Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse6 reviews Philip J. Greven Vintage, 1992 Spare the Child + Deserves a wide audience + Fascinating book!! + A must read + This book really opened my eyes!             Power in the Blood?: The Cross in the African American Experience (Bishop Henry Mcneal Turner/Sojourner Truth ...2 reviews Joanne Marie Terrell Orbis Books, 1998 This book is a food for thought when we are in pain + Insightful theology in light of African American experience on one of theology's enduring questions This is a must read for anybody under going any kind of pain and suffering. It is very important to believe in something strongly either God or medical treatment and firmly stick to it. It is amazing how Africian Americans strongly beleived in God , despite the dreadfully life in American. It ...             What Rough Beast?: Images of God in the Hebrew Bible4 reviews David Penchansky Westminster John Knox Press, 1999 A frank engagement with oft-neglected biblical texts + God, it seems as if you never really knew him... In this very readable (but not very comfortable!) book, Penchansky carefully examines five less-frequently-read biblical narratives: God's nocturnal attack on Moses in Exodus 4; God's outbursts against Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10) and Uzzah (2 Samuel 6); King David's fatal census (2 Samuel 24); ...             Cross Examinations: Readings on the Meaning of the Cross Today2 reviews Fortress Press, 2006 a must-have for serious students of theology I find this book to be scholarly and profound--well-written and above all, interesting. Just what we have been looking for in a world where "the cross" means a thousand different things.             The Passion of the Lord: African American Reflections (Facets) (Facets)1 review Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2005 Passionate Book This is a wonderful collection of essays of African American responses to Mel Gibson's _The Passion of the Christ_. Essayists, including JoAnne Terrell and Demetrius Williams, demonstrate how black women and men can make sense of the connections between the violence committed against Christ and ...             Past Event and Present Salvation: The Christian Idea of Atonement1 review Paul S. Fiddes Westminster John Knox Press, 1989 Clear discussion of the basic question of how Jesus saves As a Christian campus minister, I often hear students' questions about salvation. "What is salvation?" "How does Jesus save?" "How can something that happened 2000 years ago affect me now?" "What does it mean that Jesus died for my sins, and he could he have when I wasn't even around then?" ...             Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament & Contemporary Contexts6 reviews Joel B. Green, Mark D. Baker InterVarsity Press, 2000 There is so much more! + A much needed book in the discussion of the atonement + Good news about the Good News This book gave me a glimpse of a bigger cross than the one I learned in church. As a pastor, I am embarrassed at how long I described the work of Jesus on the cross as merely Jesus taking the punishment I deserve. Jesus came to rescue the broken, not just pay an overdue bill. My ...             The Dark Side of Christian History95 reviews Helen Ellerbe Morningstar Books, 1995 Naming the sin indeed + The Bright Truth Behind the Dark Side I flew through this amazingly interesting book and am sure that the majority of conservative Christians will be upset or at least frustrated by its clear presentation of Christian historical wrongdoings. It will make some fundamentalists shake with fear as it demonstrates to us that Christianity ...             Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus3 reviews Stephen J. Patterson Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004 A Study Group Reads Beyond the Passion. Twelve of us gather once a month, for three hours, for a study of recent books interpreting Scripture. We've just finished Beyond the Passion in 5 sessions. Each chapter was thought provoking and full of insights. We agreed it was an excellent text because it gave new meaning to our ...             The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love133 reviews John Shelby Spong HarperOne, 2006 A Must-Read for every Christian who loves Jesus + Sins oF Scripture + The Sins of Scripture I just finished reading this book. Okay, I am going to be as honest as possible. Bishop Spong goes through all the passages of the bible that have been used by fundamentalist right-wing Christianity and the Catholic Church to oppress, kill, and hate. Entire chapters are dedicated to the biblical ...             A Violent God-Image5 reviews Matthias Beier Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006 A fascinating read! + Not for the fainted of heart + Continuum Publications dares to permit an unorthodox approach to the Christian message. + How my cat started to love Eugen Drewerman ... + Drewermann shows the emperor is naked             The Lost Message of Jesus10 reviews Steve Chalke, Alan Mann Zondervan, 2004 The Message of Jesus in the Gospels + A Redemptive & Not Condeming Jesus The Lost Message of Jesus (TLMOJ) was assigned as a text for a seminary course I am taking on "Kingdom, Church and World." This book earns a rating of 4 stars because of its straightforward content and overall approachability. Throughout the book Chalke focuses on the biblical concept of the ...             Options on Atonement in Christian Thought (Michael Glazier Books)2 reviews Stephen Finlan Liturgical Press, 2007 Updated, improved version of excellent book + Saving Power of the Death of Jesus Stephen Finlan is a researcher for the Ancient Christian Commentary Series (IVP) and teaches also New Testament at Drew University. His 2004 dissertation on Pauline theology focussed on atonement and gave birth to a less scholarly version, his book Problems With Atonement, 2005. The present book ...             Embracing Travail: Retrieving the Cross Today4 reviews Cynthia S. W. Crysdale Continuum, 2001 A Splendid Discussion on the Meaning of the Cross of Christ + revelatory and insightful + Understanding the Paradox + Approaching the cross as both a crucifier and as crucified             Stricken by God?: Nonviolent Indentification and the Victory of Christ20 reviews Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007 liberalism repackaged This book is a weak attempt to undermine the biblical teaching about Christ's work on the cross. The authors clearly dislike what the Scriptures teach about the atonement, and many of attempt to build a theology of the cross that has little reference to the NT. Stott's book, "The Cross of ...             Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible And the Quran7 reviews Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005 Great book discussing the violence of "sacred" texts + 'preaching to the choir'? + Challenging the easy acceptance of sacred texts. + Honest Look At the Violence Within Religion + Hoisted by his own petard             Discovering Girard1 review Michael Kirwan Cowley Publications, 2005 Excellent I really appreciated the readability of this book. In a field crowded with overly-technical jargon Michael Kirwan lays out the theology of Rene Girard in a way that anyone can grasp and appreciate. An excellent introduction.             Broken Yet Beloved: A Pastoral Theology of the Cross Sharon G. Thornton Chalice Press, 2002 In this remarkable application of a theology of the cross to pastoral care, Sharon Thornton shows that while suffering may seem to be our birthright, not all suffering is inevitable. The wounds society collectively inflicts on people over time, both intentional and through indifference to one another, challenge us the most and have been addressed the least by pastoral theologians-injuries such as ...             Cross Purposes: The Violent Grammar of Christian Atonement3 reviews Anthony Bartlett Trinity Press International, 2001 A provocative, relevant reading of the cross + a pastor's perspective + Compelling Reading for Christians and Non-Christians Alike Cross Purposes is an important book in the continuing conversation about the saving significance of Jesus' death. Surveying historical thinking on atonement, the book unearths the traces of sacralized violence in atonement thinking. The book offers a helpful critique of Anselm and his followers, ...             The Cross in Our Context: Jesus and the Suffering World4 reviews Douglas John Hall Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2003 The Cross in Our Context + This is a fantastic book + solid Rarely would a book as scholarly as Hall's The Cross in Our Context be labelled "accessible", but this one is. You need not have read widely in theology to understand his arguments and appreciate his writing. Hall here lays bare the cancer that has eaten the modern Western church from within over ...