Christianese (or Bible-speak) refers to the contained terms and jargon used within many of the branches and denominations of Christianity as a functional system of religious terminology. It is characterized by the use in everyday conversation of certain words, theological terms, and catchphrases, in ways that may be only comprehensible within the context of Christian belief. This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A denomination, in the... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Religious terminology are the specialized terms used within the context of a particular religion as largely self-contained language system. ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

In the developed Christian context, particular terms (inc. names) like God and Christ (or Jesus) as well as more common terms such as faith, truth, and spirit have a rich history of meaning to refer to concepts in spirituality, which Christians may consider to be particular to Christianity, and not available to dissimilar or distantly foreign belief systems. While particular terms may have some functional translatability to concepts in other systems (for example in Buddhism), such translations may typically be controversial outside of the forum of comparative religion. Because terms interoperate in a closed system, Christians may consider the use of such terms outside of Christianity or their particular branch (or denomination) as a distortion. This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other uses, see Faith (disambiguation). ... Time Saving Truth from Falsehood and Envy, François Lemoyne, 1737 For other uses, see Truth (disambiguation). ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus (breath). // The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath (compare spiritus asper), but also soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (πνευμα), pneuma (Hebrew (רוח) ruah), as... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... This article is currently under construction. ... Image:Buddhasunset crop. ... The Major religious groups of the world. ...

The term "Christianese" is an informal and sometimes pejorative exonym from secular culture ^{[citation needed]} to refer to the language of terms used in Christianity as contained and, in some cases, deliberately or effectively uncooperative with secular and foreign terms. Certain denominations—contemporary Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism for example—may be more widely considered as users of a distinctly localised variant of Christianese. An exonym is a name for a place or people that is created by people outside of that place and is different from the name used in the native language. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Pentecostal can... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Localism usually describes social measures or trends which emphasise or value local and small-scale phenomena. ...

Some Christian commentators hold that "Christianese" is incomprehensible or off-putting to outsiders, and suggest that it is possible to express all Christian truth in neutral language, with little or no use of religious words other than "God", "Jesus" and "Bible".^{[citation needed]}

Elements

In its basic form, Christianese uses theological and/or Biblical terms to describe matters of faith and everyday experiences as interpreted through a filter of faith and doctrine. The words and phrases used are known to the speaker of the wider language (e. g. English); however, without an understanding of the passage of Bible, issue of theology, or (sometimes) specific doctrine at the forefront of the mind of the speaker, the listener has no context to understand what is being said. For example, a phrase like, "Washed in the blood" in Christianese means "My sins are forgiven because I believe in the terms of salvation as defined by Jesus." However, without an understanding of Jesus, what he did, or what his actions mean in the Christian theology of the speaker, such statements are not understood by the listener or listeners. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Sometimes traditional language remains in use down through generations when language usage generally has moved on. For example, "Laid aside on a bed of sickness" can be used instead of "ill"; "traveling mercies" instead of "safety on your journey". This form of jargon is not fundamentally based in Bible texts but in tradition.

Special lexicography

There is a standard Christian lexicon within the Catholic church; given that Catholic terminology is dictated by the authority of the Holy See, there is a great deal more uniformity within its literature. For example, when a non-denominational Protestant refers to the End Times, he or she may be referring to the period following the Incarnation, as Catholics believe, or any number of eschatological interpretations of the Book of Revelation. There are other "authoritative" lexicons within other Christian sects, but these lexicons are considerably less standard. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... // In the three Abrahamic Religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), the End Times are depicted as a time of tribulation that precede the predicted coming of a Messiah figure. ... Christ en majesté, Matthias Grünewald, 16th c. ... For the book by Pope Benedict XVI, see Eschatology (book). ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

Lexicon

Below are a few examples of Christianese terms, and what they mean.

• Anointed: Chosen. Usually descriptive of a person, as in "Pastor Bob is a really anointed leader." Carries the meaning that someone is particularly well suited for a certain task or position while implying that God is responsible. Additional meanings include, blessed (see below), protected, empowered, or talented. Many Christian groups do not use this term, but it is particularly common in Charismatic circles. In the Catholic Church, Anointing refers to the application of oils or unction for ceremonial purposes, such as the Anointing of the Sick, or the historical anointing of kings and emperors. Among Jehovah's Witnesses the tem refers to those who feel they have a heavenly hope.
• Backsliding: The actions of a Christian who seems to be losing their faith or behaving in an "un-Christian" manner. (Backslider.)
• Blessed: A feeling of personal well-being, especially as connected with a casual religious experience or a religious interpretation of everyday experiences. In the Catholic Church, "blessed" refers to someone who has been beatified.
• Brother: a fellow believer in Christ, shortened from the phrase brother in Christ. Often pluralized as brethren. In the plural there is no implication as to gender, but in the singular a female believer is generally called a sister. In the Catholic Church, the title of brother may refer specifically to a monk.
• Blood, The, short for the blood of Christ (and by extension the atoning sacrifice of Christ) is sometimes used to mean the essence or spirit of Christ. One who is already saved depends on the Blood to keep him on the path of righteousness. The Blood, insofar as it refers to the death of Jesus, is also the mechanism of redemption and atonement. In the Catholic Church, the Blood of Christ refers to the physical manifestation (see transubstantiation) of Christ present in the Eucharist.
• Born Again (can be used as a noun or an adjective): A person who has come to a belief in Christianity, especially evangelical Christianity, and has experienced a spiritual rebirth. May also refer to formerly liberal Christians who adopt evangelical Christianity. This terminology derives from a metaphor used by Jesus in his discussion with Nicodemus in John 3.
• Call or Calling (verb or noun) A belief that God wants a person to do a specific thing. May be used for a vocation ("God called me to become a teacher") or a specific act ("I felt a call to go on a trip to Indonesia.") "Called" can occasionally be used as an adjective: "He's a brilliant doctor; he really is called."
• Christian formation: Growth, education, and development in becoming more like Christ.
• Courting (verb) Dating but for some Christians, dating with the understanding it has the intent of discerning whether to marry or not. See Biblical courtship. This term is not usually used by younger people.
• Discernment The use of this term among American Evangelicals is similar to its standard definition. However, it is considered a supernatural gift comparable to prophecy - the ability to perceive the spiritual truth of a matter through the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. [1] [2] In the Roman Catholic Church, discernment refers to the process of deciding whether one has a vocation to religious, married, or single life.
• Discipleship or discipling: The process, normally understood as one-on-one, of a believer teaching another believer about the Christian life. In the Roman Catholic Church, this is called spiritual formation. See also Great Commission.
• Exactness: Perfection in everyday life, adhering so strictly to Biblical laws and ethics as to do nothing that is not obedient to the will of God. This terminology is not used by all Christian groups; even some pietist groups do not use it.
• Feel convicted: A verb meaning to feel the judgment of God on your sin. The phrase can have slightly different meanings with different prepositions. One can feel convicted that something is true, feel convicted about a past sin, or feel convicted to do something good. For example, "I feel convicted that every Christian should bear witness to the Gospel. I feel convicted about being too shy to witness to my coworkers. I feel convicted to speak to one person a day about Christ from now on." In each case, the feeling of certainty or guilt or determination is considered not just an emotion, but an effect of the Holy Spirit drawing the believer toward God's will for that situation.
• Fellowship: A sense of belonging to a community, either within a specific church or within Christianity as a widespread religion. This can also refer to socializing exclusively with other Christians. Some individuals and groups consider such exclusivity to be an important factor in spiritual growth and/or righteousness. Fellowship is also used as a verb, meaning to spend time together with others. The traditional Greek term for this is koinoinia.
• Good News, The (or the Gospel): Can refer to the Bible, the New Testament or the Gospels. Can also refer to the general Christian doctrine of personal salvation through belief in Jesus Christ's divinity, teachings, and/or the substitutionary atonement. Good news is the literal meaning of gospel, an Old English word from the roots got (God) and spel (news). The gospel may be specifically the message that Jesus Christ is God the Son who died for sins and rose from the grave, providing forgiveness and the gift of eternal life to all who trust in him to save them, or generally denotes the message proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth: this is the original New Testament usage (for example Mark 1:14-15 or 1 Corinthians 15:1-9; see also Strong's G2098);
• Joy: The feeling of happiness and fulfillment that accompanies one's Christian faith. Commonly invoked to justify conversion.
• Lay hands on: Focused personal prayer for an individual, often sick or injured, where those present gather around and place their hands on the person's body during prayer. Derived from a command of Jesus in the Gospels. In the Catholic Church, the Laying on of Hands often accompanies religious rituals of cleansing and is used in the Sacraments. Persons unwittingly baptised by an imposter priest have historically been accepted into the Catholic Church simply by a Laying on of Hands. Lay hands on can also mean to put hands on a person to stir up a spiritual gift or empower them for ministry.
• Made right with God: Refers to the "reconciliation" of the believer with God. Can refer to an individual's initial religious conversion (see saved) or to a backslider's recovery of faith or principles.
• Ministry: Not limited to those who are employed as pastors or church workers; expanded to include the compassionate interaction of Christian believers with those they care about and with their communities.
• Mission: Christian activities which serve the church or the community. This can include "outreach", "servant-evangelism" or any other activity which seeks to interest non-believers in Christianity. A mission may also refer to an establishment to spread Christianity to native populaces.
• On fire for God: Excited about Christianity, especially "outreach" (see below).
• Outreach: The process of taking the Christian message to people who are not Christians, usually with the connotation of doing so through servant-evangelism-like activities.
• Redeemed: The verb redeem is used in the sense of "purchase, ransom, rescue, free". The speaker believes that through his or her faith he or she has been "rescued" from the spiritual consequences of their actions or previous lack of belief. This is a fairly close synonym for saved, below. The idea of purchase is most clearly reflected in the phrase Redeemed by the blood, which refers to the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. Several popular hymns are built on this sense of the term.
• Revelation:A spiritual experience where the Christian gains a deeper understanding of who God is, usually through a divinely-inspired thought and/or feeling.
• Sanctified:The common dictionary definition is "to make holy or purify"; in Christianese this is usually applied to individuals rather than objects. Often a synonym for born again or saved.
• Saved: Spared from the consequences of sin (i. e. Hell after death) by repentance and belief in Christ, submitting to him as Lord of one's life. Some Christians casually use "saved" as a synonym for "Christian".
• Servant-Evangelism: Demonstrations of charity, either (1) organized, such as a free car-wash, or (2) individual, such as paying for a stranger's meal) in order to demonstrate Christian principles through actions, attempting to arouse spiritual curiosity.
• Sharing: Sharing the Gospel, evangelism. Also simply imparting truth or passing on personal experience with God or Christian truth. When used as a noun (especially as the Sharing), the term refers to Communion in general and the love feast in particular.
• Signs of the times: Current world events allegedly correlated with certain passages of the Bible (particularly the Book of Revelation), which are interpreted as prophecies indicating the second coming of Christ. See millennialism, dispensationalism, and Millerites.
• Sister: a fellow believer in Christ, female. In the Catholic Church, the title of sister may refer specifically to a nun. (See also Brother above.)
• Slain in the Spirit. An experience in which some Christians believe that the physical power of God causes people to fall to the ground. See laying on of hands. This is an important part of Pentecostal and Charismatic beliefs, but it is not included in the doctrine of many other denominations.
• Stumbling: A term referring to a certain action or person that produces lustful thoughts (i.e. "That movie caused me to stumble").
• Unchurched: an adjective describing a person who has not grown up in a Christian household or does not regularly attend church services. [3]
• Walk with God: The practice of applying Christian principles and beliefs to everyday life. (From the Greek, περιπατεω, which can be translated into English as either "walk" or "live". Some English translations of the Bible sometimes made (arguably) the wrong choice, but many Christians were able to infer the actual meaning from context, and so this alternate meaning for walk became common.)
• Witness or Witnessing: Telling someone how and why you are a Christian, generally on a one-to-one basis. Explaining the gospel and/or trying to persuade another person to believe it. See also Evangelism. Witness as a noun also refers to reputation, as in maintaining a respectable witness. The word testimony is also used in this way.
• Vocation: In the Catholic church, a "vocation" is a calling to service, often used to refer particularly to a call to the clergy, but also to religious life, married life, or single life. The term is used in a similar manner in the Presbyterian Church, but generally refers to life calling in a broader sense: a person may have a vocation (spiritual calling) to be a minister, a teacher, construction worker, etc. The term "bivocational pastor/minister" refers to a clergyman who, in addition to his religious duties, holds outside employment as well (often where the church cannot afford to pay for full-time service).

Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The charismatic movement began... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... To anoint is to apply perfumed oil. ... Extreme Unction, part of The Seven Sacraments (1445) by Roger van der Weyden. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... In Catholicism, beatification (from Greek μακαριος, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead persons accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name (intercession of saints). ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation). ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... Main article: Eucharist (Catholic Church) Transubstantiation (in Latin, transsubstantiatio) is the change of the substance of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ occurring in the Eucharist according to the teaching of some Christian Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. ... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... Born again is a term used originally and mainly in Christianity, where it is associated with salvation, conversion and spiritual rebirth. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Nicodemus (Greek: Νικόδημος) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The term date can refer to: A day according to a calendar; see calendar date. ... Biblical courtship, also known as Christian courtship, is a term used to denote a particular response to secular dating culture within various American Christian communities, c. ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... Righteousness in this article refers to the important theological concept in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... For other uses, see Divinity (disambiguation) and Divine (disambiguation). ... Substitutionary atonement is the act of restoring balances by substitution. ... According to the Canonical Gospels, the Ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1-3 years, with the Synoptic Gospels generally being considered to argue for it having been a period of 1 year, and the Gospel of John arguing for... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ... “Catholic sacraments” redirects here. ... This article is about religious workers. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ... A Mission station is a location for missionary work. ... Substitutionary atonement is the act of restoring balances by substitution. ... For other uses, see Hell (disambiguation). ... Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck // The word charity entered the English language through the O.Fr word charite which was derived from the Latin caritas.[1] In Christian theology charity, or love (agapÄ“), is the greatest of the three theological virtues... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... The Agape feast was the Eucharistic celebration of the early Christians. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation). ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, and literature, that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth where Christ will reign prior to the final judgment and future eternal state, primarily derived from the book... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      As a current in Protestant Christian theology... William Miller The Millerite tradition is a diverse family of denominations and Bible study movements that have arisen since the middle of the 19th century, traceable to the Adventist movement sparked by the teachings of William Miller. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ... Unchurched or The Unchurched or unchurched people are people who did not grow up in the church or have any prior understandings of the church. ... Look up evangelist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ...

Criticism among Christians

Some Christians view some or all of these terms as cliches. The belief that Christianese has hindered the communication of the Christian message to the rest of the world has led some Christian writers to advocate the conscious removal of Christianese from believers' conversations and writing. Many have also come up with alternative terms and phrases that are theoretically more "religion-neutral". While the effectiveness of this strategy is undetermined, there is a feeling among some Christian communicators that this may be simply creating a condensed form of Christianese but failing to address the underlying issue of contextual understanding. Clich (from French, imitative) refers to: an overused phrase or expression, or the idea expressed by it; a situation, theme or characterization which has become common; a thing (as a style of clothing) that has become overly familiar or commonplace. ...

Christianese in popular culture

The appearance of Christianese in popular culture generally occurs in two forms: when it is actually used by writers to communicate (whether they are aware of it or not), or in parodical or satirical contexts. In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ...

Probably the most noticeable use of Christianese as satire is in The Simpsons character of Ned Flanders and his sons Rod and Tod. Though Ned's speaking style is littered with nonsensical phrases (like hi-diddly-ho) which are not related to Christianese, Ned also employs Christianese terms. For example, in the episode where Homer Simpson floods Springfield as a conceptual art project, Ned looks out his window and exclaims: "It's a miracle. The Lord has drowned the wicked and spared the righteous!". Rod and Tod show a quality of Christianese in the games that they play, such as The Good Samaritan, Clothe the Leper and Build the Mission. Simpsons redirects here. ... Nedward Ned Flanders is a fictional character on The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... For other uses, see Springfield. ... Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs (1965) Conceptual art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. ...

Books and movies which engage Christianese as a literary style are commonly found in the Christian market. Arguably the most notable of these (and, indeed, most popular) are the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. This book series (currently made up of thirteen installments) is deeply rooted in dispensationalist theology and could be said to be written in Christianese (books eleven and twelve perhaps more so than the rest of the series). When the first three installments were adapted into motion pictures by the Christian film company Cloud Ten Pictures, the Christianese style of writing was folded into the dialogue, offering a clear example of Christianese in speech. Left Behind is a series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatology viewpoint of the end of the world. ... A panel from Tim LaHaye’s multi-million selling ‘’Left Behind’’ series, depicting the fate LaHaye anticipates for those who do not follow Jesus Christ. ... Book one in the Left Behind series Jerry B. Jenkins (born September 23, 1949 in Kalamazoo, Michigan) is an American novelist and biographer. ... Dispensationalism is a school of Bible interpretation that is associated with fundamentalist Christianity; the primary alternative within the evangelical community is covenant theology. ... Cloud Ten Pictures is a film production company located in St. ...

See also

• Christian
• Lark News, Christian satirical newsletter, employing heavy Christianese for comedic effect
• Slang
• Metaphorical language

For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Lark News is a comedy newsletter satirizing contemporary American Christian culture, specifically evangelicalism. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Metaphorical language is a term referring to the use of a complex system of metaphors to create a sub-language within a common language. ...

External links

• Christianese: "Low" Church Jargon in Contemporary North America
• Christianese translator @ Christianrecovery.com
• Christianese at Availablelight Online
• The Language of Planet Zion at christianitytoday.com

References

• Word Spy entry for 'Christianese'
• The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark I. Pinsky. Published by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville. 2001.