Basic Words of Christian Belief

Today, many people believe that the question of faith is one purely of belief. Wolfgang Huber, however, argues that it is actually one of trust, and our willingness to trust in God and His promises. In This I Trust, Huber engages in meditations on classic words of the Christian tradition, from the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer to the stories of the birth and parables and death of Jesus. Through these works, he searches for for the fiery core and world-defying implications of Christian faith today.

Although he is fully cognizant of  the complexities and ambiguities of contemporary life, he nonetheless asserts, “If we trust in God we can endure the uncertainties, accept the limitations, and receive the fullness of life as a gift.” For those who struggle with the meaning of faith and Christian discipleship in their personal, familial, professional and political lives, Huber offers deep assurance and steep challenge.

For more information on the publication, click here.

Wolfgang Huber is a prominent German theologian and ethicist. Engaged in both church and politics, he has served on numerous boards of ethics and public policy, as a professor of theology in the universities of Marburg and Heidelberg, and as Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg from 1993 to 2009.

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Documenting a History of Nonviolent Protest in the United States

Have you ever wondered about the history of activism in the United States? Curious about what protests looked like before the modern methods pioneered by the civil rights era? We the Resistance showcases a number of historic activists to give curious citizens and current resisters an insight into the history of American activism. Beginning with the pre-Revolutionary War era and continuing through to the present day, readers will encounter the voices of protestors sharing instructive stories about their methods (from sit-ins to tree sitting) and opponents (from Puritans to Wall Street bankers), as well as inspirational stories about their failures (from slave petitions to the fight for the ERA), and successes (from enfranchisement for women to today’s reform of police practices).

In an effort to combat histories of America that focus on our military past, this book provides an alternate history of the formation of our nation and its character, one in which courageous individuals and movements have wielded the tools of nonviolence to resist unjust, unfair, and immoral policies and practices. Instruction and inspiration run throughout this captivating reader, generously illustrated with historic graphics and photographs of nonviolent protests throughout U.S. history.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“This book fights fascism. This books offers hope. We The Resistance is essential reading for those who wish to understand how popular movements built around nonviolence have changed the world and why they retain the power to do so again.”—Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life

“This comprehensive documentary history of non-violent resisters and resistance movements is an inspiring antidote to any movement fatigue or pessimism about the value of protest. It tells us we can learn from the past as we confront the present and hope to shape the future. Read, enjoy and take courage knowing you are never alone in trying to create a more just world. Persevere and persist and win, but know that even losing is worth the fight and teaches lessons for later struggles.”—Mary Frances Berry, author of History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times

“We the Resistance illustrates the deeply rooted, dynamic, and multicultural history of nonviolent resistance and progressive activism in North America and the United States. With a truly comprehensive collection of primary sources, it becomes clear that dissent has always been a central feature of American political culture and that periods of quiescence and consensus are aberrant rather than the norm. Indeed, the depth and breadth of resistant and discordant voices in this collection is simply outstanding.”—Leilah Danielson, author of American Gandhi: A.J. Muste and the History of American Radicalism in the Twentieth Century 

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Debating Family Problems in the Twentieth-Century South

In Hurtin’ Words, Ted Ownby considers how a wide range of writers, thinkers, activists, and others defined family problems in the twentieth-century American South. Rather than attempting to define the experience of an archetypal “southern family,” Ownby looks broadly at contexts such as political and religious debates about divorce and family values, southern rock music, autobiographies, and more to reveal how people in the South used the concept of the family as a proxy for imagining a better future or happier past.

In the civil rights period, many embraced an ideal of Christian brotherhood as a way of transcending divisions. Opponents of civil rights denounced “brotherhoodism” as a movement that undercut parental and religious authority. Others, especially in the African American community, rejected the idea of family crisis altogether, working to redefine family adaptability as a source of strength.

In this engaging work, Ownby shows that it was common for both African Americans and whites to discuss family life in terms of crisis, but they reached very different conclusions about causes and solutions.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“Coming from one of the most brilliant and thoughtful analysts of the American South, Ted Ownby’s Hurtin’ Words is indispensable for understanding the many ways that southerners defined the problems of family life and why those definitions mattered so much.”—Marjorie J. Spruill, author of Divided We Stand

“An always-interesting and often-fascinating look into the way the family was written and talked about in the twentieth-century South. Ownby offers a remarkably fresh way to think about family and region, race and gender.”—Richard King, University of Nottingham

For more information on the publication, click here.

Ted Ownby is director of the Center of Southern Culture and a professor in history and Southern studies at the University of Mississippi.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.