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Renowned biblical scholar John J. Collins asks tough questions about the relationship between the portrayals of violence in the Bible and how they have been used throughout history. The Crusaders, Puritans, and abolitionists all used the Bible to justify their use of violence - and this process continues. In light of today's religious and political rhetoric, how shall we interpret these ancient documents? How can we understand the biblical stories, prophecies, and songs in their historical contexts and avoid making self-serving and even violent use of them?

Patrick Miller looks to the First Commandment in the fight against the misappropriation of theological themes for political ends.

This brief volume is excerpted from Peter Paris's popular and influential work The Spirituality of African Peoples on African and African American Spirituality. Paris shows how the religious and moral values of Africa have pervaded African American life and thought. Focusing on six particular virtues, he explores how the African worldview enriched and ennobled African American notions of morality and values, public virtue, and meaningful life.

Readers: General readers (college level); college, university, and seminary students; church discussion groups

This timeless little classic communicates essential teachings of Martin Luther. The subject of Freedom is both timely and poignantly relevant today. For the Christian, this freedom is liberty from sin and death, and the opportunity to serve one's neighbor. Written in a simple style, On Christian Liberty conveys significant spiritual insight into the grace of God and liberating faith in Christ Jesus. It is counter-cultural, down-to-earth, and accessible to young adult readers in an inexpensive pocket-sized book.

Historical biblical criticism is bankrupt. That startling affirmation began The Bible in Human Transformation when it first appeared in 1975. Wink asserts that despite the valuable contributions of the historical-critical method, we have reached the point where this method is incapable of allowing Scripture to evoke personal and social transformation today. More than thirty years later, Wink now looks back in a new preface over the more and less humanizing developments in New Testament studies of the last few decades and renews his call for a transforming approach to biblical interpretation.

* A new book from the bestselling author of Dismantling Racism * Reveals new understanding of race and racism and how to get engaged * Includes analytical charts, definitions, bibliography, and exercises for readers

Princeton theologian Mark Taylor here looks at the influence and stance of the right-wing Christian movement in the U.S. He questions its religious authenticity, its claim to be called Christian, and the ethical stands it has taken in national politics of the last ten years. The heart of Taylor's argument is Jesus himself. Using the latest New Testament scholarship on the historical Jesus and his tactic in relation to the Roman Empire, Taylor argues that Jesus' life and work and message are inherently political and driven by the need to show God's love for the poor, condemnation of the oppressor, and search for a reign of justice. These Christian hallmarks, Taylor asserts, stand as a critical corrective to a distorted Christianity that often dominates the U.S. political scene today.

In this small book, Wink shows that the Christian tradition of nonviolence is needed as an alternative to the dominant and death-dealing "powers" of our consumerist culture and fractured world.