Crucified Wisdom

Crucified Wisdom
Author: S. Mark Heim
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2018-12-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0823281256

Winner of the Frederick Streng Book Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies This work provides the first systematic discussion of the Bodhisattva path and its importance for constructive Christian theology. Crucified Wisdom examines specific Buddhist traditions, texts, and practices not as phenomena whose existence requires an apologetic justification but as wells of tested wisdom that invite theological insight. With the increasing participation of Christians in Buddhist practice, many are seeking a deeper understanding of the way the teachings of the two traditions might interface. Christ and the Bodhisattva are often compared superficially in Buddhist–Christian discussion. This text combines a rich exposition of the Bodhisattva path, using Śāntideva’s classic work the Bodicaryāvatāra and subsequent Tibetan commentators, with detailed reflection on its implications for Christian faith and practice. Author S. Mark Heim lays out root tensions constituted by basic Buddhist teachings on the one hand, and Christian teachings on the other, and the ways in which the Bodhisattva or Christ embody and resolve the resulting paradoxes in their respective traditions. An important contribution to the field of comparative theology in general and to the area of Buddhist–Christian studies in particular, Crucified Wisdom proposes that Christian theology can take direct instruction from Mahāyāna Buddhism in two respects: deepening its understanding of our creaturely nature through no-self insights, and revising its vision of divine immanence in dialogue with teachings of emptiness. Heim argues that Christians may affirm the importance of novelty in history, the enduring significance of human persons, and the Trinitarian reality of God, even as they learn to value less familiar, nondual dimensions of Christ’s incarnation, human redemption, and the divine life. Crucified Wisdom focuses on questions of reconciliation and atonement in Christian theology and explores the varying interpretations of the crucifixion of Jesus in Buddhist–Christian discussion. The Bodhisattva path is central for major contemporary Buddhist voices such as the Dalai Lama and Thích Nhât Hanh, who figure prominently as conversation partners in the text. This work will be of particular value for those interested in “dual belonging” in connection to these traditions.

The Christ and the Bodhisattva

The Christ and the Bodhisattva
Author: Donald S. Lopez
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780887064012

In this book, the authors explore and reconsider the contemporary significance of the Christ and the Bodhisattva. The volume includes essays by three eminent Christian theologians, Langdon Gilkey, Brother David Steindl-Rast, and Ann Belford Ulanov, that explore the significance of the Christ from the perspectives of the Roman Catholic contemplative tradition, modern depth psychology, and liberal Protestantism. Drawing on information previously unavailable in English, three distinguished scholars of Buddhism, Robert Thurman, Luis Gomez, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, investigate the significance of the Bodhisattva in India, East Asian, and Tibet. A substantive introduction sets the historical background for the Christ in Christianity and the Bodhisattva in Buddhism. Contributors' essays enhance our understanding of current presuppositions, problems, and prospects for the Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

The Crucified King

The Crucified King
Author: Jeremy R. Treat
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2014-05-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310516668

The kingdom of God and the atonement are two of the most important themes in all of Scripture. Tragically, theologians have often either set the two at odds or focused on one to the complete neglect of the other. In The Crucified King, Jeremy Treat demonstrates that Scripture presents a mutually enriching relationship between the kingdom and atonement that draws significantly from the story of Israel and culminates in the crucifixion of Christ the king. As Israel’s messiah, he holds together the kingdom and the cross by bringing God’s reign on earth through his atoning death. The kingdom is the ultimate goal of the cross, and the cross is the means by which the kingdom comes. Jesus’ death is not the failure of his messianic ministry, nor simply the prelude to his royal glory, but is the apex of his kingdom mission. The cross is the throne from which he rules and establishes his kingdom. Using a holistic approach that brings together the insights of biblical and systematic theology, this book demonstrates not only that the kingdom and the cross are inseparable, but how they are integrated in Scripture and theology.

Apostle of the Crucified Lord

Apostle of the Crucified Lord
Author: Gorman, Michael
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 731
Release: 2017
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802874282

THIS COMPREHENSIVE, WIDELY USED TEXT by Michael Gorman presents a theologically focused, historically grounded interpretation of the apostle Paul and raises significant questions for engaging Paul today. After providing substantial background information on Paul's world, career, letters, gospel, spirituality, and theology, Gorman covers in full detail each of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Enhancing the text are questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter as well as numerous photos, maps, and tables throughout. The new introduction in this second edition helpfully situates the book within current approaches to Paul. Gorman also brings the conversation up-to-date with major recent developments in Pauline studies and devotes greater attention to themes of participation, transformation, resurrection, justice, and peace.

Construing the Cross

Construing the Cross
Author: Frances M. Young
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1498220029

This book reconsiders ways in which the cross of Christ was construed before "atonement theories" narrowed the categories. The "typology" of Passover is explored as probably the very first way in which Christians came to understand the passion. The use of sacrificial imagery is re-examined. The significance of identifying the cross with the Tree of Life is traced across the centuries into medieval times, along with other surprising links with the Eden narrative. The validity of seeking imaginative insights to grasp what the cross signifies is given theological consideration in a chapter that moves into literary and liturgical reflections and is punctuated with cruciform poems. The overall outcome is a quite paradoxical focus, not on death, but on life.

Yeshua, the Crucified Serpent

Yeshua, the Crucified Serpent
Author: Rowland Stenrud
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2012-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1479745197

It was the atheist, Jean Paul Sartre, who once said that, "Hell is other people." Rowland Stenrud's Yeshua, the Crucified Serpent is about how mankind's savior, Jesus of Nazareth, has saved men and women from this hell by making it possible, and indeed inevitable, for human beings to love one another and their Creator-Father, Yahweh God. This book is about the concept and practice of human and divine love. The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, the Bible as a whole, and the reader's life experience will help in defining this. The author reviews what he knows about the concept and its related precepts and brings them to bear in this book. God himself is love, which should tell us how mysterious a thing love is. To acquire this ability to love, one must suffer in union with the suffering Christ. Salvation, pure and simple, is God delivering each one from the inability to love other human beings and the Creator Himself. The obstacle to this perfect love is the serpent of human wisdom and pride that existed even in Jesus. In his loving obedience to the Father, Jesus nailed this serpent to the cross. Yeshua, the Crucified Serpent attempts to show that the question of evil and suffering in the world is answered by Yahweh's eventual success in saving all of mankind. The majority of Christians believe in a number of key doctrines that the biblical authors do not unequivocally teach. A few verses may support these unbiblical doctrines but a greater number of verses, whose meaning is clearer, contradict the standard interpretation of these few verses. Other doctrines that Christians mistakenly believe in find support in this or that section of the Bible but are denied by the general thrust of the Bible as a whole. These unbiblical doctrines followed by the correct biblical teaching are: 1. Sometime in the distant past a large number of God's angels rebelled against Him becoming what are called devils or demons whose leader is known as Satan or Lucifer. The Bible teaches that the only agent of evil in the universe is man's heart. 2. Adam and Eve possessed the perfection of Jesus Christ before they sinned. If they had not sinned they would not have needed to be healed of any weakness. The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve could not have had eternal life even before they sinned without the work of Jesus of Nazareth. 3. Faith is an act of the free will of man. The Bible teaches that faith does involve man putting his trust in God's promises and revelation, but it is primarily a power given to man by God in order to enable him to see spiritual truth the natural man cannot see. Without this gift of the Holy Spirit, no human being can know God and be saved. 4. Ultimately speaking, we are saved by our faith. On the contrary, it is through Jesus's faith in and love for the Father that is the instrument of our salvation. 5. Jesus saved us by paying the penalty due our sins and therefore saving us from the just wrath of God. This is false. No one had to pay any penalty for God to forgive the sins of the human race. God relates to sinners on the basis of mercy and mercy is not mercy if the penalty for sin is paid. By going to the cross, Jesus healed our brokenness which forgiveness alone could not accomplish. 6. Satan and the sins of men are ultimately responsible for human suffering. False. God is ultimately responsible for human suffering as it is a necessary part of God's work of saving human beings. God Himself shares in all of our suffering: physical, emotional and spiritual even though He does not have a body or nervous system. 7. Salvation is about our eternal destiny. This is not correct. Salvation is about being saved from the idolatries, addictions, corruption, hatreds, evil deeds that afflict the unsav

Job

Job
Author: Christopher Ash
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2014-05-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 143352418X

Life can be hard, and sometimes it seems like God doesn't even care. When faced with difficult trials, many people have resonated with the book of Job—the story of a man who lost nearly everything, seemingly abandoned by God. In this thorough and accessible commentary, Christopher Ash helps us glean encouragement from God's Word by directing our attention to the final explanation and ultimate resolution of Job's story: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Intended to equip pastors to preach Job's important message, this commentary highlights God's grace and wisdom in the midst of redemptive suffering. Taking a staggeringly honest look at our broken world and the trials that we often face, Ash helps us see God's sovereign purposes for adversity and the wonderful hope that Christians have in Christ. Part of the Preaching the Word series.

The Wisdom of God

The Wisdom of God
Author: Nancy Guthrie
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-02-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433526352

This 10-week study of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon mines the Wisdom Literature not only for wise principles for living, but also for the wise person these books point to through their drama, poetry, proverb, and song. In her accessible and authentic style, Nancy Guthrie focuses on seeing Jesus in the Old Testament instead of emphasizing works-based moralism. She presents clear commentary and contemporary application of gospel truths, speaking directly to issues such as repentance, submission, happiness, and sexuality. Each weekly lesson includes questions for personal study, a contemporary teaching chapter that emphasizes how the passage fits into the bigger story of redemptive history, a brief section on how the passage uniquely points to what is yet to come at the consummation of Christ's kingdom, and a leader's guide for group discussion.

Knowing Christ Crucified

Knowing Christ Crucified
Author: Copeland, Shawn M.
Publisher: Orbis Books
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2018
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608337642

A timely and challenging collection of essays on Jesus Christ through the perspective of the slaves and the struggles of African Americans today.