In To Liberate and Redeem, scholar Edward LeRoy Long Jr. surveys the full biblical narrative--setting the context by beginning with the oppression of Israel's enslavement and the Exodus liberation, then looking back to the Creation and forward to Christ, Paul, and the early church. This original approach demonstrates how the unfolding drama of the Bible is marked by those who need liberation because they are trapped in oppressive structures and those who, once freed, must faithfully construct communities of redemption so as not to become oppressors themselves. From this basis Long explores how present-day moral decisions can be informed by studying the ways in which our biblical forebears wrestled with concerns similar to our own while standing in faithful responsiveness to God.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1836.

A collection of insightful essays on topics relevant to Rosh Hashanah. Explains and discusses subjects such as Two Modes of Prayer, the Coronation of G-d, and Divine Guidance and Redemption.

Amid the variety of human experiences, the comic occupies a distinctive place. It is simultaneously ubiquitous, relative, and fragile. In this book, Peter L. Berger reflects on the nature of the comic and its relationship to other human experiences. Berger contends that the comic is an integral aspect of human life, yet one that must be approached and analyzed circumspectly and circuitously. Beginning with an exploration of the anatomy of the comic, Berger addresses humor in philosophy, physiology, psychology, and the social sciences before turning to a discussion of different types of comedy and finally suggesting a theology of the comic in terms of its relationship to folly, redemption, and transcendence. Along the way, the reader is treated to a variety of jokes on a variety of topics, with particular emphasis on humor and its relationship to religion. Originally published in 1997, the second edition includes a new preface reflecting on Berger’s work in the intervening years, particularly on the relationship between humor and modernity.