The works of J.R.R. Tolkien have not only redefined a genre of literature but also had a far-reaching impact on culture in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Tolkien’s name has joined the ranks of authors such as Shakespeare, Milton, Dostoevsky, Donne, and Dickens who make us think differently about the world. In Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology, an international group of scholars consider what Tolkien’s works (and Jackson’s film interpretations) can teach us about living out our theology in the world. From essays on Tolkien’s insights into community, what we can learn about our spiritual senses from encounters with the Nazgûl, the pastoral wisdom of Treebeard, to the theological value of food—including second breakfasts—we invite you to journey with us through Middle-earth as we engage the applicability of Tolkien’s works for theology and our world.
It can be a shock in our culture for a Christian to encounter evolutionary biology and conversely for a Darwinian to encounter biblical Christianity. Can a devout Christian with a high view of scripture accept scientific views of evolution? Some proponents of biblical Christianity or Darwinian evolution are quick to claim their incompatibility. However, as strong believers in both Christ and the sciences, we find more harmony than friction between them. This book, written by a biologist, a pastor/biblical scholar, and a theologian, addresses questions from the gifts of each of their disciplines. We acknowledge the insights and authority of the Bible, explain the science of evolution, explore their mutual relevance, and argue that holding the two together deepens our understanding of the world and its creator.
In The Tree of Life a team of scholars explore the origin, development, meaning, reception, and theology of this consequential yet obscure symbol. The fourteen essays trek from the origins of the tree in the texts and material culture of the ancient Near East, to its notable roles in biblical literature, to its expansion by early church fathers and Gnostics, to its rebirth in medieval art and culture, and to its place in modern theological thought.
Humanity is nearing a technological tipping point. Futurists tell us that the blistering pace of technological, scientific, and social change is ushering in an era in which human bodies merge with devices, corporations know everything about us, and artificial intelligence develops human and even godlike potential. In possession of the most powerful tools history has ever seen, we will be faced with questions about wisdom, authority, faith, desire, and what it means to be human.
Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament offers vibrant examples of all the major categories of questions to aid the reader in grasping how questions work in the Greek New Testament. Special emphasis is given to the way questions persuade and influence readers of the Greek New Testament.
A group of international scholars go in detail to explain how the author of the Gospel of John uses a variety of narrative strategies to best tell his story. More than a commentary, this book offers a glimpse at the way an ancient author created and used narrative features such as genre, character, style, persuasion, and even time and space to shape a dramatic story of the life of Jesus.
This book introduces the various ways the study of literature has been used in biblical studies. Most literary approaches emphasize the study of the text alone—its structure, its message, and its use of literary devices—rather than its social or historical background. The methods described in this volume are focused on different ways of analyzing the text within its literary context.
Douglas Estes crafts a theory of question-asking based on insights from ancient rhetoric and modern linguistics in order to investigate the logical and rhetorical purposes of Jesus' questions in the Fourth Gospel.
Explore the vision, the concerns, the challenges, and the remarkable possibilities of building Christ’s kingdom online. What is the virtual church, and what different forms might it take? Will it be an extension of a real-world church, or a separate entity? How will it encourage families to worship together? Is it even possible or healthy to “be” the church in the virtual world?
Spiritual but broken, theological but flawed--these are the words critics use to describe the Gospel of John. Compared to the Synoptics, John's version of the life of Jesus seems scrambled, especially in the area of time and chronology. But what if John's textual and temporal flaws have more to do with our implicit assumptions about time than a text that is truly flawed?