Böcker utgivna av Augsburg Fortress Publishers

In these outstanding studies, Phyllis Bird retrieves the identities of women in ancient Israel through penetrating investigations of Israelite religion, the creation stories in Genesis, harlots and hierodules, and the interpretation and authority of the Bible.

In this bold experiment in Christology, Ben Witherington develops a new, indirect method to discern Jesus' self-understanding.Using the evangelist's portrayals of Jesus' words, deeds, and relationships as avenues of insight, Witherington reveals a Jesus who both understood and disclosed himself in messianic terms, filling traditional terms-Son of man, Son of David, and Messiah-with new content.

How can Christians think responsibly about ethical matters, and in what way can they make moral claims in a largely non-Christian society? How can people engaged in serious moral disagreement be brought into constructive conversation?James Burtness addresses these questions in five steps. He first describes the connections and disjunctions between faith and ethics. He then discusses morality as a social phenomenon. In the heart of the book, he analyzes four options for doing Christian ethics: deontology, situationism, character ethics, and teleology. Burtness then advocates for a version of teleology, known as consequentialism, as the best way for Christians to think ethically in our time. Consequentialism is the method by which moral decisions are made primarily in the light of anticipated outcomes for the common good. Finally, Burtness demonstrates the viability of his approach and its benefits both within, and outside of, the Christian community.

From 1926 to 1936 Rudolf Bultmann offered an introductory course in theology, which he continually revised and refined. Finally published posthumously, and now available in English for the first time, WHAT IS THEOLOGY? presents a clear compendium of the theology of a member of one of this century's rare number of giant scholars.

Tragically, religion has often been associated with violence, repression, war, and vengeance. Where was God during the Holocaust? The violence in Bosnia, Rwanda, or the Middle East? Theologian and author Marc Ellis takes a searing look at religious integrity in the face of evil. Ellis's uncompromising moral sensitivity poses a frank examination of conscience for Christians and Jews alike who seek honestly to engage their tradition and their God.

Everyone in-or associated with-pastoral ministry knows of the heavy toll on pastors' personal and professional lives. Surveys commonly report time pressures, stress, overextension, loneliness and isolation, marital and family difficulties, spiritual dryness, and feelings of loss of meaning. Covenants and Care takes these hard realities into account as the authors, a team of experts in ministry and the Bible, offer skills for the long haul. They employ the Old Testament notion of covenant and ask ministers to enter a covenant both for their own self-care and as a key to framing and enlivening their care for others in ministry. True-to-life stories show how biblically-based covenantal relationships with clear boundaries promote healthy relationships, and how they are integral to faithful personal and pastoral care. The authors' sensible yet sensitive approach offers practical help for the minister's self-care while providing tools for meeting such challenges as conflict in the congregation, issues of sexual ethics, questions of power and conscience, and the dynamics of spirituality.

A reader-friendly, basic introduction that maps the central ideas of the major theologians of the twentieth century, easily accessible to both the theological student and the inquiring lay reader.

The Challenge of Diversity argues that the present diversity in the church reflects a rich variety that was integral to the early Christian movement from its very beginnings. Rhoads shows how Galatians, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John each present a fundamentally different understanding of the human condition, a different vision for life under God, and a different portrayal of our transformation.