New book: ‘The Courage to Believe’

If the following press release gives an accurate representation, then “The Courage to Believe” should be a worthwhile book:

It isn’t sentimental, vague, or predictable. Respected theologian Roy J. Enquist‘s new book, The Courage to Believe, is a straightforward scholarly work that brilliantly explores contemporary issues. It offers overviews of scripture, sheds light on biblical redaction, and penetrates the essentials of the Christian faith with clarity. The Courage to Believe will challenge liberals and delight conservatives because of its “high” Christology and serious trinitarianism. It will challenge the conservatives and delight the liberals because of its strong use of historical criticism, affirmation of evolution, and its emphasis on connections between spirituality and ethics. It is a book that seeks to be widely inclusive for Christians while affirming other religions, especially Judaism and Islam.

The author is a former Canon Ecumenist at Washington National Cathedral and co-translator of Paul Tillich‘s book, The Socialist Decision. A professor Emeritus at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Roy Enquist develops some critical themes as he writes about the confusions and possibilities of both private and public faith. In fact, political theology is a major theme in The Courage to Believe, where it is clear that the world God so loved was never a world devoid of public culture. Thus, faith and power, faith and justice, faith and science and technology, faith and ecology, faith and history are all addressed in comprehensive fashion while the author speaks in a voice that is as pastoral as it is scholarly.

Enquist’s robust evangelical (not fundamentalist) perspective is appreciated by Nicholas Beale who contributed the foreword. Beale, co-author with John Polkinghorne of Questions of Truth, was particularly taken with Enquist’s non-fundamentalist approach to discussing religion and science in the book. He believes that the ideas expressed represent tremendous strides in dispelling the notion of an unavoidable conflict between faith and science.

The Courage to Believe (ISBN 9780982265529) is a major book offered by the new publishing house, Hansen-McMenamy Books, LLC out of Texas. It may be a stretch to believe that a ridiculously small operation can do justice to such a fine work, but the publishers say that this is the caliber of work they aim to continue to produce. The book will be widely available beginning in November, 2009.

Distributed by Religion Press Release Services