PURCHASE BOOKS

Read Recommendations from Friends and Colleagues

Reflections 

Reflections is a theological guide for today’s Christians seeking a fuller appreciation of religious faith than is represented in populist religion. The seven categories and their chapters are designed to provide the reader with an intensive study on neglected, but imperative concepts for faith. Subjects include revelation, monotheism, perennial idols, reality, sex and romance, popular myths, being poor / being human, and forgiveness. Each of these are of vital importance to both theology and humanity. Reflections also takes on issues that confront contemporary concerns through chapters such as Sexuality and the Metaphysical Myth of Modern Man.

Interpretive Adventures

Interpretive Adventures is a collection of teachings that have touched the lives of my students. The first chapter offers theological originality through a reading of the Exodus story that identifies mercy as the power that hardens Pharaoh’s heart. All readings in the book affirm a nonviolent God. The story of Solomon’s wisdom is deconstructed and exposes the subversive intent of the author. The Feminist Reading of Judges reveals a thematic, intentional literary design through the declension of the voice of the female characters. The theological theme driving the author of Judges is that silencing of the female voice in society increases violence and produces a society capable of committing genocide.

Interpretive Adventures invites readers on an insightful journey. The book reflects a theological perspective that is the product of decades of biblical studies, ministerial experience, and communal dialogue. — Shaun Galford, Professor B.A. History, Bachelor of Biblical Studies, M.A. Theological Studies (Church History Emphasis)

Theological Adventures

Theological Adventures provides nonviolent readings of scripture’s most violent texts, and applicably interspersed personal stories from the author’s life.

Theopoetics

“These poems by Phillip Garner are coming from his deep held convictions, his Christian faith, and personal experience. They are inspiring and encouraging and a reflection on his encounter with challenging social, political and economic reality. They show consistent faith struggling in a world of sin, yet they bring hope in a dark world. His poems speak of a life’s journey seeking justice and equality for the poor and oppressed. They are powerful poems of truth that will help us be better, more compassionate people.

Everyday Thoughts - 40 Devotional Readings - 40 Days of Intensive Contemplation

Everyday Thoughts is a devotional for thinking Christians, for those who seek to hear and know God in the present through contemplation on scripture and reality. Each essay is preceded by a poem or an inspirational piece. In relation to each essay's subject matter, these poems set the mood for the reader as the simplicity of poetry is combined with insights born from the author's years of study. The intent of the author is that the reader might enjoy the impact of each piece for a prolonged period of time after their initial reading. Everyday Thoughts is for people interested in both contemplation and living their faith in the real world of pain and suffering.

Provocative Theopoetics

This book is a collection of theological statements, sayings, and proverbs. Originally these were used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, public speaking venues and churches. They functioned as a guide for exploring more fully the richness behind each piece. My students referred to them as 'Submarine Sandwiches', filled with everything and able to satisfy one's hunger for wisdom. They also served as inspirational guides for daily contemplation. There are 132 of these titled pieces under 28 chapter headings in 77 pages.

Learning to Bleed Words

This collection of poetry was written during a four year period while living in the Philippines. It is partially biographical and my brief biography in the book assists the readier in understanding my relationship with the Philippines. It includes a section of love and romance poems written to celebrate the new love of my life, (for lingering illness and death had ended my first love). Other headings are revelatory of my inward struggles with a broken world where suffering prevails. Abbey and I spent several years (prior to the pandemic quarantine) bringing food and other essentials to poor families at a dumpsite on a resort island, often single mom's and their children. As a poet, storyteller, and theologian my poetry covers a vast array of topics. There is a mixture of celebration and empathy in the poems written under assorted headings. 'Live Life Running', is a poem that reflected my feelings of joy and inwardly a need to resist the encroaching certainty of aging with all the strength that I could gather. The final section is a collection of poems written during the pandemic. My love for blues music can be detected in numerous poems, and specifically under the heading 'The Blues'. This work is 111 pages.

Thirty Days to a Vibrant Spiritual Life of Thought and Practice

Learning to Think with Scripture

Volume I of the Spiritual Growth Workbook Series is subtitled, Learning to Think with Scripture. This volume pursues the development of a vibrant spiritual life of thought and practice by taking the student through thirty brief readings that include written exercises. The workbook is designed to develop a spiritually governed intellectual life in relation to both scripture and theological thought.

Thirty Days to a Vibrant Spiritual Life of Literary Understanding

Scripture as Layered Literature

Volume II of the Spiritual Growth Workbook Series is subtitled, Scripture as Layered Literature. This volume builds upon and expands the ideas presented in the first volume while searching deeper into the literary wealth of scripture’s theological instruction. We explore the layers of meaning contained in scripture through identifying literary devices, structure, and utilizing multiple lenses for reading. It is through the use of multiple lenses that we are aided in producing genre identification of scripture’s individual books. Genre is as important as life setting and context for reading scripture.

Reading Scripture as Story

Storytelling as Scripture

Volume III of the Spiritual Growth Workbook Series is subtitled, Storytelling as Scripture. This volume contains lessons drawn from the author’s personal stories and numerous biblical stories. The student will learn to tackle some of scripture’s most difficult stories through readings consistent with the revelation of God in Christ. These include the Ananias and Sapphira story in Acts, the hardening of Pharoah’s heart in the Exodus plagues, and Jesus’ story of the dishonest manager. These are presented in lessons that require the reader to judge for themselves the validity of the author’s conclusions.