What does it mean to exercise patience? What does it mean to endure, to wait, and to persevere-and, on other occasions, to reject patience in favor of resistance, haste, and disruptive action? And what might it mean to describe God as patient? Might patience play a leading role in a Christian account of God's creative work, God's relationship to ancient Israel, God's governance of history, and God's saving activity? The first instalment of Patience-A Theological Exploration engages these questions in searching, imaginative, and sometimes surprising ways. Following reflections on the biblical witness and the nature of constructive theological inquiry, its interpretative chapters engage landmark works by a number of ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary authors, disclosing both the promise and peril of talk about patience. Patience stands at the center of this innovative account of God's creative work, God's relationship with ancient Israel, creaturely sin, scripture, and God's broader providential and salvific purposes.

This book assesses the work of John Howard Yoder, author of The Politics of Jesus and other noted writings within which he engaged in principled, patient, nonfoundationalist, and unsystematic conversation with the Bible, his Anabaptist tradition, and such thinkers as Niebuhrs and Hauerwas. The book also places Yoder in new discussions, such as with Derrida and Said--and extends the conversation to the 16 insightful Yoder scholars writing in this volume. All of the chapters acknowledge the profound and controversial contribution Yoder has made to Christian ethics and theology.

This book presents human suffering as a basis for systematic reflection on moral and ethical issues. It argues the need of a supplemental experience to bolster this effect; specifically, a role filled by Christianity. Amid a myriad of compelling and contrasting arguments, this book provides a firm foundation on which moral issues can be contemplated.