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Life at the end of the twentieth century presents us with a disturbing reality. Otherness, the simple fact of being different in some way, has come to be defined as in and of itself evil. Miroslav Volf contends that if the healing word of the gospel is to be heard today, Christian theology must find ways of speaking that address the hatred of the other. Reaching back to the New Testament metaphor of salvation as reconciliation, Volf proposes the idea of embrace as a theological response to the problem of exclusion. Increasingly we see that exclusion has become the primary sin, skewing our perceptions of reality and causing us to react out of fear and anger to all those who are not within our (ever-narrowing) circle. In light of this, Christians must learn that salvation comes, not only as we are reconciled to God, and not only as we "learn to live with one another", but as we take the dangerous and costly step of opening ourselves to the other, of enfolding him or her in the same embrace with which we have been enfolded by God.
In After Our Likeness, Miroslav Volf explores the relationship between persons and community in Christian theology. He seeks to counter the tendencies toward individualism in Protestant ecclesiology and give community its due.
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
More than almost anything else, globalization and the great world religions are shaping our lives, affecting everything from the public policies of political leaders and the economic decisions of industry bosses and employees, to university curricula, all the way to the inner longings of our hearts. Integral to both globalization and religions are compelling, overlapping, and sometimes competing visions of what it means to live well. In this perceptive, deeply personal, and beautifully written book, a leading theologian sheds light on how religions and globalization have historically interacted and argues for what their relationship ought to be. Recounting how these twinned forces have intersected in his own life, he shows how world religions, despite their malfunctions, remain one of our most potent sources of moral motivation and contain within them profoundly evocative accounts of human flourishing. Globalization should be judged by how well it serves us for living out our authentic humanity as envisioned within these traditions. Through renewal and reform, religions might, in turn, shape globalization so that can be about more than bread alone.
Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award in Christianity and Culture How should we remember atrocities? Should we ever forgive abusers? Can we not hope for final reconciliation, even if it means redeemed victims and perpetrators spending eternity together? We live in an age that insists that past wrongs—genocides, terrorist attacks, bald personal injustices—should never be forgotten. But Miroslav Volf here proposes the radical idea that letting go of such memories—after a certain point and under certain conditions—may actually be a gift of grace we should embrace. Volf’s personal stories of persecution and interrogation frame his search for theological resources to make memories a wellspring of healing rather than a source of deepening pain and animosity. Controversial, thoughtful, and incisively reasoned, The End of Memory begins a conversation that we avoid to our great detriment. This second edition includes an appendix on the memories of perpetrators as well as victims, a response to critics, and a James K. A. Smith interview with Volf about the nature and function of memory in the Christian life.
From Exclusion, Toward Embrace by Bill Heersink Pdf
On the four corner lots formed by the intersecting of Main and Church Streets in Palmyra, NY, one finds four large Protestant churches today. Two centuries ago on the Smith family farm a few blocks to the south, a teenage Joseph Jr. found himself caught in the rivalry between such churches contentiously competing to claim the allegiance of repentant converts from the most recent revival. He wrote that, while praying in a grove of trees a short walk from his log cabin home, “I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong.” He would go on to organize a new church, which—ironically—would soon claim to be “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” Over the years Protestant denominational loyalties and exclusivity claims have faded and expressions of mutual embrace are not uncommon. However, the lines between these churches and the one founded by Joseph Smith Jr.—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—have remained stark and at times harsh. How does Jesus Christ, himself, perceive this excluding of one another? In the Lord’s prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus appears to anticipate these divisions arising among his would-be followers. So he prays repetitively and passionately that they be protected from these. At stake is the validity of their witness to the world of his own exclusive claims. To be sure, differing beliefs as to what those claims are should not be superficially dismissed. But, in the light of how Jesus prayed, should they not be honestly and prayerfully discussed in a mutually respectful way? To stimulate and facilitate this discussion is the intent of this book, using as our guide the simple but profound petitions Jesus taught us in the more well-known Lord’s Prayer. “I came to know and admire Bill Heersink in a formal theological dialogue between Evangelical Christians and Latter-day Saints. Bill has chosen to look carefully at the beliefs of Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints through the lens of a scriptural passage beloved by both groups—the Lord’s Prayer. And how better could we hope to achieve unity of purpose and ‘convicted civility’ than through Jesus Christ?” —Robert L. Millet is Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, where he served as Dean of Religious Education. “Bill Heersink, seminary professor and participant in many dialogues, brings his most irenic and upbeat spirit to this gem of a book. Fully abreast of the most important academic questions, the book nevertheless wears its learning lightly and at times reads more like a devotional. Warmly to be commended to all readers of any or no faith communities.” —Craig L. Blomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary and co-author of the groundbreaking book How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation. “Having lived in Utah among the Latter-day Saints for many years, the author affirms his own deeply Christian beliefs while respectfully seeking to reconcile differences between Mormon and Protestant theology and beliefs.” —Richard E. Bennett is Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University and former President of the Mormon History Association. “Bill has brought all of that experience to the writing of a book that expresses a pastor’s heart, a love of Mormon neighbors, theological savvy, and a Christ-centered spirituality ... a book that evangelical pastors and Mormon bishops can recommend with confidence.” —Richard J. Mouw was President of Fuller Theological Seminary,1993-2012.
From Miroslav Volf, one of the world's foremost Christian theologians—and co-teacher, along with Tony Blair, of a groundbreaking Yale University course on faith and globalization—comes Allah, a timely and provocative argument for a new pluralism between Muslims and Christians. In a penetrating exploration of every side of the issue, from New York Times headlines on terrorism to passages in the Koran and excerpts from the Gospels, Volf makes an unprecedented argument for effecting a unified understanding between Islam and Christianity. In the tradition of Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Islam in the Modern World, Volf’s Allah is essential reading for students of the evolving political science of the twenty-first century.
While many feminist and queer movements are designed to challenge sexism, they often simultaneously police gender and sexuality—sometimes just as fiercely as the straight, male-centric mainstream does. Among LGBTQ activists, there is a long history of lesbians and gay men dismissing bisexuals, transgender people, and other gender and sexual minorities. In each case, exclusion is based on the premise that certain ways of being gendered or sexual are more legitimate, natural, or righteous than others. As a trans woman, bisexual, and femme activist, Julia Serano has spent much of the last ten years challenging various forms of exclusion within feminist and queer/LGBTQ movements. In Excluded, she chronicles many of these instances of exclusion and argues that marginalizing others often stems from a handful of assumptions that are routinely made about gender and sexuality. These false assumptions infect theories, activism, organizations, and communities—and worse, they enable people to vigorously protest certain forms of sexism while simultaneously ignoring and even perpetuating others. Serano advocates for a new approach to fighting sexism that avoids these pitfalls and offers new ways of thinking about gender, sexuality, and sexism that foster inclusivity rather than exclusivity.
“[A] landmark book . . . Solnit illustrates how the uprisings that begin on the streets can upend the status quo and topple authoritarian regimes” (Vice). A book as powerful and influential as Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me, her Hope in the Dark was written to counter the despair of activists at a moment when they were focused on their losses and had turned their back to the victories behind them—and the unimaginable changes soon to come. In it, she makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next. Now, with a moving new introduction explaining how the book came about and a new afterword that helps teach us how to hope and act in our unnerving world, she brings a new illumination to the darkness of our times in an unforgettable new edition of this classic book. “One of the best books of the 21st century.” —The Guardian “No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that’s marked this new millennium.” —Bill McKibben, New York Times–bestselling author of Falter “An elegant reminder that activist victories are easily forgotten, and that they often come in extremely unexpected, roundabout ways.” —The New Yorker
Joy and Human Flourishing by Miroslav Volf,Justin E. Crisp Pdf
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.
Not "A Nation of Immigrants" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Pdf
Debunks the pervasive and self-congratulatory myth that our country is proudly founded by and for immigrants, and urges readers to embrace a more complex and honest history of the United States Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, will say proudly that we are a nation of immigrants. In this bold new book, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz asserts this ideology is harmful and dishonest because it serves to mask and diminish the US’s history of settler colonialism, genocide, white supremacy, slavery, and structural inequality, all of which we still grapple with today. She explains that the idea that we are living in a land of opportunity—founded and built by immigrants—was a convenient response by the ruling class and its brain trust to the 1960s demands for decolonialization, justice, reparations, and social equality. Moreover, Dunbar-Ortiz charges that this feel good—but inaccurate—story promotes a benign narrative of progress, obscuring that the country was founded in violence as a settler state, and imperialist since its inception. While some of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, others are descendants of white settlers who arrived as colonizers to displace those who were here since time immemorial, and still others are descendants of those who were kidnapped and forced here against their will. This paradigm shifting new book from the highly acclaimed author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States charges that we need to stop believing and perpetuating this simplistic and a historical idea and embrace the real (and often horrific) history of the United States.
This fascinating book explains that the gospel is about the restoration of "cracked Eikons" (fallen humans) so that humans can be in union with God and in communion with the saints. In the candid and lucid style that has made McKnight's The Jesus Creed so appealing to thousands of pastors, lay leaders, and everyday people who are searching for a more authentic faith, he encourages all Christians to recognize the simple, yet potentially transforming truth of the gospel message: God seeks to restore us to wholeness not only to make us better individuals, but to form a community of Jesus, a society in which humans strive to be in union with God and in communion with others.
Making the Case by Donn Short,Bruce MacDougall,Paul T. Clarke Pdf
A principal forbids same-sex prom dates. A community group tries to prohibit gender-neutral bathrooms. Despite growing acceptance of 2SLGBTQ+ rights, schools still regularly become battlegrounds in clashes between the expression of gender or sexual identity and a perceived threat to religious identity or values. Making the Case explains the position of Canadian law. It demonstrates that Canadians have rights to both religion and rights to gender expression or sexual orientation. It then provides evidence from case law to show that sexual minority rights do not undermine rights to religious freedom. This book is an important tool for anyone working to create an inclusive school environment or respond to rights-based conflicts within the school system.
Practicing Theology by Miroslav Volf,Dorothy C. Bass Pdf
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 Hütter L. Gregory Jones Serene Jones Amy Plantinga Pauw Christine Pohl Kathryn Tanner Miroslav Volf Tammy Williams
In this pathbreaking work, Dagmar Herzog situates the birth of German liberalism in the religious confl icts of the nineteenth century. During the years leading up to the revolutions of 1848, liberal and conservative Germans engaged in a contest over the terms of the Enlightenment legacy and the meaning of Christianity-a contest that grew most intense in the Grand Duchy of Baden, where liberalism fi rst became an infl uential political movement. Bringing insights drawn from Jewish and women's studies into German history, Herzog demonstrates how profoundly Christianity's problematic relationships to Judaism and to sexuality shaped liberal, conservative, and radical thought in the pre-revolutionary years.In particular, she reveals how often confl icts over the private sphere and the"politics of the personal" determined larger political matters.