Christine Helmer

Awe and Expectation

Theology

“Allen G. Jorgenson approaches the subject of 'stewardship' with historical learning and deep, meditative theological thoughtfulness. Through the lenses of history, theology--a wonderful integration of Luther, Schleiermacher, and Rahner--the sacraments, and of preaching, Jorgenson develops an understanding of stewardship that is in relationship with the most exigent questions of everyday experience. This is theology at its most honest. I read Awe and Expectation with great pleasure.”

Beloved Community

Theology

“Hinlicky's constructive theology is in lively intellectual engagement with the world today. . . . Compellingly argues that the divine reality of the cross informs the triune God's mission to the world. Placing Luther's stubborn commitment to grace at the center of reflection, Hinlicky's theology insists that grace comes at great cost, now and in eternity.”

Earthy Faith

Theology

“In Earthy Faith: A Theology for the People, Craig L. Nessan boldly threads a double helix of justification and justice through the doctrines of Christian faith, constructing a systematic theology that is both theoretically innovative and practically relevant. The book is strikingly humane in its emphasis on communal belonging with the environment and courageously redemptive in its advocacy for the care of the planet. It will inspire readers to take up responsibility for resisting death-dealing regimes and to communicate grace by living out the freedom of the Christian.”

Eternal Blessedness for All?

Theology

“Eternal Blessedness for All? is both an illuminating and elegant study of Schleiermacher's theological imagination and an invitation to readers to consider the very nature of theology itself as a dimension of the humanities. Schleiermacher is currently the subject of renewed interested among scholars of religion, who are rediscovering him as one of the founders of modern inquiry in religion. . . . Hagan's work ought to shake some contemporary theological foundations!”

Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith

Theology

“Todd Hains describes how Luther was not an innovator but a faithful transmitter of the Christian tradition of biblical interpretation that relied on the rule of faith as conceptual lens to interpret the Bible. Hains detracts from a common interpretation of Luther as protagonist of the literal text that allows the reader—any reader—to interpret the plain sense of the text according to its literal grammatical sense. Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith is an impressive contribution to the study of the 'Catholic Luther' with its claim that Luther interpreted the Bible through a communal lens that had been in place since that lens was formulated in the early church and through the medieval tradition.”

Martin Luther on Reading the Bible as Christian Scripture

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Through a close and learned reading of key texts in the reformer’s canon, William M. Marsh shows that Christ is the focus of Luther’s interpretation of the Old and New Testaments. Martin Luther on Reading the Bible as Christian Scripture makes an important contribution to our understanding of Luther’s biblical theology and hermeneutics. By linking the human witness to Christ with the word of God, Marsh demonstrates theologically how in Luther’s thought the Bible’s truth is connected to the living reality of Christ.”

Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Brown and Hodgson’s fresh and deeply learned translation of Ferdinand Christian Baur’s masterpiece, Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, invites—and permits—us to revisit Baur’s claim of the centrality of Paul’s conversion to the making of Gentile Christianity. It comes at just the right moment, when the meanings—and politics—of conversion, for persons and communities, are once again the focus of intense debate across the disciplines.”

Psalms of the Faithful

Theology

“With a keen sense of Luther's fierce engagement with the biblical text, Brian T. German reconstructs the process by which the Bible came to vivid life in the embattled Reformer's readings and rereadings of the text. German pays particular attention to Luther's insistence on the subject matter of the Psalter as well as its rhythms. Psalms of the Faithful offers compelling insight into Luther's understanding of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. It is a welcome study in this anniversary year!”

Schleiermacher's Preaching, Dogmatics, and Biblical Criticism

Theology

“Weaving together history and theology, Kelsey's book sets a new standard for scholarship on Schleiermacher. Schleiermacher's theology, and in particular his Christology, come alive in her analysis, with great intellectual rigor. The book points towards new interdisciplinary possibilities in Schleiermacher studies and promises to open a rich international dialogue.”

Schleiermacher’s Influences on American Thought and Religious Life, 1835-1920

History & Biography

“This is a timely and important work. There is renewed interest in Friedrich Schleiermacher's thought among scholars of religion as well as among theologians today, and Tice and Wilcox make a major contribution to this Schleiermacher revival by offering a sophisticated exploration of the twin foundational pillars of his thought, his Dialektik and his Psychologie. Tice and Wilcox are among the most prominent contemporary interpreters of Schleiermacher today. Even more, they embody his spirit in their careful historical research, their sympathies with Schleiermacher's view of knowledge as being both critical and open-ended, and their deep understanding of Schleiermacher's liberal vision for church and society.”

The Challenge of History

Theology

“Christophe Chalamet has curated a timely collection addressing the centrality of historical study in reading the Bible since the Protestant Reformation. The Challenge of History shows how Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholic theologians developed the historical approach to the Bible and why critical thinking continues to be an indispensable tool for resolving religious disputes today.”

The Hope of Glory

Theology

“In The Hope of Glory: A Theology of Redemption , Ian A. McFarland shows why Christianity offers a powerful alternative vision to the graveyards of human history. With a sustained focus on Christ, McFarland orients the Christian doctrine that addresses the “last things”—death, judgment, hell and heaven—to hope in divinity’s plan to glorify creation. McFarland invites us into his theological laboratory as he queries how theology explores mystery with reasoned thinking and why suffering and evil have their end in God.”

The Quest for Faithfulness

History & Biography

“I cannot imagine a more urgent and necessary book than this one! Helmut Hartmann’s riveting account of his life under two successive totalitarian regimes—first as a child during the era of National Socialism, then as a Lutheran pastor in the GDR—describes the everyday struggle of men and women to live in faithfulness to Christ’s truth amid political corruption, deception, and violence. At a time when conservative Christians in the US have cut a devil’s bargain with abusive power, Hartmann reaffirms the relationship between democracy and Christian faith. The Quest for Faithfulness shines a bright light into our own dark times, reassuring us that while there is hope, it demands courage, responsibility, and resistance.”

Theological Exegesis of Scripture, Volume I

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Fully aware of the troubled times in—and to—which he writes, McGlasson offers readers the opportunity to encounter afresh the living theology of the first five books of the Bible. Elegantly, often lyrically, written and deeply grounded in the history of biblical reception, Theological Exegesis of Scripture is an assured and vital work of biblical theology.”

Theological Exegesis of Scripture: Volume II

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Praise for the first volume “Fully aware of the troubled times in—and to—which he writes, McGlasson offers readers the opportunity to encounter afresh the living theology of the first five books of the Bible. Elegantly, often lyrically, written and deeply grounded in the history of biblical reception, Theological Exegesis of Scripture is an assured and vital work of biblical theology.”