The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has an uneasy relationship with its Hispanic constituency. Machado probes the history of this tension by examining the Disciples' interaction with Hispanics in Texas around the turn of the 20th century. The Church's inability to develop significant ties with Hispanics resulted in the creation of a small church that exists on both the geographical and denominational margins of the Christian Church.

Hsieh Liang-tso (c.1050-c.1120, known as master Shang-ts'ai) was one of the leading direct disciples of Ch'eng Hao and Ch'eng I, the two brothers who were the early leaders of the Confucian revival known as Neo-Confucianism in Northern Sung China. Hsieh was thus among the first to recognize and follow the insights of the Ch'eng brothers as definitive of the authentic Confucian tradition, a recognition that became the conviction of the majority of later Confucian scholars and practitioners. The present book is a focused analysis of the core value of Confucian thought, namely jen (humanity or...

The French Dominican theologian Yves Congar is recognized by many as the most important Roman Catholic ecclesiologist of the 20th century. He was the thinker behind some of the major decrees of the Second Vatican council. He was also a leader in the ecumenical movement in Europe throughout most of the century. Despite his importance, there are few books about Congar in English.

Congar's pneumatology, argues Groppe, can enrich various ongoing theological discussions, including reflection as to whether the church should be hierarchical or a democracy, the development of "persons in...

The concept of personhood is central to a wide range of contemporary issues, ranging from reproductive rights to the death penalty and euthanasia. We may think that the concept of person is a modern development. In fact, however, this idea does not originate with our discovery of human rights, consciousness, and individuality.
In this study Lucian Turcescu shows that the fourth-century theologian Gregory of Nyssa developed a very sophisticated concept of the person in the context of his attempts to clarify the paradox of the Trinity-a single God comprising three distinct persons. Turcescu...

This volume examines the contributions of three contemporary theologians -- Rosemary Radford Ruether, Joseph Sittler, and Jurgen Moltmann -- to the development of Christian ecological theology. Against the charge that the Christian tradition is ecologically bankrupt, the author demonstrates the intellectual and spiritual resources available within Christianity for addressing ecological issues. Of particular interest are Ruether's doctrine of God and her emphasis on ecojustice, Sittler's cosmic Christology and reconception of the relation between nature and grace, and Motlmann's doctrine of...

This volume considers what it is to be a women in the context of the Korean-American church. Drawing on participant observation, interviews, and a review of historical documents, Jun Ha Kim focuses on four major issues: the role of religious institutions within ethnic communities, the role of Christian churches as patriarchal institutions, issues of status inconsistency and role conflict in marginalized communities, and the relative importance of gender and race-ethnicity in shaping the identities of women of color.

This book examines the history and ecclesiology of two African Independent Churches in Kenya, the African Orthodox Church (AOC) and the Arthi (Agikuyu Spirit Churches). Githieya considers whether these churches should be considered as Christian or ethnocentric movmements. He argues that the "true church" is not confined to the traditions inherent in this or that denomination, or in this or that country, but in the redeeming and liberating power of Jesus Christ. The church is a liberated community whose identity is provided by its relationship with God; at once Christian, African, and...

The Hindu Goddess Laksmi is the consort of the great God Vishnu. This book looks at the relationship between Laskmi and Vishnu in South Indian tradition. In some other sub-traditions, P. Pratap Kumar shows, the Goddess is seen as a mediator between devotees and God. Others put her on a par with her male counterpart. In yet other traditions she is worshiped as an independent deity in her own right. South Indian Vaisnavism views the Goddess in all of these ways, with the result that theological debates have flourished. Clarifying these debates and the assumptions behind them, Kumar contributes...

Recent efforts to talk about the self in a postmodern dialect have created a dilemma: How can one conceptualize the human self as multiple, fluid, contextual, and radically relational while also maintaining that it is intentional, private, focused, and accountable? Creative Dwelling weaves elements of feminist psychology and process theology into a dynamic interdisciplinary dialogue about human subjectivity. The result brings a new coherence and vitality to our search for more inclusive and adequate ways of understanding our humanity. The theological implications are profound: the dynamics of...

This book examines twentieth-century theological commentators (Brath, Rahner, Florovsky, Lossky) on the problem of the doctrine of energies in God. Counter to existing trends in western theology, the author gives a positive evaluation of this doctrine and seeks common ground between the eastern idea of essence and energies and the western identification of the inner and economic trinity. Though written from a clearly western perspective, the book argues the coherence of the eastern position, and that underlying both eastern and western positions is a common intention to say that the encounter...