Bücher veröffentlicht von Cascade Books

The desert fathers wanted to get away from a church co-opted by empire and a Christian faith grown cold and listless. They retreated to the desert to do battle against demons and against their own worst desires. They had no intention of being famous; yet ironically their Sayings have inspired millions of imitators over the centuries. This guide is meant to accompany a reading of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, in hopes that readers with lives quite different than those third- and fourth-century dwellers of the Egyptian desert might nevertheless come to imitate their lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience; and more importantly, that readers might grow more imaginative and passionate in their following of the same Lord.

An international array of twenty-six scholars contributes twenty-one essays to honor Ziony Zevit (American Jewish University), one of the foremost biblical scholars of his generation. The breadth of the honoree is indicated by the breadth of coverage in these twenty-one articles, with seven each in the categories of history and archaeology, Bible, and Hebrew (and Aramaic) language.

Studying the early church can feel like entering a maze of bishops, emperors, councils, and arcane controversies. This book introduces early Christian theology by focusing on one particularly influential figure, Basil of Caesarea (ca. AD 330-378). It views Basil against the backdrop of a Roman Empire that was adopting Christianity. In Basil's day, Christians were looking for unity in the teaching and practice of their faith. This study acquaints the student with Basil's brilliant--and often neglected--theological writings. In particular, Saint Basil's reflections on the Trinity emerge from these pages as fascinating and illuminating testimonies to the faith of early Christians.

How do our current notions of the workings of the universe fit with our deepest convictions about its meaning and value? From religion, we grasp the world as created, given, gift. From science, we apprehend it as evolving, in process, changing. How do we bring these apprehensions together? Or can we? Is our impulse to find the two complementary: creation and evolution? Or is it to find them contradictory: creation or evolution? The way in which we answer these questions carries personal and intellectual consequences. It will constitute the first piece in a worldview within which we order our religious beliefs and scientific judgments."" --from the Preface

The Confessions of St. Augustine is one of the few Christian classics that is still widely read in the secular academy. Yet, oddly enough, it is not often read in the manner Augustine appears to have intended and in which the church read it for centuries: as a model of conversion, devotion, friendship, and the love of God. This book is a companion for any reader of the Confessions--whether in an academic, ecclesial, or devotional context--informed by the latest scholarship yet always directed toward pushing the reader, with Augustine, toward God.

The poems in Phases are as interested in the creeping penumbral edge of language as they are in the shadowy fact of faith. Playful experiments with form swing to the conceptual ring's apogee, while a colloquy across history and place center the proverbial orbit.

The Gospel of John: Theological-Ecumenical Readings brings together leading Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical theologians to read and interpret John's Gospel from within their ecclesial tradition, while simultaneously engaging one another in critical dialogue. Combining both theological exegesis and ecumenical dialogue, each chapter is uniquely structured with a main essay by a Catholic, Orthodox, or Evangelical theologian on a section of John's Gospel, followed by two responses from theologians of the other two traditions. The chapter concludes with a final response from the main author. Readers are thus provided with not only a deep and engaging reading of the Gospel of John but also the unfolding of a rich theological-ecumenical dialogue centered on an authority for all Christians, namely, the Gospel of John.

Most academics agree with Peter Berger that pluralism theory appears more accurate than secularization theory in accounting for the societal changes that accompany modernization. Yet Berger's earlier book Many Altars of Modernity gives limited attention to the implications of the pluralist paradigm for religious discourse, in particular for evangelicals. According to Berger--who wrote the first chapter in this book--while pluralism leads to less certainty about faith and creates ""secular spaces,"" it also, more positively, clarifies the importance of trust in God, highlights the nature of religious institutions as voluntary associations rather than birth rights, and challenges Christians to know what they believe in. Subsequent chapters respond to the first. Four responses are theoretical (e.g., challenging the concept of secular spaces, exploring social constructionism) and four are contextual (e.g., describing anti-pluralist forces in India, challenging feminists to pluralism, examining women's responses to pluralism, and exploring values in Brazil and China). The ideas are easily accessible to the lay reader and are intended to initiate a much-needed conversation about the implications of pluralist theory. We conclude that pluralism is challenging for Christian faith but, as Peter Berger says, in most ways it is ""good for you.""""With a skilled blend of appreciation and criticism, Faith in a Pluralist Age engages Peter Berger's celebrated declaration that pluralism, not secularity, is modernity's companion. From the risks posed by cognitive contamination of immigrant value-systems, to the 'gender bargain' faced by evangelical women in Brazil, contributors engage Berger and the pluralist conditions he theorizes. Christians grappling with a world in which 'everyone is disestablished' will be well served by this timely volume.""--Timothy Sherratt, Professor of Political Science, Gordon College, Author of Power Made Perfect? Is There a Christian Politics for the Twenty-First Century?""Kaye Cook brings together a robust and much-needed debate about the implications of pluralism for Christian engagement in today's world. For Christians who find themselves in a social environment that increasingly resembles that of the early church, this volume provides a refreshing perspective. The overall discussion is particularly relevant to China, where a growing Christian community continues to negotiate the terms of its engagement in a society that struggles between pluralism and politically imposed orthodoxy.""--Brent Fulton, President, China SourceKaye V. Cook is Professor of Psychology at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She is the author of Man and Woman, Alone and Together (1992) and Chaotic Eating: A Guide to Recovery (1992).

In this succinct, inviting volume, four Balkan theologians probe their contextual ways with the theology of Jurgen Moltmann, whose classic The Crucified God influenced novel theological approaches around the globe, most recently the emerging postwar Christian theology in the Balkans. The authors engage with the prevailing culture of ethnic and religious exclusivism within their context and present us with a range of theologically pertinent issues resulting from a wider discussion on religion and politics. The book offers a fresh and provocative reading of Christian faith that pins its hopes on the person and work of the Crucified and sets the ground for possible contextual contribution of Balkan theology to a World Church.Following Moltmann''s invitation to see the Cross, and the crucified Christ, as an inner criterion of all theology, this book sheds theological light on the situation in the Balkans. The Cross of that region can be described as a ""Cross of the crossroads,"" since different religions, ethnic and national communities, memories, and cultures have always been sources of profound contact but also of deep division and violence. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of The Crucified God, this collection can be read as a continuation of Moltmann''s theological project, which calls for a courageous descent into ""circles of death""--places of spiritual and physical imprisonment, without false comforts and premature hopes.""Post war societies need theological thought that does not negate the past but is able to reformulate its own tradition in order to develop adequate and relevant theologies. Until now, the Balkan area, flooded with blood, was not able to create a theology out of experiences of war and vicious nationalisms. Zoran Grozdanov and the other authors of this book manage to fill the gap by critically reflecting on the devastating consequences of misusing faith by blending it with nationalistic identities. In an original contribution, Jurgen Moltmann, whose seminal study on The Crucified God inspired the volume, reflects back on his own personal context and the contexts in which his work had its impact. I strongly recommend this work to anyone interested in understanding the relevance of theology--within and beyond the Balkan countries.""--Regina Ammicht Quinn, Catholic theologian; Professor of Ethics; Director of the Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities, The University of Tuebingen, Germany""Jurgen Moltmann''s theology has motivated a group of theologians from the region of former Yugoslavia to develop a contextual, continental, political theology. They urge Christian theology to break away from its own ideologies and become the motor of a post-war political socialization. The memory of the regional war, the concern about the current political situation in Eastern Europe, and the commitment to theology make the book a painful, yet indispensable reading for anyone interested in political theology.""--Hille Haker, Richard McCormick Endowed Chair of Catholic Moral Theology, President of Societas Ethica, Loyola University Chicago, LSC""A contribution in its own right to living in the multiple conflicts of today, in a globalized world marked by contending particular universalisms that often turn violent.""--Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and CultureZoran Grozdanov is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Protestant Theology Matthias Flacius Illyricus, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Among his publications are God in Front of the Cross: Essays in Honour of Jurgen Moltmann (2007) and Religion and Identity in Post-Conflict Societies (Concilium 1 [2015]).