Recent Arrivals from Eden Theological Seminary Bookstore

New copy A revealing look at the identity and mission of the Black church What is the true nature and mission of the church? Is its proper Christian purpose to save souls, or to transform the social order? This question is especially fraught when the church is one built by an enslaved people and formed, from its beginning, at the center of… Read more about this item

New copy The Black Church Studies Reader addresses the depth and breadth of Black theological studies. The volume examines salient themes such as gender, sexuality, race, social class, health care, and public policy. The focus of the volume while African American attends to broader African continental and Diasporan religious contexts

New copy This acclaimed, influential work applies the concepts of systemic family therapy to the emotional life of congregations. Edwin H. Friedman shows how the same understanding of family process that can aid clergy in their pastoral role also has important ramifications for negotiating congregational dynamics and functioning as an effective leader. Clergy from diverse denominations, as well as family therapists… Read more about this item

New copy Judges and Method provides a unique classroom resource in biblical studies. Here are state-of-the-art introductions to leading critical methods in biblical study, all focused on a specific biblical book, Judges, and the larger Deuteronomistic history of which it is a part. The first edition of Judges and Method was published in 1995. This second edition features thorough updates of… Read more about this item

New copy Few books on the market share not only a vision of Jesus' nonviolence but also ways of actuallyliving out that same vision today. Who better to write such a work than Father John Dear, an internationally known peacemaker? Put Down Your Sword invites us into Jesus' way of nonviolence as presented by the Gospels. Arguing that all Christians must follow… Read more about this item

New copy Series: Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Christian theology. The only non-Christian to be named in the Nicene Creed, he is presented as a cruel colonial overseer in secular accounts, as a conflicted judge convinced of Jesus's innocence in the Gospels, and as either a pious Christian or a virtual demon in later… Read more about this item

New copy The right to kill, the right to die, the right to live, the right to love Using a bioethical approach, John Cobb Jr. tackles some of the most controversial issues facing society and the church today--something theologians have often failed to do in the past. His four major topics are animal well-being, death with dignity, the moral status of the… Read more about this item

New copy Abraham on Trial questions the foundations of faith that have made a virtue out of the willingness to sacrifice a child. Through his desire to obey God at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his son, Abraham became the definitive model of faith for the major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this bold look at… Read more about this item

New copy Reading Scripture anew, the authors contend, is each time an exercise of power. It is always invested in ideology, whether spoken or unspoken. By adopting the viewpoints of marginalized women, and by examining the motivations of the male characters as they deploy power, Fewell and Gunn seek an approach to biblical interpretation that promises to liberate women and men… Read more about this item

New copy No other text has affected women in the western world as much as the story of Eve and Adam. This remarkable anthology surveys more than 2,000 years of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim commentary and debate on the biblical story that continues to raise fundamental questions about what it means to be a man or to be a woman. The… Read more about this item

New copy By using recent developments in literary theory, W. Lee Humphreys uses Genesis to show how God functions as a character in the Genesis narrative. Very creatively, Humphreys explores the coherence and consistency of God as a character, the way in which God's character changes and develops throughout the narrative, and how giving attention to the character of God enriches… Read more about this item

New copy From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America's most respected rabbis "An excellent study of the most fascinating character in the Old Testament."--Wall Street Journal "A portrait of David that is vibrant and nuanced, full of the complications that marked his life."--Jewish Week Of all the figures in the… Read more about this item

New copy Professor Trible focuses on four variations upon the theme of terror in the Bible. By combining the discipline of literary criticism with the hermeneutics of feminism, she reinterprets the tragic stories of four women in ancient Israel: Hagar, Tamar, an unnamed concubine, and the daughter of Jephthah. In highlighting the silence, absence, and opposition of God, as well as… Read more about this item

New copy Family, Religion, and Culture Series An important ongoing debate focuses on the present health and well-being of families in American society. Much of the debate, however, is either ill-informed or consists of rhetoric that attempts to further particular political and social causes. The Family, Religion, and Culture series offers informed and responsible analyses of the state of the American family… Read more about this item

New copy This lively book for introductory Old Testament classes offers an appealing illustration of how faith and academic study can work together, motivating and equipping Christian believers to turn to the Old Testament as a profound resource for their daily negotiations of faith, identity, and culture. Throughout, Carolyn J. Sharp focuses on the basic fundamentals that are a necessary part… Read more about this item

New Copy Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology Just below the surface of any Christian view of the Bible is the knotty issue of the biblical canon. How and when was it decided which books would make up the Bible? What makes a book canonical? In this volume, respected Old Testament scholar Christopher Seitz helps readers understand how the Old Testament fits… Read more about this item

New copy Giving astute attention to social worlds of women of both ancient and modern times, Katharine Sakenfeld explores the stories of eleven women in the Old Testament. In clear and engaging fashion, she reveals the complexity of these women's lives, drawing out the issues they faced and relating their struggles to those women around the world face today. By encouraging… Read more about this item

New copy More than a simple exchange of words, conversations in the biblical narratives offer an array of clues that define the characters and their relationships, the setting, and the language they employ. Using current critical communication theories from a number of fields -- anthropology, sociology, psychology, and literary studies -- Victor Matthews analyzes such biblical conversations as the interchanges between… Read more about this item

New copy Grounded in the latest archeological developments, Victor Matthews's A Brief History of Ancient Israel presents a concise history of Israel covering the ancestral period, conquest and settlement, the monarchy, and both the exilic and postexilic periods. Using supplemental figures and insets, the author concentrates on providing a cogent and condensed discussion of events. He examines historical geography, archaeological data,… Read more about this item

New copy What food did the ancient Israelites eat, and how much of it did they consume? That's a seemingly simple question, but it's actually a complex topic. In this fascinating book Nathan MacDonald carefully sifts through all the relevant evidence -- biblical, archaeological, anthropological, environmental -- to uncover what the people of biblical times really ate and how healthy (or… Read more about this item