J. Aaron Simmons

Beguiled by Beauty

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Lots of books ask questions, but few of them put us in question. By doing the latter, this book helps to make us who we hope to become. Contemplation leads to compassion and Farley leads us toward both.”

Behold, My Mother and My Brethren!

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Too often, Bible studies just serve to reinforce our cultural assumptions and existing power structures. Refreshingly, Christman’s Kierkegaardian reading of Mark stands as a challenge to our personal egoism, our cultural idolatry, and our political individualism. Christman invites us to ‘become Christians’ by rightly interrogating our conceptions of what that requires.”

Bourgeois Christians

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

I See Men as Trees, Walking

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Kierkegaard claimed that the Bible is not just a book that we read, but a book that reads us. It holds a mirror up to our selfhood and requires the hard work of self-examination. Bryan Christman’s Kierkegaardian analysis of the Gospel of Mark does the same thing by inviting not only a deeper understanding of the biblical text, but a better relationship to one’s own becoming.”

Kierkegaard and Political Theology

Philosophy

“I once told someone that I was writing a book on Kierkegaard and politics and he responded: ‘That is going to be a short book.’ Thankfully, Kierkegaard and Political Theology is not short! With rigor and clarity, the contributors invite new directions in Kierkegaardian scholarship by attending to underexplored political ‘crumbs’ in his thought. This volume demonstrates that Kierkegaard’s concern with ‘the present age’ can continue to speak vibrantly to our own.”

Kierkegaard and the Paradox of Religious Diversity

Philosophy

“This book is a game-changer in Kierkegaard studies. Connell argues with clarity and rigor that Kierkegaard's thought is instructive for addressing religious diversity in the contemporary world. Avoiding mere abstraction, Connell courageously models the engagement that he calls for by setting Kierkegaard into dialogue with Confucius and by looking at Kierkegaard's reading of the Akedah in light of 9/11. Anyone who attempts to think about Kierkegaard's social relevance will need to go through this book to do so.”

Postmodern Theology

Theology

“Widely recognized as an inaugural voice in postmodern theology, Carl A. Raschke offers herein a sophisticated, and decidedly personal, account of the contours of the movement. Recounting the influence, and assessing the arguments, of such thinkers as Altizer, Derrida, Levinas, and Caputo, this book is as compellingly biographical as it is substantively rigorous. Raschke is necessary reading for all who are curious not only about the history of postmodern theology, but also invested in shaping its future.”

The Aesthetics of Discipleship

Christian Living

“Masterfully written, rigorously argued, and politically aware, this book combines social critique with a constructive vision of affectivity, aesthetics, and liturgy in religious existence. I hope that all Christians read this book and then attempt to live up to it.”

The Dialogical Spirit II

Theology

“The Dialogical Spirit II enacts what its title announces. Amos Yong’s essays are deliberatively hospitable, hermeneutically charitable, and deeply philosophically grounded. In the ‘spirit’ of ‘dialogue,’ Yong and the editor, Spencer Moffatt, invite readers to think with them, and to be transformed in the process. The goal is to foster a community that is rigorously committed to thinking well, and to loving each other while doing so.”

The Unthinkable Sacrifice

Philosophy

“When my son was about six, he told me that he didn’t want to be a philosopher because they don’t spend time with their kids. Sadly, being good at philosophy doesn’t automatically translate into being a good father. In an absolutely stunning work of subtle beauty and vulnerably concise argument, Zechariah Mickel offers a constructive phenomenological vision of fatherhood that simultaneously gives me hope and reassurance. I needed to read this book and so do you.”

This Is My Body

Philosophy

“This book is simply refreshing. Humbly calling Wesleyan theology to a deeper appreciation of the constitutive role that embodiment plays in all areas of human existence, this volume brings together continental philosophy, historical theology, and contemporary psychology in ways that are genuinely remarkable. It will not only enliven the contemporary scholarship, but enrich those individuals who aim to live in light of the physicality of a truly incarnational theology.”

Three Answers to the Question “What Is Philosophy?”

Philosophy

“I once had a student who claimed that ‘philosophy is just one big important party. Double’ I never thought someone would write a book with that as the main thesis, but Stuart Dalton has done so! This book is fantastic. My only frustration is that I wish I were cool enough to have written it.”