New Releases by Peter J. Leithart

Discussion about God''s work of creation are often overwhelmed by questions such as the age of the earth and the relationship between divine creation and evolution. Without completely ignoring these issues, this rigorously grounded theological interpretation of Genesis 1 engages thinkers like Plato, Martin Luther, and Karl Barth.

On Earth as in Heaven calls the church to embrace her identity and mission as one shaped by biblical theology and liturgy. The world grows increasingly polarized and politicized, but the church''s commission remains unchanged. Christians carry out Jesus''s mission by being the church. To change the world, the church needs only to be what she is--the bride of Christ--and to do what she does--teach, preach, sing, pray, break bread. Cultural and political mission and individual witness and service all spring from the church''s liturgical life. As the church proclaims God''s word and practices vibrant liturgy, she is God''s heavenly city, shining as a light to the world.

You''ve been baptized. But do you understand what it means? Baptism is the doorway into membership in the church. It''s a public declaration of the washing away of our sin and the beginning of our new life in Christ. But the sacrament that is meant to unite us is often a spring of division instead. All Christians use water to baptize. All invoke the triune name. Beyond that, there''s little consensus. Talk about baptism and you''re immediately plunged into arguments. Whom should we baptize? What does baptism do? Why even do it at all? Peter Leithart reunifies a church divided by baptism. He recovers the baptismal imagination of the Bible, explaining how baptism works according to Scripture. Then, in conversation with Christian tradition, he shows why baptism is something worth recovering and worth agreeing on.

Worship isn''t a retreat from the political and cultural clashes of our time or preparation for culture-transforming work. Culture is transformed in church liturgy. By working out a biblical theology of worship, Peter J. Leithart shows how the church''s liturgy Christianizes culture, moving creation toward its consummation in the new creation.

As the modern world crumbles, Christians scramble for answers. The solution is right in front of us - the Christian church, an outpost of the heavenly city among the cities of men. The Theopolitan Vision explains what the church is, and how the Spirit empowers the church''s world-transforming mission through Word and worship, Scripture and liturgy. It shows how the church can be a city of light in a dark age.

In the second volume of his commentary on the gospel of Matthew, Peter Leithart presents a close study of Matthew 13 through 28, underscoring Jesus'' formation of a counter-kingdom that also retells the story of Israel. Jesus is the true Israel who takes on the roles of various Old Testament leaders: Moses the law-giver, Joshua the conqueror, Solomon the philosopher-king, Elisha the wonder-working prophet leading a company of prophets, as well as Jeremiah and Ezekiel warning of the temple''s imminent destruction. Jesus'' interactions with the leaders of Israel recapitulate Yahweh''s tortured interactions with Israel in the Old Testament. In spite of Israel''s repeated rejections, Yahweh never gave up on His beloved. His love is stronger than death, and He returns as the world-emperor to send His new Israel to disciple the nations.

Gratitude is often understood as etiquette rather than ethics, an emotion rather than politics. It was not always so. From Seneca to Shakespeare, gratitude was a public virtue. The circle of benefaction and return of service worked to make society strong. But at the beginning of the modern era, European thinkers began to imagine a political economy freed from the burdens of gratitude. Though this rethinking was part of a larger process of secularization, it was also a distorted byproduct of an impulse ultimately rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the apostle Paul. Christians believed that God stood at the center of the circle of gratitude. God was the object of thanksgiving and God gave graciously. Thus, Christians taught that grace cancelled the oppressive debts of a purely political gratitude. Gratitude: An Intellectual History examines changing conceptions of gratitude from Homer to the present. In so doing, Peter J. Leithart highlights the profound cultural impact of early Christian "ingratitude," the release of humankind from the bonds of social and political reciprocity by a benevolent God who gave--and who continues to give--graciously.

The Failure of Denominationalism and the Future of Christian Unity One of the unforeseen results of the Reformation was the shattering fragmentation of the church. Protestant tribalism was and continues to be a major hindrance to any solution to Christian division and its cultural effects. In this book, influential thinker Peter Leithart critiques American denominationalism in the context of global and historic Christianity, calls for an end to Protestant tribalism, and presents a vision for the future church that transcends post-Reformation divisions. Leithart offers pastors and churches a practical agenda, backed by theological arguments, for pursuing local unity now. Unity in the church will not be a matter of drawing all churches into a single, existing denomination, says Leithart. Returning to Catholicism or Orthodoxy is not the solution. But it is possible to move toward church unity without giving up our convictions about truth. This critique and defense of Protestantism urges readers to preserve and celebrate the central truths recovered in the Reformation while working to heal the wounds of the body of Christ.

1 and 2 Kings, like each volume in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is designed to serve the church--through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

In this wide-ranging study bursting with insights, Peter Leithart explores how and why Jesus'' death and resurrection address the deepest realities of this world. This biblical and theological examination of atonement and justification challenges conventional perceptions and probes the depths of the death that changes everything.

As the Triune God created the world, so creation bears the signs of its Creator. This evocative book by an influential Christian thinker explores the pattern of mutual indwelling that characterizes the creation at every level. Traces of the Trinity appear in myriad ways in everyday life, from our relations with the world and our relationships with others to sexuality, time, language, music, ethics, and logic. This small book with a big idea--the Trinity as the Christian theory of everything--changes the way we view and think about the world and places demands on the way we live together in community.

Terrence Malick''s stunning film The Tree of Life is a modern Job story, an exploration of suffering and glory, an honest look at strife within a Texas family in the 1950s. In Shining Glory, Peter J. Leithart examines the biblical and theological motifs of the film and illuminates how Malick exploited the visual poetry of film to produce one of the most spiritually challenging and theologically sophisticated films ever made.

In his twenties, Fydor Dostoevsky, son of a Moscow doctor, graduate of a military academy, and rising star of Russian literature, found himself standing in front of a firing squad, accused of subversive activities against the Russian Tsar. Then the drums rolled, signaling that instead he was to be exiled to the living death of Siberia. Siberia was so cold the mercury froze in the thermometer. In prison, Dostoevsky was surrounded by murderers, thieves, parricides, and brigands who drank heavily, quarreled incessantly, and fought with horrible brutality. However, while "prisoners were piled on top of each other in the barracks, and the floor was matted with an inch of filth," Dostoevsky learned a great deal about the human condition that was to impact his writing as nothing had before. To absorb Dostoevsky''s remarkable life in these pages is to encounter a man who not only examined the quest of God, the problem of evil, and the suffering of innocents in his writing but also drew inspiration from his own deep Christian faith in giving voice to the common people of his nation... and ultimately the world.

This volume by a respected theologian offers fresh consideration of the work of famous fourth-century church father Athanasius, giving specific attention to his use of Scripture, his deployment of metaphysical categories, and the intersection between the two. Peter Leithart not only introduces Athanasius and his biblical theology but also puts Athanasius into dialogue with contemporary theologians. This volume launches the series Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality. Edited by Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering, the series critically recovers patristic exegesis and interpretation for contemporary theology and spirituality. Each volume covers a specific church father and illuminates the exegesis that undergirds the Nicene tradition. The series contributes to the growing area of theological interpretation and will appeal to both evangelical and Catholic readers.

Peter Leithart weighs what we''ve been taught about Constantine and claims that in focusing on these historical mirages we have failed to notice the true significance of Constantine and Rome baptized. He reveals how beneath the surface of this contested story there lies a deeper narrative--a tectonic shift in the political theology of an empire--with far-reaching implications.

The book is a powerful invitation to enter the depths of a text.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon states that "all is vapor" and describes humans as trying to "shepherd the wind." In Solomon among the Postmoderns, author Peter J. Leithart uses these claims, as well as the entire book of Ecclesiastes, to show how Solomon resonated with postmodernism. Exploring the strengths and weaknesses of postmodernism, Leithart shows how the theory reflects an important biblical theme: the elusiveness and instability of the world. But he goes on to show that biblical faith takes us beyond cynicism and despair. Solomon among the Postmoderns will appeal to academics and laypeople alike seeking a biblical view of postmodernism.

The book of Second Peter has long troubled biblical scholars and interpreters, who have disputed both its authorship and its claims about the imminent return of Christ. In this study, Peter Leithart offers a preterist reading of the epistle, arguing that it describe first-century events rather than the end of history. At the same time, he maintains orthodoxy, avoiding hyper-preterism and affirming both the real future return of Christ and the epistle''s authenticity. Leithart''s accessible style and powerful arguments make this book a valuable addition to the discussion surrounding the Bible''s apocalyptic prophecies.

The Federal Vision communicates the importance of applying a more robust Covenant theology to our study of the relationship between obedience and faith, and to the role of the Church and Sacraments in our salvation.

Peter Leithart''s typological reading of the unified book of 1 and 2 Samuel unleashes the literary power of this key Old Testament narrative. By giving careful attention to the book''s literary structures and its patterns of types and antitypes, the symbolic world of Samuel reveals a cumulative and cohesive story. Leithart''s reading of Samuel enhances our understanding of New Testament Christology and gives us a framework for applying the Old Testament to our own lives, as the book comes alive as a tragic and beautiful story of the rebirth of Israel in difficult times.

In the tradition of Grimm''s fairy tales, Peter Leithart has collected eighteen bedtime tales, each set invoking imagery, plots, and themes taken from Scripture, and each reveals a biblical proverb.

The best stories subtly weave themes and characters and symbols into a stunning final tapestry. This Old Testament survey, written for family and classroom reading, reveals the rich weave that makes Scripture the Story of stories.

"[Analyzes specific ancient epics and Greek dramas in the light of Christian beliefs. Ancient poets and playwrights discussed: Hesiod, Homer, Virgil, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.]"--Provided by publisher.

Shakespeare was, as Caesar says of Cassius, "a great observer," able to see and depict patterns of events and character. He understood how politics is shaped by the clash of men with various colorings of self-interest and idealism, how violence breeds violence, how fragile human beings create masks and disguises for protection, how schemers do the same for advancement, how love can grow out of hate and hate out of love. Dare anyone say that these insights are irrelevant to living in the real world? For many in an older generation, the Bible and the Collected Shakespeare were the two indispensable books, and thus their sense of life and history was shaped by the best and best-told stories. And they were the wiser for it. Literature abstracts from the complex events of life (just as we all do in everyday life) and can reveal patterns that are like the patterns of events in the real world. Studying literature can give us sensitivity to those patterns. This sensitivity to the rhythm of life is closely connected with what the Bible calls wisdom.