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Theology
Kenosis
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The Self-Emptying of Christ in Scripture and Theology Edited by Paul T. Nimmo and Keith L. Johnson Seventeen distinguished scholars om the elds of biblical studies, historical theology, and systematic theology engage with the past and present signi cance of the doctrine of kenosis—Paul’s extraordinary claim in Philippians 2 that Jesus Christ emptied and humbled himself in obedience on his way to death upon the cross.
CONTRIBUTORS John M. G. Barclay, Ma hew J. Aragon Bruce, David Fergusson, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Kevin W. Hector, Keith L. Johnson, Cambria Kaltwasser, Han-luen Kantzer Komline, Grant Macaskill, John A. McGuckin, Paul T. Nimmo, Georg P eiderer, Rinse H. Reeling Brouwer, Hanna Reichel, Christoph Schwöbel, Katherine Sonderegger, and omas Joseph White.
Paul T. Nimmo holds the King’s Chair of Systematic eology at the University of Aberdeen. His many other books include Being in Action: e eological Shape of Barth’s Ethical Vision, which won a 2009 John Templeton Award for eological Promise.
Keith L. Johnson is professor of theology at Wheaton College, where he is also the codirector of the Wheaton Center for Faith and Innovation. His other books include eology as Discipleship and e Essential Karl Barth: A Reader and Commentary.
978-0-8028-7920-2 • Jacketed Hardcover • 368 pages $65.00 US • $87.99 CAN • £52.99 UK
AVAILABLE JULY 2022
Freedom and Sin
Evil in a World Created by God Ross McCullough
Foreword by John E. Hare A esh argument for a venerable but recently neglected solution to the problem of human eedom and divine sovereignty.
“Why does God permit sin? Is there anything esh to be said into contemporary discussions of the problem of evil? I would have thought not, but McCullough’s learned and lucid book has made me think again. It is an important contribution to the eld, unusual in matching rigor and clarity of argument with a deep engagement with theological tradition.”
— REN KILBY
Durham University
“Amazing as it sounds, this study may well o er a esh oor for ‘philosophical theology’—a hybrid discipline as conversant in contemporary conceptual maneuvers as in rich inquiries into ‘God and the things of God.’ Ross McCullough provides a thorough canvas of the traditions involved, displaying both a learned and a light touch. e model for the book is not a summary ‘systematic theology,’ but rather the dialectical pilgrimage of Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed. Bravo!”
— DAVID B. BURRELL, CSC
University of Notre Dame
“ is is both a retrieval of classical theological positions and a bold new e ort to address the question of God’s involvement in our ee choice to sin. e results are as analytically precise as they are theologically rich.” — THRYN TANNER
Yale Divinity School
“No theologian interested in the intricate question of divine and human eedom, divine causality and human sin (indeed every theologian worthy of the name should be deeply interested in these topics), can a ord to ignore Freedom and Sin.”
— REINHARD HÜ ER
Catholic University of America
Ross McCullough is assistant professor of philosophy at George Fox University and a faculty fellow in the George Fox Honors Program.
978-0-8028-8183-0 • Jacketed Hardcover • 256 pages $50.00 US • $67.99 CAN • £40.99 UK
AVAILABLE JULY 2022
Seeing God
The Beatifi c Vision in Christian Tradition Hans Boersma
Foreword by Andrew Louth Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award in eology/Ethics.
In Seeing God, Hans Boersma explores the doctrine of the beati c vision—how the invisible God becomes visible to us. Boersma begins by examining what Christian thinkers throughout history have wri en about the beati c vision and then moves into a dogmatic articulation of the doctrine for Christians today.
“ is is theological re ection of the most illuminating kind.” — DAVID BENTLEY HART
author of Atheist Delusions and The Beauty of the Infi nite
“A profound and important work.”
— SIMON OLIVER
Durham University
“An energizing book om one of today’s best theologians.”
— JANET SOSKICE
University of Cambridge
“A richly comprehensive historical account of theologies of the beati c vision.”
— JOHN MILBANK
University of Nottingham
“A striking manifesto, in the form of a gentle, subtle, moving, and encyclopedic tour through the church’s long re ection on our nal destiny of gazing upon God’s face given in Christ.”
— EPH IM DNER
Wycli e College
“A wonderful and supremely worthwhile feat.”
— LYDIA SCHUMACHER
King’s College London
Hans Boersma is the Saint Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical eology at Nashotah House eological Seminary, Wisconsin. His other books include Heavenly Participation: e Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry and Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church.
978-0-8028-8019-2 • Paperback • 487 pages • $34.99 US $46.99 CAN • £28.99 UK • AVAILABLE NOW
978-0-8028-8185-4 • Jacketed Hardcover • 493 pages $65.00 US • $87.99 CAN • £52.99 UK
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Tadataka Maruyama formerly served as president and professor of church history at Tokyo Christian University. He is the author of e Ecclesiology of eodore Beza: e Reform of the True Church. A Study in the History of Doctrine Tadataka Maruyama Tadataka Maruyama
Foreword by Richard A. Muller A major study of John Calvin’s conception of the church that traces his evolving thought throughout the course of his life and writings. throughout the course of his life and writings.
“A er a lifetime of studying the Reformation, Tadataka Maruyama has wri en a masterly historical study of Calvin’s ecclesiology, se ing out its development in the context of Calvin’s unfolding career as a reformer and theologian. ecclesiology, se ing out its development in the context of Calvin’s unfolding career as a reformer and theologian. He does not analyze the de nitive version of the 1559 He does not analyze the de nitive version of the 1559 Institutes in isolation but rather shows how Calvin reached that point in his long and controversial career. is book cannot be ignored by any with a serious interest in Calvin’s that point in his long and controversial career. is book cannot be ignored by any with a serious interest in Calvin’s theology.” theology.” — TONY LANE of the church and the many historical debates it has engendered. is book is a treasure, full of esh scholarship, surprising discoveries, and sound historical judgment.”
London School of Theology
“Dr. Maruyama’s timely study Calvin’s Ecclesiology is an expansive and nuanced treatment of the reformer’s doctrine of the church and the many historical debates it has engendered. is book is a treasure, full of esh scholarship, surprising discoveries, and sound historical judgment.”
— SCO M. MANETSCH
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“ is book takes us on a wonderful journey as it shows us how Calvin’s dynamic ecclesiology gradually evolved out of the reformer’s encounter with Scripture, colleagues, and adversaries. Dr. Maruyama’s work is a great gi to Calvin scholarship but just as much to our present discussions on how and what church should be. Read this book if you want to know what Reformed ecclesiology means and how relevant it is.”
— HERMAN J. SELDERHUIS
Theological University of Apeldoorn
“Maruyama’s work is a masterful account of the early Reformation context and its impact on Calvin as well as Calvin’s impact on the shaping of a Reformation ecclesiology in Geneva and beyond.”
— RICHARD A. MULLER
from the foreword
978-0-8028-7815-1 • Jacketed Hardcover • 408 pages $49.99 US • $66.99 CAN •£40.99 UK
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Brad East is assistant professor of theology at Abilene Christian University. He is the author of e Doctrine of Scripture and the editor of Robert Jenson’s e Triune Story: Collected Essays on Scripture.
The Church’s Book
Theology of Scripture in Ecclesial Context Brad East
Foreword by Stephen E. Fowl What role do varied understandings of the church play in the doctrine and interpretation of Scripture?
“How we understand the church determines how we understand Scripture. Brad East grounds this basic claim in a detailed examination of three key heirs of Barthian theology—Robert Jenson, John Webster, and John Howard Yoder. . . . Future discussions about church and canon will turn to e Church’s Book for years to come.”
— HANS BOERSMA
Nashotah House Theological Seminary
“ eologically informed, church-oriented ways of reading Scripture are given wonderfully sustained a ention in Brad East’s new book. Focusing on Karl Barth and subsequent theologians in uenced by him, East uncovers how di erences in the theology of Scripture re ect di erences in the understanding of church.”
— THRYN TANNER
Yale Divinity School
“In this clear and lively volume, Brad East provides acute close readings of three theologians who have all tied biblical interpretation to a doctrine of the church. Building on their work, he proposes his own take on how the church constitutes the social location of biblical interpretation. In both his analytical work and his constructive case, East makes a major contribution to theological reading of Scripture.”
— DARREN SARISKY
Australian Catholic University
“A welcome clari cation of where the con ict of biblical interpretations really lies: divergent understandings of the church. is is an important interruption of and contribution to a longstanding conversation about theological prolegomena.”
— KEVIN J. VANHOOZER
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
978-0-8028-8022-2 • Jacketed Hardcover • 392 pages $45.00 US • $60.99 CAN • £36.99 UK
AVAILABLE JULY 2022
J. Patout Burns Jr. is the Edward A. Malloy Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. He is the author of Cyprian the Bishop and the Church’s Bible volume Romans: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators, and he is the coauthor, with Robin Jensen, of Christianity in Roman A ica: e Development of Its Practices and Beliefs.
978-0-8028-7316-3 • Jacketed Hardcover • 400 pages $49.00 US • $65.99 CAN • £39.99 UK
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Robert C. Roberts is distinguished professor emeritus of ethics at Baylor University. Among his other books are Taking the Word to Heart: Self and Others in an Age of erapies and Spiritual Emotions: A Psychology of Christian Virtues. Living as the Body of Christ J. Patout Burns Jr.
Foreword by J. Warren Smith Vital insights om Augustine’s sermons on the life of faith.
Augustine is not usually thought of today as a preacher, but he delivered sermons weekly over the course of nearly forty years to his congregation in Hippo Regius and occasionally also in Carthage and other Roman cities he visited as bishop. e di erences between his sermons and his theological treatises are striking but not surprising considering that the treatises targeted an elite, educated audience while his preaching was intended for Christians who lived—then as now—by the spoken and remembered rather than the wri en word. Where Augustine’s treatises were intellectual, intricate, and theoretical, the rhetoric of his sermons is characterized by conviction, emotion, and a rm commitment to pu ing faith into action. is volume by renowned Augustine scholar Patout Burns explores the theology of Augustine’s preaching. Utilizing recent advances in the chronological ordering of Augustine’s extant sermons, Burns traces the development of their core thematic elements—wealth and poverty, sin and forgiveness, baptism, eucharist, marriage, the role of clergy, the interpretation of Scripture, the human condition, and the saving work of Christ. He also identi es the in uence and manifestation of signi cant controversies in Augustine’s preaching, most notably Donatism and Pelagianism. As Burns shows, most of Augustine’s groundbreaking insights on the relation of Christ to Christians were developed in his sermons.
Like any good preacher, Augustine strove to establish a dialogue between Scripture and lived experience through his sermons—and did so quite e ectively. us, pastors as well as scholars will bene t from Burns’s insight into the teachings of one of the most e ective ministers in Christian history.
“What does a major theologian who addressed most of the doctrinal and political challenges faced by early Christians have to say when he looks out at a congregation with a passage om the Scriptures before him? In a masterly account of Augustine’s preaching Patout Burns moves through topics such as sin and forgiveness, riches and poverty, Eucharist, marriage, the human situation, Christ, and the church, citing passages om Augustine’s sermons. is is a book to be read slowly, marked, and inwardly digested.”
— ROBERT LOUIS WILKEN
University of Virginia
KIERKEGAARD AS A CHRISTIAN THINKER
Recovering Christian Character
The Psychological Wisdom of Søren Kierkegaard Robert C. Roberts A call to Christian discipleship that draws on the works of Søren Kierkegaard to illustrate how prevailing notions of Christianity are o en at odds with genuine Christian character.
“With wisdom and grace, humanity and humility, Roberts brings to life Kierkegaard’s penetrating psychology and his passion for Christian character formation. ese re ections on virtue and the human condition combine rich insight with the power to transform lives. Readers will be indebted to Roberts for this gi .”
— REBECCA KONYNDYK DeYOUNG
author of Glittering Vices
“Robert C. Roberts is one of the very best writers on character in the past y years. In his latest work, he digs deeply into the writings of Søren Kierkegaard on issues related to character and virtue. e result is a book packed full of profound and applicable insights.”
— CHRISTIAN B. MILLER
author of The Character Gap
“In seeking to introduce Christianity into Christendom, Kierkegaard develops its ‘Aristotelian’ dimensions: a normative theory of our emotional life and the importance of rhetoric in Christian discourse. Roberts brings these o en-minimized aspects of Kierkegaard’s thought to bright focus and in doing so provides a rich phenomenology of Christian emotions.”
— MEROLD WESTPHAL
author of Kierkegaard’s Concept of Faith
“Kierkegaard has not traditionally been understood as a virtue ethicist, but Recovering Christian Character makes amply evident how uitful a virtue ethical lens can be for understanding Kierkegaard’s project of reintroducing Christendom to Christianity. With characteristic clarity, wisdom, and generosity, Roberts enacts in this volume the kind of self-transformative re ection to which Kierkegaard invites his readers.”
— JENNIFER A. HERDT
author of Putting on Virtue
Reading Theology Wisely
A Practical Introduction Kent Eilers
Art by Chris Koelle An introduction and guide to the practice of reading theology, with hands-on application exercises designed especially for students and other newcomers to the eld.
“In Reading eology Wisely students are given a companion volume to accompany their theological studies so that character formation can advance in step with intellectual growth. When I was a theology student the book that did this for me was called A Li le Exercise for Young eologians. is can be that book for the next generation.” — SCOT McKNIGHT
Northern Seminary
“We need all kinds of invitations to theology, and in this book Kent Eilers extends a unique kind of welcome. Come in here, he beckons: unpack your bags, look around, and make yourself at home in the household of theological reading.”
— FRED SANDERS
Torrey Honors College, Biola University
“Beautiful. . . . Drawing on Scripture, a range of theological sisters and brothers across time and space, and also art, story, lm, architecture, and more, Eilers invites us into a generous space for reading theology well, with prayers, re ection questions, and suggested practices to help us along the way.”
— SUZANNE McDONALD
Western Theological Seminary
“Dr. Kent Eilers has done us a marvelous service in providing us a practical yet profound guide to informed and imaginative reading that enlivens living faith. Artfully wri en and beautifully illustrated, this is a book sure to expand your mind, illuminate your imagination, and stir your heart. Take and read!”
— TODD WILSON
cofounder and president of the Center for Pastor Theologians
Kent Eilers is professor of theology at Huntington University, Indiana. His other books include eology as Retrieval: Receiving the Past, Renewing the Church and e Grammar of Grace: Readings om the Christian Tradition.
978-0-8028-8178-6 • Paperback • 229 pages • $18.00 US • $23.99 CAN • £13.99 UK
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Living Belief
A Short Introduction to Christian Faith Douglas F. O ati A leading theologian’s concise guide to the beliefs, commitments, and practices of Christianity.
“ is book deserves the a ention of believers as well as nonbelievers; of advanced scholars as well as beginning students. In it, believers will see that true faith leads to further questions and does not cancel doubt, and nonbelievers will see that there is reason in the answers of faith; scholars will see clear proof that when one truly understands something one can explain it clearly, and beginners will learn that faith is worth exploring.” — JUSTO L. GONZÁLEZ
author of The Story of Christianity and A History of Christian Thought
“ ough it has its origins in the college classroom, this volume will appeal to anyone interested in probing the basic questions of life in conversation with Christian wisdom. Who is ‘God,’ and what does such Holy Mystery have to do with this world, including us? e genius of O ati’s work is this: he illuminates how theology is a source (rather than an obstacle) for piety and practical living. With story, song, and wry narrative style, he lures his readers into theological re ection that a ends at once to the ordinary details of human life and to expansive wonder at the glory of God.”
— MARTHA L. MOORE-KEISH
J. B. Green Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary
“Living Belief is a deep but accessible introduction to Christian piety, which Douglas O ati insists is not so much about subscription to a list of propositional truths as it is about asking good questions—about who God is, who we are (at our best and our worst), and what it means to nd direction and hope in the God disclosed in Jesus Christ. Drawing on ancient creeds and biblical texts, O ati demonstrates how Christianity seldom o ers only one answer to our questions, and in doing so he invites us to discover richness, diversity, and vitality in theological tradition. Living Belief is a wonderful primer on Christian faith om one of this generation’s most important theologians.”
— JAMES CALVIN DAVIS
author of American Liturgy: Finding Theological Meaning in the Holy Days of US Culture
Douglas F. O ati is the Craig Family Distinguished Professor of Reformed eology and Justice at Davidson College in North Carolina. He taught for many years at what is now Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and is a past president of the Society of Christian Ethics. Among his other books are A eology for the TwentyFirst Century and Hopeful Realism: Reclaiming the Poetry of eology.
978-0-8028-7537-2 • Hardcover • 251 pages • $30.00 US • $40.99 CAN • £23.99 UK
AVAILABLE JUNE 2022
Seeds of Faith
Theology and Spirituality at the Heart of Christian Belief Mark A. McIntosh and Frank T. Griswold An immersive introduction to the Christian faith that illuminates essential doctrines and propels readers beyond abstract knowledge to experience the living mystery who is God.
“In this extraordinary distillation of learning, si ed by experience and puri ed by prayer, Mark McIntosh and Frank Griswold share a conversation that enlightens, enriches, inspires, challenges, and, in the best possible sense, comforts. . . . A profound testimony and testament that deserves to become a new spiritual classic.”
— STEPHEN CHERRY
dean of King’s College, Cambridge
“With mutual respect and warm a ection for each other, Frank Griswold and Mark McIntosh invite readers to join them in their eloquent, patient, and pastoral conversation about the mystery of God as Trinity. is profound and gentle book is itself an embodiment of human iendship and a testimony to the iendship of God with us in this life and the life to come.”
— CYNTHIA BRIGGS KI REDGE
dean and president of Seminary of the Southwest
“Seeds of Faith is a beautiful and extraordinarily soulful meditation on Christian faith. It is a challenging book that does not shy away om the di culties that anyone seeking to live in faith with honesty and integrity must inevitably face. But there is also such deep joy here, a sense of spiritual life arising om the heart of lived experience and opening out onto a horizon of endless love.”
— DOUGLAS E. CHRISTIE
professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University
“In this engaging theological re ection, Mark McIntosh and Frank Griswold enter into the ‘conversation of true iends’ that urges us, in turn, to travel further into iendship with God in Christ. For the authors, God is the source of our true self, discovered through ongoing conversion and transformation. is ne book invites us to share in Jesus’s own self-giving love for the sake of others, as he draws us into his own relationship with the Father.”
— JOHN C. BAUERSCHMIDT
bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
Mark A. McIntosh (1960–2021) was an Episcopal priest and theologian who was the inaugural holder of Loyola University Chicago’s endowed chair in Christian spirituality. He also served as canon residentiary of Durham Cathedral, UK.
978-0-8028-7973-8 • Paperback • 196 pages • $24.99 US • $33.99 CAN • £19.99 UK
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Harvest of Hope
A Contemplative Approach to Holy Scripture Mark A. McIntosh and Frank T. Griswold A simple but profound guide to praying the Scriptures throughout the seasons of the liturgical calendar and encountering the living mystery of Christ in the pages of the Bible.
“One of the great needs for the church today is the recovery of a truly contemplative understanding of sacred Scripture. Harvest of Hope invites us, both as individuals and as a community, into such a deeply meditative encounter with the Word. It’s thoughtful and deeply spiritual, and to read it is to be invited into prayerful intimacy with the God who is love.” — CARL McCOLMAN
author of Unteachable Lessons and Eternal Heart
“As you open the pages of this book, you will nd yourself standing on holy ground. e text pulsates with a love of Scripture and a desire to invite the reader to encounter God through the text of Scripture. e result is a book that can change your life—you will never read Scripture the same way again.”
— IAN S. MARKHAM
dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary
“Drawing on scriptural texts om the cycle of the church year, McIntosh and Griswold usher readers into their own interior process of lucid theological re ection woven into prayerful encounter with the Word. Here the disastrous ri that opened up between theology and spirituality in the Western church a millennium ago is healed. Reading this compelling and beautiful book is a grace in itself.”
— JULIA GA A
Bishop Frank A. Juhan Professor of Pastoral Theology at Sewanee: The University of the South
“Warm, wise, and inviting, Harvest of Hope o ers readers rich re ection on scriptural passages tied to the church’s liturgical year. When it is so common for believers and seekers to separate spirituality om deeply re ective theology, Harvest of Hope uses Scripture to bind them rmly together. is book will lead you to deeper pa erns of prayer, more lively re ection on God, and a more enduring participation in God’s desire to be involved in your life.”
— STEPHEN E. FOWL
professor of theology and dean of the Loyola College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Maryland
Frank T. Griswold is the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (1998–2006). He continues to teach, write, lead retreats, and exercise a ministry of spiritual direction both in the United States and internationally.
978-0-8028-7972-1 • Paperback • 176 pages • $22.99 US • $30.99 CAN • £17.99 UK