Bøker utgitt av Wipf & Stock Publishers

Thomas H. Olbricht grew up in Churches of Christ, has taught in several of their universities, and has given religious lectures on six continents and in most states in the United States. He has met most leaders in Churches of Christ globally. He has been active in several religious and rhetoric societies and has worked with leaders in all these organizations to bring about changes over the past sixty years. C. Clifton Black and Duane F. Watson wrote about Olbricht, "Tom Olbricht possesses a memory of elephantine proportions. Not only does he have at his fingertips the names and places and dates; better than most he understands how the study of rhetoric has flourished among, while cross-pollinating, multiple disciplines in the humanities, classics, English, speech communication, and religion."

UK church attendance hemorrhaging and one course is hailed as the most effective tool for ""turning back the tide."" From small beginnings in the early 1970s, Alpha has grown to become a global success. Churches from across the denominational spectrum have enthusiastically seized upon the course, seeing it as the remedy for declining church attendance. Inside Alpha explores such claims through richly grounded qualitative research on six Alpha courses. It assesses Alpha's primary aim of converting non-churchgoers and its longer-term goal of spiritual maturity (Colossians 1:28-29). It questions whether the Alpha program is as successful as it claims at uniting evangelism and discipleship, mission and spiritual formation. This is an invaluable study for those--in the academy and the church--who have an interest in ecclesiology and mission. How exactly is one to understand conversion? What is it to ""be Christian""? How does ambiguity and doubt fit within one's journey of faith? The importance of this work is in discovering--through an engagement with Alpha--how people might appropriately be initiated into and discipled within the Christian faith in contemporary culture.

ABBREVIATED FOR THE COVER. Full synopsis has been copied over for use on the web. JT--------------------------The importance of the use of gender-inclusive language in today's world is generally accepted, especially in the religious domain. In The Seduction of the Church, Doubles demonstrates, in a popular treatment free of technical jargon, how this important activity is being misused to redefine the Christian faith.

This book helps Christian voters and politicians think through two perennial questions. Are we required to apply the judicial laws of the Old Testament to our present-day political contexts? And if we are required to obey these laws, how shall we do so? Against the historic Protestant consensus that posits Christians as bound to advocate and apply only the moral principles underlying these laws, Christian Reconstructionists have recently argued that obedience to and promotion of all divinely unamended Mosaic civil laws remains the Christian's new covenant duty. After testing the most thorough statement of the Reconstructionist view--as presented by the late Greg Bahnsen in his Theonomy in Christian Ethics--against Scripture and the Westminster Confession, How Firm a Foundation? demonstrates that the Reconstructionist ethical perspective is unbiblical, unconfessional, and ultimately unhelpful, while the historic Protestant position expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith remains the biblical and useful perspective Christians need to guide contemporary uses of the Mosaic judicial laws.

In his commentary on Hosea, H. W. Wolff proposed that the divine marriage metaphor is the central metaphor of the entire OT. In Hebrew prophetic books, the metaphor reflected the covenantal relationship between Yahweh and his people. No other metaphor reached as deeply into the heart of this relationship or better described the tragedy of a broken relationship between Yahweh and his people. No other metaphor expressed more fully the abundance of God's grace shown in the promise of covenant restoration and renewal in the eschaton. In this volume, Polish Reformed academic Sebastian Smolarz demonstrates that the divine marriage metaphor is also one of the leading NT metaphors used to describe God's restored covenant relationship with his people, especially in the Book of Revelation.Smolarz argues for continuity between OT and NT concepts and theologies in general, and for continuity between the Apocalypse and OT material in particular, showing that the Apocalypse has much in common with other parts of the NT. In doing so, he focuses on some Gospel parables and reads them against their OT background. He also examines instances of the divine marriage metaphor in Paul's theological reflections.The focus of Smolarz' volume is a covenantal reading of the Apocalypse. He argues that the metaphor helps to establish the Apocalypse's Sitz im Leben, which he relates to the main conflict between the faithful and the unfaithful within the people of God in the first century CE. His work establishes that the Apocalypse contains not only explicit instances, but also implicit references and many echoes of this covenantal metaphor.

Maybe the only thing new about sexual abuse is quality discussion from several professions (psychology, theology, and pastoral care). Here are the insights of over two dozen psychologists, theologians, and those in pastoral care, all targeting the issue of sexual abuse. Designed as a resource for Christian educators, therapists, pastors, social workers, group leaders, and survivors, The Long Journey Home combines current research in mental health with rich theological reflection, global concern with fervent pastoral wisdom for the local faith community. Whether you are a counselor, professor, pastor, or spouse of a survivor, you hold in your hand a fresh resource of information and advocacy for those suffering from the devastating effects of sexual abuse and rape. The breadth of material, biblical insight, discussion questions, and helpful resources gathered here just may be the tool of a generation.

This book explores Deuteronomy's understanding of exile. While Deuteronomy speaks of a potential historical experience in the nation's future, ""exile"" is also a dynamic theological concept. In short, exile represents the death of Israel. In losing her land, Israel apparently also loses her identity, history, and covenant relationship with Yahweh. Restoration from exile, then, is a resurrection from death to life. Since exile is a recurring theme in Deuteronomy, the theology of the book must be considered in light of its vision of exile and restoration. The thesis of the following study consists of three major aspects: (1) the theological construct that exile constitutes the death of Israel; (2) the pervasiveness of the theme of exile in Deuteronomy; and (3) the significance of the theme of exile for understanding and developing the theology of the book. While the theological connection between exile and death is not new, this study attempts to ground this association in the vocabulary of the text. This, in turn, will open up a more nuanced reading of the entire book in which the persistent presence and influence of the theme of exile on Deuteronomy's overt message, underlying theology, and structure will be recognized.A major catalyst for this work is a network of debates among Evangelicals in New Testament theology, including covenant nomism and the New Perspective on Paul. For some, Jesus' preaching of the kingdom and the forgiveness of sins is tied up with the nation's expectations of the return from exile, which is fulfilled in his death and resurrection. Proponents of this position (e.g., N. T. Wright) often turn to Deuteronomy for support. In some ways, the present work implicitly enters this discussion by providing Old Testament theological background en route to evaluating implications being drawn.

My Brother's Keeper is a collection of essays penned by people interested in educating primarily European church leaders, theological educators, and missionaries as well as other Christian leaders from around the world. All of the authors are related to the ministries of Tyndale Theological Seminary, the Netherlands. This book is in honor of missionary Hebrew scholar and colleague, Ellis R. Brotzman upon his retirement. Included is material from the fields of biblical studies, theological studies, and pastoral ministries and missions. The articles represent a sampling of the type of teaching provided at Tyndale since its beginnings in 1985 as well as a taste of the ongoing research of some of its members. Most of the authors have many decades of experience primarily as missionary professors throughout Europe. Others include those with pastoral ministry experience in Europe and North America. Theological educators, local church leaders, and cross-cultural workers will find this a worthwhile addition to their personal and school libraries.

Nearly all scholars divide Genesis into primeval and patriarchal history, though they debate the precise point of division. One reason advanced to justify the division is a thematic shift. In primeval history, the narrator focuses on the origin and spread of sin, as well as God's consequent curse and judgment on humanity. In patriarchal history, however, the spread of sin theme falls off the radar of most scholars. But these analyses of the primeval and patriarchal narratives are simplistic and inaccurate. In fact, the theme of human sin and the divine curse not only serve as the main themes of the Fall narrative, but they also continue to function as major themes in both the primeval and patriarchal narratives that follow. More particularly, human sin appears to increase at both individual and societal levels. Moreover, just as the primordial sin threatened to derail the advance of God's kingdom and fulfillment of the creation mandate, so the spread of human sin in postlapsarian history threatens to thwart God's redemptive plan, which consists in the restoration of his original creational intentions for divine and human eschatological fullness. This proves true even in the patriarchal narratives where the sins of God's chosen often threaten the very promise intended for their ultimate good. These facts, which the author attempts to demonstrate in the monograph, not only have important ramifications for the unity of the Genesis corpus, but they also have important implications for the doctrines of sin, justification, and sanctification.

Climate change. Radical politics. National debt. Globalization. What do Christians have to say to the big questions we all face? Whatever they try to say, they will be seriously handicapped if they do not know their own story. Finding Pieces of the Puzzle will fill the knowledge gap. It breaks away from the usual manner in which history is written. Here is a sweeping overview of the story of Christianity that takes the reader to parts of the world seldom visited, that watches as the message of Christ encounters cultures as different as ninth century Persia and sixteenth century Kongo. The story is carried from the first to the twenty-first century by a series of mini-biographies--a young woman facing martyrdom, a boy from a little French town who becomes Pope and launches an army, an African-American who uses a successful international trade network to combat slavery. The glory, the confusion, the shame, the holiness of Christianity are all here. As the pieces are slipped into place, the puzzle begins to make sense. Watching Christians of the past face their challenges helps us understand who modern Christians really are.

Universal Salvation is a hotly debated doctrine today among Christians. In The Renewal of All Things Waldron Scott argues that it provides a more relevant and more effective basis for Christian mission in a globalized, pluralistic, and postmodern world than does the contemporary model.

To serve God and Christ faithfully in the midst of a pagan society that exalts power, wealth, and pleasure is the tenor of the prophetic summons to the church in the book of Revelation. Unfortunately, this simple message, as potent today as it was at the end of the first century, is often obscured by misguided, if sincere, interpreters. The present book explores the background issues and lays out the principles that inform a sound approach to this enigmatic writing: its historical and cultural setting, its literary structure, its symbolic code, its core theological concepts, its scheme of last things, and its preachable and teachable points. In dialogue with dispensationalism on the one hand and with the skeptical criticism of it on the other, The Pith of the Apocalypse derives clues for cracking the Apocalypse from the book itself, viewed against the sweep of the biblical prophetic tradition that flowed into it, through the lens of methods widely accepted in mainstream New Testament scholarship. Readers will return to the book of Revelation itself with enhanced confidence, penetration, and understanding.

Ecclesiastes is a rather wonderful and very ancient book of Wisdom. It should not be read as a cynical and depressing account of life--rather, it's a way of putting life in perspective. The continual refrain that "all is vanity under the sun," does not mean that life here on earth has no value even though death wins out in the end. On the contrary, the writer insists that here and now really does matter. Live in the present, he says, enjoy the actual life you have, it's the only one you've got. Life is meant to be lived "in its time," as given from the hand of God. But you only get it once--no rehearsals! This is a wonderful and very contemporary word of Wisdom!

Most studies of the Book of Joshua fall into two well-defined categories. On the one hand we have the writings of those devout students of God's Word who build upon typology and explain the events of the book as symbols of subsequent greater events. Their approach is largely allegorical. Other scholars lay stress on the exegetical nuances of the text, the history and geography of the times, discount the miraculous, and provide a naturalistic interpretation of the momentous happenings that took place. They often fail to see the hand of God in the events described by the biblical writer. Dr. Barber's treatment is different. He is conservative in his discussion of the text, and he paints a real-life picture of the vents as they transpired. He is also cognizant of the issues and shows God to be utterly faithful to His covenants. He does not gloss over the failures of Joshua and the Israelites, but finds in them warnings for believers today. Of particular importance is his discussion of the way to achieve day-to-day victory in the Christian life. This is a practical, devotional book designed for use by lay people.

This notebook--a spiritual journal by noted evangelical theologian Donald Bloesch--covers a range of subjects, including sin and sainthood, heresy and orthodoxy, the church and the sacraments, marriage and celibacy, failure and success, despair and hope.Bloesch's lucid, concise writing style polishes and illuminates the gems of his thought. The result is a scintillating collection of precision and depth--a treasury of theological reflection.

What if you wanted to treat all of life as good, in full view of its pains?It is not 'simply' that all of life is good, because its pains can clearly be overwhelming.But is it possible to find life good, including its hard and painful parts?How might one live that way?----------------This book is written so that rumors of God in his functional presence might not die out.It is written so that those who want to affirm life in full view of its pains and wrongs may do so with recognition and intention.

In this theological memoir, Ray Anderson takes us on his own journey from the prairie to the pulpit, and from the soul of a believer into the soul of a theologian. As a sequel to his earlier book, 'The Soul of Ministry', he shares with us the process by which his own spiritual hunger moved from uneasiness and unrest into a deeper sense of the soul of theology as exploration into the very soul of God (Part One). In Part Two, each chapter traces out the contours of a theology which "sings as well as stings." After more than 40 years of ministry as pastor, teacher and theologian, Anderson presents a theological hermeneutic by which Scripture and human experience can be read on the same page. If reading this book produces astonishment and wonder at the depth and daring to which God's grace encounters and embraces us through Jesus Christ, then that itself will lead us, with awe and reverence, to behold the soul of God.

The Year's Work in Medievalism: 2003 is based upon but not restricted to the 2003 proceedings of the annual International Conference on Medievalism, organized by the Director of Conferences for Studies in Medievalism, Gwendolyn Morgan, and, for 2003, Tom Shippey of St. Louis University. The essays of the current volume center on the question of creating identity, at the person, political and national levels, through the use of medievalism.Gwendolyn A. Morgan, Medievalism and the Creation of IdentityAnne Thornton, Romancing a Romantic: The Lais of Marie de France and Certain Keatsian OdesEdward L. Risden, Tolkien, Riceour, and Eliot: The World of the Text and the 20th-Century WastelandGrace Chiu Chan, ""The Medievalism of Kantorowicz: Bildung, Jewish Identity, and National SocialismJames R. Keller, The Power of His Horror: Abjection and MacbethMarjon Ames, Reigning Arthur In: Mythological Appropriation and the English MonarchyPeter G. Christensen, Searching for God and Arthur: Jim Hunter's Percival and the Presence of GodRobert Sirabian, Anglo-Saxonism and Charles Kingsley's Hereward the Wake: Last of the English

In the tradition of Karl Barth, T. F. and J. B. Torrance, and Ray Anderson, this collection of essays articulates a theology of ministry based on the humanity of Christ. A Christian theology of ministry, it insists, can be nothing less than a theology for humanity.

Elie Wiesel, plucked from the ashes of the Holocaust, became a Nobel Peace laureate, an activist on behalf of the oppressed, a teacher, an award-winning novelist, and a renowned humanist. He moved easily among world leaders but was equally at home among the disenfranchised. Following his Nobel Prize, Wiesel established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity; one of their early initiatives was the founding of the Elie Wiesel Ethics Essay Contest.The reflections in this volume come from judges of the contest. They share their personal and professional experiences working with and learning from Wiesel, providing a glimpse of the person behind the public figure. At a time when the future seems ominous and chaotic at best, these reflections hold on to the promise of an ethically and morally robust possibility. The students whose essays prompt this sense of hope are remarkable for their insight and dedication.The messages embedded in the judges' reflections mirror Wiesel's convictions about the importance of friendship, the need to interrogate (without abandoning) God, and the power of remembrance in order to fight indifference.

How does the future look to us? Well, clearly we realize we now live in a world of screens, from the microcosmic universe of to smartphone . . . to the imposing vigil of the multiplex giants, looming over us in Imax and 3-D--more ""real"" than real--and to all the screens in between, from computers to iPads, to muted, high definition flat-screens pouring out images in homes, restaurants, banks, businesses, schools, doctors' offices, and hospitals, and on and on everywhere we turn. We cannot change this reality, so what these Christians, and so many like them are doing is trying to find ways to redeem what we put on these screens: what message we are sending out in word and image to the watching world. So, clearly, our task, whether we have been called to create or not, is to join these artists as ""screen redeemers,"" assisting the Holy Spirit in reconciling the world to God (2 Cor 5:18-19) through helping the pervasively influential means of the media adjust its goals to the mission of Jesus Christ.

Motherhood provides a crucial place for exploring human life and its meaning. Within motherhood lies a deep tension between the pain, crisis, and association with death in motherhood and the joy, transformation, and life in motherhood. Few metaphors in Scripture (or in life) stand so firmly between life and death, love and loss, and joy and deep pain. After all, motherhood's meaning in part comes again and again at these crucial crossroads. Thus, motherhood has powerful implications for our biblical and theological understanding. Bringing together Jewish and ecumenical Christian scholars from North America, Oceania, and South America, this edited volume provides biblical and theological perspectives on understanding motherhood. The authors reflect upon a selection of biblical texts, systematic theologians, and Christian spiritual traditions to dialogue with the experience of maternity in its diverse manifestations. The purpose of the book is to provide essays that--through these biblical and theological lenses--engage the question of motherhood today, from the experience of pregnancy and birth, to raising children, to losing children and coping with grief. In this way, this volume helps to ""make sense"" of the complexity of motherhood.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament (JESOT) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the academic and evangelical study of the Old Testament. The journal seeks to fill a need in academia by providing a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint. The journal is not affiliated with any particular academic institution, and with an international editorial board, open access format, and multi-language submissions, JESOT cultivates and promotes Old Testament scholarship in the evangelical global community. The journal differs from many evangelical journals in that it seeks to publish current academic research in the areas of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinics, Linguistics, Septuagint, Research Methodology, Literary Analysis, Exegesis, Text Criticism, and Theology as they pertain only to the Old Testament. JESOT also includes up-to-date book reviews on various academic studies of the Old Testament.

Civitas is an interdisciplinary collection of essays on the meaning of the city as human artifact, repository of memory, and the image either of heaven or hell. Drawing on scholars of Bible, theology, worship, literature, and the visual arts, the collection traces religious notions of the city from biblical times to the present. This work is especially suitable for courses on the city, whether those courses be sponsored by departments of religious studies, literature, sociology, or history.Peter S. Hawkins is Professor of Religion and Literature at Yale Divinity School. His work has centered on Dante, but he has also written widely on the history of biblical reception and on contemporary fiction. He is the author of numerous books, including Dante's Testaments: Essays on Scriptural Imagination, Dante, a Brief History, and Undiscovered Country: Imagining the World to Come.

Dr. Paul Wells takes the reader deep into the thought of James Barr, the prominent and controversial Oxford professor known for his works on biblical semantics, interpretation, and authority. Barr's criticisms of both modern biblical theology and fundamentalism and his rejection of traditional views of inspiration and authority provide the background for his proposal to view the Bible as a progressing human tradition. In this radical alternative, Barr seeks a way of ""encouraging the Scriptures to speak freely."" Wells contends, however, that Barr's critique is not radical enough to solve a major remaining problem of the relation of Scripture's divine and human factors. Wells's own assessment of that problem and proposed solution are found in his conclusion.Paul Wells earned two degrees from Liverpool University and is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary. This volume was produced as part of the requirement for the Doctorate of Theology at the Free University of Amsterdam. Since 1972 he has taught Systematic Theology at the Faculte Libre Theologie Reformee, Aix-en-Provence, France.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is constantly in the news, but what about the people who live through it? Their lives are often overlooked, their stories ignored. This is especially true of Israelis and Palestinians who follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and seek to meet with each other and reconcile in the context of brotherly and sisterly love. But they do exist, and they do have a story to tell. They have chosen to seek reconciliation by participating in activities organized by Musalaha, an organization which facilitates Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, and this book, skillfully written by Jonathan McRay, is an attempt to allow their voices and their stories to be heard. This collection of stories is an excellent introduction to some of the many issues faced by these followers of Christ on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide, and chronicles the journey toward reconciliation they have chosen to take. The road to reconciliation is long and difficult, and the struggle is vividly portrayed in these narratives. Reading these stories, and the reflection pieces that follow them, leaves one with a picture of real human interaction which goes beyond the stereotypes and caricatures, and offers an authentic glimpse at the lives of Israeli and Palestinian believers, the lives they live, they challenges they face, their fears and their hopes. The stories told in this book are at times difficult to read, as they indicate how much distance still needs to be covered. But they also inspire hope; the brave example of those few who are working toward reconciliation proves that coexistence is possible, and can serve as a model for the future.