Religious Dialectics Of Pain And Imagination

This book explores the possibility of a "liberatory postmodern rhetoric" or, alternatively, a "postmodern liberation rhetoric." The author turns to one of the most ancient disciplines, rhetoric, in order to address a most contemporary concern: how can humans imagine new and better worlds when surrounded by unspeakable pain? After a foray into key terms - rhetoric, postmodern, liberation, pain, imagination, religion - the author places into conversation the theory and practice of four contemporary rhetoricians, two postmoderns, Kenneth Burke and Thomas Merton, and two liberationists, Paulo Freire of Brazil and Oscar Romero of El Salvador.

Explores the possibility of a postmodern liberation rhetoric. Stull (English, Indiana U.-East) uses rhetoric to address the question of how humans can imagine better worlds when surrounded by unspeakable pain. Defines terms such as postmodern, pain, imagination, and religion, and discusses the theory and practice of four contemporary rhetoricians--postmoderns Kenneth Burke and Thomas Merton, and liberationists Paulo Freire of Brazil and Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book applies modern psychological understanding to a historical person. This work focuses on one aspect — Francis' imagination — and an analysis of Francis' writings builds on a survey of modern views of the imagination and the approach of Object Relations Theory.

The book of Job is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, literary accomplishments of the ancient world, yet in many ways it is just as relevant today as it was then. This book examines Job from a comparative theological perspective in order to help contemporary readers access it, learn from it, and apply its insights to contemporary life.

Many of us keep pet animals; we rely on them for companionship and unconditional love. For some people their closest relationships may be with their pets. In the wake of the animal rights movement, some ethicists have started to re-examine this relationship, and to question the rights of humans to "own" other sentient beings in this way. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Stephen Webb brings a Christian perspective to bear on the subject of our responsibility to animals, looked at through the lens of our relations with pets--especially dogs. Webb argues that the emotional bond with companion animals should play a central role in the way we think about animals in general, and--against the more extreme animal liberationists--defends the intermingling of the human and animal worlds. He tries to imagine what it would be like to treat animals as a gift from God, and indeed argues that not only are animals a gift for us, but they give to us; we need to attend to their giving and return their gifts appropriately. Throughout the book he insists that what Christians call grace is present in our relations with animals just as it is with other humans. Grace is the inclusive and expansive power of God's love to create and sustain relationships of real mutuality and reciprocity, and Webb unfolds the implications of the recognition that animals too participate in God's abundant grace. Webb's thesis affirms and persuasively defends many of the things that pet lovers feel instinctively--that their relationships with their companion animals are meaningful and important, and that their pets have value and worth in themselves in the eyes of God. His book will appeal to a broad audience of thoughtful Christians and animal lovers.

"To articulate this vision, Stull looks to those who compose from an oppressed place, finding in the works of W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X radical theopolitical practices that can serve as a model for emancipatory composition."--BOOK JACKET.

What does it mean to be a father? Society offers a wide range of stereotypes -- pedophiles, deadbeat Mr. Mom. Some of these stereotypes cause destruction and despair ; none of them offers men a worthy model to follow. Dad Incarnate leads the reader through a culture and western literature, exploring how the image of father has been clipped, compressed and otherwise distorted over the years. It then presents the case for a much more informed understanding of fatherhood : one that opens up possibilities rather than shutting them down. Bradford Stull describes a new model -- "dad incarnate" -- that can help dads and the people who love them rediscover fatherhood. Why? Because how we think about "father" informs how we relate to that "other" Father--God, or Abba--and the way we think about God informs the way we think about fathers. -- Provided by publisher

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