Social Theology

The church is sadly still confused about what it means to be a man or a woman. While secular society talks about sexuality in terms of liberation, many in the church define manhood and womanhood in terms of reductive roles that rob us of the dignity of personhood, created in the image of God. In her poetic, theologically contemplative style, Aimee Byrd invites you to enter the rich treasure trove of the Song of Songs as its lyrics reveal how our very bodies are visible signs that tell us something about our God.

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?

Refugia (reh-FU-jee-ah) is a term describing places of shelter where life endures in times of crisis, such as a volcanic eruption, fire, or stressed climate. Ideally, these refugia endure, expand, and connect so that new life emerges. Debra Rienstra applies this concept to human culture and faith, asking: In this era of ecological devastation, how can Christians become people of refugia? How can we find and nurture these refugia in our human cultural systems and in our spiritual lives? Refugia Faith speaks to people securely within the faith as well as to those on the edge.

In this book, renowned interfaith leader Eboo Patel offers a clear, detailed, and practical guide to interfaith leadership, illustrated with compelling examples. Patel explains what interfaith leadership is and explores the core competencies and skills of interfaith leadership, before turning to the issues interfaith leaders face and how they can prepare to solve them. Interfaith leaders seek points of connection and commonality - in their neighborhoods, schools, college campuses, companies, organizations, hospitals, and other spaces where people of different faiths interact with one another.

Mark Karris offers a first-of-a-kind audiobook that explores petitionary prayer alongside theodicy, social justice, and personal moral responsibility. Divine Echoes journeys through the investigation, deconstruction, and reconstruction of petitionary prayer. Karris also reveals a revolutionary model of petitionary prayer that he refers to as "conspiring prayer". Filled with real-life examples, this audiobook will inform and equip both individuals and churches to pray transformative and subversive prayers that will increase God's love, healing, and beauty in the world.

When The Universe Next Door was first introduced nearly 30 years ago, it set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to worldviews. In concise, easily understood prose, James W. Sire explained the basics of theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism, and the new consciousness.

The end times have seen a great amount of interest within the last two decades. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Arab Spring, ISIS, and the Iranian stand-off have focused us on the future of the Middle East - the center of the Bible's prophecies about the last days. Yet there hasn't been a comprehensive overview of biblical prophecy and eschatology for more than five decades. Mark Hitchcock's book is that comprehensive resource for the 21st-century listener. The End will provide a solid biblical foundation for Christians to explore the essential truths.

In this heart-pounding adventure, award-winning journalist and best-selling author Howard Blum tells the enthralling story of two modern-day adventurers - Larry Williams, a self-made millionaire and published author from Montana, and his friend Bob Cornuke, a retired policeman and former SWAT team member. Lured by the prospect of finding a fortune in gold, the two men set out to find the true site of Mount Sinai - with the Old Testament as a guide.

Jack Miles's book is a provocative and revisionary look at the life of Jesus, in which many of the most well-worn truths about Christ are recontextualized and revisited. It does not look for the historical Jesus, but takes the Gospels as the sole source about his life.

One of the most fiercely debated topics in modern Christianity centers on the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities into the full life of the church. Dozens of scholars have stepped forward, seeking to make a compelling case for LGBT+ inclusion based on their contextualized reading of the six traditional passages that refer to homosexuality in Scripture. But these arguments alone fall short of providing a comprehensive framework for radical inclusion of LGBT+ people.

In this Very Short Introduction Stephen J. Davis discusses the history of monasticism, from our earliest evidence for it, and the different types that have developed from antiquity to the present day. He considers where monasteries are located, from East Asia to North America, and everywhere in between, and how their settings impact the everyday life and worldview of the monks and nuns who dwell there. Exploring how monastic communities are organized, he also looks at how aspects of life like food, sleep, sex, work, and prayer are regimented.

This volume in Biblical Theology for Life series dives deeply into the topic of human violence. Before exploring what the Bible says about violence, Old Testament scholar Helen Paynter sets out the contours for the study ahead by addressing the various definitions of violence and the theories of its origins, prevalence, and purpose.

The book is a hands-on primer for bringing to life the basic message that Christ brought. In it, Meyer examines what will happen if we each decide that we will refuse to live only for ourselves and love intentionally through action.

Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down", Stringer offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, but also lament for its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation and with hope for our future together.

Many today object to Christianity as a White, male-dominated religion that oppresses women and people of color. More than a White Man’s Religion not only debunks the mischaracterization of Christianity, but also shows how the gospel can inspire positive change desperately needed in our modern culture.

A New Kind of Apologist, edited by Sean McDowell and with contributions from more than 20 leading apologists, is the go-to resource for effectively defending the Christian faith in our changing culture.

For five hundred years, Latina/o culture and identity have been shaped by their challenges to the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo, whether in opposition to Spanish colonialism, Latin American dictatorships, US imperialism in Central America, the oppression of farmworkers, or the current exploitation of undocumented immigrants. Christianity has played a significant role in that movement at every stage. Robert Chao Romero, the son of a Mexican father and a Chinese immigrant mother, explores the history and theology of what he terms the "Brown Church."

Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community.

If you're brave enough to take an honest look at the issues facing the culture-controlled church - and the issues in your own life - read on.

Do you ever look at how the Christian faith is being lived out in the new millennium and wonder if we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing? That we still haven't quite 'gotten it'? That we've missed the point regarding many important issues? It's understandable if we've relied on what we've been told to believe or what's widely accepted by the Christian community. But if we truly turned a constructive, critical eye toward our beliefs and vigorously questioned them....

Alone among the creatures of the world, man suffers a pang both bitter and sweet. It is an ache for the homecoming. The Greeks called it nostalgia. Post-modern man, homeless almost by definition, cannot understand nostalgia. If he is a progressive, dreaming of a utopia to come, he dismisses it contemptuously, eager to bury a past he despises. If he is a reactionary, he sentimentalizes it, dreaming of a lost golden age. In this profound reflection, Anthony Esolen explores the true meaning of nostalgia and its place in the human heart.