Grasping this vision honored by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike includes recognizing the dangers of zealous violence, the illusions of current crusading, and the promise of peaceful coexistence under international law.

In Between Two Gardens, theologian and ethicist James B. Nelson seeks to stimulate a further reexamination of human sexuality and the Christian experience. Here he continues to explore concerns posed in his earlier work, Embodiment. Traditionally, the relationship between religion and spirituality has reflected this one-dimensional question: What does faith say about human sexuality? Nelson, however, takes a different tack and asks more pertinently: What does sexuality say about faith--theology, scripture, tradition, and the meaning of the gospel? With this more existential perspective in mind, he explores a wide range of sexual and medical issues. Nelson discusses men's liberation; sexuality in Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant interpretations; religious and moral questions of professionals working with homosexual counselees; singleness of the church; the family; and attitudes toward abortion. Reflecting on these topics, he writes out of a healthy conviction that the process of integrating human sexuality and the life of faith is an important journey.

Since 1940, Captain America has battled his enemies in the name of American values, and as those values have changed over time, so has Captain America’s character. Because the comic book world fosters a close fan–creator dialogue, creators must consider their ever-changing readership. Comic book artists must carefully balance storyline continuity with cultural relevance. Captain America’s seventy-year existence spans from World War II through the Cold War to the American War on Terror; beginning as a soldier unopposed to offensive attacks against foreign threats, he later becomes known as a defender whose only weapon is his iconic shield. In this way, Captain America reflects America’s need to renegotiate its social contract and reinvent its national myths and cultural identity, all the while telling stories proclaiming an eternal and unchanging spirit of America. In Captain America, Masculinity, and Violence, Stevens reveals how the comic book hero has evolved to maintain relevance to America’s fluctuating ideas of masculinity, patriotism, and violence. Stevens outlines the history of Captain America’s adventures and places the unfolding storyline in dialogue with the comic book industry as well as America’s varying political culture. Stevens shows that Captain America represents the ultimate American story: permanent enough to survive for nearly seventy years with a history fluid enough to be constantly reinterpreted to meet the needs of an ever-changing culture.

What do the gospels contribute to our understanding of nonviolent versus violent means of conflict resolution? Many biblical scholars contend that the gospels have little to say on this subject. Others seek answers in ethical principles found in Jesus's teachings, which may or may not be interpreted as accepting or rejecting violence. In Nonviolent Story Robert Beck proposes a new way of reading the Gospel of Mark, one that points to a challenging message of nonviolent resistance as reflected in the story of Jesus's life and ministry. According to narrative analysis, the message of the Gospel is found in the structure of the story itself. Beck contends that the narrative form of Mark's gospel portrays Jesus as a protagonist who does not avoid conflict, but enters into it without himself resorting to violence. He thus serves as a model of the nonviolent resistance that inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. By using literary analysis to explore Mark's gospel, Beck opens up a counter-story that challenges the prevailing American cultural myth of constructive violence. Beck uses the Western tales of Louis L'Amour as the narrative essence of this pop mythology--and the total opposite of the story told by Mark.