Dangerous Passions Deadly Sins

This volume unpacks the psychological insights found in the writings of three early monks--Evagrius Ponticus (fourth century), John Cassian (fifth century), and Gregory the Great (sixth century)--to help us appreciate the relevance of these monastic writers and apply their wisdom to our own spiritual and psychological well-being. The book addresses each of the seven deadly sins, offering practical guidance from the early monastic tradition for overcoming these dangerous passions. As Dennis Okholm introduces key monastic figures, literature, and thought of the early church, he relates early Christian writings to modern studies in psychology. He shows how ancient monks often anticipated the insights of contemporary psychology and sociology, exploring, for example, how their discussions of gluttony compare with current discussions regarding eating disorders. This book will appeal to readers interested in spirituality, early monastic resources, and ancient wisdom for human flourishing, as well as students of spirituality and spiritual formation.

Gluttony -- Lust -- Greed -- Anger -- Sloth -- Envy and sadness -- Vainglory and pride.

In Aquinas’s Eschatological Ethics and the Virtue of Temperance, Matthew Levering argues that Catholic ethics make sense only in light of the biblical worldview that Jesus has inaugurated the kingdom of God by pouring out his spirit. Jesus has made it possible for us to know and obey God’s law for human flourishing as individuals and communities. He has reoriented our lives toward the goal of beatific communion with him in charity, which affects the exercise of the moral virtues that pertain to human flourishing. Without the context of the inaugurated kingdom, Catholic ethics as traditionally conceived will seem like an effort to find a middle ground between legalistic rigorism and relativistic laxism, which is especially the case with the virtue of temperance, the focus of Levering’s book. After an opening chapter on the eschatological/biblical character of Catholic ethics, the ensuing chapters engage Aquinas’s theology of temperance in the Summa theologiae, which identifies and examines a number of virtues associated with temperance. Levering demonstrates that the theology of temperance is profoundly biblical, and that Aquinas’s theology of temperance relies for its intelligibility upon Christ’s inauguration of the kingdom of God as the graced fulfillment of our created nature. The book develops new vistas for scholars and students interested in moral theology.

Drawing on centuries of wisdom from the Christian ethical tradition, this book takes readers on a journey of self-examination, exploring why our hearts are captivated by glittery but false substitutes for true human goodness and happiness. The first edition sold 35,000 copies and was a C. S. Lewis Book Prize award winner. Now updated and revised throughout, the second edition includes a new chapter on grace and growth through the spiritual disciplines. Questions for discussion and study are included at the end of each chapter.

Mainstream American evangelicalism is facing an identity crisis. Many wonder whether or not evangelical communities can become safe spaces that better enable people to enjoy, love, and know God and all that God cares about. This book, in honor of Dennis Okholm's decades of leadership in the academy and the church, commends the ways in which he has attempted to help his own communities flourish. His goal of filling the pews with theologically and biblically literate Christians is a much-needed example of steadiness and wisdom to an otherwise turbulent reality facing those who wish to maintain some association with the evangelical label. The emphases that appear in the contributions to this book represent Okholm's passion for the life of the church, his desire for evangelicalism to be a more hospitable home for all within its fold and in relation to other communities, and his desire for friendship and community to have a more prominent role in theological and biblical reflection. To Be Welcomed as Christ offers an example for engaging one's own community and the communities of others with the hospitality of Christ. Table of Contents 1. Theology as a Healing Art Ellen T. Charry 2. To Be Welcomed as Christ--Into the Church Todd Hunter 3. Participating in God's Mission: A Proposal at the Boundaries of Evangelicalism Justin Ashworth 4. Evangelicalism: A Home for All of Us Vincent Bacote 5. Herstory: Reclaiming Women's Voices for the Evangelical Tradition Jennifer Buck 6. Thinking Theologically about Interfaith Dialogue Richard J. Mouw 7. Talking with Evangelicals: The Latter-day Saint-Evangelical Dialogue in Retrospect Robert Millet 8. The Monkhood of All Believers: On Monasticism Old and New Rodney Clapp 9. When Friends Become Siblings: A Pauline Theology of Friendship Scot McKnight 10. Wiri Nina in the Body of Christ: Considering Friendship from an African Perspective David Fugoyo-Baime 11. Of All These Friends and Lovers: Remembering the Body and the Blood Craig Keen 12. Is it OK to be Proud of Your Humility? Robert Roberts 13. Dennis Okholm Michael McNichols Epilogue: At the Advice of a Sister: The Benedictine Way for the Unexpected Benet Tvedten, OSB

This book seeks to unpack the evolution of Barth's understanding of God's suffering in Jesus Christ in the light of election. The interconnectedness of election, crucifixion, and (im)passibility is explored, in order to ask whether the suffering of Christ is also a statement about the Trinity.

The first centuries of Christianity are like a far country. But despite their foreignness, they hold a treasury of wisdom for living. Early Christians struggled and flourished in a culture that was in love with empire and military power, infatuated with sex and entertainment, tolerant of all gods but hostile to the One. And from this crucible of discipleship they extracted lessons of virtue, faithfulness, and joy in Christ. Christopher Hall takes us to this distant time, where he interviews Christian leaders around the ancient Mediterranean world, inquiring how to live a good life as a Christ follower. The menu of topics wends its way through wealth and poverty, war and violence, marriage and sexuality, theater and the arena, as well as the harsh realities of persecution and martyrdom. Gathering around Basil or Chrysostom or Augustine, we are instructed anew in the way of discipleship. And as they grapple with issues surprisingly resonant with our own, this cloud of ancient witnesses both surprises and challenges us in the life of faith.