This collection of essays explores the way individuals and communities navigate complicated spaces which have been dominated by econo-heteropatriarchal powers to find their voice and claim their space.Using concepts of space from development studies, the volume explores the power of biblical narratives for communities to navigate the complex and multifaceted intersections between gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and economics in the biblical text as well as within the...

This assemblage of feminist theologies represents a series of vital entanglements. Chapters are written from different cultures, geographies and discourses and brought together around themes as specific and wide-ranging as immigration detention, hate crime, discrimination, rites of marriage and partnership, and artistic and religious imagination. The contributors variously echo, celebrate, question and contradict each other. Despite the complexity and allied as they are with liberation, de...

What thresholds of theology would we cross if we engage the aches and despairs, wisdoms, and hopes in and of Aotearoa New Zealand and the neighboring sea of islands? What thresholds need to be jarred or moved (threshold as opening), probed and raised (threshold as limit)? This book engages these questions in two parts: “(re)Locating Theological Studies” contains essays that interrogate the purposes of theological studies (locally and globally), identify gaps due to the Western heritage and...

This book breaks new ground in the field of public theology by constructing a public theology which is built on interwoven cultural and Christian values. Writing from the Oceanian context (Samoa), Ah Siu-Maliko unpacks the complementary Samoan and Christian core values of service, respect, dialogue, love, and justice as the foundation for a values-centered response to the social realities confronting Oceania. Drawing on the indigenous research paradigm known as talanoa, the author grounds ...

Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian Gospel. It goes hand in hand with love, mercy, and grace, the fundamental theological virtues. However, forgiveness is easier to define than it is to embody. This unique collection of essays brings together theologians, ethicists, and ministry practitioners into a constructive dialog which explores the complex and crucial concept of forgiveness: what it is, where it is to be found, and how it might be practiced. These essays reflect the perspect...

Roman crucifixions sought to degrade and dehumanise their victims in ways that destroyed their dignity and stigmatised their memory. Paul speaks of the cross as a ‘scandal’ or ‘stumbling block’, but the significance of this language has never been explored in terms of sexual violence. The Crucifixion of Jesus examines crucifixion as a form of torture, state terror, and sexual abuse. It reads recent accounts of torture alongside the presentation of crucifixion in the Passion narrat...

Theologians and scholars of religion draw on rich resources to address the complex issues raised by political reconciliation in the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, South Africa, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. The questions addressed include: Can truth set a person, or a society, free? How is political forgiveness possible? Are political, personal, and spiritual reconciliation essentially related? Explorations in Reconciliation brings Catholic, Protestant, Mennonite, Jewish and Islamic...

2025 REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION • The landmark book exploring what the Bible actually says—and doesn’t say—about same-sex relationshipsAs a young Christian man, Matthew Vines harbored the same basic hopes of many young people: to one day share his life with someone, to build a family of his own, to give and receive love. But when Vines realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he’d been taught, condemned gay relationships.Feel...

Religion is increasingly seen as a dangerous source of violence in the world, breeding a fear of faith in a very vocal group of critics. Most Christians are blissfully unaware of the litany of allegations being brought against religion, including that it is the cause of intolerance, imperialism, irrationality, bigotry, and war, to name a few. But ignorance is not the answer.In Why People Don't Believe, Paul Chamberlain strives to represent the concerns and challenges raise...

Covering such timely issues as witness in a multifaith society and political engagement in a pluralistic world, this compelling book highlights things Christians can do to serve the common good. Now in paperback.Praise for the cloth editionNamed one of the "Top 100 Books" and one of the "Top 10 Religion Books" of 2011 by Publishers Weekly"Accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A comprehensive overview of what the Bible really says—and doesn't say—about sex."An explosive, fascinating book that reveals how the Bible cannot be used as a rulebook when it comes to sex. A terrific read by a top scholar." —Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting JesusIs premarital sex a sin? When, and in what contexts, is sexual desire appropriate? With whom can I legitimately have sex? Are same-sex relations permis...