Craig G. Bartholomew

Before Nature

Theology

“For thirty years now, H. Paul Santmire has provided us with graceful retrievals of nearly lost Christian traditions of creation theology. In the process, he has reconfigured contemplative and spiritual ecology. Now, in Before Nature, Santmire continues and extends his life-long work by illuminating nature as a relationship whose center is the Trinity and whose circumference is prayer.” —Steven Chase Author of Nature as Spiritual Practice "In the face of the extinctions of our time—indeed, the threat to any human future at all—how are Christians still to pray? Here in our ‘twilight,’ Santmire invites readers into a practice of contemplative prayer capacious of both personal depth and clear-eyed vision. His Trinity Prayer makes possible a fully ecological immersion in reality, mystery, and hope: a Christian spirituality for life on Earth." Lisa E. Dahill Trinity Lutheran Seminary "For several decades, Paul Santmire has produced a series of groundbreaking books on the theology of nature and the environment. They are rich and indispensable reading for anyone working in this area. Now he has added to his corpus this wonderful volume, Before Nature: A Christian Spirituality. In this work, Santmire brings together Christian spirituality, his personal narrative, theology of nature, and mission, in the very best sense of that word. The result is a feast, with all the right ingredients. We will never recover a theology of nature and place without recovering the accompanying practices, and in this work we get a wonderful insight into Santmire's own practices and how to develop a spirituality for and of such practices. It is hard to stress too strongly how important is such a discussion. Even more important is that we learn from Santmire and incarnate such practices into our daily lives. The results would be truly revolutionary.”

Biblical Knowing

Philosophy

Foreword

“Biblical Knowing makes a significant contribution to a fresh opening up of the relationship between Scripture and philosophy. This is no easy task, requiring the author to navigate philosophy, biblical studies, and theology. Dru does this masterfully. The result is a lucid, accessible text, and yet one that makes an original contribution. It is the sort of book that I have been waiting for when teaching epistemology and I suspect that many professors will have the same experience.”

Canonical Theology

Theology

Foreword

“Peckham takes hold of one of the most pressing issues facing the church today, and does so clearly, with a refreshing and astonishingly wide range of engagement, pushing toward the conclusion that Scripture is intrinsically authoritative as the Word of God.”

Christ, the Way

Theology

“When, amidst great distress, Augustine read Romans 13:14 ‘clothe yourself with Jesus Christ’ and was converted, one of the greatest minds of his day entered the kingdom. Augustine bequeathed to us a vast corpus that has been mined for theological insight ever since. Wisdom is a major theme in his writing but it has not received the attention it deserves. It is to the credit of Benjamin that he has attended to this theme closely and in detail across Augustine’s corpus. The results are rich and important and will contribute in a fresh way to Augustine studies.”

Covenantal Biomedical Ethics for Contemporary Medicine

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Delivered from the Elements of the World

Theology

“Peter Leithart is one of our best and most creative theologians. In this wide-ranging book Leithart shows that doctrine is not some abstract entity disconnected from contemporary life but is in fact deeply relevant and pregnant with social and political insights. Leithart is biblically, theologically and culturally literate—a rare combination—and thus able to produce the sort of work we so badly need today. Attending to the doctrines of the atonement and justification, he writes in the best tradition of apologetics, namely that of creative, orthodox, contextual theology.”

God's Righteousness and Justice in the Old Testament

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

God’s Sabbath with Creation

Theology

“Jim Skillen is one of our best Christian thinkers today, a scholar we have long admired. He is, moreover, a top Christian political theorist who takes the Bible seriously in his academic work. And so it is a delight to read the fruit of his many years of wrestling with the scriptural text. He challenges an individualistic narrative of sin and salvation, and articulates a rich view of creation in fresh and surprising ways. Following Jesus means redirecting the whole of our creaturely lives to serve God, others, and the non-human creation in joyful anticipation of God’s coming sabbath with creation. Highly recommended!”

How to Read the Bible to Hear God Speak

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This is biblical hermeneutics at its best—all Seerveld’s aesthetic and philosophical insight is brought to bear in an accessible way on how to listen to God in the Holy Scriptures and this story in particular. . . . Take and Read!”

Knowing God Through the Old Testament

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Chris Wright is simply one of our best biblical scholars and expositors. He combines rigorous scholarship with a wonderful way of enabling us to hear God's address today through Scripture. A pastoral, missional heart breathes through his work, and I am delighted to see these three books by him gathered into one volume. As the titles indicate, Chris calls us to read Scripture so as to know God as he is revealed in the whole of Scripture, and not least the Old Testament, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to be drawn into deep fellowship with him. This is an invaluable trilogy that will be of great blessing to God's people.”

Old Testament Story and Christian Ethics

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

Foreword

“The range and depth of this book is a tour de force. It is precisely the sort of scholarship so badly needed in biblical studies today.”

Paul

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“I can think of few things that the contemporary church needs to recover as much as the ancient practice of lectio divina. In my view it is the primary mode by which we are to receive Scripture. The focus of this series is rightly on the biblical text itself, and the commentary and questions push us back to the text to listen for God’s address. My hope is that this well-written and accessible tool will assist readers in the practice of lectio divina.”

Perspectives on Pastoral Ministry

Church Leadership & Ministry

“Pastoral theology is one of the most exciting theological disciplines. Perspectives on Pastoral Ministry, the third volume in a trilogy, does not disappoint in this regard. All the authors have a high view of pastoral care and the book ranges across historical, biblical, and theological insights, as well as honest narratives from practitioners. We live in an age in which pastors and their ministry are no longer highly regarded in our cultures. However, pastoral care is essential, vitally important, and glorious. Those involved in pastoral care will find this publication a welcome resource, as will laity and practical theologians.”

Perspectives on Prayer and Spirituality

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“One of the greatest needs of our day is a deep Christian spirituality, anchored in Scripture, drawing on the Christian tradition, and opening out onto all of life. This volume embodies these characteristics and is thus highly recommended. My hope is that it will be widely read and deepen our spiritual practices both individually and communally. Nothing less than our capacity to spread forth the fragrance of Christ in his world is at stake.”

Practicing the King's Economy

Church Leadership & Ministry

“For all its positive aspects, a major negative of globalization is that it has exported consumerism to every part of our planet. Certainly, in the West, consumerism is the major idol of our day, and Western idols ricochet around the globe. So pervasive is consumerism that it often seems as if there is no other option. However, the three multitalented authors of this book join together to show again and again that it doesn’t have to be this way—and it shouldn’t be this way. Jesus and his kingdom point in a different direction, a far more human one that leads to genuine flourishing.”

Rev.

Puzzling Portraits

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This work introduces the reader to some of the major approaches to reading the Old Testament for ethics and then grounds the gleaned insights in an examination of the story of Gideon in the book of Judges. The combination of theory and exegesis is a fertile one and demonstrates how much a narrative, literary reading has to offer in terms of the Old Testament.”

Reformed Ethics, Volume 2

Theology

“Ethics is no marginal relative of doctrine and theology, as the letters of Paul bear eloquent witness. The translation of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics has been of major significance, and now it is followed, appropriately, by his Reformed Ethics. It is wonderful that this work has been discovered, translated, and published. One of the great needs of our day is close attention to the 'theological' in theological ethics, and Bavinck does not disappoint in this respect, with his characteristic rigor and creativity. John Bolt and his colleagues have provided us with a fresh resource for theological and ethical reflection.”

Reformed Ethics, Volume 3

Theology

“Ethics is no marginal relative of doctrine and theology, as the letters of Paul bear eloquent witness. The translation of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics has been of major significance, and now it is followed, appropriately, by his Reformed Ethics. It is wonderful that this work has been discovered, translated, and published. One of the great needs of our day is close attention to the 'theological' in theological ethics, and Bavinck does not disappoint in this respect, with his characteristic rigor and creativity. John Bolt and his colleagues have provided us with a fresh resource for theological and ethical reflection.”

Reformed Social Ethics

Theology

“The translation of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics has been of major significance, and now it is followed, appropriately, by his Reformed Ethics. It is wonderful that this work has been discovered, translated, and published. John Bolt and his colleagues have provided us with a fresh resource for theological and ethical reflection.”

The Aesthetics of Discipleship

Christian Living

“It is a delight to commend this excellent book, ranging across major thinkers and written in a wonderfully lucid style, as befits its topic. Adrian has done just the sort of work we need in abundance if we are to begin to recapture a fully biblical notion of discipleship. . . . This is a book to study, to savor, and to allow it to transform one’s aesthetic in ordinary, everyday lived experience.”