Various historians, philosophers, and social scientists have attempted to provide convincing explanations of the roots of violence, with mixed and confusing results. This book brings Kierkegaard's voice into this conversation in a powerful way, arguing that the Christian intellectual tradition offers the key philosophical tools needed for comprehending human pathology.

The Trinitarian Self' argues that the insights of three key authors - Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, and Rene Girard - can be synthesized to produce a Trinitarian theological anthropology. Their reflections on the deep roots of human behavior illuminate three structural dimensions of human existence: the temporal trajectory of selfhood, the vertical axis (God and nature), and the horizontal plane of cultural formation. An understanding of these dimensions and how they interrelate proves very fruitful in making sense of a wide variety of pathological forms of behavior that human beings have...

A collection of published and unpublished essays by Charles K. Bellinger, which focus on the task of thinking about violence psychologically and ethically, from a Christian point of view.

There are three main positions that people adopt within the abortion debate: pro-life, muddled middle, and pro-choice. Jesus v. Abortion critiques the pro-choice and muddled middle positions, employing several unusual angles:

(1) The question ""What would Jesus say about abortion if he were here today?"" is given very substantial treatment.

(2) The abortion debate is usually conducted using moral and metaphysical arguments; this book adds in anthropological insights regarding the function of violence in human culture.

(3) Rights language is employed by both sides of the debate, to opposite...