Ministry on the Edge tells the story of Dr. Kenneth Vaux's long-standing career as theologian and minister--the first bio-ethicist, a civil rights advocate, and interfaith pioneer. Through a collection of essays, articles, and sermons, Vaux traces his prophetic assessment of important ethical issues from the perspective of theology and religion. He offers readers a deeper appreciation of the ethical implications of human and civil rights; medical and healthcare issues (such as abortion, stem-cell research, transplantation, death and dying); public policy; science and technology; war and...

In this comprehensive volume, Dr. Kenneth L. Vaux explores the shared theological ground of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-the common God, the common good, the common word, and the common work. Based on the premise that the three Abrahamic faiths are given by God for some purpose in God's universal history, Journey Into An Interfaith World traces the ways in which these faith movements flow together from and into each other in synergistic ways. At the same time, the book reveals how each fraternal faith has missed the mark in disassociating from its sibling traditions. Vaux's ""journey""...

And God said: --Let there be light.-- And there was light. These words mark the first step in the creation of all life. The very genesis of light is tied to the nature and purpose of God--God as the author of light, as the pouring out of light, as light itself. Believers in the three Abrahamic faiths have always understood God as light. The Hebrew scriptures celebrate this divine illumination: --Yahweh is my light and my salvation . . .-- (Psalm 27). Christians, too, proclaim that --God is light, and in him is no darkness at all-- (1 John 1.5). For Muslims, --Allah is the Light of the heavens...

Description: This third volume of Ken Vaux's memoirs covers the calendar year of 2012 which focused on (1) teaching in the Evanston church as this body struggled to be both evangelical in theology and oriented to social justice in the community. We searched together for having what it takes to be a "University Church"--preaching and teaching a credible and relevant message and living out a vital witness; seeking honest responses to issues in church and state such as homosexuality, embodying concern for the poor and lively ministry in the neighborhoods of the parish. (2) That community was...

Description: This diary is a fine-grained, often daily, theological reflection on the author's final ponderings on his ordeal with a serious illness, a concluding sabbatical, a last year of teaching, a culminating lecture, presiding at Eucharist, and summarial notes about ""what God is doing in the world."" Amid all these meanderings it holds the lectionary of the biblical and liturgical calendar in one hand and the newspaper in the other (K. Barth). Events during this time span were transformative and world shaking--and found resonance in my personal drama. One finds art and music, faith and...

Synopsis: The Ministry of Vincent Van Gogh in Religion and Art surveys the historical venues where Van Gogh's life and work unfolded--Aldersgate, England, Amsterdam, Au Borinage, Antwerp, Asnieres-sur-Seine, Arles, Auvers-sur-Oise--culminating in an assessment of his legacy. Arguing that he is a painter-evangelist, a man of authentic religious calling, it demonstrates a novel thesis that theological spirituality is the genius of both his religious ministry and his art. Endorsements: "One hopes readers will find or even join the figurative, spiritual journey on which this book thrives."...

Description:
Ethics of Wars of Insurgency is my fifth study on ""the ethics of war and peace."" It spans a twenty-year period of perplexing war and peace history focusing on the theological and ethical aspects of American foreign policy analysis from Somalia to Rwanda to Bosnia, concluding with present activities involving Syria--and the concurrent events of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study highlights the theological themes of prophecy and biblical teaching and the ethical themes of human rights, violence, and peacemaking. The thesis of Ethics and the Wars of Insurgency is...

While serving as Interim Pastor in the 1993-1994 church year, Kenneth Vaux announced a year-long sermon series entitled ""Intimations of the Sacred."" Building on the concepts of William Wordsworth that the simple items of nature--leaves, songs, snowflakes, and gestures of kindness--hint to us the mysteries of the divine, we assemble here a selection of these ""Second Sermons,"" which include themes such as Bach and Mozart, Calvin, Wesley and Ghandi, Healing and Resurrection, Reconciliation and Redemption. Here, one can reenact C. S. Lewis' The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, finding a magical...