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In the context of growing concern over climate change, Hilary Marlow explores what an ecological reading of the biblical text can contribute to contemporary environmental ethics. Includes a survey of creation theology in church history and a detailed exegetical study of the texts of the biblical prophets Amos, Hosea and First Isaiah.
This collection of essays explores the rhetoric and practices surrounding views on life after death and the end of the world, including the fate of the individual, apocalyptic speculation and hope for cosmological renewal, in a wide range of societies from Ancient Mesopotamia to the Byzantine era. The 42 essays by leading scholars in each field explore the rich spectrum of ways in which eschatological understanding can be expressed, and for which purposes it can be used. Readers will gain new insight into the historical contexts, details, functions and impact of eschatological ideas and imagery in ancient texts and material culture from the twenty-fifth century BCE to the ninth century CE. T...
This Cambridge Companion offers an up-to-date and accessible guide to the fast-changing discipline of biblical studies. Written by scholars from diverse backgrounds and religious commitments – many of whom are pioneers in their respective fields – the volume covers a range of contemporary scholarly methods and interpretive frameworks. The volume reflects the diversity and globalized character of biblical interpretation in which neat boundaries between author-focused, text-focused, and reader-focused approaches are blurred. The significant space devoted to the reception of the Bible – in art, literature, liturgy, and religious practice – also blurs the distinction between professional and popular biblical interpretation. The volume provides an ideal introduction to the various ways that scholars are currently interpreting the Bible. It offers both beginning and advanced students an understanding of the state of biblical interpretation, and how to explore each topic in greater depth.
In The Gardeners' Dirty Hands: Environmental Politics and Christian Ethics, Noah Toly engages Christian and classical Greek ideas of the tragic to illuminate the enduring challenges of environmental politics. He suggests that Christians have unique resources for responsible engagement with global environmental politics.
In this long awaited follow-on volume to his Archbishop of Canterburys Lent book, The Shape of Living, the renowned theologian David Ford explores how we can live wisely not poring earnestly over difficult choices, but in the presence of Holy Wisdom - Gods darling and delight, playing in his presence and over the whole world. Such wisdom fires our hearts and imaginations, as well as our intellects, and enables us to live fully open to God, to others, and to lifes complexities, in freedom and joy. Playfulness is something many of us leave behind in youth, yet it is a primary characteristic of the kingdom of God the joy of play pervades creation and should pervade our lives. Drawing on scripture and the poetry of Micheal OSiadhail, David Ford enable us to recover a lost dimension in our Christian living.
A Pact of Love with Criticism, A Pact of Blood with the World Building on the legacy of Fernando F. Segovia, the pioneering essays in this volume redefine the intersection of biblical studies and geopolitics. Through a thorough exploration of how ancient texts and modern readers influence and reflect geopolitical dynamics, each contributor reveals how biblical narratives have shaped and been shaped by historical power structures, territorial conflicts and climate changes, and cultural exchanges. Essays employ contemporary geopolitical concepts that move beyond traditional readings to offer fresh insights into the strategic and ideological forces behind scriptural texts. An annotated intervie...
This book is the first study to tackle the relationship between landscape and religion in-depth. Author Matthias Egeler overviews previous theories of the relationship between landscape and religion and then pushes this theorizing further with a rich case study: the supernatural landscape of the Icelandic Westfjords. There, religion and the supernatural--from churches to elf hills--are ubiquitous in the landscape and, as Egeler shows, this example sheds entirely new light on core aspects of the relationship between landscape, religion, and the supernatural.
Study the wisdom of Ben Sira. A deuterocanonical collection of proverbs from the intertestamental period, the Book of Sirach has been treated by many Protestants as a bit of Catholic trivia. Yet careful study of Sirach reveals fascinating insights into Jewish thought two centuries before Jesus. Walter T. Wilson invites scholars and nonspecialists alike to discover the wisdom of this important yet under-studied text. A temple scribe writing in the second century BCE, Ben Sira aimed to instill fear of the Lord and discipline in his community. Interweaving practical advice and theoretical wisdom, his book instructs readers—then and now—in the principles of wisdom so that they may apply them to right action and lead the good life. Based on the New Revised Standard Version, Wilson’s commentary explicates the translated English text with careful attention to its historical and religious contexts, formal qualities, prevailing themes, and place in the canon (or lack thereof). The volume includes a helpful bibliography and notes.
This book serves as an introduction to the burgeoning field of ecothology, illustrating both its variety and its commonality across different Christian theological divides. Some of the questions addressed in this short book include the following: How can the Bible still make sense in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss? Who on earth is Jesus Christ, and what does he mean for us in today's world? How can Christians be faithful to their traditions while responding to pressing calls to be engaged in environmental activism? What is the relationship between theory and practice, and local as well as global demands, and how is this relationship expressed in different ecclesial settings? How can we encourage each other to develop a sense of the earth as divine gift? Written in clear, accessible style, this book walks readers through difficult concepts and shows the way different sources in Christian theology have responded to one of the most significant cultural issues of our time.
Tolerance is usually regarded as a quintessential liberal value. This position is supported by a standard liberal history that views religious toleration as emerging from the post-Reformation wars of religion as the solution to the problem of religious violence. Requiring the separation of church from state, tolerance was secured by giving the state the sole authority to punish religious violence and to protect the individual freedoms of conscience and religion. Commitment to tolerance is independent of judgements about justice and the common good. This standard liberal history exerts a powerful hold on the modern imagination: it undergirds several important recent accounts of liberal tolera...