Whether we interpret Scripture or culture, it matters what we do, not just what we think or feel. How do we live with our interpretation, and how do we live it out? This book helps us understand how culture forms us as political actors, moves us aesthetically, shapes the rhythms of our lives, and connects (or disconnects) us from God and neighbors we are called to love. The goal is to be equipped to engage culture with greater fluency and fidelity in response to the triune God. This short, accessible introduction to the conversation between theology and culture offers a patient, thoughtful, and theologically attuned approach to cultural discernment. It helps us grow our interpretive skill by training our intuition and giving us a slower, more deliberate approach that accounts for as much of the complexity of culture as possible. The book explores 5 dimensions of culture--meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetic--and shows how each needs the others and all need theology. Each chapter includes distinctive practices for spiritual formation and practical application. Foreword by Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-à-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, author Kavin Rowe argues that Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.

After teaching world history to college freshmen for two decades, the author was dissatisfied with the available textbooks, which smoothed over thorny historical debates in favor of uncontroversial, seamless, and bland narratives. Because students did not have to use the historical facts they read to answer questions that they themselves cared about concerning the current world, they rarely recalled the facts long after an exam. So, the author wrote this text to help his students enter into open-ended historical conversations. They explore the Enlightenment, and decide if it is a hypocritical screen for white male privilege or a slow-unfolding tool for universal liberation. They consider the ongoing industrial revolution, which has lowered consumer prices while posing social challenges for over 200 years, and which continues to replace jobs and concentrate wealth. They critique the effectiveness of economic systems to pair with industrialization: laissez-faire capitalism, colonialism, anarchism, Marxism, and socialism. They consider the strengths and challenges of nationalism, and consider strategies for avoiding war and ethnic cleansing. They analyze the rise of modern China as a superpower, and debate whether or not it is likely to surpass the United States in economic output and global influence. They analyze the most arresting current developments: the global rise of women, the challenge of climate change, the impact of mechanization and globalization on jobs, and the return of anti-democratic authoritarianism. Although the author is an American liberal, evidence and arguments are regularly offered from alternative points of view. Indeed, the text is designed to improve understanding of perspectives from other parts of the world and to promote dialogue between conservatives, liberals, and radicals in the U.S.

What did the writer of Genesis mean by “the first day”? Is it a literal week or a series of time periods? If I believe that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, am I denying the authority of Scripture? In response to the continuing controversy over the interpretation of the creation narrative in Genesis, John Lennox proposes a succinct method of reading and interpreting the first chapters of Genesis without discounting either science or Scripture. With examples from history, a brief but thorough exploration of the major interpretations, and a look into the particular significance of the creation of human beings, Lennox suggests that Christians can heed modern scientific knowledge while staying faithful to the biblical narrative. He moves beyond a simple response to the controversy, insisting that Genesis teaches us far more about the God of Jesus Christ and about God’s intention for creation than it does about the age of the earth. With this book, Lennox offers a careful yet accessible introduction to a scientifically-savvy, theologically-astute, and Scripturally faithful interpretation of Genesis.

Everyday theology is the reflective and practical task of living each day as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, theology is not just for Sundays, and it's not just for professional theologians. Everyday Theology teaches all Christians how to get the theological lay of the land. It enables them to become more conscious of the culture they inhabit every day so that they can understand how it affects them and how they can affect it. If theology is the ministry of the Word to the world, everyday theologians need to know something about that world, and Everyday Theology shows them how to understand their culture make an impact on it. Engaging and full of fresh young voices, this book is the first in the new Cultural Exegesis series.