{"product_id":"a-house-for-hope-isbn-9780807001509","title":"A House for Hope","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn accessible discussion about the religious progressives who are creating a movement far stronger than fundamentalism: a liberal religious renaissance based on an expansive love for life\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Hope is rising. The political tide in the United States has turned, and people across the country who have been working for years for social change and justice finally feel as though they aren't struggling alone. Yet for those who ground their social activism in progressive religious belief, it is all too easy to feel spiritually divided and isolated, daunted by the apparent dominance of religious fundamentalists in the media and politics. The impact of liberal religion is richer and more far-reaching than many know—a force for good that has inspired and supported two centuries of American social progress, from the abolition of slavery and the securing of women's rights to the present-day struggles for marriage equality, ecological responsibility, and global peace. In order to sustain our spirits and advance positive social change, progressive people need to claim the transforming power of our theological heritage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Authored by two leading progressive theologians, \u003ci\u003eA House for Hope\u003c\/i\u003e affirms that the shared hopes of religious progressives from many traditions can create a movement far stronger than fundamentalism: a liberal religious renaissance. Yet for it to flourish, progressive people must rediscover the spiritual sustenance available in the theological house our liberal forebears built, and embrace what our tradition truly holds sacred, as well as understanding what it rejects.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In lively and engaging language, \u003ci\u003eA House for Hope\u003c\/i\u003e suggests that liberal religious commitment is based on expansive love for life rather than adherence to narrow dogma. With chapters that reveal the political and personal relevance of the enduring questions at the heart of this theology, \u003ci\u003eA House for Hope\u003c\/i\u003e shows how religious liberals have countered fundamentalists for generations, and provides progressives with not only a theological but also a spiritual foundation for the challenges of the twenty-first century.\u003cb\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Buehrens and Rebecca Parker\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart One\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Garden\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter One: This Holy Ground\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Two: Last Things First\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Two\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sheltering Walls\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Three: Life Together\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Four: Restoring Heartwood\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Three\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Roof\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eChapter Five: Deliver Us from Evil\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Six: Taking Refuge\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Four\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Foundations\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Seven: The Rocks Will Cry Out\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Eight: The Changing of the Foundations \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Five\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Welcoming Rooms\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Nine: A Home for Love\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Ten: The Welcome Table\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Eleven: A Sanctuary for the Spirit\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Buehrens and Rebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Six\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Threshold\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Twelve: No Caravan of Despair\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRebecca Parker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter Thirteen: A Call to Partnership“A thoughtful meditation on religion, duty, and the common good.”\u003ci\u003e—Booklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“To some observers, religion and conservatism have become inextricably fused. But to [Buehrens and Parker], something new is emerging—a liberal religious renaissance.”—Steven Levingston, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“For nearly three decades, journalists and pundits have focused on the views and beliefs of the Religious Right and basically ignored members of America’s mainline and liberal Protestant establishment. . . . [Buehrens and Parker] have set out to reintroduce people to the riches and bounties of progressive religion.”—Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, \u003ci\u003eSpirituality \u0026amp; Practice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Buehrens and Parker begin with the life of service and work for justice and deepen it to show the implicit beliefs that it assumes and that are implicit in it. They show that progressive Protestants can be proud and articulate about their beliefs.”—John B. Cobb Jr., coauthor of \u003ci\u003eFor the Common Good\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn A. Buehrens\u003c\/b\u003e was president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993 to 2001 and is now minister of the First Parish Church in Needham, Massachusetts. He is coauthor of \u003ci\u003eA Chosen Faith\u003c\/i\u003e and author of \u003ci\u003eUnderstanding the Bible\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Rebecca Ann Parker\u003c\/b\u003e is president of and professor of theology at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California, and coauthor of \u003ci\u003eSaving Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eProverbs of Ashes\u003c\/i\u003e. An ordained United Methodist minister, Parker has dual fellowship with the United Methodist  Church and the Unitarian Universalist Association.Hope is rising. The political tide in the United States has\u003cbr\u003eturned, and many are hoping for progress on issues such as\u003cbr\u003eglobal warming, health care, marriage equality, and international\u003cbr\u003econflict. But religious fundamentalists of many varieties\u003cbr\u003econtinue to promote frameworks of meaning that put earth’s\u003cbr\u003eglobal community, its diverse peoples, and its ecological systems\u003cbr\u003eat profound risk. More than political change is called\u003cbr\u003efor; America’s liberals and progressives need greater awareness\u003cbr\u003ethat at the core of social and political issues lie competing\u003cbr\u003eresponses to the classic questions posed by theology. Effective\u003cbr\u003ework for social change requires people of faith who are theologically\u003cbr\u003eliterate and engaged. To that end\u003cb\u003e, \u003c\/b\u003ethis book provides a\u003cbr\u003eprimer in progressive theology. It recovers and reconsiders the\u003cbr\u003ehope-filled religious frameworks that inspired generations of\u003cbr\u003eactivists to work for women’s rights, racial equality, economic\u003cbr\u003ejustice, and peace. These frameworks embody reverence for the\u003cbr\u003esacred, nourish community life, carry forward the aspirations\u003cbr\u003eof our forebears, and respond to legacies of violence and injus\u003ci\u003e|\u003c\/i\u003etice that harm our bodies and souls. They hold promise for our\u003cbr\u003etime. As Sara Robinson, blogging in 2008 for the Campaign for\u003cbr\u003eAmerica’s Future, argued:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Secular progressives don’t seem to understand that while\u003cbr\u003epolitics is all about how we’re going to make the world better,\u003cbr\u003eprogressive religion tells us why it’s necessary to work\u003cbr\u003efor change.... Liberal faith traditions offer the essential metaphors\u003cbr\u003eand worldview that everything else derives from—\u003cbr\u003ethe frames that give our dreams shape and meaning. It has\u003cbr\u003ean invaluable role to play in helping our movement set its\u003cbr\u003evalues and priorities, understand where we are in the larger\u003cbr\u003escheme, and gauge whether we’re succeeding or not.\u003cbr\u003eThe conservative movement knew from the get-go that\u003cbr\u003eit would not succeed unless it could offer people this kind\u003cbr\u003eof deeper narrative. Providing that was one of the most\u003cbr\u003eimportant things the religious right brought to their party.\u003cbr\u003eProgressivism will not defeat it until we can offer another\u003cbr\u003enarrative about what America can and should be—and our\u003cbr\u003eliberal churches have longer, harder, better experience than\u003cbr\u003eanyone at developing and communicating those stories, and\u003cbr\u003ebuilding thriving communities around them.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis book uses the metaphor of a theological house to\u003cbr\u003earticulate the “frames that give our dreams shape and meaning.”\u003cbr\u003eThrough this metaphor we explore the classic topics of\u003cbr\u003etheology from a progressive vantage point—reminding the\u003cbr\u003ereader that liberal religion has a long history, and inviting reconsideration\u003cbr\u003eand reimagining of its key concepts. We write\u003cbr\u003eas coauthors because we recognize that no one authoritative\u003cbr\u003evoice can claim to speak to all of liberal and progressive religion.\u003cbr\u003eDialogue that opens up further conversation is integral\u003cbr\u003eto progressive theological method. We have been in dialogue\u003cbr\u003ewith each other for a number of years about many issues in\u003cbr\u003eprogressive religion today. We have much in common as a\u003cbr\u003eresult, but we do not always agree about every issue or formulation.\u003cbr\u003eTo invite the reader into dialogue as well, in each\u003cbr\u003esection of this book there are two or more chapters: one by\u003cbr\u003eRebecca introduces the theological theme and identifies distinctive\u003cbr\u003eliberal perspectives on the topic; one by John offers\u003cbr\u003efurther historical perspective, counterpoints, and reflections on\u003cbr\u003ethe theme.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eEach dimension of the house—including its setting within\u003cbr\u003ethe natural world—corresponds to one of the classic issues\u003cbr\u003eof systematic theological reflection. Theology, we suggest, is\u003cbr\u003earchitectural—it provides a framework for human life. It is also\u003cbr\u003eecological—it creates an interactive system in response to a\u003cbr\u003especific environment. And it is archeological—it unearths artifacts\u003cbr\u003efrom the past that can inspire our imagination and understanding\u003cbr\u003enow. Here are the basic dimensions and coordinates\u003cbr\u003eof this theological house for hope, and the questions that each\u003cbr\u003erepresents.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300418801893,"sku":"NP9780807001509","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807001509.jpg?v=1767720538","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/a-house-for-hope-isbn-9780807001509","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}