Inhabiting Eden

In this thoughtful study, respected Old Testament scholar Patricia K. Tull explores the Scriptures for guidance on today's ecological crisis. Tull looks to the Bible for what it can tell us about our relationships, not just to the earth itself, but also to plant and animal life, to each other, to descendants who will inherit the planet from us, and to our Creator. She offers candid discussions on many current ecological problems that humans contribute to, such as the overuse of energy resources like gas and electricity, consumerism, food production systems--including land use and factory farming--and toxic waste. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and a practical exercise, making it ideal for both group and individual study. This important book provides a biblical basis for thinking about our world differently and prompts us to consider changing our own actions. Visit inhabitingeden.org for links to additional resources and information.

In this thoughtful study, respected Old Testament scholar Patricia K. Tull explores the Scriptures for guidance on today's ecological crisis. Tull looks to the Bible for what it can tell us about our relationships, not just to the earth itself, but also to plant and animal life, to each other, to descendants who will inherit the planet from us, and to our Creator. She offers candid discussions on many current ecological problems that humans contribute to, such as the overuse of energy resources like gas and electricity, consumerism, food production systems--including land use and factory farming--and toxic waste. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and a practical exercise, making it ideal for both group and individual study. This important book provides a biblical basis for thinking about our world differently and prompts us to consider changing our own actions. Visit inhabitingeden.org for links to additional resources and information.

The Bible has the unfortunate legacy of being associated with gross human rights violations as evident in the scriptural justification of apartheid in South Africa as well as slavery in the American South. What is more, the Hebrew Bible also contains numerous instances in which the worth or dignity of the female characters are threatened, violated or potentially violated, creating a situation of dehumanization in which women are viewed as less than fully human. And yet the Bible continues to serve as a source of inspiration for readers committed to justice and liberation for all. But in order for the Bible to speak a liberative word, what is necessary is to cultivate liberating Bible reading practices rooted in justice and compassion. Restorative Readings seeks to do exactly this when the authors in their respective readings seek to cultivate Bible reading practices that are committed to restoring the dignity of those whose dignity has been violated by means of racial, gender, and sexual discrimination, by the atrocities of apartheid, by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and by the dehumanizing reality of unemployment and poverty.

Beyond an internal transformation or mere "moment of salvation," how does Christian faith envision the good life? This question demands not only a Christian view of how individuals should live, but of how social institutions are best arranged for human flourishing. In the advanced modern world, our common public life is mainly lived out in the domains of work and commerce, so a Christian view of economic life is essential to a modern Christian view of human flourishing. In this volume, established evangelical scholars in theology, biblical studies, and history explore their disciplines in connection with economic wisdom to yield insights about what it means to live wholly, fruitfully, and well. Faithful and provocative, these essays uncover fresh ground on topics ranging from poverty to work ethic to capitalism/socialism to slavery to non-profit entities to the medieval indulgence industry.

People have lived on Earth since before recorded history, depending on nature to provide for, and clean up after them. But Nature cannot do it all anymore. Too many people, too much trash, and too much toxic waste. People have long lived in interdependence with other living things. Yet humans now degrade and destroy the global environment that nurtures all species—including human beings. Human activities contaminate earth, air, and sea, causing thousands of species to go extinct. Rising global heat produces vicious cycles of catastrophic drought, fires, horrific storms, floods, famines, and massive migrations by desperate climate refugees. We don’t hear much anymore about man’s “conquest of nature.” Nature—God’s creation—now clearly has the last word. Contrast the theocentric faith and ethics embedded in the Old and New Testaments. Here the good world that God created, and continues to create, was made to be shared with all other living things. All alike are made from the earth and destined to return to it. Humans were meant to till the soil, appreciate, enjoy, and care for life around them, and trust their Creator for what is yet to be.

"Death is a great sacrament. It is the birth of a person from this earthly, temporary life, into eternity."Throughout human history the existence and nature of a world beyond that which is visible to our material eyes has been a subject of intense debate. In this third volume of St Ignatius' s collected works the saint addresses the widespread lack of comprehension of this unseen realm and expounds the necessity of understanding it correctly in accordance with the Truth that is the Orthodox Faith. He examines the mystical boundaries that govern the life of a Christian: the one, between life and death; and the other, between the visible, physical realm and the invisible to most— but no less real— spiritual realm. He draws deeply on the patristic teachings of Christian saints of the first millennium, in particular St Basil the Great, St Isaac the Syrian, St John of Damascus, and St John of the Ladder. He weaves in quotations from the Psalms and other Scriptural texts as well as liturgical hymns. He exhorts his readers to prepare themselves to cross the threshold into their final heavenly home: to cross from earthly into eternal life.Included here is St Ignatius' s “ Homily on Death,” one of his most popular writings in its original language. The reader will also encounter St Ignatius' s teachings on the nature of the soul and the essence of incorporeal beings, the latter theologoumena being a point of contention between the author and his contemporary, St Theophan the Recluse. The text is complemented by a comprehensive Scripture index, a subject index, and a short biography of the author.

Called "a feminist classic" by Judith Shulevitz in the New York Times Book Review, this pathbreaking book of literary criticism is now reissued with a new introduction by Lisa Appignanesi that speaks to how The Madwoman in the Attic set the groundwork for subsequent generations of scholars writing about women writers, and why the book still feels fresh some four decades later. "Gilbert and Gubar have written a pivotal book, one of those after which we will never think the same again."--Carolyn G. Heilbrun, Washington Post Book World

Zack Eswine starts this unique pastoral resource with a captivating question: Could I now reach who I once was? Challenging the idea that today's preachers must do away with biblical or expository preaching if they are to reach non-Christian people, Eswine offers a way of preaching that embraces biblical exposition in missional terms. Recognizing all of the different cultural situations in which the gospel must be preached, he gives preachers practical advice on preaching in a global context while remaining faithful to the Bible. Pastors, seminarians, and church and ministry leaders who speak in various contexts will welcome this fresh, thoughtful examination of bringing the Word to today's multi-everything, post-everything world.