DOCSLIB.ORG

B O O K C L U B

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
B O O K C L U B THE B O O K C L U B WINTER 2013 Selection Savings Service ◆ Inside & Online Acts: Zondervan The Mishnah Exegetical Translated by Commentary Herbert Danby Now in softcov- Eckhard Schnabel er! A touchstone doc - “This new series is win- ument for under- ning widespread praise as standing the devel- having the best layout of opment of Jud aism any recent commentary. It and the background will be of tremendous value to early Chris tianity. to preachers,”—Preaching. Com pleted around The authors carefully follow 200 C.E., the Mish - the argument of the Greek nah is the written text in a straightforward, form of the oral acces sible, noncontroversial law, summarizing way, so anyone who does expository preaching has just the nearly four cen- kind of information he needs. turies of Jewish Each of the seven sections is concise and to the point: thought and prac- literary context; main idea; translation (and graphical lay- tices. Sec tions deal out); structure; exegetical outline; explanation of the text; with family life, theology in action. On controversial passages, the author holiday obser- states his own opinion as well as lists other options and vances, civil and criminal law, agri- viewpoints. culture, ceremonial rituals, and much more. One of its Key terms are defined; the diagrams are easy to follow; most important books, Pirke Aboth (Ethics of the Fathers), unusual grammatical constructions are succinctly ex - contains famous quotations from ancient Jewish scholars plained. Indeed, the whole series is designed as if you were and rabbis. in the classroom and an outstanding teacher were walking The Mishnah can be compared to the Apocrypha, the you through the text. 1040 pages, hardcover. Pseudepigrapha, the writings of Josephus, and the Dead Eckhard Schnabel is professor of New Testament at Sea Scrolls in terms of its significance for understanding Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, the first two centuries of the Common Era. having previously taught in Germany and the Philippines. “Danby has given to the world a great piece of work for CJ243670 Retail $59.99 . .RBC Price $33.49 which, at any rate, the English-speaking peoples must be Also in the series: profoundly grateful; it is not the kind of book that will go CJ243571 Matthew, Grant R. Osborne . .49.99 31.49 out of date,”—Church Quarterly Review. “A monumental CJ243595 Luke, David Garland . .49.99 34.99 work,”—Jewish Chronicle. 880 pages. Hendrickson. CJ243724 Ga la tians, Thomas R. Schreiner . .34.99 22.99 Herbert Danby (1889–1953) served as canon of St. CJ243731 Ephesians, Clinton E. Arnold . .36.99 24.49 George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem before becoming profes- CJ243953 Colossians & Philemon, sor of Hebrew at Oxford. He is best known for his transla- David W. Pao . .36.99 20.49 tions. CJ243960 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Gary S. Shogren . .32.99 18.49 CJ569025 Retail $79.95 . .RBC Price $39.99 CJ244028 James, Craig L. Blomberg & “A monumental work,”—Jewish Chronicle: Mariam J. Kamell . .24.99 16.49 CJ5402X Hardcover . .299.00 253.49 Spurgeon’s Sermons, SAVE 5 Volumes $ In the 19th century, Spurgeon was the pastor- 115500 evangelist of the 6,000-seat Metro politan Temple in Lon don, the largest congregation in the world. He had a gift for originality, commented on the events of his times, and exhibited a strong social conscience. Here are 250 of his best sermons! Includes topical and Scripture indices. 4328 pages total, five hardcovers. Hendrick son. CJ568325 Retail $200.00 . .RBC Price $49.99 Shorter topical collections of his preaching: CJ560549 Sermons on Jesus and the Holy Spirit . .24.95 12.99 CJ563542 Sermons on the Last Days . .24.95 12.99 Spurgeon’s vivid devotional writing: CJ06259 The Treasury of David (Psalms), 3 Volumes . .69.95 34.99 Product stock numbers in GREEN qualify for free shipping to addresses in the U.S. Just select Standard or UPS Ground shipping. The Zondervan Pastor’s 22001133 AAnnnnuuaallss Annual, 2013 Edition with CD-ROM T.T. Crabtree Whether you’re looking for GREETINGS FROM sermon ideas or help in putting HE ELIGIOUS OOK LUB together a Bible study, this handy T R B C resource could become your new To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, Of the making of lists best friend! Packed with valu- there seems to be no end. One of the latest entries is 25 able suggestions, Crabtree’s Books Every Christian Should Read by the renowned spir- perennial classic supplies itual writer Richard Foster and his Renovaré group. you with weekly morning I always enjoy perusing annotated bibliographies and evening services, fully indexed sermon topics and and recommended reading lists to see whether my texts, fresh illustrations, hymn selections, celebrations tastes agree with the author’s, or whether he mentions a for special days, and more. 432 pages, softcover with title I hadn’t been aware of. Of course, everybody has companion CD-ROM. his own peculiar slant. Some prefer the encyclopedic CJ493945 Retail $22.99 . .RBC Price $14.99 and objective; others, the readable and balanced; still others, the opinionated and provocative. The Episcopal Church As a pastor, have you ever challenged your congrega- tion to consider reading a few of your 10 favorite books? Annual, 2012 Edition As a religious educator, do you hand out a reading list Catch up on the latest for those who want to study further? Such tasks may changes in the Episcopal Church seem more appropriate for students in seminary, but with this comprehensive refer- you might be encouraging some other eager researcher! ence work. There are listings for We at Religious Book Club feature a broad spectrum parishes, clergy, schools, camps, of Chris tian viewpoints as well as related books on conference centers, religious ancient Mesopotamian history, other world religions, orders, institutions, organiza- top-notch fiction, and solid reference works. And we tions, special ministries, church encourage you to rate them. Your evaluations are much- periodicals, and biographies of welcomed on our website. recently consecrated bishops. 520 pages, hardcover. Morehouse. CJ231635 Retail $40.00 . .RBC Price $29.99 The Religious Book Club is a division of The Abingdon Preaching Christian Book Distributors. Annual, 2013 Edition David N. Mosser ABLE OF ONTENTS Busy pastors agree—this is T C one resource that’s indispens- able! Continuing the tradition of Advent & Christmas . .3–5 solid biblical scholarship, the Annuals & Calendars . .2–4, 37 2013 edition provides a year’s Art & Architecture . .37 worth of lectionary-based ser- Bargains & Winter Specials . .34, 35, 64 mons for Sundays and special Bestsellers . .8, 9 liturgical events; commentary on Bibles . .17–19, 24, 43, 44, 54–57, 64 lectionary texts; 15 topical ser- Biographies . .4, 28, 29, 41, 47, 48 Catholicism . .43 mon series on diverse themes including missions, mod- Church History . .3, 20, 34, 43–47, 55, 62, 64 ern families, and life in the Holy Spirit; a guide to litur- Commentaries . .1, 6–16, 21, 22, 25, 52, 58, 61, 64 gical colors; and more. 448 pages, softcover. Devotionals . .3–5, 7, 11, 54, 58 CJ741364 Retail $24.99 . .RBC Price $15.99 Eastern Orthodoxy . .44 Also available: Issues & Ethics . .34, 39 CJ746796 The Abingdon Worship Annual, 2013 Edition, Jesus . .6, 26, 58 Mary J. Scifres & B.J. Beu . .p 23.99 15.49 Judaism . .2, 24, 25 Language Resources . .17–19 Liturgy & Worship . .7, 35, 55 Nelson’s Annual Media Resources & Curriculums . .5, 17, 30, 36, 38, Preacher’s Sourcebook 50, 51, 55, 59 Edited by Kent Spann, Music . .37 David Wheeler New Releases . .6, 7 New Testament Studies . .22, 23, 35 & O.S. Hawkins Old Testament Studies . .20, 21, 35 Nelson’s Preacher’s Sourcebook Ordering Information . .32, 33 was issued as an annual from Paul . .23, 27 2002 to 2009, but starting in Philosophy . .30, 31 2010 it began focusing on special Popular Authors . .41, 42, 63 topics. It features that same Prayer . .54 wealth of sermons, outlines, il- Preaching, Pastoral & Church Resources . 2, 6–9, 34, lustrations, quotes, inspirational 48–50 thoughts, and worship ideas, including hymns and Reference Works . .18, 35, 52, 53, 64 prayers. You’ll refer to it often. Softcovers. Science & Religion . .30, 31, 34 CJ675714 Volume 2 . .p 24.99 16.49 Software . .36 CJ548961 Volume 1 . .p 24.99 16.99 Spirituality . .58, 59 Theology . .6, 35, 60–63 World Religions . .30, 38 Writers & Literature . .8, 40, 42 QUALITY • SELECTION • VALUE We have more than 430,000 products available on our website—at great prices! Product stock numbers in GREEN qualify for free Come visit us at shipping to addresses in the U.S. Just select Standard or UPS Ground shipping. Religiousbookclub.com 2 Orders & Customer Service: 1-800-CHRISTIAN (1-800-247-4784). Peaceful Nativity— Advent Calendar AAddvveenntt && CChhrriissttmmaass Why not get the whole fam- ily involved in preparation for and celebration in Christ’s birth The Journey with this ingenious calendar? Walking the Road Children can open one window to Bethlehem for each day. What a wonderful Adam Hamilton time to talk about the meaning of Just as Adam Hamilton’s 24 God’s gift to the human race, the Hours That Changed the World in - sending of his Son in the form of troduced us to the life-changing the baby Jesus! Depicts shepherds implications of Jesus’ death and wise men surrounding the manger. 8éüï¤ x 11äüï¤. and resurrection, so he here CJ105164 . .RBC Price $2.99 brings out the true meaning Also available as a mailable Christmas card: of the nativity and incarna- CJ105184 Greeting Card Advent Calendar . 2.49 tion. Join him as he visits sites in the Holy Land where the first Christmas took place.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • On Ways of Studying Tolkien: Notes Toward a Better (Epic) Fantasy Criticism
    Journal of Tolkien Research Volume 9 Issue 1 Article 2 2020 On Ways of Studying Tolkien: Notes Toward a Better (Epic) Fantasy Criticism Dennis Wilson Wise University of Arizona, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, and the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Wise, Dennis Wilson (2020) "On Ways of Studying Tolkien: Notes Toward a Better (Epic) Fantasy Criticism," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol9/iss1/2 This Peer-Reviewed Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Christopher Center Library at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Tolkien Research by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Wise: On Ways of Studying Tolkien INTRODUCTION We are currently living a golden age for Tolkien Studies. The field is booming: two peer-reviewed journals dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien alone, at least four journals dedicated to the Inklings more generally, innumerable society newsletters and bulletins, and new books and edited collections every year. And this only encompasses the Tolkien work in English. In the last two decades, specifically since 2000, the search term “Tolkien” pulls up nearly 1,200 hits on the MLA International Bibliography. For comparison, C. S. Lewis places a distant second at fewer than 900 hits, but even this number outranks the combined hits on Ursula K.
    [Show full text]
  • Tolkien's Women: the Medieval Modern in the Lord of the Rings
    Tolkien’s Women: The Medieval Modern in The Lord of the Rings Jon Michael Darga Tolkien’s Women: The Medieval Modern in The Lord of the Rings by Jon Michael Darga A thesis presented for the B.A. degree with Honors in The Department of English University of Michigan Winter 2014 © 2014 Jon Michael Darga For my cohort, for the support and for the laughter Acknowledgements My thanks go, first and foremost, to my advisor Andrea Zemgulys. She took a risk agreeing to work with a student she had never met on a book she had no academic experience in, and in doing so she gave me the opportunity of my undergraduate career. Andrea knew exactly when to provide her input and when it was best to prod and encourage me and then step out of the way; yet she was always there if I needed her, and every book that she recommended opened up a significant new argument that changed my thesis for the better. The independence and guidance she gave me has resulted in a project I am so, so proud of, and so grateful to her for. I feel so lucky to have had an advisor who could make me laugh while telling me how badly my thesis needed work, who didn’t judge me when I came to her sleep-deprived or couldn’t express myself, and who shared my passion through her willingness to join and guide me on this ride. Her constant encouragement kept me going. I also owe a distinct debt of gratitude to Gillian White, who led my cohort during the fall semester.
    [Show full text]
  • TOLKIEN‟S the SILMARILLION: a REEXAMINATION of PROVIDENCE by David C. Powell a Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Dorothy
    TOLKIEN‟S THE SILMARILLION: A REEXAMINATION OF PROVIDENCE by David C. Powell A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 2009 Copyright by David C. Powell ii ABSTRACT Author: David C. Powell Title: Tolkien‟s The Silmarillion: A Reexamination of Providence Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Thomas Martin Degree Master of Arts Year 2009 Christian providence in the primary (real) world operates as the model for the spiritual movement of Eru/Illuvatar in Tolkien‟s secondary (imaginative) world. Paralleling the Christian God, Illuvatar maintains a relationship with his creation through a three-fold activity: preservation, concurrence, and government. Preservation affirms Eru‟s sovereignty as Creator, and concurrence guarantees creaturely freedom, while paradoxically, government controls, guides, and determines those wills in Time. The union of these three activities comprises the providential relationship of Illuvatar in Tolkien‟s imaginary world. The following thesis endeavors to carry the argument for providence into The Silmarillion with a declarative and analytical detail that distinguishes Illuvatar‟s providence from other temporal manifestations. Finally, the analysis reveals not only the author‟s authentic orthodox perspective, but Illuvatar‟s role in the imaginative world emerges as a reflection of Tolkien‟s authorial role in the real world. iv TOLKIEN‟S THE SILMARILLION: A REEXAMINATION OF PROVIDENCE ABBREVIATIONS . .vi INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER ONE: PRESERVATION . 7 CHAPTER TWO: CONCURRENCE . 17 CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT . 50 WORKS CITED . 66 NOTES . .71 v ABBREVIATIONS Aspects “Aspects of the Fall in The Silmarillion.” Eric Schweicher.
    [Show full text]
  • The Existence of Religious Figures in J.R.R. Tolkien's the Silmarillion
    [ VOLUME 5 I ISSUE 4 I OCT.– DEC. 2018] E ISSN 2348 –1269, PRINT ISSN 2349-5138 The Existence of Religious Figures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit N. Ravikumar1 & Dr. R. Chandrasekar2 & M. Selvam3 1PhD Research Scholar, Department of English, Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore- 641020. 2Associate Professor and Head, Department of English, Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College Of Arts and Science, Coimbatore- 641020. 3Assistant Professor of English, Department of English, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Educational Research Institute For Agricultural Education and Research, Coimbatore- 641020. Received: July 16, 2018 Accepted: August 27, 2018 ABSTRACT John Ronald Reuel Tolkien stands as the best selling fantasy novelists in twentieth- century literature. His major works are The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. This paper primarily focuses on religious figures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. The religious figures at first glance, to play only a background role in the text’s narrative structure. However, their significance extends far beyond merely affecting the plot. There is a clear alignment between Tolkien’s real-life views and the qualities represented by his women characters. They draw attention to by depicting as powerful and wise. Tolkien was greatly influenced by the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th-century, which sought to provide a greater cultural emphasis on all forms of artistry and nature and a reduced emphasis on mechanized industry. Although this movement ended at the beginning of the 20th-century, branches of it continued, arguing that the correct sense of artistry and spirituality could be found by looking back to medieval England and that these qualities could be used to help heal the modern ravaged and industrialized country.
    [Show full text]
  • Clashing Perspectives of World Order in JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth
    ABSTRACT Fate, Providence, and Free Will: Clashing Perspectives of World Order in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth Helen Theresa Lasseter Mentor: Ralph C. Wood, Ph.D. Through the medium of a fictional world, Tolkien returns his modern audience to the ancient yet extremely relevant conflict between fate, providence, and the person’s freedom before them. Tolkien’s expression of a providential world order to Middle-earth incorporates the Northern Germanic cultures’ literary depiction of a fated world, while also reflecting the Anglo-Saxon poets’ insight that a single concept, wyrd, could signify both fate and providence. This dissertation asserts that Tolkien, while acknowledging as correct the Northern Germanic conception of humanity’s final powerlessness before the greater strength of wyrd as fate, uses the person’s ultimate weakness before wyrd as the means for the vindication of providence. Tolkien’s unique presentation of world order pays tribute to the pagan view of fate while transforming it into a Catholic understanding of providence. The first section of the dissertation shows how the conflict between fate and providence in The Silmarillion results from the elvish narrator’s perspective on temporal events. Chapter One examines the friction between fate and free will within The Silmarillion and within Tolkien’s Northern sources, specifically the Norse Eddas, the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf, and the Finnish The Kalevala. Chapter Two shows that Tolkien, following Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, presents Middle-earth’s providential order as including fated elements but still allowing for human freedom. The second section shows how The Lord of the Rings reflects but resolves the conflict in The Silmarillion between fate, providence, and free will.
    [Show full text]
  • The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien's Middle Earth Woody Wendling Temple University
    Inklings Forever Volume 5 A Collection of Essays Presented at the Fifth Frances White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Article 16 Friends 6-2006 The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien's Middle Earth Woody Wendling Temple University Follow this and additional works at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Wendling, Woody (2006) "The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien's Middle Earth," Inklings Forever: Vol. 5 , Article 16. Available at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever/vol5/iss1/16 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis & Friends at Pillars at Taylor University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Inklings Forever by an authorized editor of Pillars at Taylor University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INKLINGS FOREVER, Volume V A Collection of Essays Presented at the Fifth FRANCES WHITE COLLOQUIUM on C.S. LEWIS & FRIENDS Taylor University 2006 Upland, Indiana The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien’s Middle Earth Woody Wendling Wendling, Woody. “The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.” Inklings Forever 5 (2006) www.taylor.edu/cslewis The Quest for Pity and Mercy in Tolkien’s Middle Earth Woody Wendling As a lover of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The kill Gollum, or at the very least to blind him. But then, Lord of the Rings, I would like to muse briefly on the “A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, books’ theme of pity and mercy, in particular that welled up in Bilbo’s heart.” Bilbo’s pity stayed his shown by Bilbo and Frodo.
    [Show full text]
  • Tolkien's Women: the Medieval Modern in the Lord of the Rings
    Tolkien’s Women: The Medieval Modern in The Lord of the Rings Jon Michael Darga Tolkien’s Women: The Medieval Modern in The Lord of the Rings by Jon Michael Darga A thesis presented for the B.A. degree with Honors in The Department of English University of Michigan Winter 2014 © 2014 Jon Michael Darga For my cohort, for the support and for the laughter Acknowledgements My thanks go, first and foremost, to my advisor Andrea Zemgulys. She took a risk agreeing to work with a student she had never met on a book she had no academic experience in, and in doing so she gave me the opportunity of my undergraduate career. Andrea knew exactly when to provide her input and when it was best to prod and encourage me and then step out of the way; yet she was always there if I needed her, and every book that she recommended opened up a significant new argument that changed my thesis for the better. The independence and guidance she gave me has resulted in a project I am so, so proud of, and so grateful to her for. I feel so lucky to have had an advisor who could make me laugh while telling me how badly my thesis needed work, who didn’t judge me when I came to her sleep-deprived or couldn’t express myself, and who shared my passion through her willingness to join and guide me on this ride. Her constant encouragement kept me going. I also owe a distinct debt of gratitude to Gillian White, who led my cohort during the fall semester.
    [Show full text]
  • Tolkien's Mythic Meaning
    TOLKIEN’S MYTHIC MEANING: THE READER’S ONTOLOGICAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2020 Quinn A J Gervel School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Research carried out at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 2 Abbreviations of Tolkien Works ........................................................................................ 4 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 5 Declaration ........................................................................................................................ 6 Copyright Statement .......................................................................................................... 7 Dedication ......................................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Sub-Creativity and Ontological Experience .................................................... 27 Introduction.........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Wisdom of Weakness: the Coronavirus and the Cross
    Volume 49 Number 1 Article 2 September 2020 The Wisdom of Weakness: The Coronavirus and the Cross Justin Bailey Dordt University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Bailey, Justin (2020) "The Wisdom of Weakness: The Coronavirus and the Cross," Pro Rege: Vol. 49: No. 1, 2 - 5. Available at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege/vol49/iss1/2 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pro Rege by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Wisdom of Weakness: The Coronavirus and the Cross bitter taste in our mouths. We have done our best to honor your great achievements on this day. But how we wish you were here in person, crammed to- gether on this stage, with beloved classmates wait- ing for your name to be called and loved ones wait- ing to cheer. We still celebrate you as emphatically as we can. But this, my friends, is not the way it’s supposed to be. In the face of all the sickness and suffering, it can feel wrong to name our smaller griefs: the loss of capstone experiences that cannot be replicated online; senior seasons cut short; the sudden real- ization that a chapter has ended without offering by Justin Bailey you the usual rites of closure; the absence of friends close at hand as you, armed with coffee and memes, Graduates of Dordt University, President confronted your final week of finals; the release of Hoekstra and members of the board, faculty, staff, taking that last exam and physically walking out of parents, alumni, friends, and family: the classroom for the last time.
    [Show full text]
  • Language by Tolkien
    Jonathan G. Reinhardt Language by Tolkien n the late 1990s, the British writer and scholar conceptions of art is—how could it be other- I J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy The Lord of the wise?—nevertheless vital. Humphrey Carpenter Rings was polled “book of the century” by the published the hitherto unsurpassed authoritative English public on four different occasions. Soon biography Tolkien in 1977 (now HarperCollins, after, the 2001 movie version of the first part, The 2002), and offered ingress to the writer’s mind. Fellowship of the Ring, and the 2002 follow-up of Although born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, the second, The Two Towers, created an even and descended from a German family (“Tolkien” greater resurgence of mass appeal for the fantasy is a dialect variant of “tollkühn,” daftly un- epic which had first gained world-wide daunted), J. R. R. T. understood himself quintessen- readership in the 1960s. Despite consistent tially a rural Englishman. His mother’s family, the disparagement by some “serious” critics, Tolkien Suffields of Evesham, had inhabited the West Mid- stands firmly among the ubiquitous authors. lands for time immemorial. Similar to Tolkien’s For most of his lifetime, John Ronald Reuel somewhat-contemporary A. E. Housman’s poetic Tolkien (1892-1973) was known mainly as a affection for nearby Shropshire, it is from the gifted but obscure Oxford philologist and Old Warwick- and Worcestershire country that the English scholar who had rekindled interest in learned author drew his sense of identity: Tolkien important Old and Middle English texts such as told that his “halflings” were in a sense a reflec- Beowulf.
    [Show full text]
  • Tolkien and the Adventure of Discipleship: Imaginative Resources for a Missional Ecclesiology
    CANADIAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW | 2014 c Volume 3 • Issue 2 Tolkien and the Adventure of Discipleship: Imaginative Resources for a Missional Ecclesiology Robert J. Dean Tyndale Seminary Abstract Ecclesiology seems to be an area of perennial struggle for evangelicals. In the current Canadian context this struggle is intensified by the crumbling of Christendom and the pressures of late modernity. This essay argues that the Middle-earth litera- ture of J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) provides an important resource for imagining a missional eccle- siology that transcends the strictures of a Christendom mindset and faithfully resists the bifurcating logic of late-modernity. Leveraging the motif of the adventure of discipleship allows for the theological recovery of the unity of the identity and mission of the church and provides suggestive pathways towards the cul- tivation of a renewed evangelical ecclesiological vision. “The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was, is lost, for none now live who remember it.”1 These words pronounced by Lady Galadriel at the beginning of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings could also be appropriated as an expression of the uncertainty experienced by Canadian pastors and church leaders as they are confronted by the end of Christendom. This confounding set of circumstances has caused resignation and despair among some pastors and Christian leaders. Others have responded by frantically scrambling for the newest program or method that promises to reinvigorate their flagging congregations, while others have been driven back to the theological foundations of the church in order to re-consider questions surrounding ecclesial identity and mission.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cruciform Pulpit - Preaching Toward a Robust Theology of the Cross
    The Cruciform Pulpit - Preaching Toward a Robust Theology of the Cross by John Randolph Lucas II Date: ___4/15/2020___ Approved: _________________________ Dr. Susan Eastman, 1st Reader _________________________ Dr. Curtis Freeman, 2nd Reader __________________________ Bishop William Willimon, D.Min. Director Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in the Divinity School of Duke University 2020 Abstract The Cruciform Pulpit - Preaching Toward a Robust Theology of the Cross by John Randolph Lucas II Date: _____________________4/15/2020 Approved: ___________________________ Dr. Susan Eastman, 1st Reader ___________________________ Dr. Curtis Freeman, 2nd Reader ___________________________ Bishop William Willimon, D.Min. Director An abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in the Divinity School of Duke University 2020 Copyright by John Randolph Lucas II 2020 Abstract This thesis project focuses on preaching a robust theology of the cross. This work was born out of a desire to envision and enable preaching shaped by a theology of the cross that acknowledges historic theologies of the atonement, while also being informed by contemporary voices that have served to broaden the church’s understanding of God’s saving act through the cross of Jesus Christ. A robust theology of the cross seeks to identify those aspects of atonement theologies that have been co-opted by oppressive power structures, recognizing the deeply problematic ways that theologies of the cross have supported the oppression of the weakest and most vulnerable among us. This project seeks to bring voices into the conversation that have often been marginalized in hopes of a more inclusive and faithful theology of the cross.
    [Show full text]