Author: Qwanisha Young
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
This book is for anyone who has had their heart broken, soul wounded, faith tested, abandoned, rejected, or has suffered blow after blow, asking, "Can I get up? And even if I can eventually stand, how can I walk out and not let those blows, fire, and ashes show up in my tomorrow?" I don't want to look like, smell, or feel like what I've been through. Or maybe you're fighting with the shame and guilt of backsliding. You know God, but you keep hearing it's your fault because you're not strong enough. That's a lie from the pits of hell. First John 1 says that "it is true that we should walk with and talk with God continuously, and when we sin, confess it, and the blood of Christ cleanses continually." Because Revelations 12 says that "the enemy continually deceives and seduces the earth's inhabitants. He who brings charges against men and women day and night has been thrown out of heaven." And they overcame and conquered him because of the lamb's blood and because of their testimony's word, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. (Revelations 12:11) Healing is a part of the work, but wholeness is the complete work; healing is a gift from God for His own, but wholeness is labor built by intention. I realized that my pain/cross was meant to be my oil or my mission of contributing to the world. This book addresses the false sense of security, the disillusioned identity, the emotionally scared, and the effects of scarcity of all other things, which seek to make us forfeit our power by using excuses and cycles. Until we are confronted and exposed by receiving God's Word, we are blind, deaf, lamed, and spiritually dead. I am encouraging all those who want to find themselves to start with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They came together, in the beginning, to make us partakers in God's work to have dominion on earth and to expand the kingdom of heaven on earth, which that commandment will never be retracted.
Identity Christ Exe's
Still Time to Care
Author: Greg Johnson
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310116066
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
At the start of the gay rights movement in 1969, evangelicalism's leading voices cast a vision for gay people who turn to Jesus. It was C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer and John Stott who were among the most respected leaders within theologically orthodox Protestantism. We see with them a positive pastoral approach toward gay people, an approach that viewed homosexuality as a fallen condition experienced by some Christians who needed care more than cure. With the birth and rise of the ex-gay movement, the focus shifted from care to cure. As a result, there are an estimated 700,000 people alive today who underwent conversion therapy in the United States alone. Many of these patients were treated by faith-based, testimony-driven parachurch ministries centered on the ex-gay script. Despite the best of intentions, the movement ended with very troubling results. Yet the ex-gay movement died not because it had the wrong sex ethic. It died because it was founded on a practice that diminished the beauty of the gospel. Yet even after the closure of the ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in 2013, the ex-gay script continues to walk about as the undead among us, pressuring people like me to say, "I used to be gay, but I'm not gay anymore. Now I'm just same-sex attracted." For orthodox Christians, the way forward is a path back to where we were forty years ago. It is time again to focus with our Neo-Evangelical fathers on care--not cure--for our non-straight sisters and brothers who are living lives of costly obedience to Jesus. With warmth and humor as well as original research, Still Time to Care will chart the path forward for our churches and ministries in providing care. It will provide guidance for the gay person who hears the gospel and finds themselves smitten by the life-giving call of Jesus. Woven throughout the book will be Richard Lovelace’s 1978 call for a "double repentance" in which gay Christians repent of their homosexual sins and the church repents of its homophobia--putting on display for all the power of the gospel.
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310116066
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
At the start of the gay rights movement in 1969, evangelicalism's leading voices cast a vision for gay people who turn to Jesus. It was C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer and John Stott who were among the most respected leaders within theologically orthodox Protestantism. We see with them a positive pastoral approach toward gay people, an approach that viewed homosexuality as a fallen condition experienced by some Christians who needed care more than cure. With the birth and rise of the ex-gay movement, the focus shifted from care to cure. As a result, there are an estimated 700,000 people alive today who underwent conversion therapy in the United States alone. Many of these patients were treated by faith-based, testimony-driven parachurch ministries centered on the ex-gay script. Despite the best of intentions, the movement ended with very troubling results. Yet the ex-gay movement died not because it had the wrong sex ethic. It died because it was founded on a practice that diminished the beauty of the gospel. Yet even after the closure of the ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in 2013, the ex-gay script continues to walk about as the undead among us, pressuring people like me to say, "I used to be gay, but I'm not gay anymore. Now I'm just same-sex attracted." For orthodox Christians, the way forward is a path back to where we were forty years ago. It is time again to focus with our Neo-Evangelical fathers on care--not cure--for our non-straight sisters and brothers who are living lives of costly obedience to Jesus. With warmth and humor as well as original research, Still Time to Care will chart the path forward for our churches and ministries in providing care. It will provide guidance for the gay person who hears the gospel and finds themselves smitten by the life-giving call of Jesus. Woven throughout the book will be Richard Lovelace’s 1978 call for a "double repentance" in which gay Christians repent of their homosexual sins and the church repents of its homophobia--putting on display for all the power of the gospel.
Single, Gay, Christian
Author: Gregory Coles
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830890939
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles shares his story—a story about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. This honest, hopeful account shows life through one man's eyes and assures all people: "You are not a mistake."
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830890939
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles shares his story—a story about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. This honest, hopeful account shows life through one man's eyes and assures all people: "You are not a mistake."
Who Do You Think You Are?
Author: Mark Driscoll
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 1400203864
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DEFINES YOU? WHAT IS YOUR IDENTITY? How you answer those questions affects every aspect of your life: personal, public, and spiritual. So it’s vital to get the answer right. Pastor and best-selling author Mark Driscoll believes false identity is at the heart of many struggles—and that you can overcome them by having your true identity in Christ. In Who Do You Think You Are?, Driscoll explores the question, “What does it mean to be ‘in Christ’?” In the process he dissects the false-identity epidemic and, more important, provides the only solution—Jesus. “This book will give you an unshakeable, biblical understanding of who you are in Christ. When you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.” —Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of Soul Detox, Clean Living in a Contaminated World “I spent years in ministry for Christ without understanding my identity in Christ. I know now that I was not alone. When, by the grace of God, we understand who we are in Christ, everything else can crumble and we will still be standing. I highly commend this book to you.” —Sheila Walsh, speaker and author of God Loves Broken People
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 1400203864
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DEFINES YOU? WHAT IS YOUR IDENTITY? How you answer those questions affects every aspect of your life: personal, public, and spiritual. So it’s vital to get the answer right. Pastor and best-selling author Mark Driscoll believes false identity is at the heart of many struggles—and that you can overcome them by having your true identity in Christ. In Who Do You Think You Are?, Driscoll explores the question, “What does it mean to be ‘in Christ’?” In the process he dissects the false-identity epidemic and, more important, provides the only solution—Jesus. “This book will give you an unshakeable, biblical understanding of who you are in Christ. When you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.” —Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of Soul Detox, Clean Living in a Contaminated World “I spent years in ministry for Christ without understanding my identity in Christ. I know now that I was not alone. When, by the grace of God, we understand who we are in Christ, everything else can crumble and we will still be standing. I highly commend this book to you.” —Sheila Walsh, speaker and author of God Loves Broken People
Ex Auditu - Volume 22
Author: Klyne Snodgrass
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725244020
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Book Description
Ex Auditu began as the journal incorporating the papers of the Fredrick Neumann Symposium of Princeton Theological Seminary. After the first four volumes the journal began publishing the papers from the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. The intent from the first has been to provide a forum for doing interdisciplinary theology from a biblical perspective for the benefit of the Church. Each annual publication focuses on a topic crucial to the life of today's Church. Additionally, each issue contains an annotated bibliography and a sermon, which makes it a practical guide for pastors. EDITOR: Dr. Stephen Chester, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary EDITOR EMERITUS: Dr. Klyne R. Snodgrass, Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dr. D. Christopher Spinks, Acquisitions Editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. EDITORIAL BOARD: Terence E. Fretheim, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Richard B. Hays, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC; Jon R. Stock, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR; Miroslav Volf, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT; John Wipf, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Individuals: U.S.A. and all other countries (in U.S. funds)-$20.00 / Students-$12.00 Institutions: $30 in the U.S., and $40 for international shipments (in U.S. funds) To subscribe: Send pertinent information to Wipf and Stock Publishers at [email protected] and indicate your preferred method of payment. Back issues are available through Wipf and Stock Publishers. Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at North Park DETAILS: For more information about the symposium click here. INQUIRIES: Other inquiries should be addressed to one of the following: Dr. Dennis Edwards, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary 3225 W. Foster Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 Telephone: (773) 244-6238 / Email [email protected] Chris Spinks, Acquisitions Editor Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W. 8th Ave., Ste. 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Telephone: (541) 344-1528 / Fax: (541) 344-1506 / Email: [email protected]
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725244020
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Book Description
Ex Auditu began as the journal incorporating the papers of the Fredrick Neumann Symposium of Princeton Theological Seminary. After the first four volumes the journal began publishing the papers from the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. The intent from the first has been to provide a forum for doing interdisciplinary theology from a biblical perspective for the benefit of the Church. Each annual publication focuses on a topic crucial to the life of today's Church. Additionally, each issue contains an annotated bibliography and a sermon, which makes it a practical guide for pastors. EDITOR: Dr. Stephen Chester, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary EDITOR EMERITUS: Dr. Klyne R. Snodgrass, Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dr. D. Christopher Spinks, Acquisitions Editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. EDITORIAL BOARD: Terence E. Fretheim, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Richard B. Hays, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC; Jon R. Stock, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR; Miroslav Volf, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT; John Wipf, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Individuals: U.S.A. and all other countries (in U.S. funds)-$20.00 / Students-$12.00 Institutions: $30 in the U.S., and $40 for international shipments (in U.S. funds) To subscribe: Send pertinent information to Wipf and Stock Publishers at [email protected] and indicate your preferred method of payment. Back issues are available through Wipf and Stock Publishers. Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at North Park DETAILS: For more information about the symposium click here. INQUIRIES: Other inquiries should be addressed to one of the following: Dr. Dennis Edwards, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary 3225 W. Foster Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 Telephone: (773) 244-6238 / Email [email protected] Chris Spinks, Acquisitions Editor Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W. 8th Ave., Ste. 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Telephone: (541) 344-1528 / Fax: (541) 344-1506 / Email: [email protected]
Ex Auditu - Volume 26
Author: Klyne Snodgrass
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725246554
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
CONTENTS: Introduction Klyne Snodgrass "In Him All Things Hold Together": An Ecology of Atonement William P. Brown Response to Brown Michael LeFebvre Effecting the Covenant: A (Not So) New, New Testament Model for the Atonement Michael Gorman Response to Gorman Troy Martin Response to Martin Michael Gorman "Anyone Hung On A Tree Is Under God's Curse" (Deuteronomy 21:23): Jesus' Crucifixion and Interreligious Exegetical Debate in Late Antiquity Peter W. Martens "Happily Ever After?" Paul Peter Waldenstrom: Be Ye Reconciled to God Michelle A. Clifton-Soderstrom Response to Clifton-Soderstrom Timothy L. Johnson The Social Dimension of Atonement in the Torah Viktor Ber Response to Ber Jeremy J. Wynne "To Those Who Were Distant and Those Who Were Near": Atonement, Identity, and Identification Brian Bantum An Evangelical Feminist Perspective on Traditional Atonement Models Linda D. Peacore Response to Peacore Jo Ann Deasy Saving Bodies: Anagogical Transposition in St. Gregory of Nyssa's Commentary on the Song of Songs Hans Boersma Ransomed, Healed, Restored, Forgiven (John 5:1-16) Carol Noren
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725246554
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
CONTENTS: Introduction Klyne Snodgrass "In Him All Things Hold Together": An Ecology of Atonement William P. Brown Response to Brown Michael LeFebvre Effecting the Covenant: A (Not So) New, New Testament Model for the Atonement Michael Gorman Response to Gorman Troy Martin Response to Martin Michael Gorman "Anyone Hung On A Tree Is Under God's Curse" (Deuteronomy 21:23): Jesus' Crucifixion and Interreligious Exegetical Debate in Late Antiquity Peter W. Martens "Happily Ever After?" Paul Peter Waldenstrom: Be Ye Reconciled to God Michelle A. Clifton-Soderstrom Response to Clifton-Soderstrom Timothy L. Johnson The Social Dimension of Atonement in the Torah Viktor Ber Response to Ber Jeremy J. Wynne "To Those Who Were Distant and Those Who Were Near": Atonement, Identity, and Identification Brian Bantum An Evangelical Feminist Perspective on Traditional Atonement Models Linda D. Peacore Response to Peacore Jo Ann Deasy Saving Bodies: Anagogical Transposition in St. Gregory of Nyssa's Commentary on the Song of Songs Hans Boersma Ransomed, Healed, Restored, Forgiven (John 5:1-16) Carol Noren
Fully Alive
Author: Dr. Larry Crabb
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441242635
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 283
Book Description
What makes a man masculine? A woman feminine? Did God design the two genders so differently? If so, why? The answers to these questions will free women and men to gladly embrace all that it means to be fully alive as gendered bearers of God's image who can profoundly impact others for good by the way they relate. Author and psychologist Dr. Larry Crabb presents a biblically grounded understanding of gender uniqueness. His illustration of a bridge of connection shows how the two genders can relationally come together in God-revealing harmony as they celebrate their God-designed uniqueness. Readers will discover that God created male and female to relate in gender-specific ways to make a difference in others by displaying God's relational character. Crabb clearly shows men and women what it means to live fully alive as feminine women and masculine men.
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441242635
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 283
Book Description
What makes a man masculine? A woman feminine? Did God design the two genders so differently? If so, why? The answers to these questions will free women and men to gladly embrace all that it means to be fully alive as gendered bearers of God's image who can profoundly impact others for good by the way they relate. Author and psychologist Dr. Larry Crabb presents a biblically grounded understanding of gender uniqueness. His illustration of a bridge of connection shows how the two genders can relationally come together in God-revealing harmony as they celebrate their God-designed uniqueness. Readers will discover that God created male and female to relate in gender-specific ways to make a difference in others by displaying God's relational character. Crabb clearly shows men and women what it means to live fully alive as feminine women and masculine men.
Ex Auditu - Volume 33
Author: Stephen Chester
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532646208
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
Introduction Stephen J. Chester You Become What You Worship: Theosis and the Story of the Bible Ben C. Blackwell Response to Blackwell Cynthia Peters Anderson The Old Testament and Participation with God (and/in Christ?): (Re-)Reading the Life of Moses with Some Help from Gregory of Nyssa Brent Strawn Response to Strawn J. Nathan Clayton Cruciform or Resurrectiform? Paul’s Paradoxical Practice of Participation in Christ Michael J. Gorman Response to Gorman Markus Nikkanen Union(s) with Christ: Colossians 1:15–20 Grant Macaskill Response to Macaskill Constantine R. Campbell Why Bother with Participation? An Early Lutheran Perspective Olli-Pekka Vainio Response to Vainio Stephen J. Chester The Geography of Participation: In Christ is Location. Location, Location Julie Canlis Response to Canlis Mary Patton Baker Jews and Gentiles together in Christ? The Jerusalem Council on Racial Reconciliation Ashish Varma Response to Varma Hauna Ondrey Letting the Music Play (Matthew 22:34–40) Cynthia Peters Anderson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532646208
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
Introduction Stephen J. Chester You Become What You Worship: Theosis and the Story of the Bible Ben C. Blackwell Response to Blackwell Cynthia Peters Anderson The Old Testament and Participation with God (and/in Christ?): (Re-)Reading the Life of Moses with Some Help from Gregory of Nyssa Brent Strawn Response to Strawn J. Nathan Clayton Cruciform or Resurrectiform? Paul’s Paradoxical Practice of Participation in Christ Michael J. Gorman Response to Gorman Markus Nikkanen Union(s) with Christ: Colossians 1:15–20 Grant Macaskill Response to Macaskill Constantine R. Campbell Why Bother with Participation? An Early Lutheran Perspective Olli-Pekka Vainio Response to Vainio Stephen J. Chester The Geography of Participation: In Christ is Location. Location, Location Julie Canlis Response to Canlis Mary Patton Baker Jews and Gentiles together in Christ? The Jerusalem Council on Racial Reconciliation Ashish Varma Response to Varma Hauna Ondrey Letting the Music Play (Matthew 22:34–40) Cynthia Peters Anderson
Christ Identity
Author: Sergio Rosell Nebreda
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647532541
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
Sergio Rosell Nebreda focuses on how the Philippian Christ-followers received Paul's letter. The social, historical, literary, rhetorical, anthropological and theological elements are dealt with in order to understand the effect Paul wanted to achieve.The main thesis of the book is that the apostle Paul, who greatly suffered at Philippi, and writing from a prison, desires to affect the Philippians believers to acquire a Christ-orientation based on the values expressed in the Christ-hymn. Phlp 2, 5–11 forms the core of Paul's theological narrative that aims at constructing a sense of imitatio and conformatio in the Christ-following community. Paul uses a 'friendly' style in his letters in order to produce rapport and trust in the community, presenting himself as examplum ad imitando, after that of Christ. It is because Paul so fully identifies with Christ's orientation in life that the apostle presents himself as a slave of Jesus Christ.In the midst of a society ill with the desire for honour and power, the Christ narrative stands as a radical call for an alternative life-style, based on the exercise of humility which seeks the interest of others rather than focusing on one's own needs and desires. Paul insists on the basis of the Christ-hymn that such a life-style reveals God's character and it is therefore a life rewarded. Through the use of Social Identity Theory this book evaluates how ancient people constructed their group identity in daily life and how through a seemingly inferior model (that of Christ's kenosis in 2, 5–11) the community receives a re-definition of values which are according to God's values, and who has the last word in history. Paul thus presents an alternative and viable way of life in the midst of a society he knows well.
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647532541
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
Sergio Rosell Nebreda focuses on how the Philippian Christ-followers received Paul's letter. The social, historical, literary, rhetorical, anthropological and theological elements are dealt with in order to understand the effect Paul wanted to achieve.The main thesis of the book is that the apostle Paul, who greatly suffered at Philippi, and writing from a prison, desires to affect the Philippians believers to acquire a Christ-orientation based on the values expressed in the Christ-hymn. Phlp 2, 5–11 forms the core of Paul's theological narrative that aims at constructing a sense of imitatio and conformatio in the Christ-following community. Paul uses a 'friendly' style in his letters in order to produce rapport and trust in the community, presenting himself as examplum ad imitando, after that of Christ. It is because Paul so fully identifies with Christ's orientation in life that the apostle presents himself as a slave of Jesus Christ.In the midst of a society ill with the desire for honour and power, the Christ narrative stands as a radical call for an alternative life-style, based on the exercise of humility which seeks the interest of others rather than focusing on one's own needs and desires. Paul insists on the basis of the Christ-hymn that such a life-style reveals God's character and it is therefore a life rewarded. Through the use of Social Identity Theory this book evaluates how ancient people constructed their group identity in daily life and how through a seemingly inferior model (that of Christ's kenosis in 2, 5–11) the community receives a re-definition of values which are according to God's values, and who has the last word in history. Paul thus presents an alternative and viable way of life in the midst of a society he knows well.
The Whole Mystery of Christ
Author: Jordan Daniel Wood
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268203466
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 495
Book Description
A thoroughgoing examination of Maximus Confessor’s singular theological vision through the prism of Christ’s cosmic and historical Incarnation. Jordan Daniel Wood changes the trajectory of patristic scholarship with this comprehensive historical and systematic study of one of the most creative and profound thinkers of the patristic era: Maximus Confessor (560–662 CE). Wood's panoramic vantage on Maximus’s thought emulates the theological depth of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Cosmic Liturgy while also serving as a corrective to that classic text. Maximus's theological vision may be summed up in his enigmatic assertion that “the Word of God, very God, wills always and in all things to actualize the mystery of his Incarnation.” The Whole Mystery of Christ sets out to explicate this claim. Attentive to the various contexts in which Maximus thought and wrote—including the wisdom of earlier church fathers, conciliar developments in Christological and Trinitarian doctrine, monastic and ascetic ways of life, and prominent contemporary philosophical traditions—the book explores the relations between God’s act of creation and the Word’s historical Incarnation, between the analogy of being and Christology, and between history and the Fall, in addition to treating such topics as grace, deification, theological predication, and the ontology of nature versus personhood. Perhaps uniquely among Christian thinkers, Wood argues, Maximus envisions creatio ex nihilo as creatio ex Deo in the event of the Word’s kenosis: the mystery of Christ is the revealed identity of the Word’s historical and cosmic Incarnation. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of patristics, historical theology, systematic theology, and Byzantine studies.
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268203466
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 495
Book Description
A thoroughgoing examination of Maximus Confessor’s singular theological vision through the prism of Christ’s cosmic and historical Incarnation. Jordan Daniel Wood changes the trajectory of patristic scholarship with this comprehensive historical and systematic study of one of the most creative and profound thinkers of the patristic era: Maximus Confessor (560–662 CE). Wood's panoramic vantage on Maximus’s thought emulates the theological depth of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Cosmic Liturgy while also serving as a corrective to that classic text. Maximus's theological vision may be summed up in his enigmatic assertion that “the Word of God, very God, wills always and in all things to actualize the mystery of his Incarnation.” The Whole Mystery of Christ sets out to explicate this claim. Attentive to the various contexts in which Maximus thought and wrote—including the wisdom of earlier church fathers, conciliar developments in Christological and Trinitarian doctrine, monastic and ascetic ways of life, and prominent contemporary philosophical traditions—the book explores the relations between God’s act of creation and the Word’s historical Incarnation, between the analogy of being and Christology, and between history and the Fall, in addition to treating such topics as grace, deification, theological predication, and the ontology of nature versus personhood. Perhaps uniquely among Christian thinkers, Wood argues, Maximus envisions creatio ex nihilo as creatio ex Deo in the event of the Word’s kenosis: the mystery of Christ is the revealed identity of the Word’s historical and cosmic Incarnation. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of patristics, historical theology, systematic theology, and Byzantine studies.