Download or read book Creation Untamed Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic written by Terence E. Fretheim and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes have plagued the history of the earth. What is God's role in natural disasters and the human suffering they cause? This is one of the most vexing questions in Christian life and theology. Terence Fretheim offers fresh readings of familiar Old Testament passages--such as creation, the flood, and the suffering of Job--to give readers biblical resources for working through this topic. He shows the God of the Bible to be a compassionate, suffering, relational God, one we can turn to in prayer in times of disaster.
Download or read book Creation Untamed written by Terence E. Fretheim and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading Old Testament theologian addresses one of the most vexing questions in Christian life and theology: What is God's role in natural disasters?
Download or read book Creation Transformation Theology written by Margit Eckholt and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The social and cultural challenges posed by the increasing threat to creation (climate change, destruction of biodiversity, etc.) are the starting point for new philosophical-ethical and theological reflections on the relationship between God, human beings and the world, as presented in this volume. God's creative impulse, which transforms anew, is at work in the actions of human beings and challenges us, in view of the threat to the "house of life" earth, to go new ways that make a common and good life possible. Creation and transformation are interrelated; an ecological theology of creation and practice of sustainability to be developed in the European context is to be embedded in the horizon of a global, liberating theology.
Download or read book In the Beginning written by Pope Benedict XVI and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1995-11-02 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In four superb homilies and a concluding essay, Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, provides a clear and inspiring exploration of the Genesis creation narratives. While the stories of the world’s creation and the fall of humankind have often been subjected to reductionism of one sort or another — literalists treat the Bible as a science textbook whereas rationalists divorce God from creation — Ratzinger presents a rich, balanced Catholic understanding of these early biblical writings and attests to their enduring vitality. Beginning each homily with a text selected from the first three chapters of Genesis, Ratzinger discusses, in turn, God the creator, the meaning of the biblical creation accounts, the creation of human beings, and sin and salvation; in the appendix he unpacks the beneficial consequences of faith in creation. Expertly translated from German, these reflections set out a reasonable and biblical approach to creation. ‘In the Beginning . . .’ also serves as an excellent homiletic resource for priests and pastors.
Download or read book The Place of God at the Bookends of the Bible written by David W. Larsen and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-10-09 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if everything in the Bible has a larger outer context than is usually accounted for? Missional and biblical theologies suggest that the Bible presents a grand story like a play with multiple acts. The acts typically include creation, fall, redemption, and finally restoration. But what if the whole story itself occurs in another larger setting, occurring within a mission running in the background throughout the whole Bible? How might this aid our research, reading, and application? And why is this being proposed now? This book explores these questions. The larger context is the production of the place of God—a home and homeland wherein God, with his people, dwell on earth. Since place is underdeveloped in biblical studies, the book presents a new method for interpreting place. Then the book lays out the case that a grand mission to produce the place of God becomes the outer context for the whole Bible. Finally, the book defends this proposal with an in-depth placial commentary of the bookends of the Bible, since these bookends provide keys to unlock this message, thereby inviting further study on the rest of the Bible and on the implications for this transformative perspective.
Download or read book Latter day Saint Perspectives on Atonement written by Deidre Nicole Green and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2024-01-02 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New approaches to a central area of Latter-day Saint belief The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christians have always shared a fundamental belief in the connection between personal salvation and the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While having faith in and experiencing the atonement of Christ remains a core tenet for Latter-day Saints, some thinkers have in recent decades reconsidered traditional understandings of atonement. Deidre Nicole Green and Eric D. Huntsman edit a collection that brings together multiple and diverse approaches to thinking about Latter-day Saint views on this foundational area of theology. The essayists draw on and go beyond a wide range of perspectives, classical atonement theories, and contemporary reformulations of atonement theory. The first section focuses on scriptural and historical foundations while the second concentrates on theological explorations. Together, the contributors evaluate what is efficacious and ethical in the Latter-day Saint outlook and offer ways to reconceive those views to provide a robust theological response to contemporary criticisms about atonement. Contributors: Nicholas J. Frederick, Fiona Givens, Deidre Nicole Green, Sharon J. Harris, J.B. Haws, Eric D. Huntsman, Benjamin Keogh, Ariel Bybee Laughton, Adam S. Miller, Jenny Reeder, T. Benjamin Spackman, and Joseph M. Spencer
Download or read book Divine Suffering written by Andrew J. Schmutzer and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-02-22 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divine Suffering is an inter-disciplinary study that draws from systematics, philosophy, biblical theology, and pastoral experience. In addition to covering topics like the suffering of the Father in the Son and God’s cruciform vulnerability, this book also explores how divine suffering animates the Christian gospel and resonates in the ongoing persecution of believers. The study of the suffering God has everything to do with Theology, History, and Church Mission. Like exploring a cathedral from all its entrances, both scholars and seekers will find ample opportunity for theological challenge, biblical insight, and missional hope. To accomplish this, both Scripture and doctrine are closely investigated. Today, divine suffering must face the contemporary realities of protest atheism, escalating wars, new studies in relational theology, and dialogical personhood that presses the need to explain a Christian message about the kind of God who is not only transcendent but also personal. Divine Suffering introduces us to the history of God, not just the God of history. In this study, we meet a God available to our pain though not diminished by it. Mounting forms of grief need to be met with an equally pastoral understanding that validates suffering without valorizing it.
Download or read book McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry Volume 13 2011 2012 written by Hughson T. Ong and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry is an electronic and print journal that seeks to provide pastors, educators, and interested lay persons with the fruits of theological, biblical, and professional studies in an accessible form. Published by McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, it continues the heritage of scholarly inquiry and theological dialogue represented by the College's previous print publications: the Theological Bulletin, Theodolite, and the McMaster Journal of Theology.
Download or read book An Introduction to the Theology of Creation written by Joseph Thomas and published by Scepter Publishers. This book was released on 2020 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique book offers an in-depth and easily-readable study of the theology of creation from a Catholic perspective. It is brief and geared toward lay persons who desire a deeper knowledge of this aspect of their faith. The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing God as the creator of the universe, and the profound implications which this recognition has for the Christian life. The work describes the divine work of creation in continuity with the new creation brought about through Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Topics covered include an analysis of Creation in the Old and New Testament, an overview of Christian thought on creation from the Fathers of the Church to the modern period, and a systematic analysis of what creation means. Chapters are also dedicated to the human person, angels, the role of science and technology, sin, and divine providence. THIS SHORT BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN to offer an introduction to some of the key ideas of the theology of creation. It is intended as a synthesis of some important ideas to help laypersons who cannot be fully dedicated to theology and yet who would like to study this subject in a serious way. Because of this aim, each chapter is brief. Certainly, many of the ideas described in the following pages can be examined at more length, perhaps making use of the bibliography which has been cited, as well as other works. Certain topics of relevance are not dealt with. In any case, our hope is that these pages can be an opportunity to become more familiar with- or to review once more-the rich Christian doctrine regarding creation, which continues to be of such vital importance for the Church and society.
Download or read book Judgment and Salvation written by Dustin G. Burlet and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-11-03 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contends the text of the Noachian deluge narrative categorically underscores all God did to preserve life in spite of the disaster. Despite the picture of devastation that the narrative depicts, the prominent emphasis of the text is on deliverance and redemption, i.e., salvation, not judgment. The focus of the Genesis flood is acutely bent towards God’s salvific rather than punitive purposes. The arc of salvation within the flood narrative can be broken down into two main ideas. Firstly, God’s intention for creation is not thwarted, and, secondly, God commits himself to his intentions of creation. God’s intention for creation can be stated thus: the establishment of order via covenant showing the sanctity of human life and the upholding of all life. This involves, in particular, humanity as his image bearers, including the lex talionis (life-for-life) principle.
Download or read book Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible written by Matthew Lynch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines four key ways that writers of the Hebrew Bible conceptualize and critique acts of violence.
Download or read book TheoMedia written by Andrew Byers and published by Lutterworth Press. This book was released on 2014-08-28 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The church can be uncertain of itself in our digital age. Some Christians denounce the twenty-first century's media culture while others embrace the latest gadgets and apps as soon as they appear. Many of us are stumbling along amidst the tweets, status updates, podcasts, and blog posts, wondering if we have ventured into a realm beyond the scope of biblical wisdom. Though there is such a thing as 'new media', Andrew Byers reminds us that the actual concept of media is ancient, theological, andeven biblical. In fact, there is such a thing as the media of God. 'TheoMedia' are means by which God communicates and reveals himself - creation, divine speech, inspired writings, the visual symbol of the cross, and more. Christians are actually called to media saturation. But the media that are to most prominently saturate our lives are the media of God. If God creates and uses media, then Scripture provides a theological logic by which we can create and use media in the digital age. This book is not an unqualified endorsement of the latest media products or a tirade against media technology. Instead, Byers calls us to rethink our understanding of media in terms of the media of God in the biblical story of redemption.
Download or read book The Testing of God s Sons written by Gregory S. Smith and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There exists a general lack of biblical understanding for the idea of “testing” that emerges in the Old Testament as a significant theological theme. The faithful from both Old Testament and New Testament times are tested for their faith. This kind of experience often involves enduring hardship and difficult times. While often confused with the biblical idea of “temptation,” the biblical idea of testing stems from a metallurgical background and carries a unique covenantal function. Testing will be at the center of how God responds to the rebellion of his people and reveals God’s primary concern for the faith of his saints. Our study will first focus on the language of testing and explore the semantic range for the idea of testing that draws from both the biblical context, as well as the world of the ancient Near East. This study will then focus on the often overlooked Joseph narrative and its unique contribution to the theology of testing that is presented by the rest of the Pentateuch. Finally, the remainder of the biblical texts will be investigated on the theme of testing. The last chapter will appreciate the fact that God tests His sons—Adam, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Job, Israel and even Christ. It is through the experience of God’s tested sons that believers are invited to more fully and deeply understand their own experience of testing.
Download or read book The Doctrines of Genesis 1 11 written by Fr Victor Warkulwiz and published by . This book was released on 2007-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today the Catholic Church has well-developed theologies of redemption and sanctification but no well-developed theology of creation. That is because so many of her influential thinkers have abandoned the sound creation theology of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and have embraced instead the false principles of evolutionism. The purpose of this book is to help restore traditional Catholic theology on origins to its rightful place in the belief of Catholics. The traditional teaching of the Church on Creation, the Fall, and the Great Flood and its aftermath is clearly presented in the form of sixteen doctrines abstracted from the text of Genesis 1-11. The doctrines are defended on theological, philosophical and scientific grounds from assaults made on them from the sectors of biblical criticism and scientism. The author attempts to present a story of origins that evokes true and vivid images of the creation of the world and the primal history of the human species. Accurate, thorough and readable answers are given to many questions about origins that perplex the modern Catholic. The exposition is kept as non-technical as possible so that the book will be accessible to everyone. Not everyone will be able to understand everything that is presented, but every reader will find enough to set his thinking straight and to nourish his Catholic faith. Foreword by Most. Rev. Robert Francis Vasa, Bishop of Baker
Download or read book This Incomplete One written by Michael D. Bush and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2006-05-03 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of sermons in which preachers deal with the deaths of children and young adults, this volume includes the words of Craig Barnes, Karl Barth, David L. Bartlett, Ronald P. Byars, John Claypool, William Sloan Coffin, Stephen T. Davis, J. Howard Edington, Jonathan Edwards, Laura Mendenhall, and more. (Ministry and Pastoral Resources)
Download or read book God s Gift of the Universe written by Paul O'Callaghan and published by CUA Press. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are many ways of understanding the reality of the world we live in and experience. Science, philosophy, art all offer us ample descriptions, explanations and intuitions. But Christian believers go beyond all that, for they attempt to understand the origins of the universe in terms of the creation of the world by God. Revelation tells us what God had in mind when he made the world ex nihilo, without presuppositions of any kind. God’s Gift of the Universe attempts to present the principal elements and stages of creation theology. The doctrine is to be found fundamentally, of course, in Scripture, both Old and New Testament, which describes the world in the light of God’s word. Yet since God actually gave existence to the world, down to the last detail, our reflection on God’s word not only explains the reality of creation, how it works, its nature, as science does. It also explains how creation came into being in the mind and heart of the Triune God, and, ultimately, why God created the world. In God’s Gift of the Universe, a considerable effort has been spent throughout the book on the Christological and Trinitarian aspects of creation, particularly in the theology of Church Fathers. Creation is presented besides in a deeply eschatological key, for God created the world for purpose of making his glory eternally manifest. The book also considers the way God ‘intervenes’ in the life of the created world, through conservation in being and providence. The meaning of time, matter and spirit are considered. The need for ecological awareness is central. One aspect of the mystery of creation that receives special attention is the presence of evil in the world. This is of particular importance once we accept that God made the world, whole and entire, thus assuming responsibility for the world as it is. The origin of evil through the sin of spiritual creatures provides the ultimate though not the only explanation of the mystery of evil. Particular consideration is given to the reality of ‘original sin’.
Download or read book The Hardened Heart and Tragic Finitude written by Dan O. Via and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-11-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has two main theses. First, for the biblical/Christian doctrine of sin the root of the human problem is hardness of heart--the corruption of the core self, of the seat of understanding and will. On the other hand, for an important strand of Greek tragedy the root of human harm-doing is the nonculpable blindness and anxiety of finitude that despite the initial nonculpability lead to evil and suffering. The Hardened Heart shows that these two different interpretations of human existence are amenable to a degree of synthesis that leads to this conclusion: hardness of heart and our ordinary finitude together collude to cause sin in its fullness.The second thesis of this volume is that exegetical studies disclose a deconstructive strand in certain biblical texts that represents the finite world that God created as a source of distress and harm-doing in something like the tragic sense. This subdominant deconstructive position challenges the dominant biblical vision, in which the creation came forth from God's creative word as good without qualification.
