Preaching's Best Books for Preachers Best Theological Memoir from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore How did one of the twentieth century's most celebrated liberals have such a dramatic change of heart? After growing up in the heart of rural Methodism in Oklahoma, Thomas Oden found Marx, Nietzsche and Freud storming into his imagination. He joined the post-World War II pacifist movement and became enamored with every aspect of the 1950s' ecumenical Student Christian Movement. Ten years before America's entry into the Vietnam war he admired Ho Chi Min as an agrarian patriot. For Oden, every turn was a left turn. At Yale he earned his PhD under H. Richard Niebuhr and later met with some of the most formidable minds of the era-enjoying conversations with Gadamer, Bultmann and Pannenberg as well as a lengthy discussion with Karl Barth at a makeshift office in his hospital room. While traveling with his family through Turkey, Syria and Israel, he attended Vatican II as an observer and got his first taste of ancient Christianity. And slowly, he stopped making left turns. Oden's enthusiasms for pacifism, ecumenism and the interface between theology and psychotherapy were ambushed by varied shapes of reality. Yet it was a challenge from a Jewish scholar, his friend and mentor Will Herberg, that precipitated his most dramatic turn-back to the great minds of ancient Christianity. Later a meeting with then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Benedict XVI) planted the seeds for what became Oden's highly influential Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. This fascinating memoir walks us through not only his personal history but some of the most memorable chapters in twentieth-century theology.

Reading the writings of early church fathers points us to the deep joy that awaits us in Christ when we drink deeply from Scripture, the only water that can give us true life. This guide for reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer. Included are fifty-two weeks of readings following the weekly lectionary cycle B which can be read in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church. Come and find the deep nourishment God offers.

We often regard the author of the Gospel of Mark as an obscure figure about whom we know little. Many would be surprised to learn how much fuller a picture of Mark exists within widespread African tradition, tradition that holds that Mark himself was from North Africa, that he founded the church in Alexandria, that he was an eyewitness to the Last Supper and Pentecost, that he was related not only to Barnabas but to Peter as well and accompanied him on many of his travels. In this provocative reassessment of early church tradition, Thomas C. Oden begins with the palette of New Testament evidence and adds to it the range of colors from traditional African sources, including synaxaries (compilations of short biographies of saints to be read on feast days), archaeological sites, non-Western historical documents and ancient churches. The result is a fresh and illuminating portrait of Mark, one that is deeply rooted in African memory and seldom viewed appreciatively in the West.

By allowing us to read holy writings with ancient eyes, the church fathers help us drink deeply from the only water that can give us true life. A follow-up to the previous Ancient Christian Devotional, which follows lectionary cycle A, this devotional guide follows lectionary cycle C, which begins in Advent 2009. This guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer. There are fifty-two weeks of readings following the weekly lectionary cycle C, which you can read through in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church. Come and find the deep nourishment God offers.

"To search the sacred Scripture is very good and most profitable for the soul. For, 'like a tree which is planted near the running waters, ' so does the soul watered by sacred Scripture also grow hearty and bear fruit in due season," writes John of Damascus in Orthodox Faith (4.17). By helping us to read holy writings with ancient eyes, the church fathers help us drink deeply from the only water that can give us true life. This guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer. There are fifty-two weeks of readings following the weekly lectionary cycle A. You can read through them in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church. Come and find the deep nourishment God offers through the insights of this "cloud of witnesses"--the ancient church fathers.

John Wesley s Teachings is the first systematic exposition of John Wesley's theology that is also faithful to Wesley's own writings. Wesley was a prolific writer and commentator on Scripture---his collected works fill eighteen volumes---and yet it is commonly held that he was not systematic or consistent in his theology and teachings. On the contrary, Thomas C. Oden demonstrates that Wesley displayed a remarkable degree of internal consistency over sixty years of preaching and ministry. This series of 4 volumes is a text-by-text guide to John Wesley s teaching. It introduces Wesley s thought on the basic tenets of Christian teaching: God, providence, and man (volume 1), Christ and salvation (volume 2), the practice of pastoral care (volume 3), and issues of ethics and society (volume 4). In everyday modern English, Oden clarifies Wesley s explicit intent and communicates his meaning clearly to a contemporary audience. Both lay and professional readers will find this series useful for devotional reading, moral reflection, sermon preparation, and for referencing Wesley s opinions on a broad range of pressing issues of contemporary society."

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Fitzroy Dearborn is pleased to announce an historic event in religious reference publishing -- Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Already eight years in development under the general editorship of Thomas C. Oden, the first six volumes have now been released: Mark; Romans; Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians; I Corinthians; Colossians; and the General Epistles.

Scripture today is interpreted primarily from the perspective of post-Enlightenment thinkers. Earlier commentary, particularly that of the renowned church fathers -- Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, etc. -- has largely been lost to us. These early patristic writings are now rarely consulted -- not because they lack interest but because many of them have not been translated; still others are not readily available in reliable editions.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is a truly unique resource: when completed, it will include 27 volumes encompassing the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, plus the Apocrypha. On each page readers will find the text of scripture, line by line, accompanied by the relevant commentary (in English) of the early church fathers. The salient insights, rhetorical power and unique exegeses of these great thinkers will now be available to readers in the 21st century.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is possible only now, for it relies on computer searches of the ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Syriac patristic texts to identify and isolate commentary on individual books of the Bible. Volume editors (who together constitute an illustrious team of Biblical scholars) review and select the best expositions and analyses from dedicated Biblical commentary as well as from theentire range of patristic writings, including sermons, homilies, letters, and theological translations. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is thus an unprecedented international undertaking, involving the expertise of computer experts and translators as well as that of hundreds of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic scholars from around the world.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is dedicated to reclaiming for the modern reader classic commentary on the entire Christian canon: 21st century scholars, librarians, teachers, and students of the Bible will gain unequalled access to the most profound and enduring commentary by the early church fathers, from Element of Rome in the 2nd century to John of Damascus in the 8th century.

Fitzroy Dearborn expects great demand from libraries around the world for this extraordinary reference project, and very large initial printings allow us to price individual volumes at only $40 each. It is our hope that, at this price, even the smallest libraries will be able to afford this landmark work, which will be issued over a period of five years. Fitzroy Dearborn will record standing orders.

Fitzroy Dearborn is pleased to announce an historic event in religious reference publishing -- Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Already eight years in development under the general editorship of Thomas C. Oden, the first six volumes have now been released: Mark; Romans; Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians; I Corinthians; Colossians; and the General Epistles.

Scripture today is interpreted primarily from the perspective of post-Enlightenment thinkers. Earlier commentary, particularly that of the renowned church fathers -- Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, etc. -- has largely been lost to us. These early patristic writings are now rarely consulted -- not because they lack interest but because many of them have not been translated; still others are not readily available in reliable editions.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is a truly unique resource: when completed, it will include 27 volumes encompassing the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, plus the Apocrypha. On each page readers will find the text of scripture, line by line, accompanied by the relevant commentary (in English) of the early church fathers. The salient insights, rhetorical power and unique exegeses of these great thinkers will now be available to readers in the 21st century.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is possible only now, for it relies on computer searches of the ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Syriac patristic texts to identify and isolate commentary on individual books of the Bible. Volume editors (who together constitute an illustrious team of Biblical scholars) review and select the best expositions and analyses from dedicated Biblical commentary as well as from theentire range of patristic writings, including sermons, homilies, letters, and theological translations. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is thus an unprecedented international undertaking, involving the expertise of computer experts and translators as well as that of hundreds of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic scholars from around the world.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is dedicated to reclaiming for the modern reader classic commentary on the entire Christian canon: 21st century scholars, librarians, teachers, and students of the Bible will gain unequalled access to the most profound and enduring commentary by the early church fathers, from Element of Rome in the 2nd century to John of Damascus in the 8th century.

Fitzroy Dearborn expects great demand from libraries around the world for this extraordinary reference project, and very large initial printings allow us to price individual volumes at only $40 each. It is our hope that, at this price, even the smallest libraries will be able to afford this landmark work, which will be issued over a period of five years. Fitzroy Dearborn will record standing orders.

Fitzroy Dearborn is pleased to announce an historic event in religious reference publishing -- Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Already eight years in development under the general editorship of Thomas C. Oden, the first six volumes have now been released: Mark; Romans; Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians; I Corinthians; Colossians; and the General Epistles.

Scripture today is interpreted primarily from the perspective of post-Enlightenment thinkers. Earlier commentary, particularly that of the renowned church fathers -- Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, etc. -- has largely been lost to us. These early patristic writings are now rarely consulted -- not because they lack interest but because many of them have not been translated; still others are not readily available in reliable editions.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is a truly unique resource: when completed, it will include 27 volumes encompassing the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, plus the Apocrypha. On each page readers will find the text of scripture, line by line, accompanied by the relevant commentary (in English) of the early church fathers. The salient insights, rhetorical power and unique exegeses of these great thinkers will now be available to readers in the 21st century.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is possible only now, for it relies on computer searches of the ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Syriac patristic texts to identify and isolate commentary on individual books of the Bible. Volume editors (who together constitute an illustrious team of Biblical scholars) review and select the best expositions and analyses from dedicated Biblical commentary as well as from theentire range of patristic writings, including sermons, homilies, letters, and theological translations. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is thus an unprecedented international undertaking, involving the expertise of computer experts and translators as well as that of hundreds of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic scholars from around the world.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture is dedicated to reclaiming for the modern reader classic commentary on the entire Christian canon: 21st century scholars, librarians, teachers, and students of the Bible will gain unequalled access to the most profound and enduring commentary by the early church fathers, from Element of Rome in the 2nd century to John of Damascus in the 8th century.

Fitzroy Dearborn expects great demand from libraries around the world for this extraordinary reference project, and very large initial printings allow us to price individual volumes at only $40 each. It is our hope that, at this price, even the smallest libraries will be able to afford this landmark work, which will be issued over a period of five years. Fitzroy Dearborn will record standing orders.

Timeless Teachings of John Wesleyfor the Modern-Day Christian John Wesley s Teachings is the first systematic exposition of John Wesley's theology that encompasses all of his writings. Wesley was a prolific writer and commentator on Scripture---his collected works fill twenty-four volumes---and yet it is commonly held that he was not systematic or consistent in his theology and teachings. On the contrary, Thomas C. Oden demonstrates that Wesley displayed a remarkable degree of internal consistency over sixty years of preaching and ministry. This series of four volumes is a text-by-text guide to John Wesley s teaching. It introduces Wesley s thought on the basic tenets of Christian teaching: God and providence (volume 1), Christ and salvation (volume 2), the practice of pastoral care (volume 3), and issues of ethics and society (volume 4). In everyday modern English, Oden clarifies Wesley s explicit intent and communicates his meaning clearly to a contemporary audience. Both lay and professional readers will find this series useful for devotional reading, moral reflection, sermon preparation, and for referencing Wesley s opinions on ecological recovery, moral relativism, enthusiasm, catholicity, experience, paradise, final justification, providence, and countless others."

John Wesley s Teaching is the first systematic exposition of John Wesley's theology that is also faithful to Wesley's own writings. Wesley was a prolific writer and commentator on Scripture---his collected works fill eighteen volumes---and yet it is commonly held that he was not systematic or consistent in his theology and teachings. On the contrary, Thomas C. Oden demonstrates that Wesley displayed a remarkable degree of internal consistency over sixty years of preaching and ministry. This series of 4 volumes is a text-by-text guide to John Wesley s teaching. It introduces Wesley s thought on the basic tenets of Christian teaching: God, providence, and man (volume 1), Christ and salvation (volume 2), the practice of pastoral care (volume 3), and issues of ethics and society (volume 4). In everyday modern English, Oden clarifies Wesley s explicit intent and communicates his meaning clearly to a contemporary audience. Both lay and professional readers will find this series useful for devotional reading, moral reflection, sermon preparation, and for referencing Wesley s opinions on a broad range of pressing issues of contemporary society."

Offering contemporary readers the opportunity to study the key writings of early Christian thinkers, many of them never translated into English, this unique volume is included in the "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" series.
Featuring material hand-selected by expert scholars, each volume in the "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" provides twenty-first century scholars, librarians, teachers, and students of the Bible with unparalelled access to the early church fathers.

Offering contemporary readers the opportunity to study the key writings of early Christian thinkers, many of them never translated into English, this unique volume is included in the "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" series.
Featuring material hand-selected by expert scholars, each volume in the "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" provides twenty-first century scholars, librarians, teachers, and students of the Bible with unparalelled access to the early church fathers.

Part of an intended 27-volume series encompassing the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, plus the Appocrypha. On each page readers will find the text of scripture, line by line, accompanied by the relevant commentary (in English) of the early Church fathers including Ambrose, Chrysostom and Augustine. Volume editors select and review the best exposition and analysis from dedicated biblical commentary, as well as from the entire range of patristic writings, including sermons, homilies, letters and theological translations. This volume covers "Mark".

This vigorous and incisive critique of modernity lights the path to recovering the revitalizing heritage of classical Christianity.

Thomas Oden provides a modern commentary on the pastoral letters grounded in the classical, consensual tradition of interpretation. Oden utilizes the best and most accurate research concerning the historical, literary, and philological aspects of the pastoral letters. He addresses tough issues: the role of women in worship, problems of the rich and poor, the relation between servants and masters, policies concerning support of elderly widows, and how to handle church disruptions.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. Some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood in Africa before they were in Europe. If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Northern and sub-Saharan Africa, indeed how can Christians throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage? Theologian Thomas C. Oden offers a portrait that challenges prevailing notions of the intellectual development of Christianity from its early roots to its modern expressions. The pattern, he suggests, is not from north to south from Europe to Africa, but the other way around. He then makes an impassioned plea to uncover the hard data and study in depth the vital role that early African Christians played in developing the modern university, maturing Christian exegesis of Scripture, shaping early Christian dogma, modeling conciliar patterns of ecumenical decision-making, stimulating early monasticism, developing Neoplatonism, and refining rhetorical and dialectical skills. He calls for a wide-ranging research project to fill out the picture he sketches. It will require, he says, a generation of disciplined investigation, combining intensive language study with a risk-taking commitment to uncover the truth in potentially unreceptive environments. Oden envisions a dedicated consortium of scholars linked by computer technology and a common commitment that will seek to shape not only the scholar's understanding but the ordinary African Christian's self-perception.

John Wesley s Teaching is the first systematic exposition of John Wesley's theology that is also faithful to Wesley's own writings. Wesley was a prolific writer and commentator on Scripture---his collected works fill eighteen volumes---and yet it is commonly held that he was not systematic or consistent in his theology and teachings. On the contrary, Thomas C. Oden demonstrates that Wesley displayed a remarkable degree of internal consistency over sixty years of preaching and ministry. This series of 4 volumes is a text-by-text guide to John Wesley s teaching. It introduces Wesley s thought on the basic tenets of Christian teaching: God, providence, and man (volume 1), Christ and salvation (volume 2), the practice of pastoral care (volume 3), and issues of ethics and society (volume 4). In everyday modern English, Oden clarifies Wesley s explicit intent and communicates his meaning clearly to a contemporary audience. Both lay and professional readers will find this series useful for devotional reading, moral reflection, sermon preparation, and for referencing Wesley s opinions on a broad range of pressing issues of contemporary society."

For the first time, Thomas Oden's Systematic Theology classic series (individually titled "The Living God," "The Word of Life," and "Life in the Spirit") is available in one complete volume. A renowned theologian, Oden provides a consensus view of the Christian faith, delving deeply into ancient Christian tradition and bringing to the contemporary church the best wisdom from its past. In this magisterial work, Oden tackles the central questions of Christian belief and the nature of the trinity.

Written for clergy, Christian educators, religious scholars, and lay readers alike, "Classic Christianity" provides the best synthesis of the whole history of Christian thought. Part one explores the most intriguing questions of the study of God--Does God exist? Does Jesus reveal God? Is God personal, compassionate, free?--and presents answers that reflect the broad consensus culled from the breadth of the church's teachers. It is rooted deeply and deliberately in scripture but confronts the contemporary mind with the vitality of the Christian tradition. Part two addresses the perplexing Christological issues of whether God became flesh, whether God became Christ, and whether Christ is the source of salvation. Oden details the core beliefs concerning Jesus Christ that have been handed down for the last two hundred decades, namely, who he was, what he did, and what that means for us today. Part three examines how the work of God in creation and redemption is being brought to consummation by the Holy Spirit in persons, through communities, and in the fullness of human destiny. Oden's magisterial study not only treats the traditional elements of systematical theology but also highlights the foundational exegetes throughout history. Covering the ecumenical councils and early synods; the great teachers of the Eastern church tradition, including Athanasius and John Chrysostom; and the prominent Western figures such as Augustine, Ambrose, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, this book offers the reader the fullest understanding of the Christian faith available.

The description for this book, Parables of Kierkegaard, will be forthcoming.

The history ofWesleyan family of churches doctrines What are our core beliefs? Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan Tradition, Revised Edition, narrates the history of the formation of Wesleyan doctrines, describing how they were transplanted from the British Isles to North American, how they became constitutionally protected in Wesleyan-rooted churches. The first edition of this book affected the outcome of the 1988 General Conference of The United Methodist Church as the delegates decidedmany then-disputed doctrinal issues. This revised editionaddresses the continuing hunger for more precise and useful information on the doctrinal traditions of mainline Protestantism. Hence the arguments have been updated with more than 400 changes. Included are doctrinal statements for the Evangelical United Bethren, Free Methodist, Methodist Protestant, Wesleyan, Nazarene, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, and African Methodist EpiscopalChurches; as well as an outline syllabus of a Course on the Articles of Religion."

"And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, the risen Jesus] interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Lk 24:27). The church fathers mined the Old Testament throughout for prophetic utterances regarding the Messiah, but few books yielded as much messianic ore as the Twelve Prophets, sometimes known as the Minor Prophets, not because of their relative importance but because of the relative brevity of their writings. Encouraged by the example of the New Testament writers themselves, the church fathers found numerous parallels between the Gospels and the prophetic books. Among the events foretold, they found not only the flight into Egypt after the nativity, the passion and resurrection of Christ, and the outpuoring of the Spirit at Pentecost, but also Judas's act of betrayal, the earthquake at Jesus' death and the rending of the temple veil. Detail upon detail brimmed with significance for Christian doctrine, including baptism and the Eucharist as well as the relation between the covenants. In this rich and vital resource edited by Alberto Ferreiro you will find excerpts, some translated here into English for the first time, from more than thirty church fathers, ranging in time from Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (late first and early second centuries) to Gregory the Great, Braulio of Saragossa and Bede the Venerable (late sixth to early eighth centuries). Geographically the sources range from the great Cappadocians--Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa--John Chrysostom, Ephrem the Syrian and Hippolytus in the East to Ambrose, Augustine, Cyprian and Tertullian in the West and Origen, Cyril and Pachomius in Egypt. Here is a treasure trove out of which Christians may bring riches both old and new in their understanding of these ancient texts.

How does an infinite God relate to finite human beings? How does the death of Jesus Christ bring about human salvation? How are Christians able to actively address the world's ills while maintaining their citizenship in the kingdom of God?

These are questions the church grapples with today, as it always has. Yet, according to Thomas C. Oden, contemporary theology has neglected the church's traditional answer to these questions: the doctrine of grace. All too often modern theologians either ignore the doctrine of grace or relate it to the achievement of a particular political agenda. Oden asserts that only by reclaiming the centrality of grace--defined as God's self-giving through Jesus Christ in personal encounter with the individual human will--can Christian theology be true to the gospel.

In order to reclaim the doctrine of grace, the author reaches back, beyond the fragmentation of theology that took place during and after the Enlightenment. He draws upon the ecumenical consensus held by early Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant theologians, councils, and creeds regarding this cardinal Christian doctrine. By adducing this ancient unity, Oden challenges modern assumptions concerning the sources and methods of the theological enterprise and calls contemporary Christians to discern what their forebears in the faith knew to be essential to the gospel: that to be a Christian is to be formed, nurtured, and upheld solely by divine grace.