David H. Jensen

Seeing the contours of Christian thought about ChristThroughout the two-thousand-year span of Christian history, believers in Jesus have sought to articulate their faith and their understanding of how God works in the world. How do we, as we examine the vast and varied output of those who came before us, understand the unity and the diversity of their thinking? How do we make sense of our own thought in light of theirs? The Christian Understandings series offers to help.In this insightful volume, David H. Jensen offers an engaging tour through more than two millennia of thought on Christ. Starting with the New Testament and moving forward, Jensen outlines the myriad beliefs, developments, and questions encompassing the attempts to understand Christianity's most central--and most mysterious--figure. From the patristic portrayals to medieval Christology, from the Reformation to the Enlightenment, and into the twentieth century and beyond, Jensen presents a helpful and needed guide.

"The episodes in 1 and 2 Samuel are striking in their depiction of human characterspriests, soldiers, kings, prophets, and royal advisersbut also significant in how they narrate the central character of this history, the God of Israel. History, in these books, is not simply an accounting of royal intrigue, military battles, and socio-economic struggle but the stage upon which God reveals God's very self. First and Second Samuel relay some of the most memorable vignettes in all Scripturethe call of Samuel, David's battle with Goliath, and David's seizure of Bathsheeba as his wifeand discover in them the hand of God."from the introductionFirst and Second Samuel describe the beginnings of monarchy in ancient Israel and introduce us to intriguing characters: Samuelprophet, priest, and judge; Saulthe tragic figure who becomes Israel's first king; and DavidSaul's celebrated successor and Israel's key leader whose influence endured for generations. But as Jensen makes clear in his splendid commentary, there is another figure who is a central character: God. Throughout his theologically rich treatment of these biblical books, Jensen explores what makes these texts important for us. He suggests that we read 1 and 2 Samuel because they reveal the complexities of the human person; the ambiguities of our social arrangements as nations; and God's agency in a conflicted world. Jensen notes that as we are shaped by and grapple with the biblical stories, we are invited to find our own stories within them. "What keeps us coming back to faith," he says, "is its stories: stories that tell the truth about the human condition, our shared corporate life, and the life God gives to the world."

This work of constructive theology examines human sexuality in light of Christian faith and doctrine. Jensen moves beyond the hot-button social debates about sexual orientation and sexual practices to look for healing. The seven chapters consider Scripture and sex; the connections between the triune, covenantal God and human sexuality; Christ's incarnation and resurrection as affirming the beauty of flesh; eschatology and sexual identity; the ramifications of the Lord's Supper for human sexuality; vocation and Christian callings to marriage, celibacy, and singleness; and sexual ethics.

Reinhold Niebuhr argued that one of the fundamental challenges to human existence is the anxiety caused by our desire to be perfect and godlike while knowing we are limited and mortal. This book explores how human adornment practices negotiate anxieties about our finitude. Through our clothing, we often shield ourselves from feeling our human frailty and from having others detect our emotional, physical, and spiritual vulnerabilities. Looking at the incarnation as a form of "dress," Saracino claims that getting naked with Jesus or embracing our vulnerability is our only hope at creating life-giving relationships with God and others in the global world.

Working. We spend most of our waking hours doing it but rarely consider its theological meanings or implications. Is work a punishment or curse, an avenue to human flourishing or something else? Is there a distinctively Christian approach to working? Darby Ray, whose work on Christology and ethics has emphasized the surprising breadth and elasticity of the Christian past, lifts up key insights from Christian scripture and tradition and considers their implications for today's complex, globalized world of work.

"Eschatology," the theological name for the study of the endtime, often conjures up frightening concepts of the rapture, the final judgment, heaven and hell, Armageddon, and the anti-Christ. Author David Jensen's theological approach offers a brighter perspective on the end-time as a time of hope when Christians will see the full glory of the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the body, and Christ's promised return.

Most Christians work outside the church, so for many--if not most--of us, daily labor seems divorced from Christian beliefs and ethics. Work is an inevitable factor of human existence, and yet we do not have appropriate theological resources to help us reflect on its nature and meaning in light of Christian understanding and contemporary American culture. How can we as Christians understand our work as a dimension of our faith?