Camden Theological Library
Whats New : February 2020
| View Online |
What’s NewFebruary 2020 New books for February 2020 Camden Theological Library has added a number of new books to our collection during the month of February. These books are now available for loan and are currently on display in the Library, near the circulation desk. Several of these books are highlighted below. A full listing of all new items can be viewed here. From nature to creation : a Christian vision for understanding and loving our world by Norman Wirzba How does Christianity change the way we view the natural world? In this addition to a critically acclaimed series, renowned theologian Norman Wirzba engages philosophers, environmentalists, and cultural critics to show how the modern concept of nature has been deeply problematic. He explains that understanding the world as creation rather than as nature or the environment makes possible an imagination shaped by practices of responsibility and gratitude, which can help bring healing to our lands and communities. By learning to give thanks for creation as God’s gift of life, Christians bear witness to the divine love that is reconciling all things to God. Where Have You Seen God? : Recognizing the Divine Presence in Everyday Life by Keva Green Everyone struggles at times in their lives and wonders if this is all there is. Are we facing life on our own? Does God exist? Does the Lord even care about me and my life? Actually, God’s divine presence is all around us and moving in mighty ways. We just do not always take time to pay attention and recognise what the Lord is doing in our everyday lives. What if you could learn how to open your eyes to God’s blessings and miracles that are all around us and accessible to your situation? A good place to start is by asking the question, “”Where have you seen God?”” This book is overflowing with amazing stories of how God has divinely spoken and opened up opportunities for the author and some of those around her. Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent : Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality by Jonathan Cole At a moment in which interest in political theology is rising, acceptance of a public role for religion is declining, and cynicism regarding both political and religious institutions is overflowing, this book investigates the possibilities and constraints of a Christian political theology that can meaningfully mediate Scripture, doctrine, and political reality. In critical dialogue with political theologians and political philosophers past and present, we explore the origins, meaning, and purpose of Christian political theology in an age of growing discontent with the once-impregnable liberal democratic order of yesteryear. Approaching politics as both art and science, this book lays a challenge at the feet of political theologians to offer a theological account of politics that is genuinely illuminating of political reality and efficacious for the faithful who seek to operate within it. So, Tell Me a Story : The Art of Storytelling for Preaching and Teaching by Stephen Farris Everyone loves a good story, and So Tell Me a Story offers wise counsel to preachers and teachers who want to improve their storytelling skills. Farris, an experienced and skilled speaker, provides instruction, encouragement, and advice on how to avoid pitfalls that face storytellers. The book moves beyond the realm of the how-to manual, however, with an extensive collection of stories and reflections on Christian life that will spiritually enrich both speakers and other readers. What the Bible Actually Teaches on Women by Kevin Giles Kevin Giles has been writing on women in the Bible for over forty years. In this book, What the Bible Actually Teaches on Women, he gives the most comprehensive account to date of the competing conclusions to this question and the issues surrounding it. Signposts on the Way : Theological Reflections on the Practice of Ministry by Graeme Ferguson This book invites clergy and lay people engaged in Christian mission and parish ministry today to take time out to think about what we can learn from our recent past. You will be encouraged by Ferguson’s uplifting, inspiring and pragmatic insights gained from 50 years of ministry. He shows how local ministry is informed by sustained theological reflection. He has worked on the frontiers between the church and the secular city in Wellington, Auckland and Sydney. Ferguson has shared many ecumenical initiatives including the Inner City Ministry, the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia and setting up the Sydney College of Divinity. He has worked cross-culturally with the Greek and the Korean communities. Each fresh initiative has raised new theological questions. Preaching to Teach : Inspire People to Think and Act by Richard Voelz Preaching to Teach merges the related functions of preaching and teaching, and equips the reader to accomplish both. Preachers stand up to speak each week in challenging times to unsettled congregations. Each week seems to bring a new difficult subject: mass shootings and other forms of violence; hard conversations around race, ethnicity, and multi-religious contexts; immigration; poverty; climate change; foreign and domestic terrorism; and bickering about it all on social media. Preachers are hungry for ways to envision the work of preaching in these times, as well as for tools that will help them speak to difficult and contentious topics. In a divided and weary world, preachers struggle with the choice of any number of “images” to describe their preaching identity. Responding to social crisis after social crisis, preachers most often lean toward the roles of pastor, prophet, or somewhere on the spectrum in between the two. Juggling between these images and their associated roles on a week-to-week basis can be exhausting. But there is an ancient image of the preacher that may help: the preacher as teacher. Unmasking Biblical Faiths : The Marginal Relevance of the Bible for Contemporary Religious Faith by Charles W. Hedrick Unmasking Biblical Faiths aims to address many of the challenges to traditional Christian faith in the modern world. Since the eighteenth-century Age of Enlightenment, human reason, formerly tethered by the constraints of organised religion, has been set free to explore the universe relatively unchallenged. The influence of the Bible, on the other hand, weakened due to the successes of modern historical criticism, is found to be inadequate for the task of enabling the faith “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), in that it cannot adequately respond to the many questions about religious faith that human reasoning raises for modern human beings. In a series of short but tightly reasoned essays, Charles Hedrick explores the confrontation between traditional Christian faith and aggressive human reason, a conflict that is facilitated by Western secular education. A meal with Jesus : discovering grace, community, & mission around the table by Tim Chester Meals are an important part of hospitality and can be used to foster grace in our communities. Chester draws from six narratives in the Gospel of Luke to urge sacrificial giving and loving around the table. Clothed in language by Pauline Maud Matarasso A personal journal seeing language as a vital medium through which the divine is made present to us and which serves to reflect the truth and occasionally mask it. This book also includes an essay that looks at certain features common to myth, fairy tale, lore, and Scripture. A field guide for the missional congregation : embarking on a journey of transformation by Richard W. Rouse The roster of books on leadership is full of high theory and grand expositions of biblical principles. But there is precious little practical advice for regular people committed to releasing positive change within their local churches. Here one of the church’s foremost theoreticians and one of its most accomplished transformational leaders combine strengths to clarify both how sound congregational transformation can be accomplished by regular folks and the very Christ centred foundations upon which transformation must rest. With unflinching honesty and a deep, knowing sense for the joy that comes from Spirit-led change, the authors guide the reader on a quest for a future church alive with the abundant life God intended. Edible Entanglements : On a Political Theology of Food by S. Yael Dennis Obesity in the Global North and starvation in the Global South can be attributed to the same cause: the concentration of enormous power in the hands of transnational agricultural corporations. The food sovereignty movement has arisen as the major challenger to the corporate food regime. The concept of sovereignty is central to the discursive field of political theology, yet seldom if ever have its theoretical insights been applied to the concept of sovereignty as it appears in global food politics. Food politics operates simultaneously in several registers: individual, national, transnational, and ecological. A politics of food takes a transdisciplinary approach to analysing Schmitt’s concept of sovereignty in each of these registers, employing Giorgio Agamben’s political philosophy to elucidate vulnerability in the national and transnational registers; Jane Bennett’s vibrant materiality, Karen Barad’s agential realism, and nutritional science to describe the social production of classed bodies in the individual and national registers; data from climate science and the political ecology of Bruno Latour to examine the impact of sovereignty in the ecological register. Catherine Keller’s theology of becoming and Paulina Ochoa Espejo’s people as process will be explored for their capacity to enliven a democratic political theology of food. Appreciative inquiry : a positive approach to building cooperative capacity by Frank J. Barrett; Ronald E. Fry This book provides a concise introduction to and overview of the growing discipline and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). If you are intrigued by the prospect of mobilizing rapid, positive change with multiple stakeholders in a human system that is important to you, this book is for you. God in the movies : a guide for exploring four decades of film by Catherine M. Barsotti This informative guide helps readers combine their love of movies with their desire to grow closer to God. Foremost experts on faith and film, all connected with the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Seminary, explore forty leading movies from the last four decades to encourage movie lovers and small groups to reflect critically and theologically on their film choices. God in the Movies introduces and analyzes the spiritual content of top films from the 1980s through the 2010s, opening viewers up to a conversation about life, faith, and God. Incarnation : the surprising overlap of heaven & earth by William H. Willimon Jesus defies simplistic, effortless, undemanding explications. To be sure, Jesus often communicated his truth in simple, homely, direct ways, but his truth was anything but apparent and undemanding in the living. Common people heard Jesus gladly, not all, but enough to keep the government nervous, only to find that the simple truth Jesus taught, the life he lived, and the death he died complicated their settled and secure ideas about reality. The gospels are full of folk who confidently knew what was what–until they met Jesus. Jesus provoked an intellectual crisis in just about everybody. Their response was not, “Wow, I’ve just seen the Son of God,” but rather, “Who is this?” The God Who Plays : A Playful Approach to Theology and Spirituality by Brian Edgar Many people would be surprised to hear that a playful attitude towards God and the world lies at the heart of Christian faith. Traditionally Christians have focused on the serious responsibilities of service, sacrifice, and commitment. But the prophets say that the future kingdom is full of people laughing and playing, which has implications for Christians who are called to live out the future kingdom in the present. Play is not trivial or secondary to work and service–only a playful way of living does justice to the seriousness of life! Play is the essential and ultimate form of relationship with God, which is why Jesus told people to learn from children. Indeed, a playful attitude is an important part of all significant relationships. This book explores grace, faith, love, worship, redemption, and the kingdom from the perspective of a playful attitude. It describes how to create a “play ethic” to match the “work ethic” and discusses play as a virtue, Aquinas’s warning against the sin of not playing enough, and Bonhoeffer’s claim that in a world of pain it is only the Christian who can truly play. Worship in light of the cross : meditations for Lent by John Indermark How can the cross shed light on what we do in worship and why—not just in the Lenten season but in every season? John Indermark urges us to focus on the cross, its imprint on how we worship as a community, and how it transforms our discipleship. This 6-week study inspires us to connect corporate worship with our daily lives. He organises the daily readings according to the components of corporate worship: gathering, invocation, confession, proclamation, creed, response, and sacrament. Jesus 101 : God and man by John Leroy Gresham People desiring an authoritative, yet understandable overview of Catholic teaching on the doctrinal and scriptural background of the human-divine person of Jesus need look no further than this book by acclaimed theologian John L. Gresham. Holy Spirit 101 : present among us by John Leroy Gresham Understanding the Holy Spirit is not a simple task. The very word “spirit” can lend itself to confusion. Holy Spirit 101 offers readers a basic approach to coming to know this mysterious Person of the Trinity. Author John Gresham, dissects the difficult concept of the Holy Spirit, its place in history and scripture, as well as its connection to us today. Trinity 101 : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by James Leonard Papandrea “Trinity 101” offers readers a basic approach to the Trinity as history portrays it, as a doctrinal concept, and how it is revealed in the Scripture. This is highly useful to those seeking a starting point of Christian theological study of the Trinity, from high school age onwards; and also to educated adults who are drawn to this topic. James Papandrea writes in an engaging and accessible style on the theological background of the Trinity. The Spiritual Way : Classical Traditions and Contemporary Practice by Philip Sheldrake In The Spiritual Way: Classic Traditions and Contemporary Practice,Philip Sheldrake aims to make the wisdom of Christian spirituality better known to contemporary readers. After an introductory chapter on the foundations of Christian spirituality, Sheldrake describes its diverse riches through the centuries in terms of five distinctive types of Christian spiritual wisdom, illustrated by a rich selection of classical examples. The five types are “The Way of Discipline,” “The Contemplative-Mystical Way,” “The Way of Practical Action,” “The Way of Beauty,” and “The Prophetic Way.” This book also briefly explores the contemporary interest in spirituality within and beyond conventional religion and suggests how we might engage with these five types on our spiritual journeys in today’s world. Retired and inspired : making the most of our latter years by Wendy Billington Attitudes to retirement vary, and in this book Wendy Billington draws on her pastoral skills and life experience to ask the question: what is a Christian view of retirement? If we believe that life is a gift from God, should we not be viewing retirement as part of an integrated whole and see our latter years as part of God’s plan? This book is intended for all to read: individuals preparing for retirement and in their retirement years as well as their families, friends, befrienders, carers and professionals. Written in two sections, ‘Uprooting the weeds’ and ‘Sowing the seeds’, it includes questions for group discussion at the end of each chapter, followed by a meditative thought for the day and a closing prayer. The Jesus storybook Bible : every story whispers his name by Sally Lloyd-Jones Tells the story beneath all the stories in the Bible, inviting little ones to join in the greatest of all adventures and helping them discover that Jesus is at the center of God’s great salvation–and at the center of their story, too. Be still, my soul : embracing God’s purpose and provision in suffering : 25 classic and contemporary readings on the problem of pain by Nancy Guthrie A collection of 25 short readings drawn from classic and contemporary theologians, Bible teachers and missionaries is designed to encourage anyone going through a period of trial, pain or suffering. Original. Journeying with Matthew : reflections on the gospel by James Woodward This is a book to accompany the readings in year A of the Lectionary. It aims to help individuals and groups to understand and use Matthew’s Gospel. This book’s unique slant is that it asks readers to use their imagination ‘to bring the Gospel to life.’ It asks readers to visualise themselves in the scenes that Luke describes in order to see Matthew’s Gospel in a fresh and exciting way. Trinity : the God we don’t know by Jason Byassee Most people assume they know what they mean when they use the word “God.” They mean a powerful old guy in the sky ready to obliterate us if we do wrong but basically benevolent, if a little senile. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity shows us God is vastly more interesting. God is actually fleshed among us in Jesus, poured out on us in the Holy Spirit’s intoxication of the church. God is three divine persons in perfect harmony and beauty—and God invites us into that unimaginable intimacy. We don’t know this God, but we should. Trinity uses scripture, the Early Church tradition, and some modern theology to argue that God is a mystery whom we can’t understand but who can shape our misunderstanding to allow for faithful living and holy love of God and neighbour. Priscilla : the life of an early Christian by Ben Witherington Who was Priscilla? Readers of the Bible may know her as the wife of Aquila, Paul’s coworker, or someone who explained baptism to Apollos. Biblical references to Priscilla spark questions: Why is she mentioned before her husband? Does the mention of her instruction of Apollos mean that women taught in the church? What is her story? Ben Witherington addresses these questions and more. In this work of historical fiction, Priscilla looks back on her long life and remembers the ways she has participated in the early church. Her journey has taken her to Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome, and she’s partnered with Paul and others along the way. Priscilla’s story makes the first-century world come alive and helps readers connect the events and correspondence in different New Testament books. Witherington combines biblical scholarship and winsome storytelling to give readers a vivid picture of an important New Testament woman. Body : Biblical Spirituality for the whole person by Paula Gooder The word ‘spirituality’ is notoriously difficult to define or tie down. It is often used in a relatively vague way to refer to the inner relationship between one’s ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ and God. The implication is that people only relate to God with their ‘inner’ being (the soul/spirit) and not with any other part of who they are. There is a lurking influence of Neo-Platonism within Christian thinking that tends to assume that the material is bad and the spiritual good; that there is a gaping hole between our inner and our outer selves and that the proper location of devotion is our inner being. There is a further assumption that, especially in the writings of Paul, the soul/spirit is to be placed in the ‘good’ category while opposite it, in the ‘bad’ category, is the body/flesh – leaving the question of what is meant by heart and mind largely ignored. Paula Gooder explores what these six key concepts mean in the Bible, especially in the writings of Paul, before moving on to explore what Paul intended by the contrasts he drew, and what implications this all has for the way we think and speak about our spirituality today. Spiritual leadership in the missional church : a systems approach to leadership as cultivation by Nigel Rooms, Patrick Keifert How can leaders hold their Christian community in tension with the needs of newcomers and the unchurched, and remain open to the missional opportunities that lie beyond the church walls? This guide takes a systems approach to understanding the complexities of church dynamics, and casts the spiritual leader as cultivator of the environment. Central to this role is keeping a rule of life, which allows leaders to maintain a God-centred self-definition as they lead the Christian community in discerning and owning their primary tasks. Gathered to be sent : worship that connects with everyday faith by Andy Stinson Gathering for worship enables us to bring the whole of our lives before God—yet too often we leave our everyday realities at the door and by the end of the service we fail to connect our corporate worship with the worship of our lives. This challenging study offers reasons why we need to make these links, and includes practical suggestions for how we can connect the gathering and dismissal parts of our corporate worship with the rhythms and patterns of everyday faith. Seeking spiritual direction : how to find support for your spiritual life by Nick Helm, Liz Hoare Spiritual direction is an ancient way of drawing attention to the primacy of God’s perspective on life. Practised well, it is the art of keeping out of the way and, like the good teacher or midwife, enabling the directee to encounter God directly. Aimed at anyone interested in receiving spiritual direction, this illuminating guide examines the origins of the practice in the Bible and early church, and explores how it can support the radical, prophetic way of life that Jesus calls us to. Anyone who is a part of the Uniting Church in Australia or a student at United Theological College is eligible to join the library and access our resources for free. If you are not yet a member and would like to join, please contact us on 02 8838 8940 or library@nswact.uca.org.au. Camden Theological Library Centre for Ministry 16 Masons Drive North Parramata NSW 2151 61 2 8838 8940 https://nsw.ctl.stacksdiscovery.org/ |
제공 = Camden Theological Library
크리스천라이프 편집부