Love
The Foundation of Christian Thought and Wisdom
by Rodney Weems
Imprint: Resource Publications
After receiving a 2016 diagnosis of cancer, the author began to ask: If he had time on earth to complete only one more dream, what would it be? Love: The Foundation of Christian Thought and Wisdom is the beginning of that answer. It is a hopeful work that invites Christians to embrace not just the theology of the Bible but the Christology as well. Noting that hard-edged theology often ends up closing circles and hearts, the author points towards a holy Word whose gentle, daily Christology asks us to open our hearts, warts and all, to God, ourselves, and others. Love highlights 1 Corinthians as the Bible's christological center in co-narrative with its Romans theological center. In so doing, it shines an unexpectedly simple but deep light on exactly what God is asking of us in the name of Christian love.
Rodney Weems has taught secondary school mathematics for over twenty-five years. He is the author of Teaching Math as a Language (2007) and numerous short essays for his students on the interface between faith, philosophy, and mathematics.
“How might we transform our deeply polarized society if those who count themselves as Christians . . . sought daily to become practitioners of ‘wise-love’ with everyone? Weems offers a path toward spiritual maturity that challenges complacent Christians across the theological and political spectrum. If taken seriously, it will lead to the healing we desperately need.”
—Elizabeth W. Corrie, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
“Boldly calling for a ‘new Reformation,’ Rodney Weems seeks to address the ugly divisions and refusals to listen that characterize our culture today. In directing our attention to the biblical teaching on love (‘wise-love,’ as he calls it), Rodney urges us to rediscover the revolutionary ethic that is the foundation of Western civilization. . . . This book will challenge your thinking, warm your heart, and call you to biblical self-examination.”
—Stan Key, The Francis Asbury Society
“At a time in our national history when there is so much division, this delightful volume brings us back to first principles. The focus on the virtue at the heart of the greatest commandment is one that should ring true for all Christians. Through a serious reading of Paul’s writings on love, Weems introduces how this virtue might be lived out today. Such an introduction is a breath of fresh air.”
—Daniel Cosacchi, Marywood University
“Rodney Weems offers a thoughtful and well-reasoned exploration of the importance of love, and how we are to live it out in a world around us, where this quality is too often lacking.”
—John Goodale, Pastor of Caring Ministries, First Pres
“Rodney Weems has invited us into a way of ‘heart living.’ His writing both reveals the integrity of his character and a humility that offers the reader a gateway to transformation. Rodney’s concept of opening the Scriptures through the lens of ‘wise love’ offers the reader an opportunity to see and live in a grace-filled way that ‘builds one another up and forward.’ A timely offering in our challenging times.”
—Anthony R. Pompa, Vice-Chair, Episcopal Preaching Foundation
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