Divine Fruitfulness

This fifth and final book in Aidan Nichols' Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar series covers Balthasar's prodigious output from the 1940s to his death in 1988, leaving aside the great multi-volume trilogy. Nichols identifies Balthasar's most significant sources, including the Church Fathers (especially Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor, and Augustine), Henri de Lubac, Karl Barth, and Adrienne von Speyr. He, then, guides the reader through Balthasar's works thematically, covering fundamental theological themes (revelation and theology, divine providence, the paschal mystery), Mary and the church, the saints, prayer and mysticism, and Christian literature.

We want to live loving, joyful, anxiety-free lives. Yet how can we live in grace when we’re so busy battling our old patterns of behavior? Jerry Bridges explores the nine aspects of the “fruit of the Spirit” described in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities of character can truly mark our lives if we devote ourselves to a twofold pursuit: God-centeredness and God-likeness. Jerry shows us how to practice the fruit in daily life. When The Fruitful Life first released, Jerry said, “It was the book I had wanted to write that included everything I forgot and/or learned since The Pursuit of Holiness.”

The myths of Genesis are the foundation for hundreds of texts written at later diachronically distinct and datable periods. Seven texts-Genesis itself, Genesis Rabbah, Pirke deRabbi Eliezer and mediaeval compilations-are examined here, with five interrelated questions in focus: Can structuralist theory be applied usefully to societies conscious of history and change? What is the relationship between continuity and trasformation as a mythological tradition develops diachronically? What role does diachronic development within a myth play in relation to its underlying structure? What is the synchronic structure of Israelite (or rather, biblical) myth? Are there identifiable patterns of transformation and continuity between biblical myth and the three diachronically distinct levels of rabbinic myth?

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in medieval thought, be they students of theology, philosophy or literature.

'Jesus the Wisdom of God' brings together insights from wisdom literature and contemporary creation thought in a work that brilliantly illuminates an integrated ecological theology. Adding new depth to the ethical demands of our global ecological situation, Denis Edwards argues that commitment to ecological praxis springs from the very center of Christian identity in Jesus, Trinity, and humanity. Beginning with the wisdom tradition of the Hebrew scriptures, 'Jesus the Wisdom of God' explores what it means to recover the notion that Sophia-Wisdom became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, and shows how the universe is altered by this Incarnation. Wisdom Christology then opens out into a view of the trinitarian God at work in ongoing creation. Edwards considers the implications of the trinitarian theology of Richard of St. Victor and St. Bonaventure, centering on the insight that every creature - including humankind - is the free self-expression of the trinitarian God. In this context humanity is revealed as integrally related to all of creation, a part of a single cosmic story. While at one with creation in evolutionary history, humanity is, at the same time, creation come to self-awareness. This train of insights leads to principles for an ecological praxis that affirms human value while insisting that humanity is a part of nature. The whole reinforces commitment to sustainability and a Franciscan attitude of reverence toward God's creation. 'Jesus the Wisdom of God', in a disciplined yet clear way, crafts an alternative to the anthropocentrism and alienation of much of Christian tradition by finding in the very roots of Christian mysticism - and Christian identity - a truly ecological theology for our time. It is profound reading for students, theologians, and all Christians concerned with ecology, and with the interface of science and theology.