Forget everything you’ve ever thought (or been taught) about the Crucifixion. ​Most Christians believe we know all there is to know about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and its symbolism. We’ve learned about it in Sunday schools, catechism classes, church services, and even in our exposure to religious painting and sculpture. But what you don’t know is going to surprise you. In The Cross and Its Meaninglessness, Timothy John Tracy has taken thousands of years of Christian religious doctrine surrounding the Crucifixion and turned it on its head. Tracy questions the accepted meaning of Jesus Christ’s death and dares to suggest that the traditional explanation of God’s sacrifice of his only son is misguided. He rejects the notion that mankind’s salvation could only be earned by appeasing a violent God’s blood lust. Tracy proclaims that a true understanding of God’s all-loving nature negates the need for Jesus’s murder. His unique, eloquent “prayer” will make you wonder about and question your suppositions. In this powerful meditation, Tracy asks us to open our heart and listen to his plea. Doing so may inspire a faith deeper than you’ve ever known.

According to the Nicene Creed, Christ died for us and for our salvation. But while all Christians agree that Christ's death and resurrection has saving significance, there is little unanimity in how and why that is the case. In fact, Christian history islittered with accounts of the redemptive value of Christ's death, and new models and motifs are constantly being proposed, many of which now stand in stark contrast to earlier thought. How then should contemporary articulations of the importance of the death of Christ be judged? At the heart of this book is the contention that Christian reflection on the atonement is faithful inasmuch as it incorporates the intention that Jesus himself had for his death. In a wide-reaching study, the author draws from both classical scholarship and recent work on the historical Jesus to argue that not only did Jesus imbue his death with redemptive meaning but that such meaning should impact expressions of the saving significance of the cross.

This book reveals the meaning of the most momentous act in human history - the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This epoch event was predetermined by God from before the beginning of time to accomplish His eternal purpose. Although there is no truth of greater importance to God's people than the meaning of Christ's death on the cross, it is astonishing that there is no truth of which there is greater ignorance among professing Christians. Although they know they are saved by faith, very few Christians know how to live by faith. Consequently, they trust Jesus as Savior and hope one day to go to heaven but, in between, they struggle vainly to live in this sin-sick world by the best of their ability and often mistake their self-effort for faith. This is not only tragic, it is alarming because God's people can be ignorant about a lot of things, but if they are ignorant about the cross, they are in real trouble. As God said in Hosea 4:6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." The author clearly explains the glorious mystery of the cross, which is the key to understanding the whole gospel. Salvation is only the beginning and not the end of God's purpose for His people, for the cross of Christ is the door that leads to eternal union and intimate friendship with God.This book also contains an appendix with practical answers to thirty frequently asked questions regarding the meaning and application of the cross of Christ. All proceeds from this book go to support Christian evangelism and provide aid to members of the body of Christ in need.

Explores the New Testament books showing what each contributes to our understanding of the atonement.

International apologists present a compelling and inspiring case for how to draw on the resurrection for everyday Christian living.

The cross and the resurrection were central themes for Bonhoeffer's theology. These excerpts from sermons and letters contain his personal and faithful words about the crucifixion and the power of the cross for all Christians. Meditations on the Cross is ideal for devotional reading and personal reference.

The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible advances the assumption that the Nicene creedal tradition, in all its diversity, provides the proper basis for the interpretation of the Bible as Christian scripture. The series volumes, written by leading theologians, encourage readers to explore how the vital roots of the ancient Christian tradition inform and shape faithfulness today. In this addition to the series, respected theologian Kimlyn Bender offers a theological reading of 1 Corinthians. As with other volumes in the series, this commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups. It demonstrates the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

How do we hope in the face of modernity's failure and postmodernity's absence of foundations? How do we hope when the future seems fearful and no clear way forward appears? How do we hope when despair, indifference, and cynicism dominate the psychic landscape of English-speaking North America? In dialogue with theologians of the cross George Grant and Douglas John Hall, this book unmasks the failure of hope in our time and the vacuum of meaning that remains. As an exercise in the theology of the cross, Waiting at the Foot of the Cross explores the North American context as one in which true hope is discovered only when life's negations are engaged from a posture of waiting trust. Such hope is not passive or blind. Rather, it is attentive, active, open, and spiritually grounded in the One who meets us when all hope is spent. The final chapter proposes a way toward hope for today that inspires subversive resilience in the face of the ambiguities and vicissitudes of life. Readers interested in the theology of the cross, in thinking theologically in our time and place, and those interested in the character of Christian hope will find this book compelling.

Gerhard Forde examines the nature of the "theology of the cross, noting what makes it different from other kinds of theology. His starting point is a thorough analysis of Luther's Heidelberg Disputation of 1518, the classic text of the theology of the cross.