J
256 pages, Published in 2015; theological anthropology
Moltmann's writing is dense, not for the faint of heart. But that doesn't mean it's not worth reading, (You just might need to be a bit of a theology nerd). In this book, he elaborates on earlier works on the doctrine of God and Spirit. But this means he assumes you've already read his earlier work and are familiar with his theology.
Here is the chapter breakdown and outline:
PART ONE: The Living God
Chapter 1. The Living God
- How Can God Be Both Living and Eternal?
- The Eternal God
- The Living God
Chapter 2. God's Attributes: The Living God and Attributes of Divinity
- Is God Immovable?
- Is God Impassible?
- Is God Almighty?
- Is God Omnipresent?
- The Prohibition of Images: The Living God
Chapter 3. The Living God in the History of Christ
- The One God: What Unity?
- The Living Space of the Triune God
- The History of God in Christ
PART TWO: The Fullness of Life
Chapter 4: This Eternal Life
- In the Fellowship of the Divine Life
- In the Fellowship of the Living and the Dead
- In the Fellowship of the Earth
Chapter 5: Life in the Wide Space of God`s Joy
- God's Joy
- The Birth of Religion Out of the Festival of Life
- Christianity: Religion of Joy
- The Joy of the God Who Seeks and Finds
- Human Joy: Joy and Fun
- Joy and Human Pain: Schiller and Dostoevsky
- Nietzsche's “Deep, Deep Eternity”
Chapter 6: Freedom Lived in Solidarity
- Freedom or God? Michael Bakunin and Carl Schmitt
- The God of the Exodus and the Resurrection
- God's Freedom
- Human Freedom in God
Chapter 7: Freedom Experienced in Open Friendship
- What Is Friendship?
- In the Friendship of Jesus
- God's Friends
- Open Friendship for a Friendlier World
Chapter 8. The Loved and Loving life
- The Doctrine of Suffering (Buddha) and the Doctrine of Love (Paul)
- God's Love and Human Love for God
- Love for Life
- Maximus Confessor and the Erotic Universe
Chapter 9: A Spirituality of the Senses
- The Spirituality of the Soul—The Spirituality of the Senses
- The Human Senses
- The Diminution and Attrition of the Senses
- The Waking and Awakening of the Senses
- Praying and Watching
Chapter 10: Hoping and Thinking
- Thinking Means Transcending
- Hoping and Perceiving: Hegel and “Minerva´s Owl” and Aurora's Lark
- Hoping and Thinking: The Productive Power of the Imagination
Chapter 11. Life: A Never-Ending Festival
- The Risen Christ Makes of Human Life a Never-Ending Festival
- The Festive Life
- Truth as Prayer
Moltmann's focus here seems to be on the Unity or unifying activity of God/God's spirit in bringing creation into union with God.
I absolutely love this children's book by Matthew Paul Turner. Just like “When God Made You”, it contains beautiful truth that children (and all of us!) need to hear, accompanied by beautiful illustrations. I have bought this book for several of my friends' children and they have all loved it.
2022: some of my notes from my seminary class:
-Faith of vs. faith in (genetive construction that happens throughout Paul's letters)
-Faith of Christ is 2 words in Greek where Christ is a genetive noun in Greek telling us there is a relationship between faith and Christ.
-Interpreters decide if it's faith IN Christ or faith OF Christ
Is the noun the subject or object of the sentence?
-Love for God - God is the object of Love - so that can be “love of God” or “love for God”.
If it's subjective then God is the subject: “the love of God”
Romans 3:1 – Paul is not replacing Judaism, not supersessionist. He is observing that even unfaithful Jews who do not follow the Laws or Covenant are included here.
19 – The “faith in Jesus” can also be understood as the “faith of Jesus”. The righteousness of God is attested to through the Law and prophets AND through the faith OF Jesus.
What is at stake here is the righteousness of God.
Do we receive that IN Jesus or because of the life and faith OF Jesus?
Through the faithfulness of Jesus, the gentiles were folding into the Covenant.
Which translation is the best? Look for the editorial goals. Is it trying to be kind to the reader? Is it trying to go word for word, or going for meaning?
NRSVUE is a really good translation, much closer to the Greek.
2020: Re-reading through the NT in 2020. Listening to The Message paraphrase on audio this time.
Living Brave by Shannon Dingle is a searing memoir that chronicles the author's journey through loss, trauma, abuse, spiritual reawakening, and deep pain. Dingle, a writer and disability advocate, shares her experiences of surviving sexual abuse and trafficking as a child, which left her with lasting disabilities and PTSD. She also recounts the tragic day when her husband, Lee, was killed by a rogue wave while they were on vacation with their six children, four of whom are adopted and have special needs. She describes the aftermath of his death, the challenges of being a single parent and a widow, and the ways she coped with her grief and anger.
In addition, she explores her faith shifts that put her at odds with the evangelical church that had been her home for most of her life, and how she learned to embrace a more inclusive and progressive Christianity. She also discusses how she learned to use her voice, take a stand for justice, especially for marginalized communities, and honor the wisdom of her body, which had been violated and shamed by others. Living Brave is a powerful and inspiring book that gives women permission to wrestle with difficult topics, enact change from a place of strong faith, and find hope in a hopeless world.
Fire by Night by Melissa Florer-Bixler is a book that explores the meaning and relevance of the Old Testament for Christians today. The author, a Mennonite pastor, challenges the common assumptions and stereotypes about the Old Testament as a violent, legalistic, and irrelevant text. She invites readers to discover the beauty, wisdom, and complexity of the stories, laws, and rituals that shaped the faith of Israel and Jesus. She shows how the Old Testament can inspire us to live more faithfully, creatively, and compassionately in our world today.
Freedom under the Word: Karl Barth's Theological Exegesis is a collection of essays by various scholars who critically engage with Barth's interpretation of Christian Scripture and its implications for contemporary hermeneutics and biblical studies. The book covers Barth's career chronologically, from his early commentaries on Romans and Ephesians to his mature dogmatics on the doctrines of God, creation, and reconciliation. The contributors explore how Barth's theological exegesis is shaped by his Christocentric approach, his dialectical method, his ecclesial context, and his ethical concerns. The book also highlights some of the rare texts from the Barth corpus, such as his lectures on James, Isaiah, and Revelation, and his exegesis of Genesis 2:8-17 and Hebrews 11. Some examples of the topics discussed in the book are Barth's rewriting of Romans in light of the First World War, Barth's relation to the historical-critical method of biblical scholarship, Barth's use of the Johannine prologue to articulate his doctrine of God, Barth's understanding of Israel and the church in Romans 9-11, and Barth's eschatological vision in Revelation 4-5. The book aims to show the legacy and potential of Barth's theology for contemporary hermeneutics and biblical interpretation, as well as to stimulate further dialogue between Barth scholars and biblical scholars.
I love Black Panther and this was no exception. I only wanted it to be longer!
This story takes place after the Black Panther movie, where Wakanda has opened itself up to the world.
The excitement is when a former Black Panther is resurrected from the ancestral plane. There's only supposed to be one Black Panther! (It reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how there's only supposed to be one but when Buffy technically dies and is resuscitated, another Slayer is called.)
I read the first edition of this book a few years ago and this expanded edition is even better. The language has been updated to be more inclusive of trans and non-binary people. There is also an afterward now where Colby talks about things he wishes he knew when he originally wrote and published the book.
The new study guide with questions for small group discussion is a helpful addition as well. I usually recommend God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines first, but UnClobber is a close second.
I listened to these on audio. I want to re-listen and also read a printed or ebook version at some point.
This book is a profound collection reflecting the depth and insight of Bruggeman's biblical scholarship applied to contemporary situations. The prayers within this collection are crafted with a prophetic edge, challenging the comfortable while drawing the reader into a deeper engagement with the divine. Timothy Beal's foreword and Brueggemann's preface provide insightful contexts that enrich the reader's understanding of the prayers' origins and intentions. This volume is more than a book of prayers; it is a call to action, an invitation to participate in the transformative work of justice. It is a valuable resource for public worship and private devotion, offering guidance and inspiration for those committed to justice and the prophetic tradition. These prayers can also transcend their original context and speak to the universal human condition, making this collection a significant contribution to spiritual literature and a compelling read for anyone seeking to deepen their practice of prayer and reflection on justice.
Chapter 4: The Style of Color Blindness - “Since a full discursive analysis of the stylistic components of color blindness is beyond the scope of this chapter,3 I focus instead on showcasing five things. First, I document whites' avoidance of direct racial language to expressing their racial views. Second, I analyze the central “semantic moves” whites use as verbal parachutes to avoid dangerous discussions or to save face. Third, I examine the role of projection in whites' racial discourse. Fourth, I show the role of diminutives in color-blind race talk. Finally, I show how incursions into forbidden issues produce almost total incoherence in many whites.”
“I'm still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. I feel that violence will only create more social problems than they will solve, that in a real sense, it is impractical [...]to even think of mounting a violent revolution in the United States. So I will continue to condemn riots and continue to say to my [siblings] that this is not the way. Continue to affirm that there is another way.
But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities, as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. And in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of [Black poor people] has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. So in a real sense, our nation's summer's riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.“
Link to transcript of speech
While Preston Sprinkle is more compassionate than most who write books in the “non-affirming” camp, he is still wrong and I cannot recommend this book.
Bad theology kills.
ZERO STARS. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS.
You can read Kathy Baldock's review if you need more information:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160322034531/http://canyonwalkerconnections.com/a-queer-thing-happened-to-america-by-dr-michael-brown-review/
or here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lkzomD1VuJENBQFTBSb9VvLPoqkg1J8WkmIo-PID6lo/edit?usp=sharing
Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew is a book by Hans Boersma, a professor of theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. In this book, Boersma argues that biblical scholars often neglect the theological implications of their work and that they should pay more attention to the insights of the church fathers and the tradition of Christian interpretation. He also criticizes the historical-critical method of biblical scholarship, which he sees as too skeptical and naturalistic. He proposes a more sacramental approach to Scripture, which views the Bible as a means of encountering God's presence and grace.
Boersma's book is an attempt to bridge the gap between biblical studies and theology, (a divide I have often complained about!) but it also reveals his own bias and agenda. He seems to assume that his own theological perspective, which is influenced by Reformed and Anglican traditions, is normative and superior to other views. (I found this very frustrating!)
He also dismisses or ignores the contributions of modern biblical scholarship, especially from feminist, liberationist, and postcolonial perspectives. He does not engage with the diversity and complexity of the biblical texts but rather imposes his own theological framework on them. He also fails to acknowledge the historical and cultural contexts of both the biblical authors and the church fathers, and how they shaped their interpretations.
Boersma's book is not a fair or balanced assessment of biblical scholarship or theology in my opinion.
Letters from a Skeptic takes place over the course of three years, as Greg Boyd does his best to answer his father's questions about Christianity through a series of correspondence. Boyd is as articulate as ever here, and very readable for those unfamiliar with theology, as he tries not to get too technical or use too many big theology words. His father wrestles through many questions I have found myself asking over the years. Some of the questions addressed are:
Why has Christianity done so much harm?
Why is the world so full of suffering?
Is the risk of freedom worth all the suffering?
Does God know the future?
Why did God create Satan?
Why trust the Gospel accounts?
How can you believe that a man rose from the dead?
Why do you think the Bible is inspired?
What about the “holy books” of other religions?
Why does God make believing in Him so difficult?
Do all non-Christians go to hell?
How could an all loving God torture people in an eternal hell?
Isn't the Christian life impossible to live?
How can another man's death pardon me?
How can I be sure it's all true?
I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone: to the doubter and to the one for whom faith comes more easily, that you might better understand those who doubt.
(I can also recommend the audio version; I liked hearing the letters written by Greg Boyd in his own voice.)
Yup, I still love this series! This is at least the third time I've read this one. (2011, 2015, 2018)
I LOVE this book, as I love all of The Chronicles of Narnia. But this is NOT the first book in the series. Please, for the love of Narnia, do not read this one before you read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe if it is your first time reading the series! For further explanation read this: http://www.jenniferneyhart.com/2014/10/c-s-lewis-chronicles-of-narnia-correct.html
1/14/22 - I just finished re-reading The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis for the umpteenth time. I love this creation myth of Narnia. I love how Aslan sings Narnia into being. But this time, the quote that stood out to me the most was this one:
“My son, my son,” said Aslan. “I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another.” - Aslan to Digory in The Magician's Nephew, by C. S. Lewis.
Isn't it interesting how different things stand out to us at different times in our lives even when re-reading the same books over and over again? The past two years have given all of us a lot to grieve, collectively. And in the past 6 months I've mourned the death of a dear friend, and then my Grandma.
So these words of comfort from Aslan, which follow a description of “great shining tears” in Aslan's eyes as he feels the grief Digory is feeling over Digory's mother being on her deathbed - well they just hit me differently this time.
2019 re-read (for #CSLewisBookClub on Twitter!)
2016 re-read
2010 re-read
2003 re-read in C. S. Lewis class in college
2000 re-read
1993-1999 - I'm sure I re-read this multiple times in those years
1992 read for the first time after falling in love with The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2nd grade
Further up and further in!
I can't really choose a favorite Chronicle of Narnia, but the ending of this one is my favorite part! (Well one of them!)
2019 re-read (for #CSLewisBookClub on Twitter!)
2015 re-read
2010 re-read
2003 re-read in C. S. Lewis class in college
2000 re-read
1992 read for the first time after falling in love with The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2nd grade
****
The Chronicles of Narnia ranked from my favorite to my least favorite:
1. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (kind of tied with the ending of The Last Battle, but also that one scene from The Silver Chair... oh dear, I really can't choose! It's whichever of these I'm reading at the moment (to steal Douglas Gresham's answer!)
1. The Last Battle (for the ending)
1. The Silver Chair
2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (kind of tied with The Magician's Nephew...)
2. The Magician's Nephew
6. Prince Caspian
7. The Horse and His Boy
I have savored every word of this book. I've gone back over most of the prayers at least twice already. I have fallen asleep listening to the audiobook multiple times. (Is it any wonder I had a dream last night where Sarah Bessey was comforting me?
This is a must read for anyone who considers themself to be post-evangelical or ex-vangelical (and anyone who loves someone in that category or wants to better understand people in that category.)
The Myth of the American Dream by D. L. Mayfield is a collection of essays that challenges the reader to examine the values of affluence, autonomy, safety, and power that shape the American culture and lifestyle. Mayfield draws from her personal experiences of living and working with refugee communities in the United States, as well as her theological reflections and biblical insights, to expose the ways that these values are often incompatible with Jesus' command to love our neighbor as ourselves. She also invites the reader to consider how these values have failed those on the margins of society, and how we can disentangle ourselves from pursuing them at the expense of others. Mayfield writes with honesty, vulnerability, and prophetic courage, calling us to rethink our assumptions and practices in light of the gospel and the kingdom of God.
2022: Re-reading right after I finished watching season 1 of the tv adaptation.
2019: This is my second time reading this one because I am re-reading volumes 1-4 so I can read the new volume that just came out recently. And somehow I am loving these graphic novels even more as I am re-reading them. This one even had a reference to Narnia portals! I mean come on!!! It's a science-fiction story with time travel, all about this group of 4 girls, so I'm predisposed to enjoy it anyway!