creation.

The essays collected here, prepared by a think tank of the Elijah Interfaith Academy, address the subject of religious leadership. The subject is of broad relevance in the training of religious leaders and in the practice of religious leadership. It is also germane to religious thought as such, where reflections on religious leadership occupy an important place. What does it mean to be a religious leader in today's world? To what degree are the challenges that confront religious leadership the perennial challenges that have arrested the attention of the faithful and their leaders for generations, and to what degree do we encounter today challenges that are unique to our day and age? One dimension is surely unique and that is the very ability to explore these issues from an interreligious perspective and to consider challenges, opportunities and strategies across religious traditions. Some challenges confront leaders of all traditions, and therefore unite them. Studying the theme across six faith traditions-Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Buddhism-we recognize the common challenges to present day religious leadership. Chapters examine the nature of religious leadership in each tradition in relation to the goals of the tradition. They then present a typology of leadership in each of the traditions. These provide the background to a review of both systemic and contemporary challenges to religious leadership, and allow us to consider points of connection and intersection between the different faith traditions. This leads us to a reflection on religious leadership for the future, including the role of interfaith engagement in the profile of the ideal future religious leader.

Christianity Today 2020 Book Award (Award of Merit, Theology/Ethics) Outreach 2020 Recommended Resource of the Year (Theology and Biblical Studies) The question of what makes life worth living is more vital now than ever. In today's pluralistic, postsecular world, universal values are dismissed as mere matters of private opinion, and the question of what constitutes flourishing life--for ourselves, our neighbors, and the planet as a whole--is neglected in our universities, our churches, and our culture at large. Although we increasingly have technology to do almost anything, we have little sense of what is truly worth accomplishing. In this provocative new contribution to public theology, world-renowned theologian Miroslav Volf (named "America's New Public Intellectual" by Scot McKnight on his Jesus Creed blog) and Matthew Croasmun explain that the intellectual tools needed to rescue us from our present malaise and meet our new cultural challenge are the tools of theology. A renewal of theology is crucial to help us articulate compelling visions of the good life, find our way through the maze of contested questions of value, and answer the fundamental question of what makes life worth living.

From its English publication in 1973, Jrgen Moltmanns The Crucified God garnered much attention, and it has become one of the seminal texts of twentieth-century theology. Moltmann proposes that suffering is not a problem to be solved but instead that suffering is an aspect of Gods very being: God is love, and love invariably involves suffering. In this view, the crucifixion of Jesus is an event that affects the entirety of the Trinity, showing that The Crucified God is more than an arresting titleit is a theological breakthrough.

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Yale University religion scholar Miroslav Volf--widely known for the much-publicized course on faith and globalization he coteaches with Tony Blair--places this question at the root of the twenty-first century's most sensitive, and critical, geopolitical concerns. Volf reveals how the prevalent belief that these traditions worship different gods is directly linked to increased hostility and violence around the globe. Theological wars fuel real wars.

Celebrated Theologian Offers Wisdom for Civic Engagement Christian citizens have a responsibility to make political and ethical judgments in light of their faith and to participate in the public lives of their communities--from their local neighborhoods to the national scene. But it can be difficult to discern who to vote for, which policies to support, and how to respond to the social and cultural trends of our time. This nonpartisan handbook offers Christians practical guidance for thinking through complicated public issues and faithfully following Jesus as citizens of their countries. The book focuses on enduring Christian commitments that should guide readers in their judgments and encourages legitimate debate among Christians over how to live out core values. The book also includes lists of resources for further reflection in each chapter and "room for debate" questions to consider.

We are at our human best when we give and forgive. But we live in a world in which it makes little sense to do either one. In our increasingly graceless culture, where can we find the motivation to give? And how do we learn to forgive when forgiving seems counterintuitive or even futile? A deeply personal yet profoundly thoughtful book, Free of Charge explores these questions--and the further questions to which they give rise--in light of God's generosity and Christ's sacrifice for us. Miroslav Volf draws from popular culture as well as from a wealth of literary and theological sources, weaving his rich reflections around the sturdy frame of Paul's vision of God's grace and Martin Luther's interpretation of that vision. Blending the best of theology and spirituality, he encourages us to echo in our own lives God's generous giving and forgiving. A fresh examination of two practices at the heart of the Christian faith--giving and forgiving--the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lenten study book for 2006 is at the same time an introduction to Christianity. Even more, it is a compelling invitation to Christian faith as a way of life. "Miroslav Volf, one of the most celebrated theologians of our day, offers us a unique interweaving of intense reflection, vivid and painfully personal stories and sheer celebration of the giving God . . . I cannot remember having read a better account of what it means to say that Jesus suffered for us in our place." -- Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

What kind of life would be truly worth wanting? What kind of world would be truly worth seeking? How should we live? We are facing a crisis of meaning. Swept up in the obstacles of the day-to-day, the deeper questions of our fundamental purpose linger just beneath the surface of our personal lives and our collective culture. What we need is to seek the truth. In A Life Worth Living, Yale's leading theologians Volf, Croasmun and McAnnally-Linz offer a deep dive beneath the levels of habit, strategy and introspection to the bedrock question of what kind of life is truly worth living. Inspired by the leading Yale course of the same, this perspective-shifting book will guide you through life's biggest questions. Drawing on the world's greatest religious and philosophical traditions, this is your path to understanding the true meaning of life.

Covering such timely issues as witness in a multifaith society and political engagement in a pluralistic world, this compelling book highlights things Christians can do to serve the common good. Now in paperback.
Praise for the cloth edition
Named one of the "Top 100 Books" and one of the "Top 10 Religion Books" of 2011 by "Publishers Weekly
""Accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Highly original. . . . The book deserves a wide audience and is one that will affect its readers well after they have turned the final page."--"Christianity Today" (5-star review)

We live in the midst of a crisis of home. It is evident in the massive uprooting and migration of millions across the globe, in the anxious nationalism awaiting immigrants in their destinations, in the unhoused populations in wealthy cities, in the fractured households of families, and in the worldwide destruction of habitats and international struggles for dominance. It is evident, perhaps more quietly but just as truly, in the aching sense that there is nowhere we truly belong. In this moment, the Christian faith has been disappointingly inept in its response. We need a better witness to the God who created, loves, and reconciles this world, who comes to dwell among us. This book tells the "story of everything" in which God creates the world as the home for humans and for God in communion with God's creatures. The authors render the story of creation, redemption, and consummation through the lens of God's homemaking work and show the theological fruit of telling the story this way. The result is a vision that can inspire creative Christian living in our various homes today in faithfulness to God's ongoing work.

Miroslav Volf's writing beautifully points away from the pettiness and selfishness so prominent in our culture today and toward the love that Christians are called to exemplify. His insights in this volume will inform and inspire all who wish to follow that path of love."

Over the last three decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Modernitybs eclipse by postmodernity is characterized in large part by the loss of hope for a future substantially better than the present. Old optimism about human progress has given way to uncertainty and fear. In this book scholars from various disciplines -- theology, the social sciences, and the humanities -- explore the move from a bculture of optimismb to a bculture of ambiguity, b and they seek to infuse todaybs jaded language of hope with a new vitality.

"The Future of Hope" offers a powerful critique of todaybs stifling cultural climate and shows why the vision of hope central to Christian faith must be a basic component of any flourishing society. The first section of the book sets the context with telling cultural criticism of modernity. The second section focuses on affinities between premodern Christian visions of hope and twentieth-century thought. The final section of the book examines the relationship between postmodern thought, Christian tradition, and biblical hope, addressing how Christians in a postmodern world can best articulate their faith.

Written by truly profound thinkers, these chapters are diverse in their content, methodologies, and temperament, yet they are united by a deep engagement with both the Christian tradition and the larger cultural and intellectual climate in which we live and work. "The Future of Hope" can thus be read not just as an attempt at retrieval of hope for today but as itself one small act of hope in an age when people too seldom take time to think critically and hopefully.

Contributors: DavidBillings
Robert Paul Doede
Kevin L. Hughes
Paul Edward Hughes
Daniel Johnson
William Katerberg
John Milbank
Jurgen Moltmann
James K. A. Smith
Miroslav Volf
Nicholas Wolterstorff

This collection of the finest contemporary Christian writing is "a prime example of diverse beliefs among Christians."-- Los Angeles Times

This year's volume brings together an elegant and engaging array of essays by Christian luminaries tackling relevant issues. These writers distill the riches of belief into lucid explorations of faith and truth, reflecting the many dimensions of today's Christianity.

Includes contributions from a diverse group of distinguished writers:

David Batstone
J. Bottum
Andy Crouch
Scott Derrickson
Jennifer Holberg
Philip Jenkins
Douglas Jones
Jeremy Lott
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Wilfred M. McClay
Kathleen Norris
Julie Polter
The Preacher
James Calvin Schaap
Lewis B. Smedes
John D. Spalding
Tim Stafford
James R. Van Tholen
Lauren F. Winner
Albert Louis Zambone
Wendy Murray Zoba

In a time when academic theology often neglects the lived practices of the Christian community, this volume seeks to bring balance to the situation by showing the dynamic link between the task of theology and the practices of the Christian life. The work of thirteen first-rate theologians from several cultural and Christian perspectives, these informed and informative essays explore the relationship between Christian theology and practice in the daily lives of believers, in the ministry of Christian communities, and as a needed focus within Christian education. Contributors: - Dorothy C. Bass Nancy Bedford Gilbert Bond Sarah Coakley Craig Dykstra Reinhard Hutter L. Gregory Jones Serene Jones Amy Plantinga Pauw Christine Pohl Kathryn Tanner Miroslav Volf Tammy Williams-