Jürgen Moltmann in Plain English


Book Description

Jürgen Moltmann is a theological iconoclast, ever confronting the status quo. Stephen D. Morrison examines Moltmann's unique theology in this clear and accessible study. It is the third book of Morrison's Plain English Series, written "by a beginner, for beginners." This book studies each of Moltmann's major works of theology, including his most popular books (such as Theology of Hope, The Crucified God, and The Trinity and the Kingdom). Here we discuss Moltmann's groundbreaking proposals for eschatology, the Trinity, creation, and the suffering of God.




The Spirit of Hope


Book Description

Famous theologian Jrgen Moltmann returns here to the theme that he so powerfully addressed in his groundbreaking work, Theology of Hope. In the twenty-first century, he tells us, hope is challenged by ideologies and global trends that would deny hope and even life itself. Terrorist violence, social and economic inequality, and most especially the looming crisis of climate change all contribute to a cultural moment of profound despair. Moltmann reminds us that Christian faith has much to say in response to a despairing world. In the eternal yes of the living God, we affirm the goodness and ongoing purpose of our fragile humanity. Likewise, Gods love empowers us to love life and resist a culture of death. The books two sections equally promote these affirmations, yet in different ways. The first section looks at the challenges to hope in our current world, most especially the environmental crisis. It argues that Christian faithand indeed all the worlds religionsmust orient themselves toward the wholeness of the human family and the physical environment necessary to that wholeness. The second section draws on resources from the early church, the Reformation, and the contemporary theological conversation to undergird efforts to address the deficit of hope he describes in the first section.




James Cone in Plain English


Book Description




Karl Barth in Plain English


Book Description

Written from one amateur to another Stephen Morrison hopes to introduce readers to Barth's thought without confusing theological jargon. By focusing on the eight major ideas of Barth's thought, the author provides readers with a helpful introduction to one of the greatest minds in modern theology.




Resurrected to Eternal Life


Book Description

In this deeply personal and daring meditation, eminent theologian Jürgen Moltmann challenges many closely held beliefs about the experience of dying, the nature of death, and the hope of eternal life. Moving deftly between biblical, theological, and existential domains, Moltmann argues that while we know intimately the experience of dying--both our loved ones' dying and, ultimately, our own--death itself is a mystery. Are those who have died in fact dead? If the dead are alive, how or in what respect? When the dead awaken to eternal life, who wakes? Moltmann's interrogations yield surprising and beautiful fruits. The living soul that awakens to eternal life is not a ghost in a machine, but the Lebensgestalt, the shape and story of a life, its human and divine contexts, its whole. Drawing on themes from his oeuvre's entire arc, Resurrected to Eternal Life testifies to the inner unity of Moltmann's theology: the cross, the Spirit, the kingdom, the end, and the hope that makes the end present here and now. Seasoned readers of Moltmann will find in these pages a capstone of a lifetime of theological exploration, while those new to his complex thought will find a concise and elegant entry point into his voluminous work.




Jesus Christ for Today's World


Book Description

J rgen Moltmann formulates necessary questions about the significance of Jesus the Christ for persons today. He offers a compelling portrait of the earthly Jesus as the divine brother in our distress and suffering and points to the risen Christ as the warrant for the "future in which God will restore everything . . . and gather everything into his kingdom." Urging that acknowledgment of Christ and discipleship are two sides of the same coin, Moltmann contends that the question of Jesus Christ for today is not just an intellectual one. Moltmann takes fresh approaches to a number of crucial topics: Jesus and the kingdom of God, the passion of Christ and the pain of God, Jesus as brother of the tortured, and the resurrection of Christ as hope for the world, the cosmic Christ, Jesus in Jewish- Christian dialogue, the future of God, and others.




T. F. Torrance in Plain English


Book Description

The second book in Stephen D. Morrison's Plain English Series, "T. F. Torrance in Plain English" offers a clear and concise overview of Torrance's scientific and evangelical theology. An introduction to his complex thought, this book examines nine major ideas selected from Torrance's many volumes and essays. This is a helpful study of a prominent theologian, thoughtfully written and carefully explained for both beginners and experts alike.Arguably one of the most influential English-speaking theologians of the 20th century, T. F. Torrance is a brilliant thinker every Christian should be familiar with. Morrison writes with passion and clarity, offering a wide and deep introduction to Torrance's immense theological contributions. The subjects of this book include Torrance's scientific theology, his epistemological axiom (kata physin), his reformulated natural theology, the oneness in being and act of the Father and the Son (Homoousion), the Trinity as the "ground and grammar" of theology, the twofold agency (mediation) of Christ, the vicarious humanity of Christ, threefold atonement, and union and participation as the capstone of Torrance's thought.




Church Conflicts


Book Description

This important work by one of the most significant New Testament scholars of the modern period, now available in English for the first time, explores the significance of Christian apocalyptic for the church in times of conflict and crisis. Engaging with global social and political realities that are still very much with us, Ernst Käsemann offers a theological indictment of global white supremacy, capitalism, and militarism and passionately articulates an apocalyptic theology of liberation. The book includes a foreword by James H. Cone and an introduction by Ry O. Siggelkow.




Schleiermacher in Plain English


Book Description

"It may be an overstatement, but I can think of no figure in recent theological memory misunderstood more severely than Friedrich D. E. Schleiermacher... But I am here to say he is not who you think he is. Schleiermacher is not the 'villain' of modern theology. That old, marred image is in dire need of revision" (from the author's introduction). The fourth book in Stephen D. Morrison's "Plain English Series" aims to reassess Schleiermacher's complicated legacy. He argues that Schleiermacher is far too significant to ignore and it will only be to our detriment if we allow poor caricatures of his work to persist. Morrison also adds his voice to the growing consensus among scholars that an essential harmony can exist between Barth and Schleiermacher. Drawing from a multitude of primary and secondary sources, Morrison focuses on coming to a new understanding of Schleiermacher's theological masterpiece, Christian Faith. With clarity and accessibility, Morrison draws you in to reconsider Schleiermacher's legacy. Perhaps Schleiermacher is not the "villain" of modern theology after all.




In the End, the Beginning


Book Description

'In my end is my beginning', wrote T. S. Eliot at the close of his poem East Coker, and that line gave me the title for this book. With it I should like to express the power of the Christian hope, for Christian hope is the power of resurrection from life's failures and defeats. It is the power of the rebirth of life out of the shadows of death. It is the power for the new beginning at the place where guilt has made life impossible. From the Introduction by Jurgen Moltmann In this short doctrine of hope, Jurgen Moltmann examines the personal experiences in life, in which the future is awaited, times when we search for new beginnings and find them. In three parts that correspond to the three beginnings in life: birth, rebirth and resurrection, Moltmann extols the true value of Christian hope that powers new beginnings. Jurgen Moltmann is Emeritus Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Tubingen, Germany. He is the author of a number of books published by SCM Press, including Theology of Hope, The Crucified God and The Church in the Power of the Spirit.