This collection of essays provides samplings of a theological engagement of culture that Paul Louis Metzger has been developing over the years in his work as founder and director of The Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins at Multnomah Biblical Seminary of Multnomah University. Metzger espouses an incarnational over against a predominately worldview-oriented or market-driven theological approach to engaging culture, and situates his work in Trinitarian communal and co-missional thought forms. This volume of biblically and theologically framed and compassion-driven essays addresses such themes as postmodernity, structural evil, cultural genocide, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, the prison system, the global slave trade, and the arts. It will be welcomed by those analyzing and developing theological-cultural paradigms and engaging key issues in the contemporary setting.
Praise for New Wine Tastings
“This bottling collects a decade’s worth of Paul Louis Metzger’s distinctive engagement with the Bible, the Church and our culture. You won’t find the dreary arcanum of the academy in New Wine Tastings; these essays bristle with biblical and practical perspective on the most pressing issues of our times. They reveal the heart and mind of a passionate, insightful and often humorous theologian who shows us all how to live into our calling as witnesses to the Gospel. The perfect compliment to your favorite beverage!” —Robb Redman, author of The Great Worship Awakening: Singing a New Song in the Postmodern Church
“Paul Louis Metzger’s robust Trinitarian theology, shaped through Barth and the Church Fathers, is the engine that drives his insightful and provocative cultural criticism, allowing him to explore with equal confidence Native American missions and Johnny Cash. Metzger’s confident yet winsome approach to culture charts a new path for a Christian witness in and for culture in the twenty-first century. His is a voice to which I will listen closely.” —Daniel Siedell, author of God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art
“Paul Louis Metzger, and his New Wine, New Wineskins project in theology and culture, have gathered together here a collection of occasional essays that are indeed ‘tastings’ – suggestive samples of what a Trinitarian and incarnational theology of cultural engagement might look like. Some brief and anecdotal, and others longer and more theoretically developed, they all bear witness to a form of cultural engagement deeply rooted in the theological tradition of the Church and attuned to the currents of contemporary culture. Though I prefer fermented grain to grapes, this is good drink!” —Eric G. Flett, author of Persons, Powers, and Pluralities: Toward a Trinitarian Theology of Culture
“No single specimen – or vintage – of evangelical cultural engagement more ably and deliciously demonstrates itself than the profoundly theological cultural criticism of Paul Louis Metzger. His work occasions a hearty toast, and is worth the repeated tastings this volume so richly invites.” —Rodney Clapp, author of Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction
“New Wine Tastings enables us to lift our heads and, with eyes wide open, learn how to engage our culture as we are called to do. Cutting-edge theology for our times. We need this volume.” —Michael O. Emerson, author of Divided by Faith, United by Faith, People of the Dream
“The Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins, from which this volume of essays emerges, is at the cutting edge of today’s wholistic ministry movement. And because it’s connected to a university and a seminary, it’s in a great position to challenge future leaders. I am highly impressed.” —John M. Perkins, author of Let Justice Roll Down
“If you’ve never read Metzger before New Wine Tastings is a great place to begin because of the diversity of its samplings. This selection of essays deals with topics ranging from structural evil, disembodied vs. incarnational spirituality, the atonement, and the culture wars among many others… New Wine Tastings is a fun, diverse read that is guaranteed to inspire and challenge. After reading New Wine Tastings I purchased three additional copies to give away and have thought that it would be to great to incorporate the book into a small group setting. Enjoy.” —rfox (read the full review at Amazon)
“I ordered this book not knowing exactly what to expect. I found myself stretched in many good directions, I found myself asking hard question not only of myself but of my peers. I too discovered I am theologically conservative and yet compassionately liberal. Dr. Metzger engages the reader without overwhelming them. The essays are condensed enough to catch a moment, yet deep enough to capture your attention. My copy has now been in the hands of 4 readers.” —Julie A. Hartman (read the full review at Amazon)
