David W. Congdon

Between Interpretation and Imagination

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“An intellectual feast of the highest order! Part detective story, part reception history of the Bible, part intellectual biography, and part literary analysis, Leslie Baynes’s Between Interpretation and Imagination is a revelation for C. S. Lewis fans and critics alike. Baynes’s knowledge of Lewis is as exhaustive as her knowledge of the Bible, and the result is an eye-opening excavation of Lewis’s engagement with both the Bible and biblical scholarship. Her work shows why academic scholarship is so important and why scholars should pay more serious attention to the work of popularizers and apologists.”

Forensic Apocalyptic Theology

Theology

“For far too long, Karl Barth has not been adequately appreciated as a biblical exegete, nor has he been brought into sustained conversation with biblical scholars. The work of Shannon Nicole Smythe thus comes as a breath of fresh air. Displaying a thorough knowledge of both Barth's theology and the field of Pauline scholarship, Smythe argues that Barth develops a forensic apocalyptic doctrine of justification. She shows that Barth is able to remain in creative continuity with the theology of the Reformers while also doing more justice to the apocalyptic theology of the apostle Paul. Smythe's lucid analysis is a fresh approach not only to the work of Karl Barth but also to the doctrine of justification, which has fallen on hard times. One can only hope that it signals the start of a new appreciation for the legacy of the Reformation.”

Myth, History, and the Resurrection in German Protestant Theology

Theology

“In this erudite study, Brent Hege proves himself a master of modern German theology and demonstrates that the debate over myth and demythologizing is not a topic of merely historical interest but remains vital to the life of the Christian community today. His nuanced and sympathetic analysis of Rudolf Bultmann is a much-needed antidote to the flippant rejections of the great Marburg theologian’s work. Hege shows that the church that seeks to understand what it means when it proclaims the resurrection of the crucified Jesus cannot afford to ignore these questions.”

Our God Loves Justice

Theology

“The legacy of Christianity's acquiescence to, even endorsement of, the status quo, due in large part to the pernicious doctrine of the church’s apolitical spirituality, manifests itself in the church's lack of protest against a rapidly growing inequality. Those who do resist tend to bifurcate the political and the theological: many protesting Christians separate the earthly and heavenly cities and advocate a retreat into the alternative polis of the church; many of those who protest in the political sphere see religion as a significant reason we are in this mess in the first place and rely on contemporary political philosophy to find a solution. Helmut Gollwitzer shows us another way: a radical socialist politics rooted in the Christian tradition that does not abandon society but advocates for public justice and social transformation. The church today needs to learn from the courageous witness of Helmut Gollwitzer, and Travis McMaken's succinct and profound introduction to his thought is the book we have been waiting for.”

Trinity and Incarnation

Theology

“Most theologians, even in modernity, have sought to ‘repair’ and ‘reform’ the traditional (or ‘catholic’) understandings of God, Trinity, and incarnation to make them coherent under the assumption that retaining the orthodox categories is a prerequisite for doing Christian theology. It is thus refreshing to read the work of Steven Nemes, who subjects these categories and concepts to withering critique. This is a bold and courageous work of revisionist metaphysics.”