Here are 59 books that Public Church fans have personally recommended if you like
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My own scholarly focus at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley has been on the interaction between theology, science, and culture. Science and culture are public. Here’s one of my questions: how can theological reflection and theological ethics contribute to the common good that includes everyone outside my faith community? Here's another: how can a biblical insight into human nature–especially the image of God and the fall into sin–help us to anticipate how human nature will affect the future course of events? Public Theology is a field into which I can fold my background and analyses.
In my opinion, we need public theologians who will knowledgeably and insightfully address new discoveries in science as well as new advances in technology. Here, in the middle of worldwide excitement and anxiety over the fast-moving developments in Artificial Intelligence, we have the best book to date on this topic.
Noreen Herzfeld holds two doctorates, one in computer science and the other in theology. She teaches in both fields. She knows whereof she speaks. What she says provides me with confidence in the face of an otherwise puzzling, if not threatening, future.
AI is becoming ubiquitous. Whatever its arrival portends for our future, whether riches or ruin, it cannot be avoided. The Artifice of Intelligence explores two questions at the heart of a theological response to AI. Is it possible for human beings to have authentic relationships with an AI? How does the increasing presence of AI change the way humans relate to one another? In pursuing answers to these questions, Herzfeld explores what it means to be created in the image of God and to create AI in our own image. It utilizes and expands Karl Barth's relational understanding of the…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
My own scholarly focus at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley has been on the interaction between theology, science, and culture. Science and culture are public. Here’s one of my questions: how can theological reflection and theological ethics contribute to the common good that includes everyone outside my faith community? Here's another: how can a biblical insight into human nature–especially the image of God and the fall into sin–help us to anticipate how human nature will affect the future course of events? Public Theology is a field into which I can fold my background and analyses.
I really like anthologies when I get introduced to a new field. I want to know who’s who in the field and what distinguishes each of their contributions. In this comprehensive volume, I found familiar experts whom I had previously studied. However, I was also introduced to new authors in different parts of the world who have innovative insights.
This book is one of the better overviews. And it’s up to date.
T&T Clark Handbook of Public Theology introduces the various philosophical and theological positions and approaches in the emerging discourse of public theology. Distinguishing public theology from political theology, as well as from liberation theology, this book clarifies central terms like 'public sphere', 'the secular', and 'post-secularity' in order to highlight the specific characteristics of public theology.
Its particular focus lies on the ways in which much of public theology has established itself as a contextual theology in politically secular societies, aiming to continue the apologetical tradition in this specific context. Depending on what is regarded as the most pressing challenge…
My own scholarly focus at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley has been on the interaction between theology, science, and culture. Science and culture are public. Here’s one of my questions: how can theological reflection and theological ethics contribute to the common good that includes everyone outside my faith community? Here's another: how can a biblical insight into human nature–especially the image of God and the fall into sin–help us to anticipate how human nature will affect the future course of events? Public Theology is a field into which I can fold my background and analyses.
As previously mentioned, I like to get introduced to a wide spectrum of authors on a topic such as public theology. I want to learn how various contributors define “public theology” and how they move from theory to practice.
Sebastian Kim at Fuller in Pasadena and Katie Day at United Seminary in Gettysburg are pioneers in this newly minted coin of the theological realm.
Winner of the 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award
Public theology has emerged in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as theologians have increasingly entered the public square to engage complex issues. This Companion to Public Theology brings a much-needed resource to this relatively new field. The essays contained here bring a robust and relevant faith perspective to a wide range of issues as well as foundational biblical and theological perspectives which equip theologians to enter into public dialogue. Public theology has never been more needed in public discourse, whether local or global. In conversation across disciplines its contribution to the…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
My own scholarly focus at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley has been on the interaction between theology, science, and culture. Science and culture are public. Here’s one of my questions: how can theological reflection and theological ethics contribute to the common good that includes everyone outside my faith community? Here's another: how can a biblical insight into human nature–especially the image of God and the fall into sin–help us to anticipate how human nature will affect the future course of events? Public Theology is a field into which I can fold my background and analyses.
Paul Chung's distinctive voice within the public theology choir reminds us of the disruptions wrought by the colonial and now postcolonial periods. The coronach befits the victims of injustice while the crescendo befits the achievements of science and civilization.
Please visit Paul Chung's new international website, "Public Theology in Forum."
Postcolonial Public Theology is a tour de force--theological reflection transformed by encounter with the most compelling intellectual discourses of our time. It offers prophetic challenge to the hegemony of economic globalization. Evolutionary science's encounter with life's limit questions requires an ethically responsible practice of scientific rationality, measured by sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all. Interreligious engagement compels us to take seriously the realities of cultural hybridity and social location in reimagining a polycentric Christianity. Postcolonial Public Theology makes the case for public theology to turn toward postcolonial imagination, demonstrating a fresh rethinking of public and global issues that continue to emerge…
I’ve been fascinated by Dante since my first years at university. For me, reading Dante was the beginning of a journey, opening up a rich world of theology, philosophy, art, literature, science, and culture. As Professor of Theology at the University of St Andrews, I especially enjoy facilitating students’ first encounters with Dante, and seeing how Dante so often leads them, also, to a deeper appreciation of some of the greatest thinkers and makers of our civilisation, from Aristotle and Virgil to Aquinas and Giotto.
This collaborative volume, resulting from a seminal conference held in Cambridge in 2003, seeks to draw twenty-first-century readers’ attention again towards Dante as a theologian. It is a wonderful medley of essays on Dante and theology, with contributions by Dante scholars key to this theological reappraisal, including Robin Kirkpatrick, Peter Hawkins, and Christian Moevs. The volume concludes with David Ford’s clarion call for theologians to turn to, and learn from, Dante today: ‘Dante as Inspiration for Twenty-First-Century Theology.’
In Dante's Commedia: Theology as Poetry, an international group of theologians and Dante scholars provide a uniquely rich set of perspectives focused on the relationship between theology and poetry in the Commedia. Examining Dante's treatment of questions of language, personhood, and the body; his engagement with the theological tradition he inherited; and the implications of his work for contemporary theology, the contributors argue for the close intersection of theology and poetry in the text as well as the importance of theology for Dante studies. Through discussion of issues ranging from Dante's use of imagery of the Church to the significance…
I have, unfortunately, been invited into a club I never signed up for–the Griever’s Club. It’s not that my losses are exceptional, but I have been desperate to find meaning and hope in them in order to survive them. I lost my best friend of over 25 years to cancer and lost my dad on the same day–two years later–from an unexpected heart attack. I have known grief in other ways, too: unexpected job loss, disease, my children’s health struggles. As a pastor and a follower of Christ, it has been important to me to wrestle honestly for my own faith, and on behalf of other hurting readers.
I had the advantage of reading an early copy of this book because Catherine is one of my closest friends. She and Jason have put their fingers on the pulse of what happens to your faith when you hit a crisis point or a trauma–and how that doesn’t have to lead to the untangling or shattering of all you believed.
Rather, there is a refining and freedom that comes from facing a mid-faith crisis and it can move you to a place of maturity, seasoning, and unburdened faith.
Navigating the Storm: Understanding the Crisis of Faith
Many of us embarked on our spiritual journeys filled with hope and certainty, only to find ourselves questioning the very foundation of our beliefs as life unfolded. The faith that once seemed unshakeable may falter in the face of broken trust, unanswered prayers, and the harsh realities of worldly suffering. But you're not alone―mid-faith crises are a shared human experience that can feel isolating yet are a crucial part of our spiritual journey.
In Mid Faith Crisis, authors Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague provide a compassionate exploration of this challenging phase. With…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I love historical fiction in all its forms, from the multi-volume family epics to the Dear America middle-grade books I grew up with. And I really, truly don’t understand why historical fiction has a reputation for being dry, dull, or worst of all, like homework. Sure, there are some novels written for history buffs only, but the vast majority aren’t, and neither is mine. When I wrote A Tip for the Hangman, my goal was to write historical fiction that reads like a page-turner, not a textbook. The books on this list all pull off that trick beautifully, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Mysterious victorian missionaries with dark secrets in the land of the fae.I truly do not know how to sell this book any better. I tend to recommend gothic literature for historical fiction newbies, since the emotional stakes are always so high and the plots often bend close to horror or fantasy, and this one is no different. The worldbuilding is spectacular, and it plays on the tropes of classic gothic novels in a way that’s knowing, clever, and never dry or stilted. No wonder Ng won the Hugo for best new author when she released this book—it deserves it.
Winner of the John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Jeannette Ng brings a stunningly different Victorian fantasy that mixes Crimson Peak with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Victorian missionaries travel into the heart of the newly discovered lands of the Fae, in a stunningly different fantasy that mixes Crimson Peak with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Catherine Helstone's brother, Laon, has disappeared in Arcadia, legendary land of the magical fae. Desperate for news of him, she makes the perilous journey, but once there, she finds herself alone and isolated in the sinister house of Gethsemane. At last there…
As an octogenarian with one foot rooted in each superpower in today’s world, I have witnessed the traumas and breakthroughs of humanity since World War II. Believing that true international education happens through immersion within “other” peoples’ territory, I dedicated my career to this endeavor in both directions. In the last decade, I have redirected my publications from academics to the general public and readers young at heart.
Geopolitical forces and technological revolutions have brought humanity to a utopian-dystopian precipice, where we face dire perils and opportunities. My five recommended books explain how we got here and offer wisdom on how to survive and flourish going forward.
This book provides the philosophical/spiritual underpinning to a theme present in the preceding four books. But instead of “We’re all in the same boat, so we must put rivalry aside and join hands to ensure our survival,” the Pope would say, “We are all brothers and sisters. While we may fight, we must forgive and embrace each other, for that is our destiny.”
Pope Francis saw himself as pastor of the universal church, extending his ministry to people of all faiths and even no faith. In old age and plagued by disability, he continued to seize each day to carry out his mission of peace-making.
I especially loved that he did not mince words when castigating evildoers in powerful positions. He didn’t name names, but everyone knew who he meant.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pope Francis originally intended this exceptional memoir to appear only after his death, but the needs of our times and the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope moved him to make this precious legacy available sooner. Now, the book stands as his testament; the spiritual, faith-filled, as well as moral, social, and civic legacy that he envisioned and left for the benefit of all the men and women of the world.
“Hope vividly recreates the colorful world where the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up.”—The New York Times
I’ve been reading Tolkien since I was seven years old, mumblety-mumble years in the distant past, but it wasn’t till much later that I got serious about reading critical works on Tolkien, and then turned to writing about him, myself. Twenty years ago, I published my first book on Tolkien. Since then, I’ve edited a number of essay collections, published many papers, consulted on the Hobbit movies, amassed a respectable personal library, and edited Mythlore, one of the major journals in the field of Tolkien studies, since 2006. My love of Tolkien has led me on many adventures and to deep and abiding friendships around the world!
I am fascinated by the contradictions of Tolkien’s women and by the tension between Christian and pagan in his writing.
This book is particularly valuable for its explication of Tolkien’s integration of Marian and Valkyrie imagery, resulting in female characters of transcendental beauty and heroism. And the writing is absorbing and informative.
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I am a rabbi, educator, scholar and author who has led congregations, organizations and taught in rabbinical seminaries. As a result, I have always straddled the world of the practitioner and the academician. These books have informed my personal religious practice and outlook, as well as my academic approach to Judaism.
Eugene Borowitz was the leading liberal Jewish theologian of the 20th and early 21st century. Although this book may be challenging for those disinclined to read dense theology, it is presented in a more popular way and contains a theology that has informed the lives of many Jews, including myself.
