"Have you seen such men–peculiar, raving, foam-mouthed, and straitjacketed–throwing themselves mercilessly at white padded walls . . . ?" Such men are said to be insane. But there is more to insanity than the images depicted in film and planted in our minds by popular media. Insanity is a condition that affects us all. Unsoundness of mind disrupts our ability to think clearly and to form knowledge about the world. Our understanding is dange ...
What is grace? And more important, what difference do the «comfortable words» of grace make in the lives of everyday people? These are the questions to which Paul F. M. Zahl has devoted his life, and this book is a collection of essays written in honor of him that seeks to answer these great questions. From literary theory to exegesis to systematic theology, these essays are representative of the breadth and depth of the influence Dr. Zahl has h ...
The response of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to those suffering in their midst has generally been to seek the intervention of the Holy Spirit to bring about healing and transformation, or perhaps, education. But what happens when the suffering continues, it appears to be innocent and meaningless, and God seems to be absent? This study, drawing on Kevin Vanhoozer's «dramatic» approach to theology, argues that the way God calls us to ...
When in the sixth century Dionysius the Areopagite declared beauty to be a name for God, he gave birth to something that had long been gestating in the womb of philosophical and theological thought. In doing so, Dionysius makes one of his most pivotal contributions to Christian theological discourse. It is a contribution that is enthusiastically received by the schoolmen of the Middle Ages, and it comes to permeate the thought of scholasticism i ...
The short pieces assembled in Salvation in My Pocket are miniature experiments in Christian joy. They are attempts at describing the difference God makes to ordinary experience, and to discover glimpses of God's light in everyday life. If there is any thread that holds these haphazard reflections together, it is just the conviction that beneath the surface of things there lurks an invitation, gentle and alluring; that even in sadness and mi ...
Born Again and Beyond identifies and interacts with various theological blind spots in Evangelicalism–such as its naive rationality, its faulty understanding of the nature of both Scripture and the gospel, and its emphasis on salvation as an event rather than a process. At the same time, Born Again and Beyond recognizes the real goodness that evangelicalism has brought to the world. Whether it be caring for the outcast and underprivileged, or in ...
Discussion of Hell is hotter than ever. Yet for all the attention the topic has drawn, few are the resources that provide an overview of the major points in dispute without bogging down in detail. The Dark Side of Destiny: Hell Re-examined is an excellent primer, yet goes beyond a mere description of options. Dr. Crofford weighs various views of Hell in the light of Scripture and finds them wanting. In the end, he champions a neglected v ...
This is an extraordinary text. It addresses no small number of traditional theological concerns. However, it addresses them mindful of the earthiness of life. Thus this is also a book that is concerned to address questions of migration, brain physiology, emotional trauma, time, love, and death. It is written not to satisfy a bloodless lust for the resolution of puzzles. It is written with confidence that tangible bodies think. Thus there is an e ...