Reluctant Witnesses

Stephen Haynes takes a hard look at contemporary Christian theology as he explores the pervasive Christian "witness-people" myth that dominates much Christian thinking about the Jews in both Christian and Jewish minds. This myth, an ancient theological construct that has put Jews in the role of living symbols of God's dealings with the world, has for centuries, according to Haynes, created an ambivalence toward the Jews in the Christian mind with often disastrous results. Tracing the witness-people myth from its origins to its manifestations in the modern world, Haynes finds the myth expressed in many unexpected places: the writings of Karl Barth, the novels and essays of Walker Percy, the "prophetic" writings of Hal Lindsey, as well as in the work of some North American Holocaust theologians such as Alice L. and A. Roy Eckardt, Paul van Buren, and Franklin Littell.

Americans now learn about the Holocaust in high school, watch films about it on television, and visit museums dedicated to preserving its memory. But for the first two decades following the end of World War II, discussion of the destruction of European Jewry was largely absent from American culture and the tragedy of the Holocaust was generally seen as irrelevant to non-Jewish Americans. Today, the Holocaust is widely recognized as a universal moral touchstone. In Reluctant Witnesses, sociologist Arlene Stein--herself the daughter of a Holocaust survivor--mixes memoir, history, and sociological analysis to tell the story of the rise of Holocaust consciousness in the United States from the perspective of survivors and their descendants. If survivors tended to see Holocaust storytelling as mainly a private affair, their children--who reached adulthood during the heyday of identity politics--reclaimed their hidden family histories and transformed them into public stories. Reluctant Witnesses documents how a group of people who had previously been unrecognized and misunderstood managed to find its voice. It tells this story in relation to the changing status of trauma and victimhood in American culture. At a time when a sense of Holocaust fatigue seems to be setting in and when the remaining survivors are at the end of their lives, it affirms that confronting traumatic memories and catastrophic histories can help us make our world mean something beyond ourselves.

New research finds that Christians are less involved in spiritual conversations today than we were twenty-five years ago. As society has changed, it seems we have become more uncomfortable talking with people about our faith. We are reluctant conversationalists. The reality is that many of our churches and communities are shrinking instead of growing. What can we do about this? Don Everts, himself a reluctant witness, grew up assuming that spiritual conversations are always painful and awkward. But after falling into one spiritual conversation after another, he was surprised to discover that they aren't. Don's surprising—and sometimes embarrassing—stories affirm what Scripture and the latest research reveal: spiritual conversations can actually be a delight. Unpacking what God's Word says about spiritual conversations and digging into the habits of eager conversationalists, Everts describes what we can learn from Christians who are still talking about their faith. With original research from the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries on spiritual conversations in the digital age, this book offers fresh insights and best practices for fruitful everyday conversations.

Maria, a divorced mother with two small children works as a para-legal for a large law firm in Lockwood. While jogging along the Riverford trail and hidden by the trees, she witnesses a brutal murder. Traumatized, she recognizes the assailant as Carlos Domingues, the Vice President of Validity Trust Bank and a powerful, influential man in Lockwood. She immediately recognizes the danger she is in if she reports to crime to the police - no one would believe her and if Carlos knew she was a witness, she would be his next victim. When she receives a notice to serve on a grand jury, she realizes she needs help and turns to the only man she can trust. Karl Clayson, is a co-worker at the law firm and together they find a way to obtain evidence against Carlos. However Brad Wood of the Lockwood Police Department and a friend of Karl's begins to suspect Karl of deception in his involvement with Maria. Determination drives Maria into certain death situations if caught in her pursuit to bring Carlos to trial. Her investigation uncovers two more deaths she is certain Carlos is responsible for. The mystery and thrills hold the reader to the edge of suspension as tragedy strikes time and time again until justice is in the balance.

LEFT FOR DEAD When his partner turns on him and tries to kill him, FBI agent Jack Mitchell is framed for murder and abandoned…until a blue-eyed beauty saves his life. Even in his wounded haze Jack sees Casey Johnson is hiding a secret. As the only witness to his innocence, Jack needs her. But Casey doesn't know who's more dangerous—the man who wants Jack dead or the handsome agent himself. For if Jack knew the reason she escaped to the wilderness with her niece, he'd have to arrest her. But on the run with Jack, Casey realizes that more than her secret is at stake now. So is her heart….

The U.S. Civil War touched the lives of millions of children on the battlefield and the home front. Based on eyewitness accounts of 120 children, ages four to sixteen, "Reluctant Witnesses" gives their perspective on America's bloodiest conflict and how they managed to cope. Their diaries, letters, and reminiscences are a testimony to the astonishing resiliency of the human spirit. Like children of contemporary wars, these children from the Union and the Confederacy speak without hate but with the stubborn hope that peace might prevail in the end.

An invaluable field textbook, Objects examines detailed case studies to provide a brilliantly clear and comprehensible guide to the different methods and approaches (cultural, forensic, and technical) which can and have been used to study ancient artefacts. From the Bayeux Tapestry to small medieval brass pins, medieval wooden doors to Saxon jewellery, Chris Caple’s integral text deals with a full range of materials and clearly and simply explains key scientific techniques, technology, anthropological jargon and historical approaches. Key demonstrations include: how information from objects builds into a picture of the ancient society that made and used it the commonly used scientific techniques for object analysis how and why object typologies work how cultural and economic factors as well as the material properties influences what objects are made of how simple observation of an object can build its biography. Revealing answers to crucial questions – such as: Can DNA be obtained from objects? Why do people x-ray ancient artefacts? Can you determine the source of metal objects from their trace elements? – Objects is an absolutely essential text for students of archaeology, museum studies, and conservation.