Walter Wink

Being and the Messiah

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“I found 'Being and the Messiah' exciting reading, and, like 'Marx and the Bible', full of original, provocative, and highly controversial theses, brilliantly argued. "Miranda is a master of polemics, and whether he takes on the whole history of Christendom or the entire establishment of biblical scholars, his wit is always equal to his outrage. Perhaps only an outsider could come to the Bible so fresh. Those who refuse to face this fox reveal themselves rabbits.”

Bible of the Oppressed

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Why haven't we North American biblical scholars done such a systematic study of the words for oppression in the Bible? If the answer is that we who possess the critical skills are not ourselves oppressed or identified with communities of the oppressed, then it becomes imperative that we listen all the more carefully to these voices from the South.”

Confessions of a Christian Humanist

Theology

“In the tradition of Augustine's Confessions, and as profoundly, John de Gruchy has combined theological autobiography and pioneering theological reflections into a book that has taught me to name myself: Christian Humanist. Simply put, the purpose of this book is not to make us religious, but to make us more truly human. This book presages a new springtime in theology. Let it happen to you.”

Fighting the Lamb’s War

History & Biography

“Few nations in history have had a prophet of Phil Berrigan’s stature. With iron intransigency he has stood in the breach leading to nuclear omnicide. The state has tried to quash his witness time after time; arrests, lockups, long sentences, all the paraphernalia of intimidation. Why doesn’t it work? What enable this jack-in-the-box prophet to pop up, again and again? Find out. Read this book.”

Free People

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Tricia Gates Brown has written a succinct and masterful exposition of the pros and cons of global economics. She provides a trenchant theological critique of world trade policy, and tells a number of stories of Christians who have inaugurated a new eco-sustainable lifestyle. If we are to address the economic realities of our day in the light of the gospel, we can scarcely do better than to read this book.”

Getting in the Way

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“These harrowing accounts of nonviolent interposition read like first-century martyrologies. The courage of these Peacemaker Teams is breathtaking, and will serve to challenge others to similar heroism.”

Imitating Jesus

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this monumental work Richard Burridge has identified the fundamental question facing South African theology today: How can we insure that apartheid will never happen again? His answer is pertinent to the entire theological world: by following and imitating Jesus. This is the one thing pro-apartheid theology did not do. No imitation of Jesus could justify such violence and oppression or condone schemes of 'separate development' or noninclusivity. Imitating Jesus says it all, but it is only the beginning of the fruitful reward of Burridge's contribution.”

Jesus and Empire

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Richard Horsley is one of the few writers who can draw the connections between ancient text and contemporary political meaning. At his dexterous hands we discover riches of insight and gems of interpretation that leave us all in his debt. The Roman Empire becomes the foil that exposes the American Empire. The Kingdom of God reveals the hideousness of the New World Disorder, and Jesus is discovered to be the purveyor of truths available nowhere else.”

Jesus and Marx

Theology

“Reading Ellul's critique of Christian Marxism is like watching a surgeon. . . . Time after time he locates and slices away all cultural compromises of the Gospel. . . . Why do we submit to his incisions? Because there are so few in all the world who can tell us the truth. An he is quite possibly the most deft surgeon of all.”

Jesus and the Powers

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The Powers That Be are among the most puzzling aspects in all Scripture. Horsley brings together the theme of the restoration of the people of God with the transformation of the Powers in an illuminating and accessible style. The implications of the teaching and acts of Jesus for our own time blaze a trail in this brilliant and thought–provoking book.”

Political Forgiveness

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“One of the finest of a new generation of theologians has written a mature reflection on political forgiveness that constitutes a genuine contribution to a new realm of ethical thought.”

Seasons of Faith and Conscience

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Quietly, and at high personal cost, a few people have been exploring new liturgical forms for engaging the Powers That Be. This book is the fruit of that effort: a delight to read, a theological feast and practical guide, a challenge to action.”

The Biblical Jubilee and the Struggle for Life

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“If the twentieth century was the century of politics, the twenty-first will be the century of economics. Christians are going to have to learn about economics in order to reverse a situation in which the richest 20% receive 82.7% of the world's income while the poor are becoming abysmally poorer. The Kinslers, anticipating that new agenda, have produced a thoughtful and urgent manifesto for the recovery of the biblical Jubilee as a model for the dramatic changes required of us if we are to rise to this challenge.”

The Fall of the Prison

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Armed only with the relentless logic of the gospel, Lee Griffith unmasks the whole system of revenge that masquerades as 'correctional' institutions. His call for an end to imprisonment, so seemingly fantastic at first, builds to stark realism. And catch the surprise ending!”

The Fourth Gospel and Its Predecessor

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This work is precise, persuasively argued, and most important of all, does something that no previous study has done. John's Gospel seems to have dropped from the sky, and has long perplexed even the ablest exegetes. Fortna has scarcely resolved all its enigmas, but by driving a wedge between John and its predecessor, he is able to open a space for interpretation that casts light on a multitude of otherwise intractable problems. It is in that sense a fundamental piece of original scholarly research.”

The Idols of Death and the God of Life

Theology

“There is a seismic shift taking place in the foundations of theology, and its epicenter is Latin America. Liberation theology is no fad, but a revolution in the very terms of theological work. It locates the ultimate questions not in meaning but survival; not feeling justified but in doing justice; not in belief in God but in the critique of idolatry; not in theodicy but anthropodicy; not in spiritualism but in the spirituality of the material; and most important least understood and observed of all, not in idealist theorizing but in historical praxis. Even where their way is not our way, we need to listen to what they have learned. These essays make an excellent listening-post.”

The War on Terrorism and the Terror of God

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“This book was already in production when the events of September 11, 2001, took place. It is as if Lee Griffith saw it all coming and wrote this thoroughgoing study of terrorism and its antidote, nonviolence, in anticipation of the worldwide terrorist campaign and the ill-conceived counterviolence of the great powers. His timing could scarcely have been more providential, or our debt greater.”

Transforming Bible Study

Discipleship & Christian Education

“While in one sense (this book) is simply a how-to book, it is also a satchel bomb packed with high explosives. You can scarcely try this mode of group study without being forced to change....It is intended only for those who want to be transformed and to work toward transformation with others.”

War Against the Poor

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Once in a while a book comes along that you wish you could force every newspaper correspondent and editor, every politician, every voter; and above all, every Christian to read. This is one.”