{"product_id":"saving-paradise-how-christianity-traded-love-of-this-world-for-crucifixion-and-empire-9780807067543","title":"Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e's Best Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA fascinating theological study of how early Christianity's message of love and community has evolved into one of punishment and empire\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e During their first millennium, Christians filled their sanctuaries with images of Christ as a living presence--as a shepherd, teacher, healer, or an enthroned god. He is serene and surrounded by lush scenes, depictions of this world as paradise. Yet once he appeared as crucified, dying was virtually all Jesus seemed able to do, and paradise disappeared from the earth. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eSaving Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e turns a fascinating new lens on Christianity, from its first centuries to the present day, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution. It also retrieves, for today, a life-affirming Christianity that the world sorely needs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-16603081\"\u003eRebecca Ann Parker\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-16603078\"\u003eRita Nakashima Brock\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Beacon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 576\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780807067543\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0807067547\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-ART\"\u003eArt\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-ART035000\"\u003eSubjects \u0026amp; Themes | Religious\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL067080\"\u003eChristian Theology | History\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL084000\"\u003eReligion, Politics \u0026amp; State\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRebecca Ann Parker\u003c\/b\u003e was President of and Professor of Theology at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California, until 2014, and coauthor of \u003ci\u003eProverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire\u003c\/i\u003e. An ordained United Methodist minister, Parker has dual fellowship with the United Methodist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Association. She currently serves on the board of an interfaith think tank focused on progressive religion and politics called Faith Voices for the Common Good. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRita Nakashima Brock\u003c\/b\u003e is Research Professor of Theology and Culture and Director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School, Ft. Worth, Texas. She is author, with Gabriella Lettini, of \u003ci\u003eSoul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War\u003c\/i\u003e and author, with Rebecca Ann Parker, of \u003ci\u003eProverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in Oakland, California.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44566276997357,"sku":"9780807067543","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_f6695930-efd1-45db-8cd9-dab0444b2ce9.jpg?v=1701876843","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/saving-paradise-how-christianity-traded-love-of-this-world-for-crucifixion-and-empire-9780807067543","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}