Until the modern era, monarchs were understood to be supported by the power of God; they were, in fact, in some cases thought to be gods themselves. The Bible has often been misinterpreted to encourage such oppressive values. Robert Gnuse, however, argues that the Bible is not a tyrannical text. Rather than displaying the lofty, divine status of kings, the Bible portrays them as human and thus serves as a powerful text for liberation from tyranny and equality for all people. By considering the passages about kings and kingship, Gnuse highlights the liberating message of the Bible and applies that message to today's world. If we attend to these stories of freedom, we will work toward ending political abuses and foster liberation and equality.
Leadership is a much-discussed topic. What does it actually mean for us as Christians? Does Christian leadership have its own distinctive shape and character? In Servants and Fools, A Biblical Theology of Leadership, Arthur Boers examines Jesus’s pattern of leadership. Boers shows how this pattern is rooted in service and sacrifice, is cautious about power and hierarchies, and prioritizes the vulnerable. In other words, it often reverses what we expect of leadership, and is different from what we read in most leadership literature. Servants and Fools is a unique resource for students and practitioners across denominations. It offers a foundational perspective on leadership and guidance for practical application in the reader’s daily life and ministry. Arthur Boers has at last written the book we have sorely needed, a book that is destined to become the main text in my seminary courses in church leadership, a book that is sure to be enthusiastically received by thousands of contemporary Christian leaders. Boers energetically underscores the joyful peculiarity of specifically Christian leadership. His book is unique: a biblically based, Christologically grounded defense of leadership in the name of Christ. --Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School, United Methodist Bishop, retired, and author of Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Leadership Servants and Fools is a brilliant and essential contribution to any serious study of leadership: Robust, faithful, insightful biblical teaching. A judicious, knowledgeable harvest of the best contributions from leadership theorists and practitioners. Plus humor, in-the-trenches experiences, and practical applications. I cannot imagine ever teaching another class on leadership without assigning and discussing Arthur Boers’s book! --David W. Gill, Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology & Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary In Servants and Fools: A Biblical Theology of Leadership, Arthur Boers deconstructs the contemporary cult of “leadership” and serves up a refreshingly Biblical alternative. It is a great cautionary tale for today’s churches, seminaries, and Christian non-profits. At the same time, it offers great insight for secular organizations and leaders as well. --John Suk, author, former editor of The Banner, and pastor of Lawrence Park Community Church, Toronto, Canada. One of Hearts & Minds Bookstore's BEST BOOKS OF 2015!
Nationalist dictatorships proliferated around the world during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s. Policymakers in Washington, D.C., reasoning that non-Communist regimes were not necessarily a threat to democracy or national interests, found it expedient to support them. People living under these governments associated the United States with their oppressors, with long-term negative consequences for U.S. policy. American policymakers were primarily concerned with fostering stability in these countries. The dictatorships, eager to maintain political order and create economic growth, looked to American corporations and bankers, whose heavy investments cemented the need to support the regimes. Through an examination of consular records in nine countries, the author describes the logistics and consequences of these relationships.
The Bible proclaims a message of liberation. Though the Bible arose in an age when slavery and patriarchalism permeated society, the biblical authors sought to elevate the rights of slaves, the poor, and women. Their attempts to elevate the oppressed setin motion a trajectory of evolution, which we should still be advancing today. Critics of the Bible declare that it accepts slavery and the subordination of women, but they fail to understand the biblical texts in their historical context. For their age the biblical authors were advanced in their understanding of human rights, and the democratic values we hold today actually resulted from their early attempts to affirm the dignity and rights of slaves and women. It is equally important that we critique those spokespersons of the church who quote the Bible literally but have lost sight of its historical context so that they might still subordinate women today. Such spokespersons also declare that the Bible condemns homosexuality. But a closer reading of the text discerns that those few passages that address same-sex relations actually condemn rape, ritual prostitution, and master-slave relations. To use the Bible to condemn people is to misuse the Bible.
Benjamin has organised a reunion dinner with seven special guests. During dinner, they discover that, under his usual gentleness and kindness, Benjamin hides a malaise and convince him to discuss it with them. The discussion turns to the subject of the tragedy of life and everyone expresses his/her view on how best to deal with boredom and pain which, according to Arthur Schopenhauer, undermine the pursuit of happiness. Benjamin enjoys the discussion and wakes up from his apathy, and presents to his guests an idea for a new life arrangement.
Companions Without Vows is the first detailed study of the companionate relationship among women in eighteenth-century England--a type of relationship so prevalent that it was nearly institutionalized. Drawing extensively upon primary documents and fictional narratives, Betty Rizzo describes the socioeconomic conditions that forced women to take on or to become companions and examines a number of actual companionate relationships. Several factors fostered such relationships. Husbands and wives of the period lived largely separate social lives, yet decorum prohibited genteel women from attending engagements unaccompanied. Also, women of position insisted on having social consultants and confidantes. Filling this need were the many well-born young women without sufficient funds to live independently. Because family money and property were concentrated in the hands of eldest sons, these women frequently had to seek the protection of female benefactors for whom they performed unpaid, nonmenial tasks, such as providing a hand at cards or simply offering pleasant company. The companionate relationship between women could assume many forms, Rizzo notes. It was often analogous to marriage, with one partner dominant and the other subservient, while some women experimented in establishing partnerships that were truly egalitarian. Rizzo explores these various types of relationships both in real life and in fiction, noting that much of the period's discourse about women's relationships can be seen as a tacit commentary on marriage. Provocative and engagingly written, this authoritative work casts new light on women's attempts to deal with a patriarchal power structure and offers new insight into eighteenth-century social history.
In The God Who Goes before You, Michael S. Wilder and Timothy Paul Jones establish a foundation for Christian leadership that draws not from human assumptions, but from the wisdom of God. By considering the whole canon of scripture as their supreme and sufficient authority, Wilder and Jones present both pastors and laity with a Christ-centered, kingdom-focused vision of godly leadership. When it comes to leadership, there is much to be learned from empirical research and from marketplace leaders. However, without Scripture as our authority, flawed views of God's purposes and human nature will skew our understanding of the character and practices of God-called leaders. In this book, Wilder and Jones redefine leadership as Christ-centered followership and present a radically countercultural perspective on leadership practices in the church today.
Journalists face constant intimidation. Whether it takes the extreme form of beheadings, death threats, government censorship or simply political correctness—it casts a shadow over their ability to tell a story. When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad nine years ago, Denmark found itself at the center of a global battle about the freedom of speech. The paper's culture editor, Flemming Rose, defended the decision to print the 12 drawings, and he quickly came to play a central part in the debate about the limitations to freedom of speech in the 21st century. In The Tyranny of Silence, Flemming Rose writes about the people and experiences that have influenced his understanding of the crisis, including meetings with dissidents from the former Soviet Union and ex-Muslims living in Europe. He provides a personal account of an event that has shaped the debate about what it means to be a citizen in a democracy and how to coexist in a world that is increasingly multicultural, multireligious, and multiethnic.
*With a foreword from Tim Keller* A bold vision for Christians who want to engage the world in a way that is biblically faithful and culturally sensitive. In Biblical Critical Theory, Christopher Watkin shows how the Bible and its unfolding story help us make sense of modern life and culture. Critical theories exist to critique what we think we know about reality and the social, political, and cultural structures in which we live. In doing so, they make visible the values and beliefs of a culture in order to scrutinize and change them. Biblical Critical Theory exposes and evaluates the often-hidden assumptions and concepts that shape late-modern society, examining them through the lens of the biblical story running from Genesis to Revelation, and asking urgent questions like: How does the Bible's storyline help us understand our society, our culture, and ourselves? How do specific doctrines help us engage thoughtfully in the philosophical, political, and social questions of our day? How can we analyze and critique culture and its alternative critical theories through Scripture? Informed by the biblical-theological structure of Saint Augustine's magisterial work The City of God (and with extensive diagrams and practical tools), Biblical Critical Theory shows how the patterns of the Bible's storyline can provide incisive, fresh, and nuanced ways of intervening in today's debates on everything from science, the arts, and politics to dignity, multiculturalism, and equality. You'll learn the moves to make and the tools to use in analyzing and engaging with all sorts of cultural artifacts and events in a way that is both biblically faithful and culturally relevant. It is not enough for Christians to explain the Bible to the culture or cultures in which we live. We must also explain the culture in which we live within the framework and categories of the Bible, revealing how the whole of the Bible sheds light on the whole of life. If Christians want to speak with a fresh, engaging, and dynamic voice in the marketplace of ideas today, we need to mine the unique treasures of the distinctive biblical storyline.
