How do the arts inform and cultivate our service to God? In this addition to an award-winning series, distinguished philosopher Bruce Ellis Benson rethinks what it means to be artistic. Rather than viewing art as practiced by the few, he recovers the ancient Christian idea of presenting ourselves to God as works of art, reenvisioning art as the very core of our being: God calls us to improvise as living works of art. Benson also examines the nature of liturgy and connects art and liturgy in a new way. This book will appeal to philosophy, worship/liturgy, art, music, and theology students as well as readers interested in engaging issues of worship and aesthetics in a postmodern context, including Christian artists and worship leaders.

How does Christianity change the way we view the natural world? In this addition to a critically acclaimed series, renowned theologian Norman Wirzba engages philosophers, environmentalists, and cultural critics to show how the modern concept of nature has been deeply problematic. He explains that understanding the world as creation rather than as nature or the environment makes possible an imagination shaped by practices of responsibility and gratitude, which can help bring healing to our lands and communities. By learning to give thanks for creation as God's gift of life, Christians bear witness to the divine love that is reconciling all things to God. Named a "Best Theology Book of 2015," Englewood Review of Books "Best Example of Theology in Conversation with Urgent Contemporary Concerns" for 2015, Hearts & Minds Bookstore

Worship is dialogue. It is more than that, but it is not less than that. The way Baptists have worshiped for three and a half centuries demonstrates this consistently, in spite of their penchant for freedom and autonomy. No one tells Baptists how to order their worship services. They don't have a common liturgy that they must follow, and yet their services look remarkably similar. This is largely due to two controlling factors in their worship: The Bible that they embrace as inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient; and the Christ-revealing gospel that is contained within its pages. When the word of God is followed closely, a shape for worship order begins to emerge. It is the same "gospel-shape" that is found throughout the Bible. When the word of God is applied to a worship service in which God and his people are engaged in a worship conversation, a consistent contour of gospel elements and content begins to emerge that reveals the glory of the Christ we gather to worship. He is so glorious that when we behold him, we are transformed into the same image from one degree to another. This is the power of corporate worship (2 Cor 3).

Contemporary Western society has a strange relationship with freedom. Unbridled subjective liberty and narrow fundamentalism pull away from each other in mutual loathing while sociological forces seek to manipulate both sides. The church needs to recover and reconstruct a theology of freedom to navigate between the perils of both extremes and to avoid being manipulated by these forces. Just as biblical figures are taught through parables and metaphors, this book uses jazz improvisation as an analogy for Christian freedom. Just as jazz improvisation relies on successfully navigating constraints such as the history and traditions of jazz, jazz theory, and musical instruments, so Christian freedom also relies on constraints such as the biblical canon, church history, theology, and the church itself. Through understanding the freedom jazz musicians enjoy in making music together, we can better understand how Christian freedom might be enacted in daily life. If Western churches discover and enact Christian freedom in a meaningful way, the songs that they improvise will be as siren calls to people in chains.

Everyday worship practices--from praying the rosary to moments of recognizing the beauty of God's creation, from being moved by the power of music to praying Vespers on an iPad--not only take place at different locations and during different days of the week but also dynamically interact with one another. The Liturgy of Life examines the interrelationship between the practice of Sunday Eucharist and the many nonofficial worship practices that mark the everyday lives of Christians who continually negotiate the boundaries of official teaching on liturgy. Drawing on the writings of theologians and sociologists of lived religion and data from an ethnographic research project, this timely work stretches the contextual horizon of liturgical scholarship and presents a provocative and dynamic paradigm of Christian worship for the twenty-first century.

How does worship work? How exactly does liturgical formation shape us? What are the dynamics of such transformation? In the second of James K. A. Smith's three-volume theology of culture, the author expands and deepens the analysis of cultural liturgies and Christian worship he developed in his well-received Desiring the Kingdom. He helps us understand and appreciate the bodily basis of habit formation and how liturgical formation--both "secular" and Christian--affects our fundamental orientation to the world. Worship "works" by leveraging our bodies to transform our imagination, and it does this through stories we understand on a register that is closer to body than mind. This has critical implications for how we think about Christian formation. Professors and students will welcome this work as will pastors, worship leaders, and Christian educators. The book includes analyses of popular films, novels, and other cultural phenomena, such as The King's Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Facebook.

The philosophies of French thinkers Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault form the basis for postmodern thought and are seemingly at odds with the Christian faith. However, James K. A. Smith claims that their ideas have been misinterpreted and actually have a deep affinity with central Christian claims. Each chapter opens with an illustration from a recent movie and concludes with a case study considering recent developments in the church that have attempted to respond to the postmodern condition, such as the "emerging church" movement. These case studies provide a concrete picture of how postmodern ideas can influence the way Christians think and worship. This significant book, winner of a Christianity Today 2007 Book Award, avoids philosophical jargon and offers fuller explanation where needed. It is the first book in the Church and Postmodern Culture series, which provides practical applications for Christians engaged in ministry in a postmodern world.

This provocative addition to The Church and Postmodern Culture series offers a lively rereading of Charles Sheldon's In His Steps as a constructive way forward. John D. Caputo introduces the notion of why the church needs deconstruction, positively defines deconstruction's role in renewal, deconstructs idols of the church, and imagines the future of the church in addressing the practical implications of this for the church's life through liturgy, worship, preaching, and teaching. Students of philosophy, theology, religion, and ministry, as well as others interested in engaging postmodernism and the emerging church phenomenon, will welcome this provocative, non-technical work.

The topics examined in this book include the development of 'virtue morality' and its practice in today's Catholic Church; tensions between local churches and the universal church; and the celebration of the liturgy and the sacraments.

Since its institution, the Eucharist has been celebrated in all churches regardless of denominational differences. Yet its importance should not be just confined to the Christian communities; it can have transformational power in the cultural milieu. In this book, Yik-Pui Au argues that the Eucharist can be a countercultural liturgy that upholds the identity and values of Christianity by countering cultural currents that are contrary to the Christian faith. Au takes an interdisciplinary approach comprised of church history, ritual theory, and theology of culture to examine systematically the countercultural functions of the Eucharist interpreted by three modern theologians, Henri de Lubac, John Zizioulas, and Miroslav Volf, representing the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions respectively. The comparative evaluation of this cross-tradition analysis supports Au's argument that even though culture is complex and changing, the countercultural function of the Eucharist remains valid. Despite its complexity, culture can be transformed by the Eucharist and it can also challenge and renew our understanding of the Eucharist. She suggests that due to its richness, the countercultural function of the Eucharist cannot be exhausted by one tradition. It is the task of theologians to help the church continually venture to explore and vivify this function ecumenically.