Why is theology often divorced from ministry? Why is ministry left bereft of a robust theology? Ray S. Anderson, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary for over thirty years, has left a legacy of provocative reflections on these questions. In this book Christian Kettler provides a sure guide to major themes in the work of one of the most creative theological minds to have sought to integrate theology and ministry. Early experience on a South Dakota farm and in a California parish...
How does one deal with despair? Are joy and despair irreconcilable? How does the joy and despair of Jesus Christ relate to our joy and despair? Continuing to explore the implications of the vicarious humanity of Christ as he did in The God Who Believes, Christian Kettler investigates the christological implications of the all too human phenomenon of despair. All people experience the pain of personal loss and lack, of the meaninglessness of existence. We also desire and covet joy, as...
Atonement. For some this word is the heart of the Christian faith. For others, it is irrelevant for Christianity and how they live their Christian lives. Often we do not see «the breadth and depth» of the atonement in the gospel. Christian D. Kettler, in his fourth book on «the vicarious humanity of Christ,» suggests that we consider that the atonement is not only a vicarious death in our place and on our behalf–whether in the form of a «penal substitute» or a «moral example»–but also his...
Can there be a greater folly than writing a book about love? But how can we avoid that most basic of all desires and commands? Yet we are very poor lovers, as our history demonstrates. If God is love, though, can we find help in considering the love of Jesus Christ, and the love of Jesus thought of in terms of what T. F. Torrance called «the vicarious humanity of Christ»? This would mean that we realize our inability and the Son of God's ability to love on our behalf and in our place. Such...
