Michael Hardin Libri

This collection features revised essays presented at a 2007 conference at Messiah College, focusing on various topics relevant to contemporary discussions in theology and education. The contributors explore the intersection of faith and scholarship, offering insights that challenge and inspire readers to consider the implications of their beliefs in academic and social contexts. Each essay reflects a commitment to integrating faith with intellectual rigor, making this volume a valuable resource for those interested in the dialogue between religion and academia.

The book critiques Protestant American Christianity for straying from the teachings of Jesus, highlighting the shortcomings of consumer Christianity. It challenges readers to reconsider their faith by examining the gospel narrative, advocating for a non-sacrificial approach to following Jesus. Drawing inspiration from figures like Jeremiah and Kierkegaard, it urges believers to reflect on the true essence of the Christian life and its implications.

The book explores a transformative shift in Christian theology over the past fifty years, moving away from a sacrificial interpretation of the Gospel that portrays God as retributive. It examines the implications of this non-sacrificial perspective on the mission and message of Jesus, questioning the coherence of Christian doctrine when retributive concepts are removed. The discussion delves into the integral connections between non-sacrificial theology, ethics, and spirituality, highlighting a significant evolution in understanding God and the Gospel.

Metafictional texts frequently construct both their narrators and readers as male. The relationship between the narrator and reader within the novel is often dismissed, but in many cases it is the most intimate relationship in the novel. Drawing from such disparate frameworks as queer theory, reader theory, and game theory, this work argues that within specific metafictional novels, a strong homoerotic metanarrative exists despite the heterosexual relationships at the narrative level. The texts that this work addresses are Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy , Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer , Julio Cortazar’s Hopscotch , Milorad Pavic’s Dictionary of the Khazars and Landscape Painted with Tea , and Carlos Fuentes’ Christopher Unborn .