In this no non-sense book, reliable spiritual guide, Will Willimon, invites readers to consider the gospel command to love (and not merely tolerate) those considered to be “Other” or outside mainstream Christian culture. Rooted in the faith of Israel and the Christian story and vision, Willimon brings a Wesleyan perspective to bear on what may be the hardest thing for people of faith to do: keeping and loving the "Other" as they are - without any need for them to become like us. Emphasizing biblical teaching to receive Others for who they are and their differences as gifts and mysteries bearing the grace of God, Willimon also offers a strong critique of the privileged who all too often rush to speak of reconciliation and evade the injustice of huge inequalities faced by foreigners and strangers - as well as the antagonism the stranger experiences. He identifies concrete, everyday ways persons are formed in welcoming others without annihilating their differences. Rooted in the New Testament understanding of Gentile outsiders grafted into the covenant community, Willimon invites readers to an on-the-ground faith that remembers the God who comes to us again and again through so-called outsiders, strangers, immigrants, and those without status. Beyond welcome, Christians must become “other” to the world, shaking off the dominant culture’s identity and privilege through practices of listening, humility, and understanding. “I love Will Willimon, and I love this book. Will writes with prophetic sarcasm, a touch of humor, plenty of self-effacement, and a pastor’s heart. And his words will make you laugh, cringe, cry, confess, and repent. This is a very timely book. I urge you, prospective reader, as you read this blurb on the back cover: buy and read it! You’ll be grateful you did.” —Adam Hamilton, senior pastor, The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS; author of Half Truths “This gutsy, biblically rich, theologically searing book by Willimon gigs everybody’s sacred cow. Not only is the one whom Christ loves Other but God is Other. The ground beneath us shakes the walls that divide us. If you are holed-up happy with people who look like you, don’t read this thing. It will screw up your world.” —Tex Sample, Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, KS “Timely and prophetic, Willimon’s call to love the Other will quickly take hold of your soul, changing your preaching and your life. This book is not just a reminder of our Christian calling to welcome the Other but a call to conversion, a new way of seeing the neighbor and a new way of being in the world God desperately loves.” —Karoline M. Lewis, Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN “Bishop Willimon’s new book should come with a warning: Do not read unless you are ready to be changed and want to change the world!” —O. Wesley Allen Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX Now with a New Introduction!

Historicizing Fear is a historical interrogation of the use of fear as a tool to vilify and persecute groups and individuals from a global perspective, offering an unflinching look at racism, fearful framing, oppression, and marginalization across human history.The book examines fear and Othering from a historical context, providing a better understanding of how power and oppression is used in the present day. Contributors ground their work in the theory of Othering—the reductive action of labeling a person as someone who belongs to a subordinate social category defined as the Other—in relation to historical events, demonstrating that fear of the Other is universal, timeless, and interconnected. Chapters address the music of neo-Nazi white power groups, fear perpetuated through the social construct of black masculinity in a racially hegemonic society, the terror and racial cleansing in early twentieth-century Arkansas, the fear of drug-addicted Vietnam War veterans, the creation of fear by the Tang Dynasty, and more. Timely, provocative, and rigorously researched, Historicizing Fear shows how the Othering of members of different ethnic groups has been used to propagate fear and social tension, justify state violence, and prevent groups or individuals from gaining equality. Broadening the context of how fear of the Other can be used as a propaganda tool, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of history, anthropology, political science, popular culture, critical race issues, social justice, and ethnic studies, as well as the general reader concerned with the fearful framing prevalent in politics. Contributors: Quaylan Allen, Melanie Armstrong, Brecht De Smet, Kirsten Dyck, Adam C. Fong, Jeff Johnson, Łukasz Kamieński, Guy Lancaster, Henry Santos Metcalf, Julie M. Powell, Jelle Versieren

War hero, Matt McCormick has earned a respectable badass reputation in Afghanistan; but his enemy has moved west. Having special skills useful to the fight, he goes undercover; not for the military, but for the feds. The audacious, self-sacrificing hero escapes, and heads home to NEK Vermont, to his ill-fitting reputation for good looks and moral conduct; but his life has changed forever. Under capricious circumstances, he’s surprisingly catapulted into a new investigation, where his two diametrically-opposed worlds collide, and he finds himself, once again, in the presence of his enemy. Lives get shattered and lost as yesterday’s failures chafe the day. Surprises abound, and winning this battle will take, not only his badass training, but his blood, guts and grit. Faint-hearted, but savvy journalist, Andrea Daye is any editor’s dream; but her personal life has gone sideways. Oblivious to her new husband’s past, she’s abhorred to find agents, lurking in shadows as evidence of his corruption rises to the surface. Trusting no one, her innocent, but sassy equivocations set her free-falling, not only into criminal charges, but into the arms of love. The Other Side of Fear is a story to savor.

Little Sonia would like to change her life. To do that, she would have to pass through a forest called Fear. In her village, she heard many bad stories about Fear, and she is also afraid of the unknown. Help comes from Big Doggie, a talking dog who promises to support her on the journey. Does the little girl have enough courage to face the challenges and tests that the forest has in store for her and see what future awaits her on the other side of Fear? The book, or parable, was created with children in mind, although many adults could benefit from reading it as well, especially due to its motivational and positive message.

It seems laughably inadequate to call Julia Fehrenbacher s On the Other Side of Fear a collection of poetry. It is that, of course graceful, lyrical, wise poems about life, love, doubt, faith and the sweet, simple anatomy of a moment. But it s more than that. On the Other Side of Fear is an invitation to shed the weight of your past, get naked and real and wide-eyed awake to the undeniable poetry of it all. Reading Julia is like waking up to find your dream is still there, all around you, unabashedly grand and utterly obtainable. Her poems resonate with a precise, astonishing power, and each piece of Julia s art is like a breath of rarified air. On the Other Side of Fear feels like coming home to the home you always wish you had, to the home you deserve, to the home you ve been carrying around inside you without ever realizing it was there, accessible and welcoming, the whole time. Read these poems and fall in love with your beautiful, imperfect self; in Julia s words, slow way down/ get close and closer/ listen like crazy to your life. Judy Clement Wall, writer at AhumanThing.net

Providing an intimate and timely view of Merton, this book traces the theme of peace and nonviolence in Merton's life and writings, drawing in particular on extensive correspondence with Jim Forest, a Merton biographer.

Examines security theology, surveillance and the industry of fear from the intimate spaces of everyday life in settler colonial contexts.