Pietersen argues that for too long the Old Testament has been the primary source for Christian ethics and the letters of Paul for Christian discipleship. Without disparaging these sources the author suggests that the church in a postmodern, post-Christian society needs to look at Scripture with a different focus. This book seeks to examine what reading the Bible might look like in the current period when the church is no longer central and the Christian story is not well known. 'This is a provocative and refreshing exploration of the possibilities inherent i[1;5Cn reading Scripture from the margins, rather than from within the compromised and rapidly receding structures of Christendom. A worthy addition to the challenging After Christendom series, Lloyd Pietersen's thoughtful work moves the discussion forward in ways that are at times controversial, at other times stretching, but at all times constructive. Highly recommended!' - Brian Harris, Principal, Vose Seminary, Perth Australia

Pietersen argues that for too long the Old Testament has been the primary source for Christian ethics and the letters of Paul for Christian discipleship. Without disparaging these sources the author suggests that the church in a postmodern, post-Christian society needs to look at Scripture with a different focus. This book seeks to examine what reading the Bible might look like in the current period when the church is no longer central and the Christian story is not well known. 'This is a provocative and refreshing exploration of the possibilities inherent i[1;5Cn reading Scripture from the margins, rather than from within the compromised and rapidly receding structures of Christendom. A worthy addition to the challenging After Christendom series, Lloyd Pietersen's thoughtful work moves the discussion forward in ways that are at times controversial, at other times stretching, but at all times constructive. Highly recommended!' - Brian Harris, Principal, Vose Seminary, Perth Australia

At a time when the Western church is having to come to terms--painfully and often reluctantly--with its diminished social and intellectual status in the world following the collapse of Christendom, we find ourselves, as interpreters of Paul, increasingly impressed by the need to relocate his writings in their historical context. That is not a coincidence. The Future of the People of God is an attempt to make sense of Paul's letter to the Romans at the intersection of these two developments. It puts forward the argument that we must first have the courage of our historical convictions and read the text before Christendom, from the limited, shortsighted perspective of an emerging community that dared to defy the gods of the ancient world. This act of imaginative, critical engagement with the text will challenge many of our assumptions about Paul's "gospel of God," but it will also put us in a position to reconstruct an identity and purpose for the people of God after Christendom that is both biblically and historically coherent

Today, as Christendom weakens, worship and mission are poised to reunite after centuries of separation. But this requires the church to rethink both “mission” and “worship.” In post-Christendom mission, God is the main actor and God calls all Christians to participate. In post-Christendom worship, the church tells and celebrates the story of God, enabling members to live in hope and attract outsiders to its many tables of hospitality. In this passionate and thoughtful study, Alan Kreider and Eleanor Kreider draw upon missiology, liturgiology, biblical studies, church history, and the vast experience of today’s global Christian church-to say nothing of their long tenure as teachers and writers in contemporary England and the United States. Academically responsible but also practical and accessible, Worship and Mission After Christendom is a much-needed guide for people who take seriously God’s call to be the church in a world where institutional religion is no longer taken for granted.

Reading the Bible in a way that is as old as Scripture itself, award-winning author Mark P. Shea takes us on a “fly-over” of the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. He shows you how to explore the literal, allegorical, moral, and analogical sense of Scripture. Whether you have been studying Scripture for years, or are encountering it for the very first time,Making Senses Out of Scripture is an invaluable tool that it will help you see biblical revelation afresh, as Christians have done for 2000 years.

For more than a millennium, beginning in the early Middle Ages, most Western Christians lived in societies that sought to be comprehensively Christian--ecclesiastically, economically, legally, and politically. That is to say, most Western Christians lived in Christendom. But in a gradual process beginning a few hundred years ago, Christendom weakened and finally crumbled. Today, most Christians in the world live in pluralistic political communities. And Christians themselves have very different opinions about what to make of the demise of Christendom and how to understand their status and responsibilities in a post-Christendom world. Politics After Christendom argues that Scripture leaves Christians well-equipped for living in a world such as this. Scripture gives no indication that Christians should strive to establish some version of Christendom. Instead, it prepares them to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to Christianity, societies in which believers must live faithful lives as sojourners and exiles. Politics After Christendom explains what Scripture teaches about political community and about Christians' responsibilities within their own communities. As it pursues this task, Politics After Christendom makes use of several important theological ideas that Christian thinkers have developed over the centuries. These ideas include Augustine's Two-Cities concept, the Reformation Two-Kingdoms category, natural law, and a theology of the biblical covenants. Politics After Christendom brings these ideas together in a distinctive way to present a model for Christian political engagement. In doing so, it interacts with many important thinkers, including older theologians (e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin), recent secular political theorists (e.g., Rawls, Hayek, and Dworkin), contemporary political-theologians (e.g., Hauerwas, O'Donovan, and Wolterstorff), and contemporary Christian cultural commentators (e.g., MacIntyre, Hunter, and Dreher). Part 1 presents a political theology through a careful study of the biblical story, giving special attention to the covenants God has established with his creation and how these covenants inform a proper view of political community. Part 1 argues that civil governments are legitimate but penultimate, and common but not neutral. It concludes that Christians should understand themselves as sojourners and exiles in their political communities. They ought to pursue justice, peace, and excellence in these communities, but remember that these communities are temporary and thus not confuse them with the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians' ultimate citizenship is in this new-creation kingdom. Part 2 reflects on how the political theology developed in Part 1 provides Christians with a framework for thinking about perennial issues of political and legal theory. Part 2 does not set out a detailed public policy or promote a particular political ideology. Rather, it suggests how Christians might think about important social issues in a wise and theologically sound way, so that they might be better equipped to respond well to the specific controversies they face today. These issues include race, religious liberty, family, economics, justice, rights, authority, and civil resistance. After considering these matters, Part 2 concludes by reflecting on the classical liberal and conservative traditions, as well as recent challenges to them by nationalist and progressivist movements.

How would you describe the Old Testament? Offensive, violent, patriarchal, archaic; difficult, boring, obsolete? Many Christians don’t bother with it anymore. Yet these ancient books were in Jesus’ lifeblood, and they provided the thought-world of those early followers who wrote about him in what became the New Testament. This book challenges those stereotypes of Israel’s Scriptures by exploring their significance in the apostolic writings and by demonstrating the importance of whole books for nuanced interpretation. It takes readers on a tour through four key books before considering the wider issues of interpretation that readers must consider in order to hear God’s Spirit speaking afresh to a range of contemporary concerns, including racism and the environment.