In this book Lisa Bowens and Dennis R. Edwards collate a virtual manifesto on the way the Bible serves as inspiration, theological grist, and even the language needed to be the change to people of good faith everywhere. The authors of this book challenge the forces of racism that are so deeply entrenched in church and society today offering prophetic insight into Black resilience and the historic and ongoing importance of Scripture to that resilience. The authors also forefront the significance of Scripture to the Black struggle for justice by bringing together here prominent, gifted Black scholars in biblical studies, ethics, history, and theology, as their work and writing contribute so much to the ongoing struggle against injustice. The book will offer both biblical reflection celebrating an African American theological reading and a prophetic call to arms by means of sermons and other reflections. The book includes contributions from: Jaime L. Waters, Jennifer Kaalund, Angela Parker Reggie, Williams Antonia Daymond, Brian Bantum, Danjuma Gibson, David Daniels, Y. Joy Harris-Smith, Vince Bantu, Marcia Clarke, Valerie Landfair, Antipas Harris, Luke Powery, Efrem Smith, Donyelle McCray, Jamal-Dominique Hopkins.

Urban Apologetics examines the legitimate issues that Black communities have with Western Christianity and shows how the gospel of Jesus Christ—rather than popular, socioreligious alternatives—restores our identity. African Americans have long confronted the challenge of dignity destruction caused by white supremacy. While many have found meaning and restoration of dignity in the black church, others have found it in ethnocentric socioreligious groups and philosophies. These ideologies have grown and developed deep traction in the black community and beyond. Revisionist history, conspiracy theories, and misinformation about Jesus and Christianity are the order of the day. Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community. The book is divided into three main parts: Discussions on the unique context for urban apologetics so that you can better understand the cultural arguments against Christianity among the Black community. Detailed information on cults, religious groups, and ethnic identity groups that many urban evangelists encounter—such as the Nation of Islam, Kemetic spirituality, African mysticism, Hebrew Israelites, Black nationalism, and atheism. Specific tools for urban apologetics and community outreach. Ultimately, Urban Apologetics applies the gospel to black identity to show that Jesus is the only one who can restore it. This is an essential resource to equip those doing the work of ministry and apology in urban communities with the best available information.

"Ethiopia at the Crossroads celebrates the artistic traditions of Ethiopia from their origins to the present day, spanning over 1,700 years of history. Seated in the Horn of Africa between Europe and the Middle East, the country is an intersection of diverse climates, religions, and cultures. This landmark catalogue examines Ethiopian art as representative of the nation's notable history and demonstrates the enormous cultural significance of this often-overlooked African nation through the themes of cross-cultural exchange and the human role in the creation and movement of art objects. It features more than 250 images of objects including painted icons, illuminated manuscripts, coins, textiles, metalwork, and carved wooden crosses in addition to works by contemporary Ethiopian artists. Because the artistic production of Ethiopia is still relatively unknown to Western audiences, Ethiopia at the Crossroads provides an accessible overview of the history and culture of the region. The book includes a series of scholarly essays that expand upon the themes and historical moments of encounter between Ethiopia and surrounding cultures, as well as an illustrated checklist of objects in the exhibition and technical findings of the Walters conservation team"--

An examination of groups and individuals in Rome who were not Roman Catholic, or not born so. It demonstrates how other religions had a lasting impact on early modern Catholic institutions in Rome.

The church is a global body of believers called to grow in Christ. Yet too often, it privileges a few voices and ignores the practical dimensions of the faith. Offering a multi-denominational, multi-ethnic vision, this volume brings together biblical scholars, theologians, and practitioners from around the world to pursue a theology and praxis of spiritual formation for the global church.

In this vital transnational study, Kimberly D. Hill critically analyzes the colonial history of central Africa through the perspective of two African American missionaries: Alonzo Edmiston and Althea Brown Edmiston. The pair met and fell in love while working as a part of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission—an operation which aimed to support the people of the Congo Free State suffering forced labor and brutal abuses under Belgian colonial governance. They discovered a unique kinship amid the country's growing human rights movement and used their familiarity with industrial education, popularized by Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, as a way to promote Christianity and offer valuable services to local people. From 1902 through 1941, the Edmistons designed their mission projects to promote community building, to value local resources, and to incorporate the perspectives of the African participants. They focused on childcare, teaching, translation, construction, and farming—ministries that required constant communication with their Kuba neighbors. Hill concludes with an analysis of how the Edmistons' pedagogy influenced government-sponsored industrial schools in the Belgian Congo through the 1950s. A Higher Mission illuminates not only the work of African American missionaries—who are often overlooked and under-studied—but also the transnational implications of black education in the South. Significantly, Hill also addresses the role of black foreign missionaries in the early civil rights movement, an argument that suggests an underexamined connection between earlier nineteenth-century Pan-Africanisms and activism in the interwar era.

Bringing practicality back to the work of forgiveness for counselors and pastors Much work in both academic and clinical counseling has focused on forgiveness and what, precisely, it means. We now know forgiveness offers both physical and psychological benefits. Yet despite all this exploration, most Christians are far from having a clear, consistent, theologically informed definition. Bryan Maier wants this conceptual ambiguity to end, especially for the pastor or counselor sitting across from a hurting person seeking immediate, practical help. The Christian counselor needs to be able to walk the client through the question, "Can forgiveness coexist with justice?" To this end, Maier examines current popular models of forgiveness, considering where they merge and diverge, and what merits each type of forgiveness has. He then delves directly into Scripture to discover the original model of God's forgiveness to humankind. From there, he builds a new construct of human forgiveness with practical guidance to help those in counseling understand the concept theologically. In doing so, he demonstrates that our understanding that forgiveness leads to healing is inverted; being whole leads to true forgiveness, not the other way around. Forgiveness and Justice is extremely useful for any practitioner needing to form a useful, theologically sound understanding of forgiveness for those who come for help.