Month: February 2022 (Page 1 of 2)

Here’s a selection of new books and streaming media added to the collection in the past week.

 A dramatic Pentecostal/Charismatic anti-theodicy: improvising on a divine performance of lament /Stephen C. Torr ; foreword by David Cheetham. This study, drawing on Kevin Vanhoozer’s dramatic approach to theology, argues that the way God calls us to perform as we seek to communicate with him is to lament, and to do so with the aid of the Holy Spirit. This book seeks to show how a performance of lament is conducive to such theology and practice while acting as a much-needed corrective to certain aspects of it. What is provided here is therefore relevant reading for both scholars and pastors alike, particularly of Pentecostal/Charismatic church tradition, who grapple with the realities of suffering and the questions such realities produce.

A dynamic reading of the Holy Spirit in Revelation: a theological reflection on the functional role of the Holy Spirit in the narrative /Hee Youl Lee. A Dynamic Reading of the Holy Spirit in Revelation attempts to read the book of Revelation in a new way as a narrative, embracing literary elements such as plot, point of view, narrative voice, character, and story structure to help readers discover its meanings by tracing the story anew. Lee’s unique narrative perspective offers readers a bird’s-eye view to experience four levels of the story: heaven, earth, abyss, and the lake of fire. Lee develops a theological account of John’s pneumatology and surely extends Christian pneumatology, a doctrine inseparable from the life of the church. Lee portrays the book of Revelation as a mission-oriented book that tells how the kingdom of God will be built in this world through spiritual warfare, rather than as a book of eschatology

Borderlands: the art and scholarship of Louise Imogen Guiney : with selections from Guiney’s poetry, essays, and letters /edited by Jonathan Nauman and Holly Faith Nelson. (TWU Author) The first edited collection of original essays ever published on Louise Imogen Guiney (1861-1920), Irish American poet, essayist, editor, literary critic, and epistolist, and the first volume to anthologise a selection of both her poetry and prose.

 Down to earth: Christian hope and climate change /Richard A. Floyd. Jurgen Moltmann and Sallie McFague offer two contemporary possibilities for an ecological eschatology. Floyd critiques both of these theological visions and traces an alternative that is both humble and hopeful, arguing that a down-to-earth hope is grounded finally in beauty: the beauty of the other that draws out the self, the beauty of the redeemed self, coming out to meet the other, and the beauty of God that lures forth ever-new possibilities and gathers up all the beautiful and broken creatures into the deepest possible harmony.

 Esther and her elusive God: how a secular story functions as Scripture /John Anthony Dunne ; with a foreword by Ronald W. Pierce. Esther and Her Elusive God calls Christians to avoid the common attempts to make Esther more palatable and theological, and to reclaim this secular story as Scripture. Readers will be encouraged to see in Esther a profound message of God’s grace and faithfulness to his wayward people.

Exile: a myth unearthed /directed by: Ilan Ziv ; produced by: Amit Breuer, Serge Gordey, Christine Camdessus, Colette Loumède, Ilan Ziv It has been depicted in artwork and lamented in poetry and prayer for nearly 2,000 years: the exile of the Jewish people from their homeland in the first century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. But what if the exile never happened? That is the central, provocative question of Exile: A Myth Unearthed, a documentary that looks at the exile through the lenses of archaeology, history, myth and religion, asking what it means for our understanding of history and the contemporary struggle over land in the Middle East. Since 1985, teams of archaeologists have been painstakingly unearthing artifacts from the ancient town of Sepphoris, in Galilee. Their findings are revolutionizing our knowledge of Jewish history. Exile travels from Sepphoris to Masada, from Jerusalem to the catacombs of Rome, and features interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout the film we also follow a group of tourists visiting sites in the Holy Land and hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada–an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence. The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The myth of exile is an essential narrative in Middle Eastern and European history, and of critical importance to both Christian and Jewish theology. And the possibility that many Jews, such as those of Sepphoris, simply remained where they lived, raises uncomfortable questions. Could some Palestinians actually be their descendants?

 Fierce light: when spirit meets action /directed by: Velcrow Ripper ; produced by: Cherilyn K. Hawrysh, Gerry Flahive, Mark Achbar, Betsy Carson, Silva Basmajian Fueled by the belief that another world is possible, acclaimed filmmaker Velcrow Ripper takes us on a global journey tracing spiritual activism’s historical roots and capturing the powerful personalities that are igniting a new wave of spiritual action around the globe. Martin Luther King called it love in action Gandhi called it soul force Featuring Visionary Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hahn; Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, Alice Walker; Famed Tree-Sitter, Julia Butterfly Hill; and Hollywood celebrity turned activist, Daryl Hannah

 For I was hungry and you gave me food: pragmatics of food access in the Gospel of Matthew /Carol Bakker Wilson ; foreword by Warren Carter. rovides a pragmatic lens and a new descriptive paradigm of food access in the first century. The perspective and model are useful for analyzing passages concerned with life-and-death issues of the Matthean community–or situations for any other Christian community, past or present. Should not every person have enough food to sustain physical life?

 Gertie /directed by: Winsor McCay ; produced by: Michael Fukushima, Marcel Jean, Donald Crafton, Marco de Blois, David L. Nathan ; production agencies: La Cinémathèque québécoise (Montreal), National Film Board of Canada (Montreal). GERTIE THE DINOSAUR (1914) is considered the first-ever character animation film, created by pioneering American cartoonist, animator, and impresario, Winsor McCay. In the film, Gertie interacts with her surroundings but also with her creator, McCay, who stands on stage in front of the screen.

 Gossiping Jesus: the oral processing of Jesus in John’s gospel /John W. Daniels, Jr. This innovative study of John’s Gospel looks at the text through the lens of a routinely misunderstood mode of speech, namely, gossip. Focusing on talk about Jesus in John, the author unpacks the intricate relationship between gossip and various social dynamics of Jesus’world, demonstrating how they collude to construct Jesus’identity. Ultimately, it is suggested that John presents a Jesus whose identity is elusive to both outsiders like the Pharisees and insiders like his disciples, and thus models the importance, if not the sheer necessity, of the ongoing public discourse around the question ‘Who is Jesus?’

 Letters from Pyongyang /National Film Board of Canada. Canadian-Korean filmmaker Jason Lee tells his father’s emotional story of a family torn apart by the Korean War. Together, father and son make a rare journey to the North Korean capital in search of long-lost relatives. Combining exclusive, never-before-seen footage from the North, archival images and family photographs, this deeply personal film brings to light the tragic subject of families divided by the political conflict in the two Koreas.

 Liang A-fa: China’s first preacher, 1789-1855 /George Hunter McNeur ; introduced and edited by Jonathan A. Seitz. Liang Fa holds a unique place in the history of Christianity in China. Baptized and ordained by the first Protestant missionaries to China, Liang aided the first two generations of missionaries and conducted his own work as an evangelist and writer. His most famous tract is believed to have influenced the Taiping Rebellion. While McNeur’s biography of Liang has been republished regularly in Chinese, this is the first republication in English since the 1930s. It remains the best work on an influential but little-studied figure. Annotated and with a critical introduction, this work seeks to revive scholarship on Liang as we approach the two-hundredth anniversary of his baptism.

 Literature of Luther: receptions of the Reformer /edited by A. Edward Wesley & J. Christopher Edwards. This collection of essays, which began as conference papers on the literature of Luther, seeks to initiate conversations on the many and varied receptions of the reformer. Most of the essays are interdisciplinary, crossing boundaries between literature, history, and theology. Both Catholic and Protestant voices are well represented.

 Pentecostal and Holiness statements on war and peace /edited by Jay Beaman and Brian K. Pipkin ; foreword by Titus Peachy. We have catalogued Holiness and Pentecostal denominational statements on war and peace.  This antiwar collection gives us an almost uniform picture of the early Pentecostal movement as largely pacifist in orientation. The commonality of these statements across both Holiness and Pentecostal movements is evidence they are a continuous group and not two separate movements. While their early doctrines opposed killing, many named in this book are now widely considered to be stalwarts of the Religious Right, or at least staunch supporters of Christian participation in war. Our hope is that this book will frame the official position of early Pentecostals on war and peace, and encourage Pentecostals today to reflect on their antiwar heritage.

 Perfecting the art of longing /directed by Kitra Cahana ; produced by Kat Baulu, Ariel Nasr, Annette Clarke ; production agency: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal). You perfect the art of longing by knowing where your soul is intended to be, says Rabbi Cahana in Perfecting the Art of Longing, acclaimed filmmaker Kitra Cahana’s powerful collaboration with her father. In 2011, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana suffered a devastating brainstem stroke that left him locked in, only able to communicate through the blinking of his eyes. When the pandemic lockdown hit, he found himself completely isolated and cut off from his loved ones, connecting only through screens. Using footage from security cameras, video calls and home-video archives, this experimental short film leads us on a journey through memory, family and faith, exploring the nature of connection and distance.

 Polemical preacher of joy: an anti-apocalpytic genre for Qoheleth’s message of joy /Jerome N. Douglas. This book will propose that the author of Ecclesiastes utilizes a hybrid genre in his work–an’anti-apocalyptic genre’–in order to further his message of joy. Jerome Douglas explores how recognizing the presence of an anti-apocalyptic genre within the tapestry of Ecclesiastes assists the interpreter in understanding the book.

 Reverberations of the Exodus in Scripture /edited by R. Michael This volume examines how a central and paradigmatic biblical event–the exodus from Egypt–resurfaces time and again in both testaments. Furthermore, the collaborative nature of this project has allowed specialists to construct each chapter. Readers of Reverberations of the Exodus in Scripture will gain a better understanding of the role of the exodus throughout the biblical canon and a deeper appreciation for its place in biblical theology.

 Ryan Reynolds: I’m a laureate? /directed by Christopher Auchter ; produced by Nicholas Klassen, Robert McLaughlin ; production agency: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal). Ryan Reynolds reflects on his childhood, family, and career — punctuated by diversions into the charitable side of Twitter to appeal to his Canadian sense of self.

 Sense and spirituality: the arts and spiritual formation /James McCullough. This book provides a modest step forward in the conversation between theological aesthetics and practical theology. Understanding aesthetics as ‘the realm of sense perception’ and spiritual formation as ‘growing capacities to participate in God’s purposes,’ McCullough suggests how these dynamics can mutually enhance each other, with the arts as an effective catalyst for this relationship. McCullough proposes an analysis of artistic communication and explores exciting examples from music, poetry, and painting, which render theoretical proposals in concrete terms.

 Starlight & other sounds /directed by Josephine Anderson ; produced by Shirley Vercruysse, Shirley Vercruysse ; production agency: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal). Documentary profile film for Governor General’s 2021 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award recipient and composer, Alexina Louie.

 The battle of the Châteauguay /National Film Board of Canada. The Battle of Châteauguay, fought in 1813 to push back American troops invading Canada, is recounted in this dramatic film by the hero of the battle, Lt-Col. Charles-Michel de Salaberry. Recreated battle scenes illustrate his military strategy. Animation is used to relate the events leading up to this important battle (the French and American revolutions, the reign of Napoleon, the naval battles between the English and the Americans, and Yankee expansionist policies). A lively history film, it provides an unusual look at the War of 1812.

 The blessing of Abraham, the Spirit, and justification in Galatians: their relationship and significance for understanding Paul’s theology /Chee-Chiew Lee. This book challenges the common assumption that the Abrahamic blessing and the Spirit are equated in Gal 3:14 and points out how an accurate understanding of the relationship between these two motifs contributes significantly to appreciating Paul’s overall argument in Galatians and his theology of justification.  Given the renewed interest in Pauline justification, this book contributes to this important aspect of the Spirit’s role in future justification, which needs to be developed further in Pauline and New Testament theology.

 The essential Hayek /by Donald J. Boudreaux. While countless works have discussed the importance of Hayek and his ideas, none have focused on making his core ideas accessible to average people. This volume highlights and explains Hayek’s basic insights in plain language to ensure that his critical ideas about the nature of society are both accessible and enduring.

 The forbidden reel /directed by: Ariel Nasr ; produced by: Sergeo Kirby, Kat Baulu, Sergeo Kirby, Annette Clarke, Jane Jankovic, Linda Fong, Ariel Nasr, Stacey Tenenbaum, Fiona Lawson Baker Driven to create amidst war and chaos, Afghan filmmakers gave birth to an extraordinary national cinema. Driven to destroy, Taliban extremists set out to torch that legacy. Marvelling in the beauty and fragile power of movies, Afghan-Canadian director Ariel Nasr crafts a thrilling and utterly original story of modern Afghanistan.

 The oneness and simplicity of God /Barry D. Smith. Smith reaches the conclusion that there is no basis for ascribing simplicity to God. The simplicity doctrine is not found in Scripture and the traditional arguments used to establish it are unconvincing.

 The Semitic background of the term mystery in the New Testament /by Raymond E. Brown. Examining the concept of mystery in the Old Testament, the Pseudepigrapha, and the New Testament, the author concludes that the meaning of mystery can be explained on the basis of Semitic backgrounds. In the course of his investigations he sheds light not only on the meaning of mystery but also on the whole understanding of God’s redemptive purpose that lies behind Paul’s use of the word.

 The storm /directed by: Monica Kidd ; produced by: Annette Clarke, Annette Clarke ; production agency: National Film Board of Canada (Montreal) A doctor as well as a filmmaker, Monica Kidd finds signs of hope in an uncertain pandemic universe. With The Storm, she collaborates with animator Duncan Major, employing sparsely elegant imagery to reflect on what it means to bring a baby into a world gripped by a global health crisis…

 Theology in the present age: essays in honor of John D. Castelein /edited by Christopher Ben Simpson and Steven D. Cone. This volume of essays centers on the theme of doing Christian theology in the present postmodern context, a consistent theme of the teaching of Castelein. The essays range over such topics as theological reflections on the postmodern philosophical themes, the relations between Christian theology and culture, the contributions of philosophical hermeneutics for Christian theology, and the challenges of engaging in ministry in a postmodern context.

 Theology, ethics, and technology in the work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio: a nascent theological tradition /Michael Morelli. TWU Author This book examines biographical and textual connections between sociologist-theologian Jacques Ellul and philosopher-phenomenologist Paul Virilio. Through an examination of Ellul and Virilio’s embeddedness in the socio-historical context of postwar France, the book identifies a relationship between these critics of technology which constitutes a nascent theological tradition. The author shows from various vantage points how Ellul and Virilio’s nascent tradition exposes technology as modernity’s primary idol; and, how it uses multiple disciplines-including history, sociology, philosophy, phenomenology, theology, and ethics-to resist the perilous consequences of the modern world’s worship of power and the kinds of technologies this misdirected worship produces.

 Trapped in a human zoo /directed by: Guilhem Rondot ; produced by: Roch Brunette ; production agency: Pix3 Films (gatineau). A forgotten diary helps one woman uncover the incredible journey and the mysterious disappearance of a group of Inuit, trapped in the world of human zoos of the 19th century. The only known written testimony of an era that humanity would rather forget, Abraham’s diary is an inversion of the colonial gaze. An estimated 35000 indigenous people from around the world were recruited in these zoos, to entertain the masses and foster scientific experiments.