Orbis Books (USA)

This book arose from a young man''s request that John serve as his spiritual director. He did not believe in God, but he believed in "love and truth and compassion." John replied that those are all names for God, and they agreed that they would speak of Universal Love. From this beginning, John discovered a new understanding of spirituality, and his own life of peacemaking as an exercise in "surrendering to the God of Peace." In short reflections, he outlines what this means, offers practical exercises, and shows how this might lead us more deeply into the meaning of discipleship in a world of violence and conflict.

ECOLOGY & JUSTICE SERIESThe Good News of Jesus Christ is a word about life, and the letter of First John offers an important witness to how that life is lived in love. First John’s discussion of life is rarely read in an environmentally supportive way. Rodolfo Felices Luna explicitly sets out to challenge the human exclusivity of interpreting First John. Though it is not immediately thought of as one of the environmentalist texts of the biblical corpus, the ways that First John talks about life and love offer fresh approaches for both eco-critical readings of scripture and faithful Christian action for environmental well-being. This book explicitly takes up Pope Francis’s calls for an integral ecology and turns it on our reading of and living from scripture.

A travelog of the moral and spiritual journey Rebecca Bratten Weiss has taken through some of the books in the modern Christian literary canon. She offering readers an open-eyed expedition into the rubble of the tradition’s texts, where among the remains of racism, classism, misogyny, classism, and homophobia, she sifts for the glimmers of truth. Many seeking values of social justice have discovered their relationship with the Christian literary classics has been, well,… complicated. Many of the works that formed, entertained, inspired, and gave us solace have justly come under scrutiny due to elements of racism, antisemitism, misogyny, elitism, and homophobia. Though some Christian scholars and writers try to dismiss or even justify these elements, the fact is that flaws in certain Christian classics are real and serious.Former academic and English teacher Rebecca Bratten Weiss wrestles with her relationship to beloved yet problematic Christian literary classics, works of G.K. Chesterton, T.S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh, C.S. Lewis, and others. As she does so, she develops a critical toolkit to empower readers to deconstruct and differently reclaim these narratives—and their own stories—with a view to maturing the way we read, live our ethics, and seek justice. In re-engaging with classic texts, claiming the good, rejecting the bad, and naming the complexities, she sheds light on ways to evaluate stories in light of truth and justice and assess their place in the larger cultural tradition.Sometimes re-reading these works becomes more like an examination of conscience, prompting practices of reparation for participation in harmful ideologies. But sometimes, to her surprise, she finds in unexpected places truthful representations she hadn’t sufficiently appreciated before. Still there are pots of gold.

“Your inner life will require an ongoing exploration as rigorous as your excavation of the external, global structures of oppression and social sin. If your inward and outward journey becomes interwoven, your life and witness will have opportunity to flourish. If they are alienated from one another, and your inward journey is neglected, your outward journey, regardless of the intensity of your commitment, eventually will start to disintegrate, with self-inflicted wounds likely to injure others and undermine the causes to which you committed your life.”"Your inner life will require an ongoing exploration as rigorous as your excavation of the external, global structures of oppression and social sin. If your inward and outward journey becomes interwoven, your life and witness will have opportunity to flourish. If they are alienated from one another, and your inward journey is neglected, your outward journey, regardless of the intensity of your commitment, eventually will start to disintegrate, with self-inflicted wounds likely to injure others and undermine the causes to which you committed your life.”Former politico, long-time activist, and faith leader Wes Granberg-Michaelson (Without Oars: Casting Off into a Life of Pilgrimage) looks at a life in activism. advocacy, and ministry to reveal four key discernable movements of a lifelong soul journey to God''s justice. He''s also witnessed these elements consistently in the lives of others devoted to both soul-care and justice. Now he offers these four key movements for anyone at any age wanting to step into the entwined lineage of justice and soul work. While all experience it, few justice leaders talk about in the often exhausting effort of their work, and how critical soulwork--spiritual formation--is for sustaining a life of outward social witness.Culled from the wisdom of decades of leadership experience in global ecumenical initiatives, religious organizations, and social justice movements, this book combines tenacity of vision with the groundedness of soul that has sustained Granberg-Michaelson even as it offers support to others engaged in the work for a lifetime and beyond.

From Africa, a ground-breaking reflection on suffering and resilience that speaks to universal questions for theology and the church.How do ordinary Africans sustain hope and faith in a world marked by rising poverty, inequality, extremism, poor governance, and unrest—despite the rapid growth of Christianity across the continent? In this book, Stan Chu Ilo explores the spiritual resilience of African communities through the lens of a deeply-felt cultural expression: “suffering and smiling,” a phrase popularized by Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Drawing from the lived experiences of everyday African believers, Ilo examines the deep wells of strength, community, tradition, and religious faith that help them endure—and even thrive—amid hardship.

When Dustin Feddon began accompanying men on death row and in solitary confinement, he saw a broken system that failed man after man within its walls. Even for those in “release” programs, what he saw—and the men he met—compelled him to ask if there could be new kinds of spaces, not confined spaces or “halfway houses,” but communities that welcomed people back into the human family, re-affirming their dignity? The answer he discovered, was a resounding Yes. That yes began a new community—and the story of Joseph House.All author royalties will go to support the work of Joseph House.

“My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off. . . . Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world.”—Pope FrancisFrom his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in 2013 until his death in 2025, Pope Francis, through words and gestures, fulfilled the promise and challenge suggested by his namesake, Francis of Assisi: “the man of poverty, peace, who lives and takes care of creation, a man who gives out a sense of peace, a poor man.” Calling the church to step out of its “self-referentiality,” Francis envisioned an evangelizing “community of missionary disciples” that goes out to the “margins and peripheries,” bearing witness to God’s endless love and mercy.This powerful little book, drawn from the many words and writings of Pope Francis that Orbis Books has published, offers an overview of many of his essential thoughts on mission and evangelization, migrants and refugees, care for creation, war and peace, compassion and mercy, his love and encouragement for young people, and his dream of a “synodal church,” a People of God walking together in faith and hope.

First published in 1975, God of the Oppressed remains a landmark in the development of Black Theology—the first effort to present a systematic theology drawing fully on the resources of African-American religion and culture. In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the Black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God, as well as the mode of the answers provided.

In the face of tremendous ecological changes, environmental crises, and social inequity, our God-talk must reveal our profound interconnectedness with Earth and all its inhabitants. Grace Ji-Sun Kim offers a transformative vision of divine presence that calls us to active, restorative justice. Drawing from Christian theology and urgent ecological insights, the book discusses our current climate catastrophes while illuminating pathways of healing and hope. Earthbound invites readers to embrace a radical theology of relationship—one that recognizes our responsibility to each other, to all living systems, and to the intricate web of life that sustains us.