Whether we interpret Scripture or culture, it matters what we do, not just what we think or feel. How do we live with our interpretation, and how do we live it out? This book helps us understand how culture forms us as political actors, moves us aesthetically, shapes the rhythms of our lives, and connects (or disconnects) us from God and neighbors we are called to love. The goal is to be equipped to engage culture with greater fluency and fidelity in response to the triune God. This short, accessible introduction to the conversation between theology and culture offers a patient, thoughtful, and theologically attuned approach to cultural discernment. It helps us grow our interpretive skill by training our intuition and giving us a slower, more deliberate approach that accounts for as much of the complexity of culture as possible. The book explores 5 dimensions of culture--meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetic--and shows how each needs the others and all need theology. Each chapter includes distinctive practices for spiritual formation and practical application. Foreword by Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

After teaching world history to college freshmen for two decades, the author was dissatisfied with the available textbooks, which smoothed over thorny historical debates in favor of uncontroversial, seamless, and bland narratives. Because students did not have to use the historical facts they read to answer questions that they themselves cared about concerning the current world, they rarely recalled the facts long after an exam. So, the author wrote this text to help his students enter into open-ended historical conversations. They explore the Enlightenment, and decide if it is a hypocritical screen for white male privilege or a slow-unfolding tool for universal liberation. They consider the ongoing industrial revolution, which has lowered consumer prices while posing social challenges for over 200 years, and which continues to replace jobs and concentrate wealth. They critique the effectiveness of economic systems to pair with industrialization: laissez-faire capitalism, colonialism, anarchism, Marxism, and socialism. They consider the strengths and challenges of nationalism, and consider strategies for avoiding war and ethnic cleansing. They analyze the rise of modern China as a superpower, and debate whether or not it is likely to surpass the United States in economic output and global influence. They analyze the most arresting current developments: the global rise of women, the challenge of climate change, the impact of mechanization and globalization on jobs, and the return of anti-democratic authoritarianism. Although the author is an American liberal, evidence and arguments are regularly offered from alternative points of view. Indeed, the text is designed to improve understanding of perspectives from other parts of the world and to promote dialogue between conservatives, liberals, and radicals in the U.S.

Who we are shapes how we read. Guided by an expert team of crosscultural scholars, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the influence of their own social location, building up self-awareness, other-awareness, and true dialogue in the process. Grow in your biblical wisdom as you read Scripture alongside the global Christian community.

No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-à-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, author Kavin Rowe argues that Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.

Everyday theology is the reflective and practical task of living each day as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, theology is not just for Sundays, and it's not just for professional theologians. Everyday Theology teaches all Christians how to get the theological lay of the land. It enables them to become more conscious of the culture they inhabit every day so that they can understand how it affects them and how they can affect it. If theology is the ministry of the Word to the world, everyday theologians need to know something about that world, and Everyday Theology shows them how to understand their culture make an impact on it. Engaging and full of fresh young voices, this book is the first in the new Cultural Exegesis series.

Gary Dorrien follows the threads of theology through the twentieth century, examining how Christians have reconciled their myth-filled religious beliefs within a world secularized by Enlightenment criticism and science. To understand how religion keeps its place in Christians' lives, Dorrien writes, we must explore how modern theologians have answered the question of myth in today's Christianity. Dorrien's narrative walks readers through modern theology - stopping with each of the major thinkers along the way to see how they dealt with the issue of modern Christian mythology. Ultimately he offers his own "new neo-orthodoxy", a theology of Word and Spirit that is pluralistic and affirms the mythical character of the gospel while holding fast to the Gospels' myth-negating condemnation of idolatry and their focus on history.

Intelligence is the ability to accurately interpret the world fast enough to ensure your survival and progress. In a busy and disruptive world developing the ability to think fast and make accurate decisions fast is an indispensable skill. In this highly awaited masterpiece from the phenomenal learning Coach Ugochukwu Chukwu, he detailed vital exercises to make our thinking clear, our activities helpful, our actions successful and our life ethical. An exercise in clear thinking is not just a manifestation of brilliance or smartness; it is a manifestation of sufficient intelligence that is powered chiefly by courage. To think clearly you must develop the courage to question your assumptions, beliefs, and convictions. Taken as a whole, Exercise in Clear Thinking (ECT) offers a structured, vital, repeatable system for the long term success of any endeavor. Each chapter is carefully designed to clarify your thinking in a way that builds lasting significance and helps you make better decisions in your business, work and personal life. ECT is simultaneously a framework to create any successful project in the present and a tool for securing an enduring legacy in the future. In large and small ways alike, it will save you years of “trial and error” and make your most genuine of dreams to come true. These exercises are not the quick-fix, flavor-of-the-month strategies that are so prevalent in today’s world, Instead, they reflect the ageless truths about how to think thoroughly through a problem, deeply stir yourself into action, cultivate tremendous results and productivity and make the most out of your life. If you ever desire to consistently drive successful outcomes—in specific projects and life in general—while at the same time securing a lasting legacy by building an ethically rich life you need this book as a manual and trusted reference for life challenges.

Until a century ago, a metaphor was just a mere figure of speech, but since the development of discourse analysis a metaphor has become more than merely incidental to the content of the arguments or findings. Students and scholars in political studies know the importance of metaphors in electoral and policy-related politics, coming across metaphors that are, knowingly or unknowingly, influencing our perception of politics. This book is the first to develop new methodological approaches to understand and analyse the use of metaphor in political science and international relations. It does this by: Combining theory with case studies in order to advance substantive work in politics and international relations that focuses on metaphor Expands the range of empirical case studies that employ this category descriptively and also in explanatory logic Advances research that investigates the role of metaphor in empirical and discourse-based methodologies, thus building on results from other disciplines, notably linguistics and hermeneutic philosophy. This innovative study will be of interest to students and researchers of politics, international relations and communication studies.

What did the writer of Genesis mean by “the first day”? Is it a literal week or a series of time periods? If I believe that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, am I denying the authority of Scripture? In response to the continuing controversy over the interpretation of the creation narrative in Genesis, John Lennox proposes a succinct method of reading and interpreting the first chapters of Genesis without discounting either science or Scripture. With examples from history, a brief but thorough exploration of the major interpretations, and a look into the particular significance of the creation of human beings, Lennox suggests that Christians can heed modern scientific knowledge while staying faithful to the biblical narrative. He moves beyond a simple response to the controversy, insisting that Genesis teaches us far more about the God of Jesus Christ and about God’s intention for creation than it does about the age of the earth. With this book, Lennox offers a careful yet accessible introduction to a scientifically-savvy, theologically-astute, and Scripturally faithful interpretation of Genesis.