You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Paul Tillich and Religious Socialism: Towards a Kingdom of Peace and Justice argues that the Kingdom of God—the reign of God over all human affairs via God’s manifestations in love, power, and justice—can be fragmentarily achieved through a religious socialism that creatively integrates the early Tillich’s socialist thinking with later insights throughout Tillich’s theological career and with contemporary developments in just peacemaking. The resulting religious socialism is defined by economic justice and a recognition of the sacred reality in all human endeavors. It employs Christianity to furnish the necessary depth for warding off materialism and affirming the spiritual dimensi...
It is often said that in polite conversation the topics of religion and politics should be avoided but how long can most of us carry an engaging conversation on the weather? One who is concerned about the directions in which this nation is moving must necessarily discuss controversial topics. Have the labels liberal and conservative outlived their usefulness? Is liberalism truly a bad word? What are conservatives trying to conserve? Is it possible to rise above the din of partisan debate? These brief essays are critical comments on society, politics and religion in which the author avoids the pitfalls of extremism. The author, a minister of the Lutheran Church and with an interest in educati...
Written by leading authors in their respective fields, this first comprehensive handbook on the relationship between modern Judaism and historical thinking contributes to a differentiated interpretation of Jewish historiography and its interaction with other academic disciplines since the Enlightenment.
Socially engaged religion teaches that people of faith have a responsibility to address and reduce suffering in all its forms, both physical and spiritual, including suffering resulting from social injustice, exploitation, oppression, false faith, and so forth. True religion engages with society to alleviate suffering and bring transformation. In other words, religious violence is an obscenity, a deviation from the true character of religion. Martin Luther's Theology of Two Kingdoms in Buddhist and Christian Communities examines the principle of separation between religion and politics in the context of both Buddhist and Christian communities. In predominantly Buddhist contexts such as Myanmar, where a reciprocal relationship between religion and politics is expected, separation is not effective. Attempts by Christians to separate religion and politics cause the church to run away from tyranny and follow the state with blind obedience. Martin Luther’s model of two distinct but interconnected systems for religion and politics creates space for each institution to give constructive advice and criticism to the other for the health of all human beings.
Free in Deed serves as a primer in Lutheran ethics for faith and the church as the body of Christ. It captures the fruit of Craig L. Nessan's teaching of ethics and his research and reflection on Christian ethical existence over his entire career. The heart of Lutheran ethics, Nessan claims, involves serving neighbors. When Christ sets us "free indeed" (John 8:36), we are set free to serve others "in deed." Ethics involves intentional and disciplined reflection, together in community, on the choices we must make in living out our lives in the world. While the focus on loving the neighbor is not unique to Lutheran ethics, the author contends in this book that it is the most distinctive featur...
This study considers the influence of Martin Luther's theology on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with particular reference to justification, ecclesiology, the doctrine of the two kingdoms, and political ethics.
What, in Matthew’s view, should a human being become and how does one attain that ideal? In The Sermon on the Mount and Spiritual Exercises: The Making of the Matthean Self, George Branch-Trevathan presents a new account of Matthew’s ethics and argues that the evangelist presents the Sermon on the Mount as functioning like many other ancient sayings collections, that is, as facilitating transformative work on oneself, or “spiritual exercises,” that enable one to realize the evangelist’s ideals. The conclusion suggests some implications for our understanding of ethical formation in antiquity and the study of ethics more generally. This will be an essential volume for scholars studying the Gospel of Matthew, early Christian ethics, the relationships between early Christian and ancient philosophical writings, or ethical formation in antiquity.
The Bible played a vital role in the lives, theology, and practice of the Protestant Reformers. These essays from the 2016 Wheaton Theology Conference bring together the reflections of church historians and theologians on the nature of the Bible as "the people's book," considering themes such as access to Scripture, the Bible's role in worship, and theological interpretation.
Based in part on a conference held at Valparaiso University's Chicago location at the Lutheran School of Theology, on March 27-28, 2014.
A historical and theological account of the development of the Latino Ministries in the New England Conference.