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There are many biblical episodes in which people are compelled by an explicit or implicit threat of force, which is one definition of coercion, yet the issue of coercion has not yet been systematically explored for Hebrew Bible narrative. Examining the phenomenon of coercion across biblical narrative, this study asks how coercion is viewed and valued in the Hebrew Bible, what determines whether coercion is punished or rewarded, and what the theological significance is of this judgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postliberal theology is an overarching, but not monolithic, narrative-focused theological sensibility that moves beyond the conservative/liberal divide. Not to be confused with political ‘postliberalism’ – a response to liberal, market-driven economics – postliberal theology is a distinctive theological sensibility. It affirms tradition, experience, and propositions when doing theology, and emphasizes context and community more than historical-critical, empirical, or rationalistic epistemological theological concerns. This article will provide an overview of postliberal theology by focusing on its background (including its identification with the ‘Yale School’), key figures, major themes, concerns, tendencies, and theological agendas. It will begin by addressing key themes found in postliberal theology that include its non-foundational and non-apologetic character, intratextuality, community-shaped grammar, ecumenical openness, and its focus on the narrative of God’s people in scripture in the story of Israel and the Christian faith community. It will then provide a brief profile of key philosophical and sociological scholars who are influencers of postliberal sensibilities in theology. These include Ludwig Wittgenstein, Thomas Kuhn, Michael Polanyi, Alasdair MacIntyre, Clifford Geertz, Peter Berger, and Thomas Luckmann. This will be followed by considering several key theologians who are proponents of postliberal theology, including Karl Barth, Hans Frei, Paul Holmer, David Kelsey, George Lindbeck, and Stanley Hauerwas, among others. The article will then consider some critical engagements and appropriations of postliberal theology as seen in the work of Kevin J. Vanhoozer, James K. A. Smith, John Milbank, and David Burrell. In conclusion, consideration will be given to implications and potential applications of postliberal theology for the contemporary Christian church.

When undertaking the writing of Manuscript A, in obedience to Mother Agnes of Jesus --her sister Pauline-- Thèrése of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face will endeavor to tell the story of the path of love in her life, though it is not so much --or principally-- the path of love which she has travelled, but the path that love has travelled in her. Perhaps it was not her initial intention, but the grace received on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity in 1895 --that is, the certainty of how much Jesus desires to be loved-- reorients her work as a writer in a liturgical as well as a historical context, in which the offering of oneself to divine justice is prevalent. At that moment, Thérèse decides to offer herself to love so as to "please Jesus", in response to the mercy that he has poured out by being present in every moment of her life. Her autobiography, in the light of her lived experience and the Offering to Merciful Love which she made, transmits to the reader three essential dimensions of the path that love has taken in the life of Thérèse of Lisieux: the priestly dimension, the subversive dimension and the narrative dimension. She will culminate her journey by embracing in the night the Paschal Mystery, which is the gift of salvation and life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]